Taming Kestrel
by Black Falcon 01
Summary: A brand new second Male IS pilot appears at the IS academy, a small boy... but who is this child? What his is reason for being here? and is the world really okay with women ruling the world?
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

_**Infinite Stratos: Taming Kestrel**_

_**This is my first Infinite Stratos fanfiction, Ive been inspired by many other writers and have always loved writing. Im new to this Fanfic lark so at least give me some credit if you can. I will do all I can to make sure to improve these chapters piece by piece. My story is a bit like my favorite story I've been reading called 'Young Secrets' by coco6561, but dont worry my story is not a cheap copy, Note to coco6561, please keep it up! I love your story!... My story is also about a little boy but is heavily mature for his age, also has a very traumatic and horrific past about him that shows up to Ichika and his friends, and they become hell bound on healing the poor child's tortured mind and heart.**_

_**Also as a side note, I've made some changes to these chapters to help those whom have problems in reading a large amount of text, It should be easier for you readers to read, so anyway... please read away.**_

Please Note: ( ) - Means Characters thoughts

This story begins over the world famous IS Academy, Japan. Since its foundation, the IS academy - like many others around the world prides itself in being one of the top training centres for IS pilots. The IS is the world famous exo-skeleton that excels and out performs any other weapon on the planet. The main exception of its purpose is that it can only be piloted by women, - or so that was thought, when the world famous Ichika Orimura became the first male to ever pilot the IS. As a ressult Ichika attends the Japanesse all-girls school academy.

As a ressult of the IS the balance of power has shifted making the world a Matriarchal society. However, for those whom thought a world ruled by girls is better than a world ruled by boys is better, they were dead wrong! As a certain young boy from Israel is about to prove, however with a school filled with girls, the challenges are very clear, one of which is if any girls are Shotacons! The other if the female's mothering instincts occur and all the girls plan on keeping this new 10 year old boy as a pet or child! Any how, on with the story...

With Maya Yamada and Chifuyu Orimura -

"This is International Radio reporting from the Sinai Pennisula, today Israel's IS forces in co-operation with IDF have successfuly routed and pushed back Phantom Task terrorists at the Sinai Israeli boarder.." a radio broadcasts with an english male voice, Chifuyu Orimura sitting with cool and collected expression in an office chair, not making a single wisper but occasionaly blinking, while listening with intent at the radio broadcaster's annoucements. Maya Yamada sits across from Chifuyu in what appears to be a vistors type of chair, with a more concerned look on her face, a bead of sweat escapeing the right side of her temple, yet stilling listening with full intent at the broadcast.

"IS pilots along with IDF soldiers have discovered the mutilated corpses of over 700 men, women and children, taken prisoner, then fiendishly executed by their Phantom task captors... investigating officers at the nightmare scene, say that the massive, murderous, massacre occured in the early hours of yesterday morning between 1 and 2am. The details of the massacre remain either unknown or confidential as of this moment. What we have been told is that International leaders and Coalition forces have vowed one thing... any IS pilot or accomplis with connections, or responsible for this unspeakable act... will be vigorously tried for crimes against humanity, and swiftly punished. This..is International radio news broadcasting, live.. from the middle east... Israel".

With a click of a remote the radio is immediatley shut off, Chifuyu crossing her legs, tossing the remote down onto her desk. She then places her hands into a praying position and then places them silently in front of her face. Just below her chin, she lets out a frustrated sigh

"Well Maya... This is most...distressing" - Chifuyu speaks with a hint of stress and - strangely - sadness, sure Chifuyu could be known as the Ice queen, a woman whom could hide her emotions very well, but even then... even an Ice queen must have standards.

"Isnt that horrible?, whom could do a thing like that?" - Maya softly speaks with an honest tone of sorrow and pity.

"Hmm, and I suppose you know what we have coming our way?" - Chifuyu continues slowly pushing her chair away from her office desk and standing up.

"Yes Orimura... I have it here" - Maya confirms with officalness looking down at a clipboard, whilst standing up herself.

"They didn't include it in the news, but i guess that might be a good thing"

"Can't argue with that, and according to reports our new student has some connections with the incident that has just been on the news,"

",And is no doubt a subject best settled under terms of absolute secrecy".

"You... don't think its best we inform the students of the academy about whom is joining?"

Chifuyu mimicks with her hand, telling Maya to follow her, and together both women walk towards Chifuyu's office door. Chifuyu pauses, turns round to look at Maya in the face before continueing.

"As for informing our students about whom is joining us, the answer is absolutely not. With whats happened on the radio, the last thing we want is for a scandal or panic to occur, and besides we've already agreed with the Israeli goverment to not let even the slightest bit of information leak out into the open, the chances of another incident befalling us since the silver gospal is to real, and above all absolutely dangerous. When our new student arrives, act normaly, besides the sight of so many beauties around may even make the poor brat forget about what he's experianced these last few hours".

Chifuyu practacly smiles at her last verse of phrase, and turns round, opens the door and together she a Maya leave the room and walk down a white, cool corridor.

**\- Scene change: 2 days later - IS Academy classroom -**

The IS academy classroom, filled with happy gossip, female voices from multiple nations, with slangs and rough accents in Japanese being exchanged left to right and right to left, the centre of the classroom being Ichika Orimura surrounded by his friends, the all well known Brunette Japanese girl Lingyin, the Short blonde, pony tailed Charlotte, the long silver haired, eye patched Laura, the brunette pigtailed Huang and finally the long blonde, hair curled Cecilia.

All of which doing their party piece in attempting to gain the most attention from Ichika or trying to out perform one another, mainly to no avail due to Ichika being the good hearted, yet dense person he his. Lingyin eventually gaining the most attention by slamming her hands down on Ichika's desk and pointing aggressivaly at Laura.

"SO TELL ME ICHIKA! WHAT WAS LAURA DOING IN YOUR BED THIS MORNING!?"

Ichika holds his hands up in defence whilst attempting to contain his nerves, which is'nt going very well, what - with Lingyin, Houki and Cecilia's heavily annoyed looks.

Since Laura declared that Ichika was going to be her husband, her approaches on him was'nt held back or exaggerated, but unfortuneatly the other girls did'nt in the slightest feel amused, or supporting of the idea, except for Laura of course.

"What is so strange about a husband and wife sleep together in the same bedroom?" - Laura protests in confidence, with a hint of pride

"You keep quiet about this Bodewig!" - Cecilia shouts out with annoyance, her fists clenched together.

"Tell us Ichika, What were you two doing this morning!?" - Charlotte asks with a pleasant but very menaceing smile, twitching, obviously struggleing to keep her composure.

"I keep telling you nothing happended this morning!" - Ichika desperatley protests waving his hands in front of his face.

Many of the other female students either smile or ignore at the sight playing before, them, however not one of the girls in the room can blame the sight before them. Ichika showing his skills with an IS aswell as his honesty and kindess is obviously going to attract a lot of female attention. However most of the other girls belive deep down it is just sexual tension for not being around the male gender for a while, please remember that being in an academy when you are straight, is bound to get boreing after just seeing only your own gender day in and day out.

"I also have taken the opertunity to think of names for our future children my dearest wife" - Laura continues smiling proudly with her nose slightly up in the air. However the effect of Laura's happiness does nothing except fuel the fire for Ichika's possible approaching death.

"Child...Child, so you two have been considering children have you!?" - Lingyin menaceingly speaks out with a pleasant tone. Partially summoning her IS, so that only the left arm appears, the fist is clenched.

"NO! NO! NO!, I havent done anything! Char, you know me, I wouldn't do anything like that!" - Ichika desperately speaks out hopeing that his closest female friend may be able to aid in his current situation.

"Dont change the subject Ichika, start talking" - Charlotte hisses out, whilst summoning her own personal IS.

"Ichika! Tell me you have'nt been doing things like that with her!" - Cecilia practacly screams whilst partially summoning her own IS.

"LOOK IM TELLING YOU ALL, NOTHING HAPPEND!" - Ichika screams out in fear, some classmates looking nervous but keeping their distance at the sight before them, many students taking cover or leaving the room in fear at what could happen, however many students suddenly appear back in the classroom due to a certain classmate getting their attention.

"HEY everyone look at the newspaper!"

Ichika's life being saved by the newspaper club president. Laura, Cecilia, Charlotte, Lingyin and Houki snapping from their current 'Discussion' with Ichika and instead focusing on Kaoruko Mayuzumi, whom happens to slam at least a few dozen copies of the same newspaper down on a desk just behind Ichika's. Ichika practaclly letting out a huge sigh of relief at the tension leaving his pressance. "Look at the news!", Kaoruko continues pushing her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, her face looking partially excited yet shocked.

"Oh my gosh!" - Shouts out a long sleeved girl, her hands obscured by her long sleeved uniform. The said girl being Honne Nohotoke, her friends soon gathering round the papers with many other schoolgirls.

"People murdered by IS pilots!?" - Shouts a long green haired girl.

"Phantom task terrorists being responsible!?" - Another girl, with short orange hair exclaims.

"Israel? 700 confirmed dead!?" - Another brunette girl with glasses and pigtails stutters.

"What's all this?" - Asks Charlotte with curiosity, walking slowly over to Honne.

"At least 700 people have been slaughtered in Israel by IS pilots!". - Kaoruko informs the blonde french girl with a hint of authority and a touch of shaken voice. Charlotte mimicks with her hand and immediatley, Cecilia, Houki, Lingyin de-activate their partially summoned IS, and rush over to Charlotte and Honne. Ichika remains seated, far to releaved that the ordeal is over and not very interested in any old news paper.

"How did you get your hands on these!? I thought Orimura sensei forbade such newspapers on the academy grounds" - A girl with short dark blue hair asks with interest. Kaoruko merely smiling with pride, or smuggness ' what ever you want to call it ', taps the side of her nose with her index finger.

"Oh common, you know thats all confidential, if i was to tell you how I got my hands on newspapers like this it would'nt be a surprise now would it"

"Actually, I think Orimura sensei made it clear that this type of news was only forbade to certain classrooms because of age being a concern" - A girl with pink hair in a short pony tail speaks out.

( "What are they all talking about?" ) - Ichika thinks to himself, finally managing to stand up. Breathing a sigh of relief Ichika finally manages to walk over to the large horde of schoolgirls, each with a newspaper in hand, gossiping and whispering to each other. "Is everything alright?  
Whats going on?"

"Ichika, look at this!" - Charlotte speaks out, Ichika wastes no time and takes a newspaper, what he sees sends terrible sense of dread down to his gut. The feeling is like eating something exceptionaly foul and now the food is repeating on the stomach.

"Th..This confirmed is it!?" - Cecilia stutters with a lot of shock and concern.

As the conversation becomes more and more intense the class bell brings the group from out of their moment, some students scrambling to their desks putting away their newspaper copies in their desks, others hiding their papers in schoolbags. Before taking her seat Houki shoots Ichika and dangerous look along the lines of 'Don't think this is over'. Ichika cringes at the image, but amazingly manages to maintain a cool and collected image.

To be looking out of character when class is about to start was the last thing Ichika wanted this morning, if he could salvage anyform of normality since the disasterous incident this morning, he would be hell bound on making that normality 100% possible. Besides, the last time Ichika spaced out due to personal problems, he earned himself a book in the back of the head from his big sister Chifuyu. Definately not in the mood for feeling pain, he looked towards the school black board, sat up strait, shook off any feeling of fear, and prepared himself for the day's lessons.

Maya Yamada walking into the classroom with a pleasant smile upon her face, coming to a stop behind a desk, Maya smiles brightly and greets her class of students. "Good morning everyone, I hope yesterday was pleasant, and today its back to routined buisness". Maya continues by placeing a large set of books down upon her desk, as she looks forward she gets a glance of a newspaper on non-other than Honne's desk. "Nohotoke, can you please put away your belongings" Maya pleasantly speaks out, with a sweat drop upon the side of her head.

Honne looks down with confusion before making a quick yelp, before scrambling to put away the paper, some students looking anxious, others snickering. Maya smiles and makes a slow nod once Honne hastily puts away the newspaper in a schoolbag. "Anyway... before starting today, I want to make 3 very clear announcements, firstly.." - Maya's expression shifting to a very evasive but very serious concerned look. "..Im sure you've all heard the news, and may have gotten your hands on a copy of this newspaper".

Maya holds up a paper exactaly the same as the one issued to all students in the classroom, some students immediately go cold, others get curious. However Maya defuses the feeling with a calm and pleasant face and tone "But, don't worry, no one is in trouble. In fact it was just decided that newspapers not related to this academy can now be permitted".

Many students let out a sigh of relief, Maya struggling not to titter before continueing "Secondly, im sure everyone is concerned about the news headlines, but... theres no cause for alarm. Please remember we are an academy that is highly protected and is securely in the care of the national goverment's armed forces. Also please remember that we have a trained force of IS pilots whom can work in co-operation with our self defence forces, I would only ask everyone that for the time being, does not go anywhere alone ever, and ask people not to stray to far from the academy grounds unless given expressed permission from Orimura sensei."

Students cast looks at one another, Ichika being one of them, making a glance to the right, but quickly looks away after looking to the left. Houki looking at Ichika with a bit of anger and irritation, Ichika smiling nervously before turning his head away slowly ( "Oh man, why did this have to happen? Is that anyway to treat a childhood friend!? Not listening to a friend's side of the story is hardly a fair trial I ask ya!" ) - Ichika thinks to himself.

"Thirdly We have a new student joining us today" Maya continues with joy, some students immediately smiling, Ichika looking curious. ( "Wow, a new student I wonder whos come out to play with us this time.. 'Wonder what type of person she is" ) Ichika thinks to himself. "Please I want everyone to welcome our new student and make him feel welcome" Maya continues motioning her arm towards the open classroom door. Students all looking towards the door, some students looking confused others looking with disbelief. ( "Did she just say, 'Make HIM feel welcome" ) Houki thinks to herself with a look of surprise on her face. "Yamada sensei! Did you just say HIM!?" - a girl with short black hair calls out with her arm raised.

"Now, Now, lets calm down everyone, heh-heh" Maya nervously laughs, some of the girls looking excited others begin to look anxious, Ichika on the other hand has a small but very calm smile on his face. Maybe today would bring some good fortune, being the only male at an all girls school could be very, very lonely sure he had plenty of female friends, but even then all males need the occasional man to man talk every once in a while.

"Please step this way" Maya speaks out looking towards the door, smiling, with an arm out. A few seconds go by, - Nothing, nobody appears through the door. "Please, its okay come this way" Maya speaks out warmly and softly. This time a small foot appears in the door way, some students stretch and strain to see whom it is trying to enter the doorway. Maya turns to look the stranger in the face, she smiles very sweetly and maintains a happy image, she nods slowly and like attracting a cat forward with her hands makes very silent, tiny claps "Come on, its alright".

Then a small person walks through the door, all students going silent as the grave at the sight before them. The person keeps his head down, the uniform he is wearing is very, very similar to the uniform Charlotte was wearing when she first entered the academy disguised as a boy. This small person looks down upon the ground, walking very quietly and slowly. Eventually coming to a stop in front of Maya, Maya looking down a smiling warmly. She leans forward and rubs the young boys shoulder, "Its alright, look... everyone is happy to see you" Maya speaks softly.

The young boy turns and lifts his head, he has ocean blue eyes, faint black eyebrows, topped with pitch black, long hair. 'hair style like Saki Vastral from Area 88'. The most standing out feature on this boy is a bright red scar, obviously still fresh running from under his right eye in straight line all the way to his right ear lobe.

"Go on, its alright introduce yourself" - Maya speaks kindly, rubbing the boys back. The young boy's eyes full of timid fear, his face pure white from anxiousness. He just closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly whilst looking down on the floor again. Maya smiles awkwardly but kindly, before clearing her throat..

"Ahem... This young boy is from Israel, he does'nt speak much Japanese, and has only just been discovered to able to pilot an IS. He is new here so everything is very alien to him, so if you all would, make him feel as comfortable as possible" Maya explains in a very friendly manner, she looks down at the young boy and towards the class whom many are whispering to each other and looking with amazement at the child in front of them. However before Maya can speak the young boy stutters out rough but very clear Japanese "H..Hello, My Name is Kestrel, I am 10 years old and I..Im very happy to be in Japan". The young boy looking up with a face of nerves after speaking out.

For a few tense minutes the entire classroom is silent, so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Then without warning clapping comes from a green haired girl sitting at the front of the class, soon enough the entire classroom joins the clapping, Ichika casting a very loving smile to the young boy whom catches it for a brief moment.

Young Kestrel glanceing away and looking down again at the floor. Some girls soon making loving squeals and tenderly loving waves at the youngster known as Kestrel. Kestrel however becomes tense and slowly takes baby steps backwards untill he bumps into the front of Maya. Maya puts a hand reasureingly on Kestrel's shoulder. Kestrel however does not look up, but his image shows that hes calming down. Maya then after 2 minutes of calling and clapping her hands, manages to quieten down the entire class, "All right, All right everyone! Please calm down!"

"Yamada sensei, can that kid realy pilot an IS!?"

"Yamada sensei, is that realy his name!?"

"Yamada sensei is he ours to keep!?"

Questions continue flying from nearly every girl in the classroom with the exception of Houki, remaining in utter shock at the little one standing timid in front of her. Ichika also remains quiet, but happily remains smiling. "All right ladies, calm down! Please remember that Kestrel is here to learn IS, and to find a new life here, he's not a pet, also Kestrel is his only known name, but that's all we know" Maya calls out.

"Hey is that your real name, Kestrel?" - Honne Calls out in jokeing tone, Kestrel merely looking at Honne with a confused look.

"Can you speak Japanese aswell as Israeli?" - A short red haired girl calls out

"Kestrel? That's gotta be a false name!" - A long black haired girl puts in.

"Can you understand me!?" - Shouts out a pony tailed, blue haired girl.

"That's an embarrassing name to be given!" - A brown pigtailed girl with glasses calls out.

("Kestrel...hmm, now why would someone have a name like that?") - Houki thinks to herself.

"All right you lot, Kestrel, is new here, don't start with questions so quickly. Remember all can be revealed after lessons" - Maya calls out with playful tone. With a smile and careful hand, Maya points to an empty seat at the back of the class, kneels down next to Kestrel's head level and carefully speaks out "Your seat is over there at the back of the class, just try to keep up with us as best you can alright?"

Kestrel turns his head, looks Maya in the eyes for a few moments, blinks, looks ahead of him and slowly walks forward. As Kestrel walks down to his desk he glances a look at Ichika, whom nods slighty and smiles. Kestrel slightly tilts his head before looking ahead of him again. Honne waves happily at Kestrel as he walks by walls of eyes and whispers.

"Hello Kestrel, Im Honne!.." Honne begins, Kestrel pays no attention causing Honne's greeting to slow down "Its..very...nice...to...meet...you". Kestrel makes it to his seat, and immediately begins looking at the blackboard with a neutral look of emotionlessness on his face. Only occassional blinking showing his living exsistance. Some of the schoolgirl's gazes not leaving him for a single moment.

_**Chapter 1 complete**_

_**Please Note: I do not own Infinite stratos, nor do I want to.**_

_**Comment: This is my first fanfic, so please go easy on me, I will always attempt to keep this fic updated at a very regular basis. Also I have just signed myself into so its taking me a while to learn what does what, so please bear with me.**_

_**So I hope you like the introduction chapter, Im already starting on the next chapter so don't give up on me. Wishing all you readers the best**_

_**Black Falcon 01.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Hello Kestrel

_**Hello this is Black Falcon 01, Ive just looked at my first chapter on the fanfic website, but... I understand it is'nt presented as well as most fanfictions, but like i said it is my first fanfic so please accept my dearest appologies. I also know my grammar is'nt all that good either, but saying that... no one is 100%. Please bear with me as best you can though, but... As i said, I AM a man of my word, and I promise to keep everyone updated with the story chapters. I haven't chosen any pairings, because I never intended for pairings. Also thanks for putting my story down as one of your favorites coco6561, wishing you all the best!**_

_**Also to all readers I dont have much of a description so I'll make it clear here, Right HERE! RIGHT NOW!**_

Name: Black Falcon 01

Age: 22

Nationality: British

Ethnic: White, British

Home County: South Yorkshire

Likes: Area 88, Fighter Jets, Birds of Prey Favorite being, Falcons , Sci-fi, Harem Animes with a cool male leads and Macross series.

Dislikes: Illegal immigrants All want shooting! , Sports and large social groups.

Sorry if I seem to offend anyone, but I feel its best to get pressure of one's chest before continueing. Anyway... Without further ado..

Tameing Kestrel Chapter 2:

The new and mysterious boy Kestrel stares in silence at the IS blackboard, Maya the green haired teacher in glasses appearing to be giving a very thorough lecture on something to do with IS and pilot managements, but poor young Kestrel appears unable to keep up with Maya, his Japanesse is not grade A. Kestrel does not blink, nor does he make a whisper. He breathes slowly and silently.

Watching Maya's arm movements, and attempting to get some form of entertainment from the sight before his little eyes. Some schoolgirls occassionaly send the odd glance at him, no doubt trying to find out who this little boy is, what he is doing here, and how good he is in an IS. For young Kestrel, he does not even notice the stares some of the girls are giving him, Registrations will be without a doubt difficult when you need to call out a boy's name and it turns out to be the name species of an animal. Ichika Orimura remains fixed ahead on the blackboard, untill he turns his head to look at his dear friend, Houki when she is called out to stand and answer Maya's questions. Ichika smiles with envy, but remains curious as to what the school's new boy is thinking, as the class is fixed on Houki, Ichika takes the oppertunity to turn his head and takes a quick look at the youngster sitting at the back of the class.

Kestrel remains stareing at the blackboard unawares of Ichika's attempted eye contact. ( "Wow, so he can pilot an IS, he's just a kid, wonder how he managed to do something like that. He seems like a nice kid, yet he seems like a nervous wreck. Still... I can't blame the poor kid, coming half way round the world must be tough on a youngter. Then again... I wonder if he got that nasty looking scar because of an incident with IS machinery, or maybe even because of some concieted girl gang, Damn! If thats the case then its no wonder hes so nervous here, but... by the looks of his eyes, maybe theres more to this...er...Kestrel than what meets the eye. What should I..")

"ORIMURA!" - Shouts an all too familiar female voice, snapping Ichika back to reality.

Ichika yelps in startelment and swivels his head and body round to face Maya yamada, "Ah YES!".

( "Ichika you moron!" ) - Houki thinks to herself in frustration, putting her palm to her face and shaking her head. Trying to ignore the chuckles and laughter being directed at him from all the other female students. Maya closes her eyes and makes an awkward smile, but maintains her friendly self. "Er... Would you like to continue from where miss Shinonono just left off" Maya suggests with an awkward sweatdrop coming down the side of her head.

"Ah...Well...you see...its.." Ichika fidgets whilst remaining seated, a red flush coming across his features. Ichika looks Maya in the face, whom is still smiling. Beads of sweat begin to pour down Ichika's head untill he finally looses nerve and slams his head on to his desk, letting out a groan, "Im sorry Yamada sensei, I was'nt paying attention!".

Some schoolgirls immediatley erupt into a sea of laughter, Houki remains embarrassed at her childhood friend reeling in shame. Everyone eventually calms down and regains focus on what schoolwork is being presented before them after a lot of effort from Maya. "All right, everyone! Its not that funny!".

"Yes it is Yamada sensei!" - Honne shouts out stiffling a giggle, very nearly setting everyone else off laughing again.

"Okay, Okay! That's enough" - Maya calls out motioning for calmness with her arms.

Suddenly everyone is suddenly brought to silence by a black clothed woman walking into the classroom. Ichika remaining face down, and suffering the agony of his own mistake. Had Ichika remained faced up he would have been able to brace himself for the pain his head was about to recive. Without warning and in the blink of an eye a fist strikes Ichika with full fury in the back of the head, knocking him forward, pushing his ribs into the edge of his desk.

The pain to Ichika is like being hit around the back of the head with a baseball bat, and the pain delt by the force of the impact with the desk makes the pain aggonisingly worse. As Ichika slumps backward, falling to the floor holding the back of his head with both palms of his hands, he manages to get a glimpse of his attacker. The frightening moment makes him tense immediatley, the fear increases as Ichika begins to pick himself up off the floor"

"Ch..Chifuyu-nee"

Another smash hits Ichika on the forehead knocking him backwards.

"Thats Orimura-Sensei to you, you imbecile!" - Chifuyu Orimura hisses out in annoyance. Maya's spirits immediately rising into a proud look, now that some offical hands has appeared to aid in keeping authority and control in the classroom. "Orimura, I was'nt expecting you to appear this morning. Is there a problem?" - Maya asks with confidence and joy.

"Other than keeping this dope of a student focused on his schoolwork!?.." - Chifuyu states with annoyance and irritation, casting a freezing look at Ichika whom is struggling back to his seat holding his head and ribs in pain. "No...I though I best come down here to see how things were progressing, I trust you've introduced the new student" - Chifuyu states with authority and a large amount of seriousness.

"Ah..." Maya smiles widely and nods, confirming Chifuyu's question. "He's down at the back of the class, Orimura" - Maya continues motioning with her arm, hand palm open showing where the new boy known as Kestrel is seated. As soon as Maya puts her arm back to her side, Chifuyu breaks into a smug like smile. "Good, very good" Chifuyu states with happy satisfaction, however Chifuyu shows her buisness is not yet finished walks up to the teachers desk and looks at all the students.

"All right! All of you listen up, Im expecting official buisness here in the next 48 hours, I also expect you lot, to not make even a peep or make an act to show up this academy. I've just been to 5 differant class rooms and given everyone a serious speaking to, now I hope you monkeys are all smart enough to follow school rules, and act like adults for once. If not... there's going to be a certain amount of serious punishment around here!" - Chifuyu calls out loud and clear, with aggressive features upon her face, the image of the great Chifuyu Orimura causes some girls to squeal, others to gulp and nod in aggreement.

"THAT GOES FOR YOU TO ICHIKA ORIMURA!" - Chifuyu calls out with an aggressive tone, Ichika nods in nervous aggreement and smiles awkwardly.

"She looks real cool when she's mad" - A long brunette girl with a pony tail whispers

"Punish me anytime!" - A black haired girl with her hair in a bun calls out.

Young Kestrel on the other hand merely tilts his head whilst looking Chifuyu straight in the eyes, her Ice cold 'Bitch Glare' seemingly unable to effect the little boy's emotions or mind. However Chifuyu like so many others pays no attention to little Kestrel's lack of response to Chifuyu's call outs, Kestrel maintains his straight, neutral, curious face. Chifuyu merely sighs and looks at Maya, Maya closes her eyes and sweat drops, letting out a nervous "Hee,Hee".

"And so it goes on, day after day, week in and week out, the lunatics that come to this school merely asking for trouble!" - Chifuyu speaks out with annoyance with her hand placed upon her temple Maya shrugging her shoulders and smiling awkwardly.

Houki herself remains silent and merely stares in either envy or support at the aggressive nature of Chifuyu, how could anyone be able to cope with a chaotic school with noisy and chaotic people ,one of which being her younger brother? Houki then, for a moment of interest casts a glance at the new boy, the little one merely stareing forward, not blinking or even trying to figure out what is happening.

( "I don't know who you are kid, but you're in for a wild ride out here!" ) Houki thinks intensely to herself. Moments, pass and soon after a struggle Chifuyu manages to get to the end of her buisness. "ALL RIGHT! DO WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?" - Chifuyu shouts in anger.

"YES MA'AM!" - all the students, except for Kestrel shouts out.

"All right, end of lessons, break time... be on time for next lessons okay!" - Maya cheerfully calls out, and with that, the lesson comes to an end. Ichika letting out a sigh of relief, thank the gods he came out better than expected, his sudden thoughts are interupted as Houki walks past him without saying a word to him, Ichika's eyes full of dread follow Houki untill she is out of the classroom.

Ichika lowers his head in frustration and at least 2 minutes pass before he remembers what he was planning on doing during break time. ( "OH RIGHT! That's it, Kestrel!" ) Ichika thinks to himself. As he stands up and turns around, he notices a bunch of schoolgirls already gathered round the new student, nearly horde amounts are gathering by the minute. Girlish chatter fills the room, Ichika sweat drops and chooses to wait until the commotion dies down. ( "Oh...yes... I think that kid's got enough trouble on his hands!" ) - Ichika awkwardly thinks to himself.

\- Scene change: 5 minutes later IS Academy classroom -

A large amount of schoolgirls have converged on Ichika's classroom, many stand outside the classroom with their faces up at the glass, struggling to get a better view of the young boy whilst some others are pushing each other aside to get a proper look at the young boy in the classroom.

"Look, thats the new IS pilot" - A girl with short blonde hair speaks out

"What! That little kid is the new IS pilot!?" - A girl with short white hair replies.

"He's an Israeli" - A girl with long purple hair mentions.

"He looks so young, How old is he?" - A short red haired girl speaks

"So adorable!" - A Long black haired girl cooes out, with a small nose bleed coming on

"I wanna mother him!" - Another girl with a green braid calls out

Ichika smiles with happiness at the fuss young Kestrel is reciveing, though Ichika can't see Kestrel, he can understand the pressure that young Kestrel is feeling. Meanwhile most girls that are round young Kestrel are asking repeative questions, many Kestrel does not understand. For Kestrel the sea of soft breasts, hands and faces affectionaly smothering him is becoming ever more hard to cope with than what it normaly is for Ichika.

Kestrel's small ocean blue eyes full of anxiousness looking at the many strange faces looking at him as if he is piece of sweet chocolate just waiting to be unwrapped and eaten.

"Can't you talk!?" - A girl with blonde pigtails asks withs rubbing her face into Kestrel's.

"Call me mommy!" - A girl with an Orange ponytail lovingly squeals whilst trying to cuddle Kestrel from the front.

"Cuddle! Cuddle!" - A girl with pink short hair calls out whilst lovingly embraceing Kestrel's arm

"Have you flown an IS yet!?" - A girl with a silver braid asks whilst writing down on a notebook.

Kestrel's face full of annxousness closes his eyes, looks down grasps ahold of small silver pendant on a long silver chain around his neck. The pendant is the star of David, and dispite not being able to speak much Japanesse, little Kestrel begins to speak in his native Israeli tongue, well... not so much talk... he begins to sing.

_**So that concludes chapter 2, however stick around... chapter 3 coming soon.**_

_**Note: Sorry if you think that the chapters are either to long or short, but like is said earlier it is my first fanfic, so go easy on me. Besides, the next chapter should bring some smiles, IS action begins in the next chapter! So for those of you who love battles, be ready for it!**_

_**Black Falcon 01.**_


	3. Chapter 3: A song and a battle

**Hello All, Like I said Chapter 3 up.**  
**I promised that I would have chapter 3 up and here it is.. Please note: What your about to read is actual Israeli in little Kestrel's singing, the translation of it is in English, which i will add to the chapter. Also What Kestrel sings is the Israeli national anthem "Hatikva" - in english that word means "The Hope", you can even hear the anthem played on Youtube!**

**Tameing Kestrel Chapter 3:**

Kestrel fidgets with a small pendant in his hand whilst struggling not to panic, due to being smothered by girls. Ichika being very observant and wondering if he should or should not save little Kestrel from his female schoolmates, but the horde is increasing, and some girls are now getting overly excited with the adorable little Kestrel before them. As Ichika is just about to move a hand places itself upon his shoulders starteling him. Ichika looks up to see Cecilia Alcot looking down at him with an annoyed image, "Well, Well, Well... look what we have here!" - Cecilia states with her rich british accent. Ichika closes his eyes and lets out a nervous chuckle.

"I heard you spaced out in lessons again!" - Cecilia speaks out with wonder and irritation.

"Ah...yeah, sorry... heh,heh... see the thing is.." - Ichika sheepishly speaks out, however Cecilia's voice stops him.

"Don't bother Ichika, you fool of man!, Honestly.. What are you trying to accomplish here!?" - Cecilia huffs putting her hands on her hips.

"Well...Its just I wanted to know how the new kid was doing and.." - Ichika attempts to explain, whilst remaining seated, with his index finger raised upwards in the classical positon of a person explaining things. However Ichika should know better by now that Cecilia is a far to arrogant to here to explinations coming from a person who is'nt the best at studies. Cecilia merely closes her eyes and shakes her head slowly. Ichika seemingly gets the feeling to suddenly want Chifuyu to come bursting through the walls and defusing the situation right then and there. However with his sister away for buisness, that is obviously highly confidential, Hope falls on anyone that can help dear Ichika out of trouble. However that hope was to come very, very soon in the form of little Kestrel's voice. In the mean time Cecilia's interogation of Ichika increases heavily by the minute. "So tell me Ichika! What caused you to space out again!" Cecilia speaks aggressively with a frown upon her face.

"Like I said I was wanting to know how the new kid was doing" - Ichika earnestly explains hopeing Cecilia will buy the truth, but unfortuneatly it doesnt seem to be helping. Cecilia merely crosses her arms and looks down with an angered look at Ichika, whom holds a hand up in defence. Meanwhile the female army of schoolgirls is intensifying more around little Kestrel and now the young boy begins to shake with nerves. Kestrel having the overwhelming urge to scream at the top of his lungs, but is unable to reach his voice. However as he closes his eyes, he thinks of the Israeli flag, blowing elegantly in the breeze, and then a tune begins to form in his mind.

As this is happening the popular Lingyin or 'Rin' { I'll call her that from now on }, appears in the classroom followed by the blue haired Russian girl Tetenashi. Although Tetenashi does not stop to speak to Ichika, but walks towards the growing horde of schoolgirls smothering the long, black haired boy known as Kestrel. Rin however becomes more interested in what the talk between Cecilia and Ichika is all about. Upon hearing what the conversation is about Rin rolls her eyes, looks upward and shakes her head. "Oh boy!" Rin sighs.

"I'm sorry alright, like I tried to say, I was wanting to speak to the new kid, see?" - Ichika explains pointing the schoolgirl wall, still constantly letting out "Aws", "Ooohs" and giggles at the little Israeli boy before them. "Oh thats right, theres a new student joined us has'nt there?" Rin speaks out with eager interest. Rin spends most of her time in seperate classrooms, so news is normaly spread by word from the students whom are in one homeroom to the next.

"He has'nt spoken much so.." - Ichika begins to speak, before being cut off by Cecilia, "Hmph! Unable to speak on one's first day! How embarrassing, How pathetic! As England's most number one representative, I could never look myself in the face without speaking!" - Cecilia boasts out with pride, with her nose in the air. Ichika frowns at the blonde, annoyed at Cecilia's lack of respect, understanding and support for young Kestrel. Heck.. Kestrel is just a 10 year old boy, you can't simply expect a child to think and act like a teenager can you? Well at least that's what Ichika is thinking. Cecilia continues her prideful act before being cut off "I could sing the national anthem to my country, instead of holding my head down and remaining si.."

The small but very clear voice comes from behind the wall of schoolgirls, whom become surprised at young Kestrel's act. Kestrel clutches his Star of David in his hand, keeps his eyes closed and sings in a proud but nervous voice, but at least he doesnt mess up the lyrics. Cecilia is immediately brought out of her prideful act and stands surprised, she snaps her head and looks at the wall of schoolgirls from which Kestrel is smothered. Ichika looks intently at the female wall and listens very carefully to the young boy's timid but well sung voice. Rin herself is also caught of gaurd, for many... this is the first time they have heard little Kestrel make a sound since his introductions.

_**"Kol'od balleivav penimah,.."**_

\- As long as the heart within

_**"Nefesh yehudi homiyah,.."**_

\- A jewish soul still yearns

_**"Ulfa'atei mizrach kadimah,.."**_

\- And onward, towards the ends of the east

_**"Ayin letziyon tzofiyah,.."**_

\- An eye still gazes towards Zion

_**"Od lo avdah tikvateinu,.."**_

\- Our hope is not yet lost

_**"Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim,.."**_

\- The hope of two thousand years

_**"Lihyot 'am chofshi be'artzeinu,.."**_

\- To be free people in our land

_**"Eretz tziyon vi' yerushalayim."**_

\- The lands of Zion and Jerusalem

,and with that... little Kestrel finishes singing just as quickly as he began, leaving nothing behind but a silent room full of silent people. Many schoolgirls looking at each other, whispering and wondering what caused little Kestrel to sing so clearly. A belived minute passes, before Ichika starts to clap slowly, and soon enough every last schoolgirl - except for Cecilia joins in the clapping. Kestrel opens his eyes and looks around to see nearly every person in his field of vision smiling and praising him for his act, although warming, Kestrel remains shakeing, still holding his pendant with intent. The dark red scar on Kestrel's face shines in the light gleeming through the window. Though the fuss Kestrel is being given has'nt died down, but at least the smothering has died down a bit. "Hey, Hey common give the kid some space" Rin calls out with a small smile on her features, shoveing some girls aside. Kestrel feels the atmosphere lighten and as a ressult looks up to see the Chinesse brunette Rin. Her face has a look dear friendliness upon it.

"Wow! So its true! So the IS pilot sent out was a kid!" - Rin exclaims with interest, Kestrel however stares her in the face, not speaking a word. Rin however not getting the image, puts her face up close to Kestrel's, so close that their noses are almost touching. "Hello, Hello, Hello! Little one! Common, speak to big sister Rin", Rin speaks with a playful tone. However Kestrel is not in the slightest bit amused, instead is repelled, and leans backward. Rin confused with Kestrel's actions, drops her smile and instead tilts her head, amazingly Kestrel does the same.

Rin immediately regains her smile, glomps little Kestrel and shouts out with pride "HE LIKES ME! HE LIKES ME!". Ichika and Cecilia sweatdrop at the sight. However before anymore fuss can be given to little Kestrel, a massive explosion erupts that chokes nearly everyone in the classroom, Ichika, Cecilia, Rin and everyone else is taken by utter surprise. As the dust flies everywhere, raining tiny and sharp shrapnel. Cecilia fully summons her 'Blue Tears' IS expecting a battle. As the smoke clears, a black IS appears with the silver haired German girl Laura Bodewig. "LAURA WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!?" - Rin screams in anger at the German girl.

"I came here to do extensive training with my wife!, There is no need to be so cranky!" - Laura replies with a normal tone, as if nothing was wrong

"Laura, can it wait?" - Ichika coughs out, before turning to point at Kestrel, "We have a guest!".

Laura hell bent on gaining Ichika pays no attention to Ichika, and instead rushes forward and seizes Ichika under her left arm, ignoreing the stares from the students in the hallway and classroom.

Cecilia and Rin looking annoyed, yet shocked at the nerve at how careless Laura could be. "Your protests can wait my wife, in the meantime we have much important work to do, so stop your ignorant complaints!" Laura speaks out, and hovers out of the massive hole she has left in the classroom wall. Students start looking at each other, chatting with excitement. "Looks like a battle is about to start!" Shouts out the girl that is holding Kestrel's arm in a locking position. Cecilia and Rin immediatley rushing to the hole left behind by Laura. Many schoolgirls begin rushing down the corridor, not in fear but in excitement. Kestrel feeling all confused at what is happening, but is curious as to why Cecilia and Rin are shouting out in Japanese out the massive holes left behind by Laura.

"Hey Kestrel, would you like to see an IS battle!?" - A blonde haired girl asks, Kestrel tilting his head in confusion

"IS Battle? Would you like to see one on your first day?" - A Orange haired girl puts in. Kestrel does however give a small smile, but looks all the more confused.

"I..No..Understand" - Kestrel speaks out, shrugging his shoulders. Some schoolgirls coy with delight and use all their strength to resist in cuddling the harmless looking Kestrel to death, so with that, the schoolgirls with a nice tight grip on Kestrel's arm drag him out of the classroom and towards the IS stadium, each exclaiming and claiming at how much Kestrel will like to see the fight between Laura and Ichika.

\- Scene change: A few moments later, IS stadium -

Laura and Ichika stand face to face over 20 yards apart, both in fully activated IS. For Kestrel the sight is incredible, a large quality of students sitting in a large, white, oval stadium. The sight causes Kestrel to gaze in amazement, he has'nt seen anything so large in all his life. The schoolgirls that have dragged him out notice the look of amazement on Kestrel's face and begin to point down at Ichika and Laura, causing Kestrel to look with interest.

"So my wife! Are you prepared to face this morning's challenge?" - Laura calls out with her IS weapons activated.

"I'm more interested in the punishment Chifuyu-nee is going to give us when she sees the damage to our classroom!" - Ichika shouts back in protest.

"As my wife you should be more focused on matters concerning our married life! What do you expect to do if you suddenly come under attack, and Im not here to help you!?" - Laura replies.

"Laura theres a time and place for everything!" - Ichika desperately pleads

"Enough Talk!, Prepare yourself!" - Laura shouts, prepareing herself for battle.

"Alright then! But don't say I didn't warn ya!" - Ichika barks back.

Suddenly a large cloud of dust erupts from the ground as Ichika charges towards Laura in the 'Byakushiki'. Laura in her 'Schwarzer Regen' counters Ichika's charge by getting airborne. Ichika swerves round and dashes upwards in chase of the silver haired German. Ichika deploys his 'Byakushiki' sword and charges full speed straight at Laura, her face is calm and she is obviously expecting what ever attacks Ichika may have up his sleeve.

Laura wastes no time and deploys her 'Schwarzer Regen's' main weapon, the powerful railgun. Her confidence high and with a keen sense of victory in her heart, she fires several voleys of shots that impact the ground causing massive blasts, blowing dust, and ground debris everywhere. Ichika however performs split-second barrel rolls and forward flips to avoid the shots, each shot missing its mark by mere inches.

Ichika dashes around the sky, sweating and focused on landing a hit on Laura, as he charges again and again, Laura evades with ease. He fails to notice that she has stopped firing, and instead long purple cables errupt from her 'Schwarzer Regen' and immediatley come directly at Ichika. "Oh crap!" Ichika shouts in frustraiton, as he swerves and flies desperatley in irrational patterns trying to out perform Laura's attack. Laura remains confident, her smile not leaving her face. "So boreing my wife!, you should put more effort into your tactics!" Laura calls out with her arms folded in front of her chest.

Ichika then reverses direction and slashes left, right and Center at Laura's cables, severeing them in mid-air and casing massive blue sparks to erupt. However Ichika is not out of trouble, then the worst happens... Laura's fist appears from out of nowhere and smashes into Ichika's gut, Ichika's sheild points drop by only a minor amount, but the pain that is delt is unbearable. Suddenly a leg strikes Ichika in again, this time in the back. Ichika plumets to the ground, landing with an all mighty crash, causing dust to blow everywhere. Laura hovers above the dusty crater, looking down with a dissatisfied look. "HONESTLY! How do you expect to survive against enemies if you leave yourself wide open like that!?" Laura shouts out.

"Damn it!" - Ichika coughs, whilst picking himself up. He looks Laura in the face whom puts her hands on her hips, "Is that the best you can do!" Laura huffs out in anger.

"NO!" - Ichika shouts out, drawing his glowing blue blade. He dashes to the left before Laura can react, making forward rolls, before charging forward. Taking wide slashes at Laura, Laura is taken by surprise and she immediately activates her anti-barrier. Ichika's blade strikes the barrier and causes no damage, Laura dashes backwards firing wildly with her railgun, each shot fired narrowly missing Ichika as he fearlessly charges at full speed towards Laura.

Meanwhile in the stands Cecilia and Rin join the crowd, Rin looking dissatisfied and Cecilia either envious or jealous that Ichika is training with Laura... even if Ichika was forced against his will to start training anyway! The IS academy students in the stadium continue to either excitingly mutter out or cheer at the sight before them. Most students begin placeing bets on the two IS pilots that continue to turn and burn on the ground and then suddenly in the air. "Why does Ichika have to start messing around with that concieted german ass!" Cecilia growls out in frustration.

Rin raises an eyebrow whilst glancing behind her at the british blonde. "I mean just look at the way she fights!" Cecilia continues, with a hint of moaning in her voice. Some students cast looks over at the ruckus Cecilia is creating. Suddenly a massive mid-air explosion erupts from above, anyone not paying attention to the fighting is taken immediately by surprise. Ichika and Laura are sent hurdling backwards away from each other across the stadium in mid air from a massive black cloud. Ichika and Laura both backflipping themselves back under control and getting back to the action. Some students cheering even louder than usual at the sight before them.

"Got'cha!" Ichika shouts in pride as he takes Laura by surprise striking, her in the side with his blade and causing her sheild points to drop to 298. Laura snarls at the impact Ichika just delt on her. However Laura gets the better of Ichika by firing a rapid burst of her railgun into Ichika's IS, his sheild points fall to 210. "That was a lucky hit my wife! But I'm afraid your little attempt at victory ends here!" Laura exclaims with a smug expression. Ichika sends back a confident grin and replies "Oh realy! Well maybe its time I used by full skill instead of going easy on you!"

"Look at that Idot!" Cecilia shouts out whilst pointing to the sky at Ichika. "Hes not even trying to fight! If that were me I'd.."

"AW SHUT UP!" - Rin shouts at Cecilia with an angered voice. Cecilia merely stareing at surprise at Rin's outburst, but quickly huffs, crosses her arms and turns her head away like a cat turning its nose up at food. "ICHIKA! LOOK OUT!" - Some students call out, but its too late.. Laura fires a final volley of shots that depleat Ichika's remaining sheild power and with that a loud horn erupts with a female computer voice to follow "THIS MATCH IS CONCLUDED, WINNER LAURA BODEWIG!", some students stand and jump up and down in joy, others clap proudly. Cecilia and Rin on the other hand sigh and shake their heads. "What an Idot!" - Rin comments. Dispite feeling pity for Ichika's defeat, she is brought out of her moment by a light, blue haired girl tugging on her sleave.

"Can I help you?" - Rin asks with curiosity

"Were going to the cafeteria, d'you want to join us?" - The student replies.

"Ah...yeah sure!" - Rin responds with a pleasant smile. If Rin could get a chance to talk to Ichika alone she would do it later, in the meantime she needed familiar faces to help drown her bitter disapointment. One thing is for sure, when you have confidence in someone and they fail or let you down, It really hurts like hell. So mabye getting some time alone with a few classmates may heal the sting of shame Rin had smoldering in her gut about Ichika's defeat.

"What were you doing! You lost that fight before it even began!" - Laura is heard shouting at Ichika whom is bright red with embarrassment. From the view in the stadium both Laura and Ichika look like small figures on some tanned shelf. Never the less Laura's lungs still amaze even the most distant of people. Meanwhile the exact group of students that dragged Kestrel up to the top seats of the stadium, are pulling the said boy. Each girl looking little Kestrel in the eyes and smiling brightly at him. Though being friendly, young Kestrel remains clueless as to what these girls are saying to him. - Remember Kestrel's Japanese is only rough and not straight A. Every so often Kestrel either says in a small voice "What, you say?" or "I.. No.. Understand". Had Kestrel understood what some of these girls are saying maybe it would have saved trouble in the cafateria a few moments later. Some students make the friendly suggestion of "I'll teach you Japanese". Which that in its self.. is just as well, if you can speak in Israeli to help with translation!

"Common lil boy" - A blonde braided American accented girl cooes out.

"Do you want to sit with us?" - An short orange haired girl with curls asks.

"No way! He's sitting with ladies that have proper maternal instincts!" - Replies a long haired brunette.

"I bet he wants to sit with Ichika Orimura!" - A girl with long black hair and glasses speaks.

Cecilia dispite being offended by Rin, quickly brushes off the insult and smiles brightly, the sound of the cafeteria has put the feeling of happiness back into her. As Cecilia begins to follow the line of schoolgirls she glances down at Ichika whom is walking inside with a nagging Laura behind him. ( "Honestly, That fool will get himself killed one of these days!" ) - Cecilia thinks to herself.

_**So that concludes chapter 3, I know that the IS battle was not very long and much to people's liking, but don't worry more battles will be coming. In the meantime, keep in touch, for chapter 4. Thanks for reading.**_

**Black Falcon 01**


	4. Chapter 4: An insult

_**Hello Everyone, Black Falcon 01 again.**_

_**Last time i did a chapter it left off with ending of a brief IS battle, and I don't think Im getting very far with the story of Kestrel, so I'm going to do more chapters with information as to why little Kestrel is so mysterious and finally give Kestrel his IS, which is Personaly owned, but I don't what chapter that might be on. So once again, bear with me. In the meantime, Kestrel now gets more aqquinted with Ichika and his friends, and finally gets to know which room he is going to be sleeping in. Along with the translation problem between him and the entire academy!**_

Tameing Kestrel chapter 4:

"Hey Kestrel" - Ichika calls with a happy and pleasant tone. Even though Ichika lost that short IS battle to Laura, Ichika remains full of pleasant emotion, but is also left full of dread due to a very nasty scolding from Maya Yamada and some other teachers due to Laura's dynamic entrance through his home room wall some hours earlier. Ichika remaining full of fear as to what Chifuyu is going to do to him when she finds out that the academy needs repairs yet again due to a bunch of students operating IS in an in-correct manner, but for now Ichika can put all that behind him, he is now able to talk to Kestrel in person.

Since the IS battle Kestrel has been to the academy cafateria, been to 2 lessons without problem or incident, and gotten even more popular with the whole academy female population. Throughout the day Kestrel has had a constant barrage of questions in a tounge that he can hardly understand, smothered by a sea of soft flesh, breats and sweet smelling perfumed females and walked - or dragged/ it's been both in some areas! - around an academy that seems endless to his small body, but now... alone in the cafeteria, Kestrel can now decompress. So maybe a bit of man to man company would'nt hurt.

"So how's your day been so far?" - Ichika continues with a pleasant smile. Kestrel remains silent but sends back a cautious smile. "Oh..sorry, you can't understand me" - Ichika continues with an embarrassed face. Kestrel amazingly managing to understand what Ichika is trying to say, and in a small, clear voice speaks out "My..Japanesse..is not very good..I'm sorry". Ichika looks forward and sends a pleasant face back and walks forward to the white, round table where Kestrel is sat at.

"Its okay, you're new here, and my native tounge is new" - Ichika tries to explain, as he gets to Kestrel's table and sits down across from him. Kestrel makes a nervous face and looks towards a corridor, Ichika whom confusedly follow's Kestrel's head direction, begins to hear female voices. A thump is soon heard, Ichika looks ahead of him and finds Kestrel has placed his head upon the table, his long black hair spreads out across his back and on the table.

Ichika sweat drops but smiles, soon hearing Israeli language coming from Kestrel. "I know, its hard is'nt it?" Ichika speaks with sympathy and pity. Kestrel begins to roll his head from side to side on the table, and continues muttering out Israeli phrases. As the female voices become clearer, one of them turns out to belong to a woman Ichika knows all to well, Maya Yamada. Soon enough the popular green haired teacher walks around a corner and comes into view, with her is a group of students, obviously finished lessons and are beginning to decompress like himself and Kestrel. Upon seeing the two boys together, the female group begin either gossiping or begin walking forward towards Ichika and Kestrel. ( "Oh boy, this is going to be tough!" ) - Ichika awkwardly thinks to himself. - Who would have thought being so famous would be so difficult to cope with!

"Orimura! Can I speak with you?" Maya calls out with a pleasant yet curious tone. Ichika closes his eyes for a brief moment and dreads whats coming ( "Oh man, what have done wrong now?" ).

However dispite being wanted, its Maya whom approaches both boys, and by the time she gets to Ichika, he's already being interogated and fussed over by at least 8 differant schoolgirls. Ichika letting out an awkward face, this time without a smile. Ichika even glances at Kestrel, whom keeps his head on the table, and remaining silent. Some schoolgirls are firing questions at him, but Kestrel remains still. Ichika then glances back and Maya whom by now has arrived at Ichika's table. "Orimura..." - Maya begins with a pleasant smile,

"Ah...yeah?" - Ichika replies with concern

"I have a message from Orimura Chifuyu, she says to "Have the new kid room with you, that way you may have less trouble from miss Bodewig each and every morning.." - Maya begins, with a hint of bashfulness at the end of the statement. Ichika closing his eyes and chuckling with nervousness. Some of the 8 schoolgirls beginning to look away trying to hide their failing giggles, however as Maya regains her composure she continues "..Also, having the new kid room with you will also save any trouble from trying to find any single living accomodations, if theres any trouble or any problems just report it to the staff". Ichika manages to smile at the end of the message, and looks towards Kestrel who's head remains still, face down on the table.

"Is there any problems here?" - Maya asks with concern, having noticed Kestrel's front slumped on the table. Ichika glances at Maya and then back at Kestrel, and with a soft smile speaks out "I think it's a bit difficult for Kestrel to manage without someone to help translate what where saying to him", Ichika's eyes are full of pity with each word that comes from his mouth.

Maya smiles and closes her eyes, she lets out an awkward "Heh,Heh" and puts her hands behind her back. 4 of the 8 schoolgirls sweatdrop but smile sweetly. 3 of the said schoolgirls pet Kestrel's head, and try to resist giving the little one a hug better. "Ah...yes, well... we are planning of setting up a language course here but we've yet to find someone that speaks Israeli". Maya begins to explain whilst looking down at Kestrel. "In the meantime all we can do is make his stay here as comfortable as possible" Maya finishes, now putting her hands together in front of her. Taking the chance the 8 schoolgirls begin to sit around both Ichika and Kestrel, many squeezing past Ichika to sit on the soft, padded seating between both boys. As the schoolgirls begin to ask Ichika questions about the IS fight with Laura a voice comes out, getting everyone's attention. "Hello Ichika".

The voice belonging to the popular french, blonde ponytailed Charlotte Dunois, walking towards Ichika's table with the famous black, long haired ponytailed Houki beside her. Some of the students sitting beside Ichika erupt into a see of gasps and cooes. Ever since coming to the academy Charlotte has become some-what of a legend, not the least bit more famous since she was discovered to be a girl and not a boy. Maya still standing, claps her hands together and pleasantly speaks out "How marvelous, looks like everyone is getting along fine!".

"Yes, sure are" - One of the schoolgirls aggrees, sat just beside Kestrel, her left hand resting on the young boy's back.

"Wonderful, Wonderful" - Maya continues, with a bright and cheery expression. "Now I do appologise, but I must return to the staff room, if you have any problems don't hesitate to call" With a pleasant bow exchanged with Charlotte and Houki, Maya walks away. Charlotte and Houki's attention now directed at Ichika and the amount of female company he has with him. Houki closes her eyes and an anger twitch appears on her temple "You seem to be having a good time Ichika". She speaks out. Ichika confused, tilts his head and gives out a dense "Huh?"

"Don't bother, Don't bother" - Houki huffs out, with her hand palm facing Ichika, her head looking away in annoyance. Charlotte on the other hand is more observant and kneels down to look at what the problem is with Kestrel. "Is he alright Ichika?" Charlotte asks with curiosity. Ichika immediately looking Charlotte in the face and smiling kindly "Yeah, its just everything is new to him and all, you can tell he's not used to it" Ichika explains glancing at Kestrel with a happy look. Charlotte acknowledges with a smile of her own and a look of pity on her own face.

"I wonder what his surname is" - Asks a short, white haired schoolgirl, with the look of wonder on her face.

"I find it hard to think a child would just be called Kestrel, surely he must have a surname" - Acknowlegdes another schoolgirl with long brunette hair.

"Yeah, but.. untill we get a translator, all we know is that his name is Kestrel" - Ichika aggrees with a clear tone of curiosity, aswell as a look of wonder spread across his face.

"I heard him singing this morning, he has a sweet little voice don't you think?" - The red, ponytailed school sat beside Kestrel states with pride, her hand now rubbing the young boy's head.

Ichika smiles with happiness, he remembers clearly how Kestrel's defiant singing saved him from the nagging of Cecilia. "He sounds very patriotic, look.. he's even wearing the jewish star" Charlotte states reaching for Kestrel's star of david, but before her hand can even touch the pendant sticking out from under Kestrel's clothing, Kestrel reacts with lightning spead, his hand covering his pendant, jumping back and sitting up straight before anyone can react. Ichika and the others jump in surprise, Charlotte getting the full brunt of the lightning reaction. Houki is only slightly startled but when she looks at Kestrel's face, she can see nerves and strangely the look of a cornered animal, ready to fight to the death. "I don't think you should try touching that" Houki states as if its a matter of fact. Charlotte glancing towards Ichika with a shocked expression, Ichika merely shrugs his shoulders. Kestrel's eyes don't leave Charlotte for a single moment, his small hand clutches tightly to his star of David.

"Hey its alright, I'm not trying to steal that" - Charlotte speaks out after standing up straight again. Kestrel remains quiet and still, the Schoolgirl that was petting his head, places her hand on his shoulder, Kestrel immediately deflates from his startled posture, and looks everyone in the face. The looks are very nerve wrecking to him, Kestrel's heart seeming to slow down and then suddenly spead up. Ichika leans his head forward and smiles softly, "Don't worry kid, she's friendly" - Ichika speaks with a kind tone, motioning an open hand to Charlotte, Kestrel follows Ichika's hand and looks Charlotte in the face, she and Houki look Kestrel in the face and make the smallest, yet friendliest smiles they can manage. Kestrel's heart beat seems to slow down and he looks Ichika in the face, Ichika eyes are warm and friendly, he nods and repeats twice "Charlotte... Houki...Friends". Kestrel looks at Houki and Charlotte, both girls remain very still and smile normaly.

"Charlotte..." Kestrel softly speaks out, whilst pointing at Charlotte. Ichika kindly speaks out the word "Yes... Charlotte, friend". Charlotte closes her eyes and beams a loving smile at little Kestrel after kneeling down to his head level again. She blinks a few times and before she knows it Kestrel has extended and arm out, and is saying something in Israel. Charlotte blinks, but quickly understands what Kestrel is trying to do. Charlotte grabs Kestrels hand, the two exchange shakes. All schoolgirls smiling in amazement at how well Ichika is handling the situation, one thing is for sure, Ichika would make a great parent. Then what happens next amazes everyone, Kestrel springs from the spot he is sitting and whilst looking Charlotte in the face, extends an arm out as a gesture. Charlotte and Houki are immediately surprised. Ichika and the schoolgirls with him are even more surprised at how friendly Kestrel has just became.

"I think he's asking if you want to sit down" - A schoolgirl with an Orange braid claims.

"Ahh...Thankyou" - Charlotte happily speaks, and sits in the spot where Kestrel was sitting. Ichika gets Kestrel's attention with some hand waves and pats the padded seating beside him. Kestrel dispite being generous walks over and sits beside Ichika, Houki remains amazed at what has just happened. ( "Wow! That kid, hardly speaks a word, he's nervous and timid and yet in less than a few seconds he's offering you his seat. I guess Ichika is a lot more capeable with situations than I thought" ).

**\- 20:00pm IS Cafeteria -**

"WELCOME KESTREL!" - A loud cluster of female voices shouts out, Ichika's voice is amoungst them. A loud cluster of party poppers and bangers erupt followed by what seems like a hailstorm of confetti. All students in the cafeteria holding up a white, plastic cup in their hand. Kestrel amazingly looking confused, but the look on his face clearly shows he sort of understands what the celebration is in aid of. Kestrel's time in IS academy seemed to be getting more and more intense by the second, however Kestrel still managed to exchange bows and speak a very clear "Thankyou" to everyone he saw. Kestrel's surprise welcoming party was a surprise after he was guided out of the cafeteria a handful of hours earlier to be given a full and proper tour of the academy by a group of students.

As Kestrel completes his bow and calls out "Thankyou", a student grabs Kestrel's hand and pulls him towards a catering table. Waiting there are group of popular students, the British cadet Sara Welkin, 2nd year Forte Sapphire, 3rd year Daryl Cayce, American Tina Hamilton and the popular Rin. Ichika, Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte take the chance to talk to each other whilst Kestrel gets pre-occupied with students that have'nt got to know him properlly yet. - Though with a language barrier, getting to know Kestrel any better than what they already know will be difficult. "Looks like our welcoming party is a success" Laura speaks out with confidence. Charlotte raising an eyebrow at the German girl and sighing "Hey don't crack open the champagne! The Kid's been struggling since coming here!".

"All the more reason why we should welcome our new recruit" - Laura speaks with her chest puffed out.

"Honestly! Who was it that did the planning for this party!?" - Cecilia protests, with her hands clenched in to fists held firmly at her sides.

"That is irrelivant to this discussion" - Laura replies, Cecilia beginning to pout due to having her confidence and ego shattered.

"He seems like a very nice kid" - Charlotte claims before taking a drink from her cup. Ichika smiles but then frowns, "Yeah, but... the way he acts sometimes, it seems like..."

"Like what?" - Charlotte asks with curiosity.

"Like...he's been through...well...sort of what I went through after I was abducted by terrorists" - Ichika claims with concern. Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte becoming concerned as a result. It can't be denied that Kestrel has been twitchy but he's been pleasant, and not against getting dragged around, but even so...its true, there is something with Kestrel.

"How can you be so sure of that?" - Charlotte asks with a confused look on her face.

"You can sort of tell" - Ichika continues with a neutral expression on his face, Laura taking a glance at Kestrel and taking a drink. From what Laura can see Kestrel is acting perfectly, currently with a group of students, and tasteing samples of food. "From what I can see, theres nothing wrong with him" Laura claims.

"I was'nt talking about now, I meant earlier, when he reacted quickly to Char approaching his pendant, he stared at her like he was looking into the eyes of a tormentor" - Ichika continues with a concerned look, Charlotte beginning to remember that moment. "Yes... I remember now, he looked at me like I was some sort of beast" - Charlotte speaks out.

"Honestly! You two are simply being paranoid! That child is simply timid and yet to master his skills against adults like me!" - Cecilia comments, her voice having a hint of pride on that last phrase. Ichika, Laura and Charlotte sweatdropping.

"You can say that, but... I really think something has happened to that little boy" - Ichika speaks out, with concern in his voice, Charlotte pats Ichika on the back in an act of reasurance but she can't stand for him either "Well...maybe Cecilia's right, maybe its just because he's new here and he's away from home" Charlotte states. Cecilia scoffs with pride, letting her ego get the better of her would get her into serious trouble one day. "If you desire it, I can try to look up his files, and gather some data on this Kestrel boy" Laura comments. Ichika normally would refuse the offer, but surprises everyone by saying "Please do that Laura!"

"EH!" Charlotte and Cecilia exclaim, Ichika immediately defusing the misunderstanding by adding the words "I just want to be sure, YOU want to be sure, we ALL want to be sure". Each and every one of Ichika's words carry concern, and as a ressult that immediately makes both girls think in support of the idea. Laura taking pride that Ichika has asked for such a favor of her.

"Alright then, but... I still say we should'nt jump to conclusions" - Charlotte speaks with a hint of fact. Cecilia quickly downs her drink and claims out with a tone of authority "In the mean time, we keep our noses out, and keep our mouth's shut!". Ichika puts on a serious look and nods. "I Know something's wrong, those ocean blue eyes of his, I can see pain in them, pain that can't simply be healed by bandages and medicine" Ichika speaks with a serious tone, yet with sympathy and look of sorrow on his face. Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte, taking a long stare at Kestrel whom is once again surrounded by schoolgirls whom seem to show no end of mothering the youngster.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

By now the party is in full swing with some students singing, some students discussing studies or matters, never the less people are all having a great time. Houki has managed to get to speak with Ichika alone, and even though Ichika has mentioned his concerns for Kestrel, Houki responds to his concerns by stateing the exact same things Cecilia had mentioned, therefore leaving Ichika to change the topic and go to other things. However it makes a change from discussing embarrassing matters like his defeat to Laura this morning. Meanwhile Kestrel is with Cecilia and a group of other IS academy students. Cecilia boasts away to Kestrel about her acheivements, but unfortuneatly not a single word gets out to the youngster.

However some schoolgirls that can clearly read the signs that Kestrel can't understand her merely take the chance to get some cheap amusement from it. However the conversation becomes more interesting when Yuzu Tanimoto, Sayuka Yorutake and Honne Nohotoke ask Kestrel a question that no-one else has dared ask him yet. "Hey Kestrel, how did you get that horrible scar?" - The question coming from Yuzu Tanimoto, however Kestrel tilts his head and gives her a confused look. Then the a very close friend of Cecilia, Shizune Takatsuki asks Kestrel again, this time placeing a finger under her right eye and drawing a line towards her ear. "Scar... How did you get that scar?", Kestrel pauses... looks at Cecilia and her friends and points at his face, Cecilia and her friends nod in confirmation.

Kestrel then, with a very timid look traces an index finger over his scar. Cecilia smiles brightly and nods, Kestrel's face goes white and he looks to the floor, his ocean blue eyes filled with swirling emotions.

4 minutes pass a Kestrel remains perfectly still, not moving and not speaking, even though some of the schoolgirls speak to him. Realising it was mistake to ask that question Honne dashes over and places a hand on Kestrel's shoulder, Kestrel is taken by surprise and lifts his head up in surprise, but his face returns to a comfortable image when he sees the popular fizzy drink Coca-cola in her hand. Obviously Kestrel has a consumable that anyone and everyone should love! "Hey lets just forget about how he got that scar, this is a party for heaven's sake!", Kestrel's eyes remain full of emotion, but at least he manages to smile and say "Thankyou".

"Wow did you see Ichika and Laura in that battle today!?" - Yuzu exclaims with excitement

"Typical of him! To loose so quickly to the German floosy!" - Cecilia barks with annoyance, Kestrel looking with confusion at the screaming blonde, whilst over 12 Schoolgirls either sweatdrop or hold in their sniggers.

"German what?" asks an all to familiar voice, causing Cecilia to nearly stubble to the floor. "L..Laura..ah.." Cecilia sheepishly laughs, trying keep her cool. As Laura begins to question Cecilia about what it was she was talking about, Honne and her close friends begin opening multiple boxes of sweets.

"Hey Kestrel, you don't eat that much food" - Honne begins with a hint of wonder, the look of confusion is pasted upon her face. Never the less she still looks very friendly with her long sleeve clothing obscureing her hands.

"He's a little boy, therefore he would'nt such a large amount" - Yuzu comments, just beginning to eat a chocolate bar, Kestrel taking a glance at Honne, a sweatdrop comes down the side of his temple. "Hey, speaking of IS, when do you suppose Kestrel will be operating his?" Honne asks with a smile, but with a curious face at the same time. Hearing the question Laura stops interogating Cecilia and immediately replies with a simple answer "Tommorrow, Kestrel will be given IS lessons tommorrow".

"GREAT! We can finally see how this kid operates an IS" - A girl with long red hair calls out. Cecilia being her usual ego self puts a hand to her chest and in a very classy, rich manner, closes her eyes and speaks "Obviously he'll want training from a fully experianced and mature instructor if the staff here ever need a substitute!"

"Yes, I'm sure he'll get that chance Cecilia" - Shizune speaks with either an envious or nervous look. Cecilia however does not get the image as what Shizune just portrayed and instead continues with her prideful image. "Ofcourse!, and as he appears to be child with such good tastes, I belive he would really like me to reward his future lessons with some good, homemade cooking".

"Now, we can't expect him to eat your food Cecilia!" - Mutters a french accented voice. Cecilia frowning, and turning quickly to meet her insulting friend. The well known Charlotte Dunois, with a partially eaten icecream in her left hand. Charlotte knowing full well that Cecilia is about to fly of a temper handle, quickly and successfuly manages to change the subject by asking how well lessons have been doing for Cecilia and her friends. From that point on the conversation does not change or take any turn untill 20:40pm when the students around Kestrel suggest trying to get better aqquainted with him and Charlotte taking the chance to have some personal fun at insulting Cecilia.

"Now Kestrel, repeat after me...ahem...Cecilia...You..Are..Beautiful!" - Cecilia speaks out with an authorised tone, Kestrel tilts his head and instead finishes eating a caramel, chocolate bar. However, Cecilia is not to be stopped, and after a brief moment of managing to get Kestrel to understand what she is trying to say, Cecilia repeats her phrase..

"Cecilia..You..Are..Beautiful", Cecilia then motions to Kestrel to repeat, Kestrel stutters at first but clearly manages to repeat the words.

"Cecilia..You..Are..Beautiful" - Kestrel repeats with confusion. Cecilia whilst sat down on a green padded chair sticks out her chest in pride, blushes a bit from the comment Kestrel has just spoken out, however with an eager sense of excitement, Cecilia quickly relaxes and comes out with a new set of phrases. Kestrel pays very close attention to what Cecilia is saying, but remains confused. Never the less the students with them, give Kestrel a light round of applause every time Kestrel completes a sentance. Ichika and Houki soon becoming interested in what is happening and walk over to see what is happening.

Upon their arrival they meet with Rin, Charlotte and Laura. Charlotte looping her arm between Ichika's side and arm, Laura frowns at the sight, but with Houki holding on to Ichika's other arm, its best to stay quiet, and besides... this is a party intended to welcome a new student, its not to be an excuse for violence. Rin however takes the opertunity to sit on a padded cusion beside Kestrel and prepare for either a moment of boredom or a moment of entertainment.

"Cecilia..Is the most..brilliant IS pilot..in the academy" - Cecilia eagerly speaks out, whilst smiling and looking at Kestrel in the face.

"Cecilia..Is the mos'..bi'lliant IS pilot..in te' academy" - Kestrel replies with hint of struggle

"Cecilia..Has..a..perfect body..and..puts..all girls..to shame" - Cecilia once again speaks out with joy and confidence

"Cecilia..Ha'..a..perfec' bidy..and..pit'..all girls..to shone" - Kestrel replies, but its clear that he is finding this hard to keep up with.

"Cecilia..Is..my hero..and I..respect her always" - Cecilia speaks out with confidence, this time she leans back against the chair back and stares at the ceiling. However as Kestrel replies what Cecilia has said, Rin..whom has been frowning the whole time, grows tired of Cecilia's concieted self and opens her mouth, sticks out her tounge as if pretending to be sick. Some students try not to laugh at Rin's disgust.

"Cecilia..Is..my hero..and I..respi'ct her always" - Kestrel speaks. However as Kestrel finishes, Rin taps Kestrel on the shoulder, gaining his attention, leans down and whispers something into Kestrel's left ear. When she is finished she motions with her hand to repeat what she has just said to him. Poor Cecilia..never sees it coming, had she not been so rilled up in her pride, then maybe she would have been spared the embarrassment. Cecilia had been intending Kestrel to say "Cecilia makes five star food, everyone is jealous", but what Kestrel says next takes everyone by surprise.

"Cecilia..makes..five star food..everyone is jealous"

"Cecilia is..very..spiteful bitch!"

"Thats right Im a..**WHAT DID YOU SAY**!?" Cecilia screeches whilst jumping up out her seat, Houki, Charlotte, Ichika, Laura and as many as 40 odd students either erupt into hysterical laughter or try to holding in titters. Rin looking Cecilia in the face, smiling widely and shrugging her shoulders, Cecilia growls and gives Rin the death glares. "Yooouuu" Cecilia hisses with a blood thirsty snarl, tears forming in her eyes from the pain of sudden humiliation. Rin stands up with confidence, puts her hands on her hips and with a smug smile on her face quickly speaks out "Spiteful bitch!". With that, Cecilia screams in frustration, causing Rin to turn and run laughing wildly. As Cecilia prepares to give chase she turns, looks down and Kestrel, whom remains oblivious... and with an irritated look, Cecilia extends her arm, points and index finger at Kestrel at angrily whispers "I'm coming back for you!". Charlotte and Ichika trying not to burst out with a large amount of laughter. The last people see of Cecilia, she is jumping like an althlete over hurdles of chairs, hell bent on strangling the Chinesse girl whom is ahead of Cecilia taunting with repeats of the insult just taught to Kestrel.

As Cecilia and Rin run away into the distance and out of sound and sight, the students manage to gain control of their laughter. Charlotte picks Kestrel up off the floor and pats him on the back. Laura smiles and nods at Kestrel ( "Ooh, I love this kid!" ) Laura thinks amusingly to herself!

_**That concludes Chapter 4, From now on I'll try to put on a bit more detail as to what is happening and how things are developing, also please note I'm trying to keep a good sense of drama aswell as action. For the next chapter we get to see Kestrel pilot an IS, and see the effects of Kestrel's past catch up to him, WHAT EVER THEY MAY BE!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmares

_**Once again Black Falcon 01 returns with a new chapter, As I promised Kestrel will get to use an IS in this chapter, and we learn more about this mysterious Israeli 10 year old boy.**_  
_**Please note: That this story is'nt just about IS battles, it is also about helping another Human being, and a Human being young and vulnerable. I know what being Vulnerable is, trust me I DO! Anyway, have a great time reading this chapter. Also I want to make one thing clear, DONT BELIVE ALL THAT CRAP ABOUT BRITISH PEOPLE SPEAKING IN THAT RICH, POSH ACCENT, that only works in old fiction, DAMN LYING BASTARD ANIMES! If you watch british dramas or documentaries or something you'll find that the Americans and the British sound almost completely the same in some areas.**_

Tameing Kestrel Chapter 5:

**Is academy corridors, 21:10pm -**

Ichika and Kestrel walk down a brightly lit corridor, Kestrel remaining as silent as the grave. Behind both boys are at least half or a full dozen of IS schoolgirls, talking between themselves and chuckling affectionatley amoungst each other. It is only 10 minutes after the welcoming party ended, no further incident or trouble taking place. Cecilia and Rin have'nt been seen since the incident with teaching Kestrel in calling Cecilia a bitch! Never the less, Ichika remains slightly nervous and somewhat guilty of what has happened. Ichika being a nice guy and all, means that he never turns away from a friend that may need comfort, however that will have to wait untill tommorrow. By this time most IS students would be in bed, and the academy teachers expect all students to live up to the deal of going to bed once the party reaches its closing limit. The exception was only for tonight though, welcoming a new student is a special occassion after all.

For Kestrel the first day has been very exhausting, non the less, very interesting and entertaining in some way or another. As Ichika walks towards his academy bedroom a female voice briefly makes him stop, Kestrel immediately doing the same behind him.

"Ichika"

"Uh?..." As Ichika turns he looks into the face of his dear childhood friend Houki. "Oh hi Houki, I thought you was already in bed", Ichika comments with a friendly tone. Houki makes a very warm and friendly face with a sweet small smile. "Heh, I was about to go to bed, but I wanted to quickly have a word with you before turned in for the night" - Houki explains in earnest truth. Ichika was at the most a dense person, but he always knows that when ever Houki has to speak with him, it has to be something important. Ichika's face gets briefly concerned, but returns to a neutral state.

"Yeah? What is it?" - Ichika asks the black, ponytailed girl before his eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that it was great the way you handled that situation today" Houki comments, her blue eyes holding large amounts of pride within them. Ichika at first becoming confused but quickly managing to understand where Houki is coming from. "Ah...yeah, well... Like I said, I have concerns for my new little friend here" Ichika chuckles. Houki folds her arms, smiles and shakes her head with affection. As she opens her eyes, she looks Ichika in the face and speaks in comforting voice "Look, maybe theres nothing to worry about, take it from me, its hard for all people to get adapted with a new, alien like world right off the bat. So you've probably got nothing to worry about". Ichika blinks at his childhood friend in surprise, this type of conversation was not foreseen. However it is very much appreciated. As Ichika stares at his childhood friend, whom should speak out but Maya sensei..

"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE ITS TIME FOR BED, LIGHTS OUT IN 5 MINUTES, GET PLENTY OF REST!" - Maya calls out from at the bottom of the corridor, even though she's a way off, she has very good shouting voice. Houki starteled quickly looks at Ichika, "Oh! Sorry about this, we'll talk tommorrow, goodnight Ichika".

"Yeah, see you in the morning, sleep well okay" - Ichika replies with a comforting voice and pleasant smile. As Houki turns and walks away, Ichika turns and looks down the corridor at the many other students turning in and going to bed, some sending Ichika the occassional loving, little wave. Ichika merely smiles back and holds his hand up as a way of acknowledgement. Kestrel looking at the wooden mahogany painted door ahead of him and yawning widely. Its been a hard day for Kestrel, being cuddled, dragged and questioned by girls, watching an IS battle and trying to get through IS lessons without the slightest idea of what any of the teachers were saying. Ichika notices Kestrel's exhaustion, and smiles to himself.

As Ichika unlocks his room door, a door across from Ichika's room opens slightly with 2 pairs of eyes watching the boys enter the bedroom. Girlish whispering and tittering gives the admirers away, but Ichika is simply to tired to do anything about it. As Ichika walks into the room, Kestrel walks silently into the room behind him. Ichika comes to a stop and stands to one side letting Kestrel pass, before turning to close and lock his door. As Ichika looks back at what Kestrel is doing, he finds the youngster falling forward onto to the soft matress, Ichika smiles and heads to the bathroom. "Hey Kestrel, I have some toothpaste and a spare toothbrush in here if you need them" Ichika calls out, whilst removing the top of his IS academy clothing. Kestrel makes no response, but its obvious that Kestrel heard Ichika anyway.

At least 2 minutes pass and soon Ichika is fully changed into his usual night PJs, and is heading over to his bed. Even though the beds are a space apart and are average size, for a young boy who only reaches the height of your waist, then the bed is surely king sized. As Ichika makes a friendly smile, a quick and sudden fear hits him square in the face, where are Kestrel's pyjamas? Kestrel remaining oblivious to any problem and instead interested in checking his bed's softness and springyness, pays no attention to Ichika's sudden nervous look. As Ichika begins to fidget to himself, he happens to look down and notice a small bunch of child's nightwear in a transparrent plastic cover. On top of the package is a note, which reads "For Kestrel, 3 pairs of children's pyjamas".

Ichika practally lets out a large sigh, the feeling of relief flowing through him. "Hey Kestrel, these are yours" Ichika calls out, holding up a single pair of pajamas for his new and curious bedroom partner. Kestrel looks at Ichika and smiles slightly, as Kestrel takes the pair from Ichika he utters out a clear and timid "Thankyou". Ichika rubs Kestrel's head in affection. As Ichika turns to fold up his clothing Kestrel begins to undress, as Ichika neatly folds up his clothing and places them on a sideboard, he turns to look at Kestrel. Kestrel has finished putting on is pajama bottoms, and has placed his pants and underwear on top of his bed.

However...what happens next sends a sudden blow of shock and sickness to Ichika's gut. As Kestrel pulls off the top half of his IS uniform, Ichika clearly sees a sight that would shock any god fearing man, woman or child. Upon Kestrel's bare back is a large collection of Scars, some old and healed, the others bright pink from after recently having stitches removed. The worst Scars are 3 large ones that run in a vertical line from the back of Kestrel's neck to the base of his spine, at the pelvis.

Ichika remains silent and awe struck, even when Kestrel is putting on his pyjama top. ( "I was right! There is something that happened to this child!" ), Ichika thinks seriously to himself. As Kestrel turns around to look at Ichika, Ichika snaps himself back to realisation. "Ah..err..let me fold those clothes for you okay!?" Ichika quickly speaks out, with a smile on his face. Kestrel lowers his head and replies "thank you".

( "I've got to report this, I don't know whats happened, but whatever it is... lil' Kestrel here must be really taking it badly" ) - Ichika thinks to himself. Even when Ichika finishes folding Kestrel's clothing, he can't stop remembering those hideious scars. Each one sending over 20 differant freezing chills down Ichika's spine. The words Ichika would have to use to use in an offical report would have to be carefuly chosen.

The last thing Ichika would want to do is report something and not have the right method of explination to back him up. Dispite this Ichika manages to shake off his feelings for the moment and gets comfortably into bed, Kestrel having already done so, but... something is differant, Kestrel... dispite being layed down, is making whats known as a 'Fetal positon'. Kestrel's head is on the pillow and covers are over his body, but the way Kestrel is laying down, is a sure indication that something is wrong. As Ichika prepares to speak out, he notices both Kestrel's eyes are shut. Ichika blinks, and then sighs.

( "Man, this is going to be hard to explain to the others tommorrow" ) Ichika awkwardly thinks to himself, before turning out his lamp light, putting his head down and falling asleep.

**\- 01:30am -**

As Ichika is in the empty silence of a dreamless sleep, a sudden noise causes vibrations in his ears, though the noise is strong enough to immediately awaken him, it is enough to make Ichika stir.

A few seconds pass and the noise comes again, this time as moaning noise, as Ichika's head begins to swirl back to reality, the moan becomes louder. As the moan becomes louder Ichika finally gets back to the world of the awake, and although his eyes remain shut, he hears whimpering, and words being spoken in a foreign language. As the noise begins to die down a loud and ear piercing scream shatters the room's silence, causing Ichika to fling himself awake in shock and surprise. His heart is racing and he immediately looks around the room, no-one is there. The scream comes again, this time Ichika looks at the direction of his bedroom window and sees the bed sheets moving very quickly and violently. The sound of crying and calling in a loud non-japanesse voice erupts from the bed.

Ichika quickly pulls himself up and leaps over onto Kestrel's bed. "Kestrel...Kestrel!" Ichika calls, he notices the side of Kestrel's face is wet, and the feeling of damp patches from where Kestrel's head was placed causes Ichika to shake the panicked child. Kestrel lets out another small cry..

**\- Kestrel's nightmare -**

Deep inside Kestrel's mind, in the form of a persons point of view, running through a pitch black desert with laser shots making near misses near the head, explosions shaking the earth. Suddenly changing to a filthy darkened room with faceless female figures in black holding needles, saws, red hot branding irons and shackles with chains. The sounds of women and children screaming, making moans and cries, followed by the shouts of men. Images and scenes changing in an irrational manner, the sounds however do not stop.

_**"KESTREL HELP ME!"**_

_**"HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP ME!"**_

_**"I DONT WANNA DIE MOMMY AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"**_

For a brief moment the scene shows a young woman's face with pure ocean blue hair and green eyes looking lovingly at Kestrel, then suddenly changeing. The eyes becoming sinister and cat like, the loving smile changing into a nasty wicked grin. An Silver IS appears, the woman being the pilot pulling out a laser rifle and pointing it at the P.O.V face. Women's laughter echoing becoming very sinister and meanaceing. Then, finally before awakening, a scene with darkened city, rubble and ruins, children, men and women laying dead on the floor, blood and body parts scattered and smeared everywhere. The P.O.V looking down at an horrificaly burnt person, the face black and red, then turning to see a young girl with 4 men all scewered by sharp long objects and pinned against a large wall. Blood drenches the walls with the sounds of groans and pleas, then causing the P.O.V to look and see the said young girl with her arms open reaching for the viewer.

_**"ALIYAH!"**_ \- Shouts a boys voice, belonging to the P.O.V viewer.

_**"ALIYAH DONT DIE! WE PROMISED TO WE WERE GOING HOME TOGETHER! ALIYAH! ALIYAAAHHHH!"**_

The long green haired girl covered in blood, and scewered, slumps forward and a large waterfall of blood erupts from her mouth and nose hitting the P.O.V viewer and covering everything red!

\- End of nightmare -

**"YYYYEEEEEEAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The almighty scream erupts from a terrified Kestrel, the scream sends unimaginable shakes of fear through Ichika. Some students are even awakened by the scream. Kestrel's eyes are wide, the pupils are small, Kestrel's face is pure white, cold sweat drenches his head and face. Kestrel's little heart beating more rapidly than an althete during a marathon. Kestrel's face is terror struck, and as Ichika manages to grab ahold of the terrified child, the feeling of shaking vibrates through Ichika's hands, even the soggy sweat drenched pajamas can't speak for the amount of fear displayed upon the 10 year old. "KESTREL!" Ichika shouts in fear and panic, Kestrel remains stareing straight ahead, eyes wide and breathing deeply and heavily.

"KESTREL! Kestrel speak! Kestrel speak to me!" - Ichika calls out, shaking the shaken child. Tears flowing like a rainstorm from the terror stricken child's wide open eyes. As Ichika holds the child's face in his hands and looks into Kestrel's eyes, Kestrel's breathing begins to slow down, and after what seems like a lifetime Even though its just 5 minutes , Kestrel blinks and eyes turn back to a normal state. As Kestrel's breathing slows down and becomes a few deep breaths, Kestrel rolls his eyes and looks Ichika in the face. Ichika becoming more relaxed, yet still badly shaken at whats happened, though thats nothing compared to what Kestrel just felt. "Kestrel... you alright?" Ichika asks carefully with concern in his voice. Kestrel closes his eyes, bursts into tears and grabs ahold of Ichika's arm, and breaks into a painful sob. Ichika pulls Kestrel into a comforting hug.

"Aliyah... haita Aadd, kooarad be dam aadd" Kestrel sorrowfully whispers, his voice cracked with utter grief. The phrase spoken means..

\- _**"Aliyah, She was dead, covered in blood, dead!"**_ -

As Kestrel begins to cry into Ichika's chest, a loud knock comes from Ichika's door. "Hold on! I'm coming!" - Ichika calls out, hopeing that whom ever is there will remain waiting at the door.

After a brief moment, Ichika with a drenched pyjama top walks towards his door and immediately unlocks it. What he sees is just as much of a surprise as what hes already been given. At least 15 or 16 females are standing outside his bedroom. All in scantally clad nightgowns, many are silky white or silver, were as others are purple or pink with frills. Even though the nighties show a good amount of curves, cleavage and body, the girls that stand outside Ichika's room all have a fearful or concerned look on their faces. Ichika, amazingly manages to fix himself only on the girls faces, but saying that... something serious has just occured so you naturally would be focused on other things.

"Whats wrong, we heard a scream!?" - A girl with long dark blue hair asks

"Along with you shouting, has something happened?" - A girl with short orange hair adds.

Ichika lets out a breath, and calmly speaks out "Its just Kestrel". One of the girls becoming curious and stands on her tip toes to look over Ichika's shoulder. She notices Kestrel in the fetal position, clutching himself tightly. The girl's face becomes full of concern, Ichika notices the other girl's attempting to look either over or past him, and begins to start attempting reasure the curved and attractive females in front of him. "Its alright, Its alright, he was just having a nightmare".

"Really? It sounded as though someone was getting murdered or had seen a ghost" - A girl with red pigtails comments.

"He looks really bad, are you sure you'll be alright with Kestrel?" - A girl with a green ponytail asks.

As Ichika talks with reasurance to the female group in front of him, Kestrel, still drenched in cold sweat and tears, begins to rock back and forth slowly whilst gaining control of his shaking and wet body.

**\- 50 minutes later -**

It had taken a great deal but soon Ichika was alone with Kestrel again in the bedroom. Ichika merely sits down beside the shaken Israeli boy and rubs his head in compassion, amazingly Ichika had managed to get the girls to return to their rooms, even so... they still offered to help or take care of Kestrel due to the horrible image that was presented to them of Kestrel looking like he had seen the maw of the gates of hell. Kestrel soon begins to calm, and starts to grow tired. Ichika does not say a word or asks a question, but makes sure that Kestrel gets back to sleep before turning in himself. ( "First chance I get tommorrow, I'm reporting this" ) - Ichika thinks seriously to himself, a frown appearing on his face.

**\- Scene change: IS training ground, 10:20am -**

"Alright everyone, I hope everyone got rested up last night" Maya Yamada calls out with a friendly tone. Ichika rolls his eyes, obviously the night was very active and far from restful for the black haired, brown eyed japanesse boy. As Maya talks away, Ichika looks down at the 10 year old Kestrel, standing beside him and wearing the appropriate dark blue attire ment for IS piloting. Ichika notices that Kestrel's dark blue IS wear is very indentical to Ichika's only differance is the size. "As we have a new student, were going over the basics of IS operation". Maya continues holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

Luckily this time, Ichika notices his name being called out and immediately steps forward. Since Ichika awoke this morning, its been very busy, and its kept Ichika awake and focused for the entire day so far. Kestrel's sweaty pyjamas and bed sheets needing to go to the clean room, Ichika reporting the night's incident to staff member, but was not given any form of confirmation that message will be delivered, and finally the interogation from Houki and the others over what happened during the night. Word spreas at lightning speed at the IS academy thats for sure.

"Orimura and Kestrel, step forward" Maya calls out. Ichika looks behind him and motions with a hand, Kestrel immediately picks up on the message and walks forward. The breeze is soothing for young Kestrel this morning, his bright red scar seems to absorb most of the cool air that hits his face. As Kestrel walks forward, some other IS students whisper to each other whilst taking glances at the youngster's thighs. On the right thigh is 2 small pink scars that run in sideways, on the left thigh is V-shaped scar that is bright red. On the left elbow is yet another bright red scar with a nasty looking 2 inch vertical scar above on the arm. One thing is for sure, Kestrel makes even the toughest of boys look outdated in terms of rough history. "Orimura I'd like you to start us off this morning" Maya speaks out.

Ichika looks down at Kestrel and winks at him, then, a large blue light engulfs Ichika, IS armor begins to form over his body and then, as quickly as it begins, Ichika is fully in his IS. Standing proud and ready to take on any challenge ahead. Kestrel gazes up a the japanesse boy before him, but is not as amazed as he was when he saw that IS battle between Ichika and Laura. For Kestrel, a large green object is presented on the ground in front of him. Obviously an academy IS, Maya points at the green object in front of her and smiles kindly. Kestrel looks at the green haired teacher and gives her a confused look, Maya nods in confirmation.

Ichika smiles at Kestrel and nods slowly also. Kestrel looks ahead of him, and walks forward. As Kestrel places his left hand on the green object, a massive flow of power overwhelms his body, and just like Ichika, all it takes is a second and Kestrel stands before everyone in a green IS, indentical to the one that Maya operates in the anime in episode 5. "Very good you two, now first of all I would like you two start the lesson by flying". Maya calls out, whilst activating yet another academy IS. Ichika looks down towards Kestrel and mimicks with his hand to follow, Kestrel blinks but stands ready. For the students watching, it is amazing how Kestrel can operate a large machine with such a small body.

"Alright Kestrel, follow MEEEE!" Ichika calls whilst blasting off into the air. Kestrel follows Ichika by leaning his head back and following the rapid moving japanesse boy disappearing ahead into the sky. Kestrel tilts his head and remains still. Noticeing that this is going nowhere, Maya in an identical green IS, taps Kestrel on the shoulder, making the Israeli boy turn and look Maya in the face. Maya smiles and points up at Ichika, and moves her other hand as a way of telling Kestrel to get in the air and join him. Kestrel for a moment, looks at the girls, then at Maya and blinks. Then, without being told again, Kestrel gets down on one knee and springs up in burst of rapid speed, Kestrel soars into the sky leaving behind a long white trail behind him.

All the students whom are on the ground look up and either smile or mutter to each other. Maya places her hands together and cooes "Wonderful, Wonderful!" whilst keeping her eyes on the two boys in the air, what she soon notices is that Kestrel has dashed past Ickika whom now for the moment is hovering in the air. Ichika's eyes follow the youngster as Kestrel rockets past Ichika and upwards, what Ichika was nowhere near expecting was how fast Kestrel is a performing. Kestrel then begins to perform a wide loop in midair, as Kestrel soars down towards the ground in a nose dive Ichika begins to worry.

Maya shouts "KESTREL! STOP! STOP!". Ichika rockets down in chase after the black haired youngster hopeing to prevent a nasty accident, but before Ichika can grab the youngster, Kestrel pulls up, a few mere seconds from hitting the ground. The other IS students run or duck for cover, Maya shielding at least 4 behind her. As they prepare for the worst the blast of air confirms that Kestrel has pulled up and is now making barrel roll movements whilst heading vertical.

"ICHIKA! I need you to stop Kestrel!" Maya calls out, Ichika immediatley gives chase to the youngster whom is now finishing his movements and is beginning to hover in midair. Ichika quickly gets beside Kestrel and motions with his hands to stay still. Kestrel blinks back, but lowers his head slowly, then raises it. "ITS OKAY! HES STOPPED NOW!" Ichika calls out to the green haired teacher whom has now gathered the rest of the IS students back together again. Maya breathing a sigh of relief, "Alright, all students will soon get their chance to fly today, in the meantime I want all of you to remain observing" Maya claims with an official tone. As soon as Maya is in the air, she immediately climbs for height, soon reaching the same altitude that both Ichika and Kestrel are upon.

"Alright, now that we seem to be ready for lessons" Maya begins with an awkward smile, still slightly surprised by Kestrel's brief air stunt. "Firstly I'd Like you and Kestrel to fly formation around the stadium, I want you to break Kestrel in today" Maya explains, Ichika nods with a happy look on his face. "Good, Good... now if can avoid any harsh or unpleasantries, I'd like you both to start, don't stop untill I say so okay" Maya explains. Ichika looks Kestrel in the face and makes sign like movements with his hand, trying to get Kestrel to understand what is being said. Kestrel blinks and nods his head in confirmation. As Maya returns to the ground she looks back up to see both boys blaze through the air and around the academy.

"Hey Kestrel, keep close! Don't wanna have you getting scolded on your first lesson, trust me Chifuyu-nee has my head each and every time something is'nt done correctly!" - Ichika calls out to Kestrel whom remains perfectly in formation on Ichika's left side. Ichika notices the look of pure and endless happiness and comfort on Kestrel's face for the first time since coming to the academy. Kestrel obviously very happy and content. As Ichika returns back to focusing on his lessons, he looks down and sees some IS students in academy owned IS, dashing and moving rapidly around the training arena like a swarm of wasps.

Large trails of dust and light trailing each and every student. "Looks great don't it!?" Ichika calls over to Kestrel whom merely looks to the ground with admiration. As the 2 boys continue to make flights around the academy, Ichika gets a suspision, ( "He's done this before! I'm sure of it!" ) Ichika thinks to himself. Cecilia whom walks out onto the training ground, takes a look upwards and notices the perfect flying formation that Kestrel is performing with Ichika.

Rin is also in the group but is busy teaching a small group of students how to move and perform. Since Rin's skill became the word being spread, the staff that teach IS performance to students were understandably quick to ask students like Cecilia and Rin to aid in training up inexperianced IS pilots.

"He seems to be performing well" - Rin comments to Maya, Maya looks up and notices the perfect stability that young Kestrel is displaying along side Ichika.

"Yes, I must admit, I'm quite surprised" - Maya replies whilst pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, a hint of amazement included in Maya's voice.

"Do you think the new one already knows about IS piloting?" - Rin continues, whilst turning her attention to Maya.

"I doubt that, but even if he has, its crucial that hes out here with us and not being exploited" - Maya replies with a smile and an index finger pointed foward.

"Well, regardless of that kid's nerves its plain as day that he..LOOK!" - Rin suddenly shouts whilst pointing up, a group of students stopping whatever it is that they are doing and looking up at the sight playing before them. Kestrel has broken formation and is pulling a very high G turn to the left at high speed, the turn lasts for 10 seconds before Kestrel barrel rolls and flies back into formation with Ichika. "Hey Orimura! Is everything alright up there?" Maya asks in starteled amazement, whilst looking up at the sight just performed. Almost instantly Ichika's voice responds back, via radio communication.

"Its seems so, Kestrel just pulled off that movement before I had a chance to react" - Ichika's voice replies

"Can you get him to stop? This is a lesson after all" - Maya speaks out whilst looking up with a sweatdrop, the last thing she wants is to scold a new student for behaving recklessly.

"I'll try but I can't garan..WOAH!" - Ichika's voice shouts out, whilst suddenly being taken by surprise. Kestrel opens his arms to his, mimicking an aeroplane and makes a wing over to the right, directly over Ichika, and makes a new high G turn to the right, this time in a diving turn. As Kestrel levels off, he makes multiple barrel rolls to the left, then after 4 seconds makes another right wing over and barrel rolls to the right. Kestrel then straightens out and flies straight ahead for a moment.

"Kestrel common! If we start goofing around we'll.." - Ichika attempts to call out, but is cut off when Kestrel goes at full speed into a climb with his arms by his side, the climb lasts for a total of 10 seconds before Kestrel opens his arms again, mimicking wings and making a wide split-S maneuver downwards towards the ground. As Kestrel pulls back up and into the sky Rin pulls an awkward face and sweatdrops. "Somethin' tells me that kid does not need to learn the basics of IS piloting" Rin awkwardly claims aloud with a small smile.

"Wow, I would'nt even dare fly like that! By now I would've puked!" - A girl with short brunette hair claims while watching the sight before her eyes.

Kestrel makes 4 loops and at least 5 near flybys with the highest structure points of the academy. As Kestrel swoops towards the IS stadium he flies in low mere feet of the ground and suddenly seems to dissapear for a brief moment behind some of the academy buildings. As Maya beggins to get airborne a sudden "LOOK OUT!" comes from a female student behind Maya. Maya turns her head and with a look of shock, she ducks as Kestrel roars overhead blowing dust and dirt up of the ground, as Kestrel pulls back into the sky into a climb. Maya frowns and turns to Cecilia and Charlotte, "Dunois, Alcott!"  
Maya calls, both girls stepping forward.

"Listen Kestrel! I know that this is great, but you've got to stop! You're frightening the others with those dangerous stunts!" Ichika pleads to the excited youngster, but before Ichika can continue Charlotte and Cecilia appear in the air beside Ichika, both with their personal IS deployed. "Ichika, were going to bring Kestrel down, you'd better stand clear" Charlotte calls out with a very clear tone of authority. "Ichika come down!" Maya's voice calls out over the IS radio. Ichika immediately obeying and dropping height. "KESTREL! GET DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Cecilia shouts out to the Israeli boy. "No good talking" Charlotte calls out, she looks at Cecilia and with a serious frown, she deploys her Submachine guns and looks Cecilia in the face. "Remember, were cleared to fire, but warning shots only!". Cecilia nods in confirmation and both girls blast at full speed straight at the green IS ahead of them.

One final warning erupts from Maya to Kestrel "KESTREL! PLEASE! COME DOWN HERE OR ELSE WE SHOOT!". Kestrel obviously unaware of what Maya is shouting at or who she's shouting at remains lost in the loving world of the air. Suddenly a flash catches Kestrel's attention, as he turns his head he notices Cecilia with her 'Blue Tears' sniper rifle. However, instead of understanding what is wrong... Kestrel's eyes widen and in a fit of either defensive reaction or panic, he dashes backwards and away from the two girls. Charlotte and Cecilia giving chase, Kestrel places both arms by his side and looks straight ahead of him. Charlotte being the next to open fire on the Israeli 10 year old, as she fires a short 5 second burst from her 2 submachine guns, Kestrel performs evasive movements, rolling and twisting. The bullets ring by without even coming close to him, the ressult surprises Charlotte at how fast Kestrel reacted. Cecilia then calls out "Leave this to me!".

Within a second, 4 missiles are fired from Cecilia at the green IS. Kestrel Immediatley pulls into a climb, and then starts twisting and making violent rolls and turns across the sky, all 4 missiles following Kestrel. As Kestrel rolls and dives, Charlotte seperates herself from Cecilia incase she gets a chance to grab ahold of Kestrel in mid-air. Kestrel then dives downwards towards the IS academy all 4 missiles on his six. Then, Kestrel does something that no-one sees coming, as he swoops downward he makes a sharp jink to the left missing some building by mere inches. The first missile hits the building and detonates, blowing a huge chunk out of the building and causing rubble and debris to fly everywhere. Kestrel continues straight ahead, and makes a zigzag pattern towards the academy tower at the last second Kestrel comes to a direct halt and then in a flash, blasts upward 2.0 seconds before the second and third missiles hit the tower. The forth and final missile remains on Kestrel's six but Kestrel blasts ahead of the missile, gaining vital distance. As Kestrel flies downwards he stops seconds before contacting the ground and looks upward and sees the missile coming, but before he can do anything, a loud shot echoes out, and almost instantly the forth missile is destroyed in mid air. As Kestrel lands, he turns his head and notices Maya with an IS sniper rifle. He looks at Maya and blinks in confusion. Maya's frown dissapears and is replaced by a friendly smile, Maya then makes a shaking motion with her hand and after a brief moment of confusion, Kestrel de-activates the IS. Maya smiling with comfort. Cecilia and Charlotte land directly behind Kestrel and as they de-activate their IS, they run forward and grab ahold of the boy's arms. Kestrel being startled, but confused at what is wrong!

_**That is Chapter 5 complete, Kestrel will get a translator for chapter 6, at last. What ever else happens is yet to be thought of. Thanks for reading and putting up with me everyone!**_  
_**Chapter 6 coming soon**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	6. Chapter 6: Growing popular

_**Hello All, Black Falcon 01 returns again with a new chapter, of Taming Kestrel. In the last chapter we left Kestrel facing trouble after some really dangerous stunt flying, along with noticeing something very, very wrong with our troubled Israeli child, nightmares and scars being on of them. So lets see what happens in this next chapter, Also... please note... I know this fanfic has been giving Cecilia Alcott a very rough time so far and it may not suit very well with those who love Cecilia, please understand that was only for comedy purposses, she will have a lot more fair treatment from now on. Anyway... on with the chapter.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 6:

**IS Academy Teacher's lounge: 13:00pm**

What can be said about the new IS student? A lot of things. First of all he has had a very bad nightmare that has caused unsettlement, He's insulted the well known Cecilia Alcott, but that was because of Rin, and now... hes performed dangerous aerobatic stunts with an IS and caused damage to the IS academy. NOT a good beginning!

To make matters worse Chifuyu Orimura just happened to return to the IS academy at the same time when Kestrel performed his party piece. Witnessing the sight did NOT suit well with the serious and black haired mistress. The explosions caused very serious damage to some classrooms and storage areas, however nothing was serious enough to cause any structure collapse, the most important thing is that nobody was hurt in the incident. Never the less Chifuyu Orimura is left with a big problem on her hands, and her short fused temper does not mix with a problem like this. Kestrel now having to suffer the wrath of the said woman in the teacher's lounge.

Maya standing directly behind Chifuyu with an anxious expression, Ichika also being present sat in a seat beside Kestrel. Ichika trembling slightly at how fierce his older sister is being. Laura Bodewig stands directly behind Kestrel in the military at ease position, acting as security most likely. As Chifuyu barks out at the two boys in front of her Kestrel's face has the look of scheer terror when Chifuyu yells at the top her lungs and points at the said youngster. Even though Kestrel is sat down, Kestrel dares not to stand and run due to Laura standing directly behind him. **"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING FOR CHRIST SAKES!"** \- Chifuyu roars, Ichika making an awkward face, Kestrel's colour has completley drained from his skin.

"Th..The thing is Chifu..Ah, Orimura sensei!" Ichika stutters, correcting himself before making another mistake to encore Chifuyu's rage. Ichika fidgets with his hands but keeps his eyes fixed on Chifuyu not breaking eye contact for a single minute. Even the thought of blinking is out of the question for now. As Chifuyu casts an angered look at Ichika, Ichika feels a sudden need to call for help. He's not seen Chifuyu like this before. "Ah..Thing is, Kestrel and I were in formation and I think Kestrel's confidence merely got the better of his mind and all so.." Ichika attempts to explain, but is quickly cut off by his sister. "Confidence! **CONFIDENCE!** I leave this place for at least 24 hours, safe in the mind that you had given me your word that no one will do something out of line, and when I come back I have explosions in the air, rubble..**DUST AND DEBRIS RAINING ON MY HEAD!"** Chifuyu roars out, a snap is heard, the pen in her hand breaks apart like a dry twig but at least it makes Chifuyu look down and notice the mishap, however it merely adds fuel to the fires.

As Chifuyu slowly lifts her head up and stares Kestrel in the eyes, Kestrel begins to shake with violent nerves. His long, black hair seeming to grow cold at the ferocious stare given to him by Chifuyu. Ichika glances over and sees Kestrel in a state similar to the one last night. He has the urge to call out and tell his sister to stop going too far, but can't reach his voice. As Chifuyu stands up in a fit of rage, Maya stubbles backwards, but thankfully does not bang backwards into anything. Chifuyu lets out a pitch black aura and slowly marches towards the two boys. "STAND!" Chifuyu hisses, Ichika immediately doing as hes told, the sight of Ichika standing up at almost break neck speed is enough to motivate Kestrel into doing the same thing. Laura remains perfectly still. As Chifuyu reaches both boys she comes to a stop, raises her hand an points directly in Ichika's face, Ichika gulps at what Chifuyu's going to do next.

"Orimura..." Chifuyu whispers in a very satanic tone, even if it is a woman's voice "Consider yourself lucky that you have less blame that you would normally be given! Now return to your classes!"  
Chifuyu hisses. Ichika takes a few steps backward and asks, "W..What about Kestrel?". Chifuyu then does something that nobody anticipates, but when your mad, you do things that even you, yourself would consider out of order. Chifuyu draws a Katana placed on her desk, and levels the blade directly in front of Kestrel's face. Kestrel's eyes widen, tears start to roll down the side of his face and a wet patch begins to form between his legs.

Chifuyu remains oblivious. "YOU.." Chifuyu snarls, "You'd better not do anything like that again, otherwise you'll find yourself at the recieving end of a very, very unforgiving headmistress!". The tip of the Katana is mere inches away from between Kestrel's eyes, but thats enough to cause what happens next. Instead of focusing on Chifuyu's eyes, Kestrel focuses his attention more on Chifuyu's blade. Kestrel's eyes stream with tears of terror, he shakes violently, and then... his eyes roll upwards, and in a terrified sigh, falls backwards. Back of the head hitting the chair seat that he was sitting on earlier and landing hard on his side, remaining still and not breathing. The act takes everyone by surprise, the worst effected is amazingly Chifuyu. Ichika and Maya stareing in utter shock, Laura stunned, but Chifuyu is taken completley by surprise.

As she looks down at the unconscious child, she finaly notices the tears that rolled down the Kestrel's face, the white, terrified face, and the wet patch between Kestrel's legs. The shock hits Chifuyu like a bolt of lightning. As she looks at Maya, Maya steps back from the black haired woman, still clutching tightly to the Katana. Ichika however grows concerned and maybe for the first time in history speaks to his older sister with a hint of anger and aggression, his voice is low, but not fierce "Chifuyu-nee, What have you DONE!" Ichika hisses out that last word. "Instructor Orimura, he's bleeding!" Laura calls out, Chifuyu and Maya quickly look down at the motionless child in front of them. Laura having already knelt down to check young Kestrel. Dispite being 'Sort of' responsible for causing Kestrel to faint in terror, Chifuyu turns to look at Ichika and with a face full of concern and a hint of shock calls out "Ichika, get me the nurse! Quick as ya' can!" Ichika not asking any questions but immediatley turning and running for the door. Laura meanwhile carefully presses over Kestrel's head to find out where the blood is coming from, as she finds the spot, her hand is soon covered red. Luckily Laura carries a hankerchief with her and she immediately presses the cloth over the motionless child's wounded head. "Laura, go with Orimura and help out with something" Chifuyu claims. Laura looks up at Chifuyu, the said woman has not moved a muscle, apart from her head. She looks like coloured ice with a look of shock and awe on her face.

"Instructor?" Laura asks

"GO!" Chifuyu quickly calls out

With that, Laura stands, turns heal and runs for the door, left open by Ichika. As soon as Laura leaves the room, Chifuyu simply drops her Katana, the sword making a clattering sound as it hits the floor. Chifuyu then kneels down and with a face still full of shock, looks at Maya, whom is timidly walking forward, her eyes looking at both Kestrel and Chifuyu. As Chifuyu craddles the out cold child in her arms, Chifuyu looks Maya in the face. Chifuyu then asks a question she fears, but she has to ask it. The feeling is like a thousand guilty knives stabbing Chifuyu in the head and in the chest, she suddenly feels sickend by her own reckless act. Chifuyu whispers in fear "Now surely, he did'nt think that...", Maya gulps hard and merely lowers her head and rises it again slowly. "Oh my god!" Chifuyu whispers in shock. Its understandable that being a mistress carries great responsibility, it is also understandable that being stressed makes one become no longer aware of what they are doing, and it is also understandable that you have to ensure order is maintained, but when a child collapses in terror and is badly hurt as a ressult of punishment, that is way out of order, even for a woman like Chifuyu. "What have I done!" Chifuyu mutters to herself as she looks down at the motionless child in her arms, face wet with tears and a pale face of fright.

**\- Scene change: IS academy infirmary - 17:00pm**

Kestrel is laying perfectly flat on his back on an infirmary bed. Covered over and remaining perfectly silent, a bandage is seen wrapped round the young child's forehead. A woman with a large and clean white coat is seen sat in a desk chair at a gray desk. The said woman being the nurse with black hair in a bun, green eyes and very friendly looking face. As she looks at a computer screen she does not notice young Kestrel begin to stir. However before Kestrel can begin to wake, whom should appear in the room but Chifuyu Orimura along with a new female face in the academy.

The woman beside Chifuyu has long black hair, stands 5ft 3inches, brown eyes and type of office suit is being worn. "Nurse, this is the interpreter asked to come out to the academy.." Chifuyu begins, the nurse smiles and immediatley stands up to look at the new face in the academy. As the two women shake hands and exchange greetings, Chifuyu looks at the still child laying peacefully on the bed, though Chifuyu does not show it, she feels like a child murderer. Chifuyu looks at the nurse with a serious look and merely asks "Is the student alright?" The nurse smiles and replies "He'll be fine, just a slight injury on the head, nothing serious. I've already checked for any signs of internal damage and there seems to be none, the only other thing being differant is his fresh pair of pants and underwear that I had to freshly put on" The nurse blushing slightly at that last phrase, thankfully Kestrel is'nt awake to hear or understand those words!

Chifuyu smiles slightly at the news "I see, thanks. Let us know if anything develops or when he's ready to continue lessons".

"Of course, however I must insist that the child is not placed in such a stressful situation again though" The nurse responds, adding a tone of firmness on the matter. Chifuyu crosses her arms and looks the nurse in the eyes, adding a note of seriousness of her own "Oh don't worry, It won't". Suddenly as if right on cue, Kestrel awakens and lifts himself up, rubbing his eyes before placing a hand on the side of his head. "Oh...finally awake I see" Chifuyu speaks out with a smile on her face, upon seeing Chifuyu, Kestrel immediately losses colour in his face, making Chifuyu hold up both hands as if she's surrendering to a gunman. As she lowers her arms, Kestrel blinks in either confusion or fear. Chifuyu then turns her head to the interpreter and quickly speaks out "Tell him 'Theres nothing to fear, I'm not going to lay a finger on him and that he's no longer in trouble'".

The interpreter nods and immediatley repeats Chifuyu's phrase in Israeli, as the woman finishes Kestrel's face regains colour, but Kestrel still has traces of fear on his face. Kestrel then responds with a phrase of his own, and as he finishes the interpreter smiles and speaks back in Israel At last, a chance to communicate with Kestrel. After a few minutes Chifuyu interupts the conversation "Say to him "Where going to teach him Japanesse and that I applogise for earlier"". The interpreter immedite to repeat the message in Israeli. As the woman finishes her message, Kestrel looks down with a look of concern and sorrow.

Chifuyu then decides the best thing to do for now is end the conversation, "Tell him, "Just be ready for tommorrow's lessons and we'll say no more about it"". After the interpreter completes Chifuyu's message, Chifuyu bids everyone goodnight, turns and walks out of the door, Maya waiting outside for her. "Everything alright miss Orimura?" the green haired teacher asks. Chifuyu glances at Maya as the two walk down the academy corridors, Maya makes an awkward smile. Chifuyu then breaks the silence, "Yamada..", Maya jumping in surprise, "Y..Yes!".

"Tell that kid, "His flying was real impressive, and to try not to be an awkward brat!"". Chifuyu speaks out, an affectionate smirk appearing on her face. Maya surprised but impressed makes the comment "You know miss Orimura, you can be a real nice sometimes", Chifuyu comes to a sudden stop and gives Maya an aggressive look, Maya becomeing nervous and starting to sweat. "I was attempting to make up for causing some damage to the kid, don't push it!" Chifuyu speaks out with a meanacing tone. Maya nods quickly. Chifuyu then smiles in a smug manner and walks forward, motioning with her hand for Maya to follow "Common, Don't be so gullable!" Chifuyu affectionately speaks out. Maya sweatdrops but walks along side the mighty mistress, ( "She maybe cold, but inside she has a heart of gold!" ) Maya thinks to herself.

"That interpreter should be right for the job right miss Orimura?" Maya asks with a confident tone. Chifuyu smiles but keeps her cool image.

"Yamada, that interpreter will help us know once and for all whom that kid is, and besides, the kid's gone through enough as it is. No one has found out about his past have they?" Chifuyu speaks out in her offical tone.

"No one knows, his medical files are just basic, age, gender, blood type, nationality and past medical records" - Maya replies with an offical tone of her own.

"Still... all we have is just one name, no surname, a child that can operate an IS and nobody of family lineage to the said child" ca- Chifuyu claims with a curious look, Maya puts an index finger to her chin. As both women walk away down the corridor the sun begins to set over the ocean, the IS academy looking very, very dazzeling in the beautiful setting sun light.

**\- Scene change: IS academy cafateria, 18:00pm -**

"Kestrel!" Ichika's voice calls out, as the black haired Japanesse boy runs up to the youngster, Kestrel walking calmly with his interpreter behind him. Ever since Ichika had to call for a nurse and explain what happened in the teacher's lounge, Ichika and Laura have been bombarded with question after question from the others. The very sight of Kestrel walking and smiling slightly again is a sure relief from the tension that Ichika had been feeling all afternoon. "He's alright?" Laura asks whilst bending down to look at the younster. Cecilia, Charlotte and Rin gathering around the young Israeli and wanting to know whats happened. Kestrel tilts his head and dispite the bandage on his head, he smiles and lets out a friendly "Hello". Ichika carefully pets Kestrel's head and lets out a smile. Laura then resumes her normal standing pose and turns her attention towards the strange woman behind Kestrel. "Whos this?" Cecilia asks, everyone quickly turning their eyes towards the woman, whom smiles kindly. "Hello all, I'm Yui Sakurada, I'm this boy's interpreter". At the word Interpreter, everyone's faces are home to smiles.

"Really? Thats wonderful, finally we can have a proper conversation with Kestrel" Charlotte calls out. The interpreter gives a happy look and pats Kestrel's head. "Actually I'm also here to help Kestrel learn Japanesse". At the minute the interpreter states that, Houki smiles out and crosses her arms with pride. As the interpreter gets aqquinted with Ichika, Laura and Houki, whom begin to ask the said woman questions, Cecilia and Charlotte kneel down in front of Kestrel, both girls have a look of pity on their faces. "Sorry about having to drag you to Orimura sensei, It must have been really horrible for you" Cecilia speaks out, placeing her hand on Kestrel's shoulder. Charlotte places her hand on the other shoulder, Kestrel walks backward, making both girls feel horrible, but then raises their spirits when he holds an out stretched arm, hand palm open as motion to shake hands. Cecilia is the first to shake hands, as Cecilia takes Kestrel's hand, she pulls the traumitised youngster into a hug. Charlotte gets behind Kestrel and wraps her arms around both Kestrel and Cecilia.

"Common, sit with us" Charlotte claims as soon as Cecilia and Kestrel unwrap from the friendly embrace. Dispite being confused Kestrel follows the group. Waiting for Ichika and the group is a large group of IS academy schoolgirls. Even though it was hoped to be an undisturbed get together, Ichika and his friends are in no mood to be picky of what company they may recive. Houki this time is exceptionaly happy because she gets to sit beside Ichika, unfortuneatly Laura beats the other girls to the spot directly beside Ichika on his right. "I will sit directly beside my wife!" Laura calls out with a smug tone. Cecilia, Rin and Charlotte annoyed as a ressult! However Kestrel's interpreter is the main focus at end of the day, so any feelings of resentment is quickly forgotten. As Kestrel sits down across from Ichika, he is sandwiched by 2 shotacons, one of which was the girl that had a nose bleed looking at Kestrel yesterday! "You speak Israeli?" Ichika asks, Yui smiles and replies in a confident voice "Oh yes, after all, I spent ten years studying in Israel. As soon as miss Orimura claimed that she was looking for someone to help with IS and student matters I was more than eager to agree".

Charlotte and Rin look at each other before looking at Kestrel, they both smile and then look at Yui once again. Kestrel on the other hand, can only be described as 'Being smothered' yet again. The 2 schoolgirls fussing the injured Israeli boy, though dispite the appreciation, Kestrel has no idea what any of the girls are doing or even saying. "You must be Charlotte" Yui asks, Charlotte closing her eyes and smiling with a charming face replies "Oh yes, that's me". Yui looks over at Rin and asks with a friendly face "You are... Rin? Am I right?". Rin winks and smiles, "You sure are". Yui then glances at Houki and asks with a curious tone "You are...Houki?", Houki responds with a pleasant face and smile, followed by a very ladylike bow, which is mostly just a lean forward due to being sat down. "Yes, Im Houki...its nice to meet you". As Yui turns to Laura she remains smiling and yet with a curious tone asks "You must be Laura?" The eye patched, silver haired German girl smiles happily and proudly claims aloud, "Thats right, I am Ichika's husband!". The ressult takes everyone by surprise, Yui is startled but smiles.

"Oh...er...congratulations", Yui awkwardly speaks out. Before anyone has a chance to object, Yui then turns and politely speaks "You are Cecilia are'nt you?", Cecilia turns and smiles with a very pleasant tone. "Yes, Im Cecilia..Its a pleasure to meet you". As everyone begins to get aqquinted a flash of a camera gets everyone's attention. "Alright! One more please!" The person being the president of the newspaper club. Her glasses glistening and her smile full of pride. Ichika and everyone at the table unsure as to what to do or say, however the flash this time is a lot more powerful than before and causes some people to put their hands to their faces.

Kestrel takes the worst of it and holds his eyes in aggony. As the photography ceases, members of the photography club armed with notepads and pens, asking question after question. Ever since Kestrel performed his colorful stunts with an IS, word has spread like wild fire. What can't be denied is that altough Kestrel's flight looked to be perfected without training, the reckless act caused very nasty damage to the academy. For many, they are surprised that Kestrel is still in the academy. Ichika and his friends having to explain as to how Kestrel ended up with a bandage around his head and how the incident is cleared up. Yui's smile never leaves her for a single minute, "This place is waaayyy full of surprises!" Yui states in amazement.

"Its great that you're here, Kestrel's had enough trouble trying to remain focused on what is happening and what people are saying" - Houki states with a slight look of pity and embarrassment.

"I for one am also hopeful that he'll be able to take part in lessons with out any unfortunate incidents and problems" - Cecilia states out with honesty.

"Oh you need not worry, I'm here to ensure that all problems concerning language come to an end" - Yui claims with happiness and pride.

As the conversation deepens, Rin breaks the ice with a an irritated shout "Laura! Get your hand's off Ichika!" Laura shoots back an irritated look back of her own. Kestrel dispite being heavily glomped and smothered manages to cast a look of confusion at Ichika, whom is trying to calm things down with Laura and Rin, Houki on the other hand has a frown of unamusement on her face. Ichika sweatdrops and looks at Kestrel with a look of awkwardness. Kestrel does not have to wait long before he gets a taste of what Ichika is suffering. When the schoolgirl with long, pitch black hair starts to bleed from her nose, a red flush comes across her features. Ichika chuckles nervously, Charlotte looks at the said girl and gets a feeling of unwellness. "Something tells me one of the girls here are craddle robbers!" Charlotte mutters, her eyes rolling up in an awkward manner, Cecilia puts a hand to her forehead and sighs.

Laura meanwhile, dispite being caught in a vocal storm of insults with Rin, manages to turn her head away with her nose raised and claims with pride "Ichika and I are planning ahead for our first child, I think if its a girl we should name her after instructor Orimura!". Yui's eyes widen in amazement, Houki gets a temper mark on her temple. Charlotte gets a look of sickness, but at least Charlotte knows that Laura is just speaking pride and self confidence. Charlotte places an index finger on her forehead and mutters something in french. Cecilia merely sighs and looks Yui in the face "Don't listen to her, she's all just talk. Its only nonsense she spouts." Yui closes her eyes and smiles slightly. Amazingly dispite being the main focus, Ichika manages to change the subject with scheer ease. "So when does Kestrel start his lessons?" Yui whom had her attention on Laura and Rin, looks at Ichika with a look of confusion, before smiling slightly again. "Oh, his language lessons... they start tommorrow, after he ends his lessons concerning IS matters". Charlotte and Cecilia smile slightly and cast looks at the young Israeli, whom is beging cuddled to death by the shotacon girl with single trail of blood from her right nostril. As Yui sweatdrops at the youngster being smothered, she then looks back at Ichika and suddenly remembers something that makes her break into a large smile, "OH...I Forgot, hes had a rough course in Japanesse today, he can't say much... but he already understands things very well".

As Ichika and his friends look down at the Israeli boy, whom has a girl traceing her index finger over his bright red scar on his face. Kestrel becoming slightly uncomfortable at what the schoolgirl is doing, noticeing that immediately on the spot, Yui calls out to Kestrel whom starts of fidget with his star of David pendant. Upon hearing Yui call to him, Kestrel looks at the office dressed woman directly in the eyes. "Please, listen carefully, Kestrel is doing very well in japanesse already". As Yui speaks to Kestrel in Israeli, Ichika and nearly every schoolgirl, includeing the newspaper club members look at Kestrel with anticipation. As Yui finishes her phrase, Kestrel glances at nearly every female face, except for Yui. Ichika's face is also glanced at, some have a look of anticipation, others are smiling kindly. Nearly 3 minutes pass, Kestrel opening his mouth and gathering his words and getting ready. Then, with a slight squeak, Kestrel speaks clearly "Hello Ev'ey body, It..nice..to sp'ick.. your tounge. I ave'..been, tick'ing course in Japanesse, I hop' to get..to know ev'eyone". Dispite it being right of the bat and a first attempt, Ichika smiles widely and replies with a cheerful tone "Great! Great! That was great, everyone... now we can have a proper a conversation with the new kid!". With that, some girls begin to clap, others exclaim with happiness.

"You hear that!? That was Japanesse!" - A schoolgirl with long curly blue hair speaks out

"Mama mia! What'a very good effort!" - An Italian accented girl with a twin green haired buns exclaims

"So adoreable! I just want to put him in my pocket and carry him around with me!" - A long pink haired girl squeals

"Get off'a him! Damn! Shotacon!" - A Irish girl with short Orange hair shouts out!

"Your just as bad!" - The pink haired girl shouts in return.

"Will you fly IS again!?" - A girl with long brunette hair asks

"Will you fly stunts!?" - A girl with twin Red pigtails asks

Upon hearing the pigtailed girl's question Ichika closes his eyes and grins in an awkward manner. Cecilia and Charlotte get a feeling of nausea hit them. "Ah... I think Kestrel may have done enough stunt flying to be honest!" Ichika states, trying not to look like he's on the verge of suffering a horrible nervous breakdown. Charlotte and Cecilia get the feeling of startled nerves, for the two girls as well as Ichika and Kestrel, just the slightest mention of the incident with Kestrel is enough to make them think thoughts of darkened fates. Its been troubling enough having one incident cleared up, so its very likely that the last thing anyone wants is a repeat of what has happened.

Meanwhile as the questions begin to fly and the pain and trouble of being a popular guy hits home, Laura looks at the scar faced boy across from her and begins to wonder ( "That child, from what I've heard and witnessed has more knowledge of IS than what a child at his age should have. I understand that a child can be just as effective as an adult in terms of warfare and work, but never the less, his skill surpasses even our most common IS cadets. Interesting.." ).

Amazingly at the same time Houki is thing more or less, the same thing ( "I may not have been outside when it happened, but from what I saw out' the window while in class, that kid is something to look out for. The way he evaded Cecilia's missiles and Charlottes bullets, it was like nothing I've ever seen! That speed and reflex, it was like...he knew what was coming! Only a professional would be able to do that with their back turned. ")

"ICHIKA! KESTREL!" Shout a bunch of female voices from behind, snapping Laura and Houki back to reality. The crowd is gathering and with Ichika becoming preoccupied with his fans, now's the time to save questions for later. Houki huffs and grubbles in frustration, whilst Laura shows more anger toward Ichika for not paying attention to her.

As Kestrel becomes the subject of attention on one side, while Ichika is the centre of attention on the other side. Maya and Chifuyu look from a distance, Chifuyu puts a finger to her temple and sweatdrops. "Those two are becoming very, very popular" Maya mutters whilst looking at Chifuyu. Chifuyu sighs and has a look of irritation. "That damn brother of mine, the lack of control will get him in serious trouble one way or another!". Maya closes her eyes and smiles in an awkward manner.

_**That concludes chapter 6, the next chapter should help Ichika and friends learn a lot more about Kestrel's suffering with a nightmare'ish past, at least we get to see Kestrel in an IS again. Also Kestrel becomes a lot more friendly with some of the well known students whilst Ichika gets dragged around by his friends. Please remember, this fanfic is mostly to do with peacetime events, there is action in some areas, but its mostly to do with helping another human being recover from a hell'ish experiance.**_

_**Thanks everyone for reading, wishing you all the best!**_

**Black Falcon 01**


	7. Chapter 7: A haunting vision

_**Black Falcon 01**_

_**Here again with another chapter, As promised Kestrel, Ichika and the gang return operating IS. However Kestrel manages to prove Ichika right, ( about Kestrel being traumitised by a black past ). This time a lot more students get to see it, and Laura digs up info on the said youngster. For those that have followed my story and have listed it as one of their favorites, God bless you all, remember I give you all my support in return.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 7

**IS Academy, Ichika's bedroom 22:00pm: -**

Ever since the interpreter arrived at the IS academy things have started looking up for our little Israeli boy, with the exception of having a terrifying nightmare and fainting in front of the famous Chifuyu Orimura. Ichika being the first to build a friendly relation with the said boy takes a look at the sleeping Israeli child in the bed opposite from his own. Dispite having a very peaceful look of slumber on his face, Kestrel has his knees to his chest. Dispite being layed down on his side, the said child is still making the fetal position. Ichika dispite smiling lets out a sigh, as Ichika sits up in his bed prepareing to turn out the lamp he suddenly gets once again, lost in thought..

( "IS lessons start again tommorrow, I just hope the poor lil' kid understands what he's doing tommorrow, even though he has an interpreter I still can't see what differance it'll make if he gets into trouble again. Well... at least Chifuyu-nee knows that somethings wrong with the kid, so I guess any problems won't be delt with shouting and swearing at him then. Hmm... speaking of IS piloting, those movements when Cecilia fired those missiles at him, it was as if he knew what he was doing. Impressive though, I wonder were he got that knowledge from. Is it really possible that he's flown an IS like he did today before coming here? He must have! Where else would he have got those skills from!?" ).

As Ichika gets lost further and further in thought, he raises an eyebrow in thought. Kestrel meanwhile remains still and as silent as a tombstone.

( "Still... the main question that still springs to mind is those scars on his back" ) Before Ichika can think on a terrible chill goes up Ichika's spine, he gets a horrible sickening feeling that overwhelms his gut and his nerves, Ichika closes his eyes and shakes his head violently. ( "DAMN! I can't get those scars out of my head, its painful enough to look at the one on his face, god knows how he got them and to be honest I don't think I really want to know!" ) As Ichika regains compossure he casts a sorrowful look at the sleeping child. ( "I just hope he won't get any nightmares again, the state he was in looked as though he had just crawled out of hell after the last one he had. I just hope what ever it is he's had done to him won't rear its ugly head around here thats for sure!" ). As Ichika shakes his head in worry a voice from outside gets his attention.

"HEY! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE AWAKE! GET BACK TO BED!"

Ichika yelps in surprise, and quickly turns out the light. As Ichika quickly lays down and puts his head on the pillow he looks towards his bedroom door. He hears footsteps walking towards the door. The voice that just shouted in anger was none other than his sister Chifuyu, the last thing Ichika wants now is to be in trouble for not obeying academy rules. He's already been in trouble for reckless piloting with IS. As Ichika closes his eyes and listens carefuly, the sound of the footsteps become more faint. Taking one final breath for the night, Ichika sighs and readies himself for slumber. ( "I just hope tommorrow brings better ressults" ) - Ichika thinks to himself as he falls asleep.

**\- Scene change: IS academy training ground, 08:30am: -**

"GOOD!" Shouts a voice belonging to Chifuyu as she walks behind a line of IS students, in full activated IS. Each IS student holds a rifle and aims at a distant target. Chifuyu has her arms behind her back as she walks in a very official manner behind each students. "GOOD!" Shouts the black haired, pony tailed woman as each student fires a rifle at a paper or wooden target. Each target is set up as the classic circled target in blue, white and red. Some students stand, others like Laura lay flat on their front, Cecilia is knelt down on one knee, like a person proposing marriage. Despite being new to this type of training, each student has a look of scheer determination on their faces to score the highest points possible.

Though many have trouble keeping up with Cecilia, whom keeps getting bullseye after bullseye. As Chifuyu walks with her chest out straight, she keeps her eyes focused on the targets and the shots hitting the marks, for now everyone is scoreing a white mark, the exceptions being Laura and a few other students. Ichika stands beside Kestrel, Ichika's shots mostly being white, but at there are traces that Ichika has just clipped the red area being the bullseye. Kestrel stands still, not firing a shot. On one side Houki is standing with her personal IS, firing every 5 seconds. Though she has payed attention to the fact that Kestrel is not shooting, she keeps quiet. Ichika however notices and stops shooting. "You okay Kestrel?" Ichika asks with concern.

Kestrel looks at Ichika with a confused look, Ichika smiles and motions with his hand for Kestrel to shoot. Kestrel looks at the rifle in his arms and back at Ichika, a worried look apears on the young boy's face. Ichika puts his hand on Kestrel's shoulder and smiles kindly. "Just do your best okay". Kestrel looks Ichika in the eyes and tilts his head, but at least Kestrel has a small smile on his face. Kestrel's eyes however have a look inside them, mostly concerning fear and pain. Ichika notices the look but shrugs it off, instead Ichika motions again with his hand for Kestrel to fire at the target. Houki all the while casts looks at Ichika whom comforts the young Israeli beside him, Houki's face remains straight and neutral, but deep down she has a feeling of proudness at how well Ichika is handeling the situation. As soon as Houki fires her next shot, she accidently misses her intended mark, hitting the blue outer ring. ( "DAMN! Focus Houki, keep it together!" ) Houki angrily thinks to herself. As this happens Cecilia and Laura are making other students look a shambles. "EXCELLENT! KEEP IT UP ALCOTT!" Chifuyu calls out, though the voice is of praise, the mighty Chifuyu keeps her serious facial image.

Ichika and Kestrel oblivious that Chifuyu is gradually walking closer towards them. Ichika however fires a handful of shots out to show Kestrel what to do, Kestrel smiles, but looks to the floor. Kestrel mutters something in Israeli, Ichika catching some of his words but not understanding what they mean. Ichika once again stops what he's doing and focuses his attention on Kestrel. "Its alright, just aim and fire" Ichika explains, whilst pointing at the target. However this time Kestrel begins to look down the rifle and aims at a target, Ichika pats Kestrel's shoulder as a form of encouragement. As Ichika goes back to shooting, Kestrel's eyes become glazed. The sound of gunshots are causing the said child to hear sounds other than just the sounds of the rifles, instead Kestrel begins to hear lasers, explosions and the sounds of screaming of all ages of both genders. As Kestrel's mind begins to wander, he is unaware that he is standing idle, and now Chifuyu is only 2 students away from him. Even the calls of the said woman are not getting through to him. Even Ichika and Houki patting Kestrel's shoulders are'nt even getting through to him, untill... "KESTREL!". The Israeli boy jumps in startlement and accidently fires, the shot amazingly hitting the bulls eye!

Chifuyu dispite noticeing that Kestrel has hit the bullseye is not in the slightest amused at Kestrel's lack of performance. "Kestrel, whats the matter!? Whats the matter!?" Chifuyu repeats with a look of annoyance and anger. "Are you blind or stupid! There's a target there! FIRE! YOU HEAR ME!? FIRE!" Chifuyu shouts whilst pointing towards the target. Kestrel does not even turn his head, but begins to shoot at the target anyway. Kestrel fires 3 rounds at the target, each shot hitting the bullseye! Ichika and Houki stop shooting and stare in amazement, for a 10 year old boy to hit the bullseye, thats got to be a moment of amazement.

Kestrel pauses for 5 seconds before firing another 3 rounds, each round fired 4 seconds apart from each other. Once again all 3 rounds hit the centre. "GOOD! Now... STAY FOCUSED!" Chifuyu shouts in annoyance. As Chifuyu walks away, Ichika taps Kestrel on the shoulder and with a look of awe and pride, gives Kestrel the thumbs up. Kestrel smiles slightly at Ichika, Houki smiles slightly herself.. ( "Who is this kid!?" ) She thinks in amazement. However as Kestrel beggins to fire away without hesitation at the targets, the child's eyes glaze over again. This time Kestrel does not hear things, but for a second sees a quick flash of 3 people running past him, as Kestrel turns his head, he sees only the other IS students shooting away at the set up targets. As Kestrel looks around in confusion his eyes meet Houki's, she looks at the child with concerned look. Kestrel stumbles in alarm but smiles awkwardly, Houki smiles back and gets back to shooting.

As Kestrel regains his balance and posture, he looks down his rifle barrel and fires away. Even though the IS rifles don't have any sniper lens, the accurate shooting from Kestrel is something to be impressed with. A few of his shots hit the white ring, but a majority hit the outer area of the red circled bullseye. As Kestrel prepares to fire another shot a loud horn blasts, taking Kestrel by surprise and causing him to yelp and jump. A female computer voice then calls out "Please hold fire, fresh target set up in progress". Ichika places a hand on Kestrel's rifle pushing the weapon's barrel towards the ground. Kestrel looks at Ichika with confusion whilst Ichika smiles at Kestrel in a form of reasurance.

**\- 4 minutes later -**

Dispite the wait the new targets are soon set up and with the blast of a horn, the shooting continues on. This time Kestrel maintains a focused mind, Ichika and Houki doing the same. However as the shooting continues, Kestrel suddenly gets a flash of someone running past him, as Kestrel turns his head quickly to the right, the image of a person running past him occurs again on the left. Kestrel turns his head again. Theres nothing there. As Kestrel sighs, he glances down and suddenly something is there to meet his gaze. A severed hand laying on the ground. Kestrel's eyes widen and his face losses colour. As Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes his head, he rubs his eyes to be sure that he is'nt seeing things. Even though the cold and pointy IS fingers are rough on Kestrel's skin the feeling helps Kestrel be sure that he is'nt seeing things. As Kestrel opens his eyes, a feeling of relief washes over him, the severed hand is gone, theres nothing on the ground.

As Kestrel rolls his ocean blue eyes, he looks ahead of him and starts shooting again. A few moments pass, but Kestrel soon gets another dose of ghostly images. This time, Kestrel catches a brief flash of 3 people running across the firing range. Kestrel looks away with his eyes shut, but as as Kestrel opens his eyes and looks ahead of him, more people run by to the right. These people are dressed in civilian clothing, and are of both genders, between the age of 13 to 19, some clothes have blood on them. As Kestrel becomes overwhelmed with the images, his face and body losses colour. Houki manages to catch a sight of Kestrel looking panicked. His face is white, he is occasionaly closing his eyes and looking away, then opening his eyes and looking forward again. Knowing that something is wrong, Houki raises her arm, turns to look at Maya and calls out the top of her lungs "Yamada sensei! Something's wrong with Kestrel!".

Maya in IS, turns her head and notices the alarmed Israeli child and with a concerned look walks forward. Some students that heard Houki cease fire, and look at the sight for themselves. Muttering and whispering between IS students begins, some of the girls lowering their weapons and stepping away from the range to see whats wrong with the long, black haired child.

For Kestrel he is becoming more and more panicked, ghostly figures are running around left, right and centre. Some figures have arms or parts of their heads missing, others have the looks of utter terror and shock on their faces. Many figures are covered in blood and have a messy looking face, or disfigured body parts. As Kestrel points his IS rifle around and swings the barrel in differant directions, all the IS schoolgirls keep turning their heads around to try and see what it is the terrified youngster is pointing his rifle at. Chifuyu whom has caught sight of what is happening also turns her head to the left, when Kestrel swivels round to point his IS rifle at something, all IS students looking behind them to see what is wrong. At this point, Ichika and Houki get the look of utter concern on their faces, and in a low and concerned voice speak the word "Kestrel?".

Suddenly... As Kestrel turns round, his eyes meet the cold, dead eyes of a long brunette woman, with a white, pale face. The most noticeable feature on this woman is a bullet hole between her eyes, Kestrel can see all the way down the hole and out the back of her head. Kestrel's eyes widen as wide as possible his colour is drained and tears of terror start to roll down his face. Kestrel's mouth is slightly open and he begins to violently shake in terror. Kestrel's breathing stops, but then after 10 seconds Kestrel begins to shout out one word "No..No.." At this point Ichika and Houki deactivate their personal IS and prepare to rush to the terror stricken child. Maya calls out while blasting forward, **"EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY!"**, but before Maya can get to the terrified child, Kestrel's shrieking becomes so loud that all students can tell the poor child is scared out of his mind. **"NO! NO! NO! ****HELP ME!"** Kestrel screams in Israeli as he falls to his knees and begins to crawl forward in panic. Kestrel's IS deactivates, but that does not stop the panicked child, however Maya reaches the child and in one swoop grabs the child in her arms. Even though Maya is in IS, she needs it. Kestrel is so badly panicked that his struggling would break the lock of any woman's grip. **"KESTREL!"** Maya shouts out, trying desperately to calm the Israeli boy down. Chifuyu runs forward, her face full of concern. All the other IS students look with the looks of alarm or fear.

**"KESTREL! KESTREL! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!"** Maya shouts in concern. As Chifuyu runs past Ichika she shouts out **"EVERYONE STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"**. As Chifuyu runs up to Maya, whom is now on one knee on the ground, trying to craddle the panicked child in her arms like a loving mother, Chifuyu kneels down and grabs Kestrel's arms. By now Kestrel is shouting Israeli words and phrases in utter fear. Maya puts a hand over Kestrel's mouth, and calls out "I Can't understand what he's saying!", Kestrel's eyes close, tears run down his face like a rain storm, and all that can be heared is heart broken crying. Chifuyu then turns her head towards a schoolgirl with purple ponytail. "YOU! GET YUI SAKURADA! NOW!". The girl obeys, deactivates her IS and runs off. Maya now has hold of Kestrel's hand, and is speaking comfort words towards the child. "Calm down, thats it, thats it". Chifuyu casts a look at Maya "What the hell's happened!?", Chifuyu asks with concern. Maya looks at Chifuyu and shakes her head. Ichika and Houki have the looks of utter shock and concern, they look at each other and then back at the scene before them. As Chifuyu stands, she turns to look at the students, her eyes land on Ichika. Chifuyu mimicks with her hand, telling Ichika to come over. Ichika immediately doing as he is told. As Ichika makes it over to Chifuyu, Chifuyu looks Ichika in the face, she puts on a very serious face. "Ichika, can you stay with Kestrel? Talk to him". Ichika, with a serious face of his own, nods and rushes up to the shaken, crying, scar-faced child.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

By now every IS student has either gathered around Kestrel, Maya and Ichika. Even Yui's arrival makes the crowd become more and more heavy. Since her arrival Yui been asking the same questions over and over again, Kestrel either shaking his head or nodding. At least now Maya has been able to set the shaken child down on the ground, many students becoming more and more concerned by the moment. As Ichika looks down at the shook up boy, he begins to wonder what caused young Kestrel to suddenly go into a fit of terror. However after an effort Kestrel begins to recover, and finally starts to talk, even though its in Israeli, Houki has a fair idea of what Kestrel is saying to Yui. "Whats wrong?" Maya asks with curiosity. Yui looks at Maya with a concerned look, "He claims "Please, tell me you saw what I saw"". Maya getting curious asks Yui "What? What was it he just saw?". As Yui replies Maya's question in Israeli, Kestrel turns his head to look up at the green haired teacher. As soon as the youngster completes his message, Yui looks at Maya and speaks out, "He says, "That lady with a hole in her head"". As everyone looks at Kestrel, they notice something with his eyes, Kestrel has what is known as the 1,000 yard stare.

Maya looks at Yui, her blood seeming to go cold. Some IS students look at each other with a concerned look. Maya seems to stutter before turning to Cecilia and asking "C..Could you go to the nurse and tell her to be ready to recive a student?" Cecilia stands and with a concerned voice replies "Yes ofcourse". Before anyone else can ask a question or say anthing Chifuyu shouts out with her authority tone "All right! Class dissmissed, everyone leave the training ground and get ready for your next lessons! Right now!" Some students cast looks and mutter words of concern whilst walking away, others send looks towards Kestrel. As Ichika stands and prepares to leave Chifuyu puts her hand on Ichika's shoulder and says "Good work Ichika, You did great!".

Ichika smiles back at his sister as he walks away with Houki and the remainder of the students. As Maya and Yui help Kestrel to stand, Chifuyu looks Yui in the eyes and in a firm and clear tone states. "Yui... ask Kestrel if he wants to stay here or if he wants to leave". Yui blinks, and with a face of concern, looks down into young Kestrel's ocean blue eyes and repeats Chifuyu's question. Kestrel looks upward at Yui and immediately replies to Yui's question. Yui sighs, looks Chifuyu and states "He said that he "Wants to stay"". Chifuyu crosses her arms and replies "Very well... Tell him "We have to talk about this tonight, the students will want to know what was wrong, and it may help take some pressure of his mind"". Yui repeats the message to Kestrel, Kestrel smiles and with a face full of gratitude bows to Chifuyu and happily replies "Thankyou". Chifuyu smiles, turns and walks away. Yui takes Kestrel's hand and together the group walk back into the academy interior.

**\- Scene change: IS academy cafateria - 14:10pm**

It had been a while, but now Kestrel was back with Ichika and the gang. Some students only look at the Israeli child and whisper to each other. Ichika immediately walking up to Kestrel and with a happy face asks "Are you okay Kestrel? What happened?". As Yui looks down at Kestrel and repeats Ichika's message, Kestrel first looks up at Yui and then at Ichika, Kestrel takes a breath and finally speaks.

After a minute, Yui smiles. She looks Ichika in the face and states "He says "I'm alright, I feel a lot better now, Regards to what I saw, Orimura Sensei has told me not to talk about it. I have to talk to her again tonight. I said I want to stay and she says I can, but I have to get regular check ups with the nurse if I want to stay here"". Ichika sighs in relief. Houki smiles, Charlotte and Cecilia smile with happiness at the Israeli child before them.

Taking the chance a group of schoolgirls join the gang, one of which takes the chance to introduce herself, the girl has long, dark blue hair with a butterfly hair clip. "Hello, I could'nt help but overhear the conversation, also I saw what happened during IS lessons. My name is Tomoe Shizuka, and I think I can help you". As the girl bows politely ending her introduction Ichika and the gang look at the said girl and smile at her. "Ah... Yes, its nice to meet you" Ichika replies. As Charlotte, Houki and Rin stand from their seats and walk forward towards the new girl. "Can we help you?" Houki asks with a look of serious concern on her face. Tomoe now lifting her hands up as means of showing no harm quickly replies "Oh, I'm sorry! I was just trying to help this child thats all".

"In what way do you plan to help?" Rin asks, giving Tomoe a suspisous look. Tomoe sweatdrops but happily replies by looking everyone in the face. "Its okay I'm someone you can trust, I'm experianced with working with people that have PTSD. My cousin has it and I can tell that this child has it so I just thought I could.."

"Wait!" - Charlotte quickly speaks out interupting Tomoe, "You have experiance in working with people with Post Traumatic Stress?". Charlotte becoming more interested in this girl. Rin and Houki have the look of curiosity. Ichika has a hopeful look. "Tomoe, If you can help then that would be very welcome!" Ichika quickly speaks with a look of hope on his face. "Yes, I can help... ah... only if thats okay with everyone" Tomoe claims, having looked at Rin, Charlotte and Houki giving her a look of suspision. Yui casting a look of curiosity at the new girl. Rin is the next to speak, "No disrespect but its already clear that Kestrel is suffering from PTSD, don't you think Orimura sensei has already thought of something like, sending for a therapist?"

"Maybe, but Orimura sensei has a habbit of not letting any help from close friends take place, that is... concerning personal matters" Cecilia comments.

"Yeah, because stuff like that causes things like scandal, and misuderstandings" - Houki puts in, with her hands placed on her waist.

"Well it's not like were planning to let information of Kestrel leak into the open" - Ichika states with a sincere look on his face.

"Oh no! I don't intend for that at all!" - Tomoe states with a look of fear or desperation on her face.

"I'm sorry, but we are'nt convinced just by meeting a stranger right of the bat" - Rin states with an eyebrow raised

"Well... would'nt anything be better than watching Kestrel suffer?" - Yui claims with a concerned look for the little Israeli beside her.

"We want the Kid to heal as soon as possible, but after whats happened... we... just can't be sure" - Cecilia claims whilst glancing a look towards Kestrel.

"Well its not like we have anything to lose, so why don't we give Tomoe a chance?" - Charlotte speaks, a smile on her face. It can't be denied, the scene Kestrel played out today has already become top academy news. So in order to avoid any problems its best to get the truth out, but at the same time... even good intentions have caused bad ressults. Yui becomes heavily interested in what is being discussed in front of her and adds her views "Well, Orimura sensei did'nt confirm anything about giving Kestrel a therapist, so as far as I can see, the best thing to do is to help Kestrel in lessons as best we can, talk about his problems without letting any confirmed material get out in the open". Ichika smiles and looks at the others. Charlotte, Cecilia, Houki and Rin all shrug but all give in and claim "All right Tomoe, welcome aboard". Tomoe bowing happily and letting an overjoyed "Thankyou very much" come out of her mouth. Kestrel tilts his head but his nerves remain stable.

"KESTREL! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" A female voice squeals, everyone being taken by surprise. Kestrel is then glomped from behind by three schoolgirls, 1 of which is the known Shotacon, the other 2 most likely her friends. As Kestrel is pulled into a tight and loving hug, the irony of being smothered by girl's breasts, bodies and sweet perfume smelling faces takes place again. Ichika makes an awkward smile and sweatdrops. Cecilia and Charlotte look and each other, then look at the floor shaking their heads. Houki and Rin put their index fingers to their foreheads and close their eyes. ( "Oh boy!" ) everyone thinks to themselves. As Kestrel begins to suffer the sympathy of some of the academy schoolgirls, Yui breaks the ice by asking a question that nearly everyone has forgotten. "That reminds me, theres a girl missing from your group, the one with silver hair and an eye patch." Everyone's head rises and then the reality hits home.

"Oh yeah, Were's Laura?" - Cecilia asks

"I think she went up to our bedroom" - Charlotte states with an index finger raised as sign of explanation

Ichika looks around and calls out "Laura? LAURA!?", a few moments pass and suddenly a reply comes back "COMING!". Ichika and the gang being taken by surprise, but saying that... when Ichika is involved Laura is like a dog that heard the dog's whistle. As everyone looks at each other, Rin speaks out in a tone of ironic huff "God knows what she gets up to!". Yui and Tomoe unwittingly thinking the same thing to themselves ( "Wow, I won't get bored here!" ).

As the silver haired German girl rushes up to Ichika she claims something that even Tomoe was not expecting "My Wife, I've found something out about the new kid!".

_**That is Chapter seven, for now, Kestrel is having a bad time, but don't go away! Things get a lot better from here on, As the saying goes "Even the word Hopeless, has Hope". So stick around those who still find this fanfic interesting. Also Clarissa Harfoch should make an appearance in the next chapter, well... that is the intention, and hopefuly more romcom should appear with Ichika and the girls. **__**Lets see how well Kestrel goes on with a person whom understands PTSD and what it is Laura has found out.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	8. Chapter 8: Uncovering secrets

_**Black Falcon 01 returns again with a new chapter, this time giving some readers answers to some questions, or maybe more questions... so I don't know how helpful thats going to be to you readers, **__**but never the less, I keep my promises and I promise to do my very best to entertain and satisfy people who love reading. In this Chapter Laura finds out a bit more about Kestrel and his history, **__**while Ichika and everyone else tries to help our troubled littled hero with his PTSD, So... still wishing everyone the best, please enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 8

As the silver haired German girl comes running up to Ichika, everyone else stares in amazement, except for Kestrel. The two new faces Yui and Tomoe are more surprised than Ichika and his friends.  
"EEEHHH! You've found something out already!?" Houki, Rin, Cecilia and Charlotte call out all at once. Laura takes pride from the amazement that Ichika and the others are giving her, and as a ressult, a proud smile spreads across Laura's face. "Of course!" Laura scoffs as she comes to a stop in front of Ichika and placing her hands on her hips. As Ichika smiles with hope, he casts a look down at Kestrel and the two shotacons beside him, as Ichika sweatdrops and makes an awkward face, a sudden great Idea hits Ichika on the head. "Hey, why don't you girls give Yui a tour of the academy?"

As Ichika speaks the idea, the two girls stop their smothering of Kestrel and look up at Ichika with straight and neutral faces. "Hmm? But why? Kestrel needs some comfort" The long black haired shotacon girl starts, whilst holding Kestrel in a loving cuddle. Her friend with short Orange hair has a hold of Kestrel's left arm and with a frown on her face states "He had a horrible shock today, he needs proper mothering care". Finally the third and final girl with light blue ponytails, holding onto Kestrel's right arm states out "What happens if he suffers a nasty shock like that again?".

Ichika closes his eyes and smiles awkwardly, Cecilia and Rin put their index fingers to their foreheads whilst closing their eyes and shaking their heads. Houki merely rolls her eyes, shakes her head and places her hands to her hips. Laura merely stands still and casts a look at Ichika with a frown "Why can't you be like that with me, my wife!?". Charlotte whom had a look of neutralness on her face casts a look at Laura with a mixture of irritatedness. "Well, ahh...why don't you take Kestrel with you and Yui" Ichika states now with his eyes open and with a friendly smile. Amazingly all three girls break into happy smiles, and look at each other. "Sure!" The long black haired girl calls, "Common Kestrel!" The Orange haired girl suddenly states. "Follow us miss Sakurada!"

The final girl calls out. Yui's eyes are open with surprise, but she feels comfortable. As Kestrel the black haired girl grabs ahold of Kestrel's left hand, she makes a very ladylike bow to Yui "Oh... I'm sorry, we forgot to introduce ourselves, I'm Konoe Asaka". The Next girl that bows is the Orange haired girl "I'm Rie Sakai", the third and final girl that bows is the blue ponytailed girl "I'm Yuno Kaguraska". As Yui exchanges bows with the three girls, Houki walks up to Ichika and mutters in his ears, "Is it really a good Idea to let Kestrel be alone with those craddle robbers!". Ichika carefully turns his head back at replies in his own quiet tone "Yui is going to be with them, so Kestrel is'nt in any danger". Houki looks down at the young Israeli boy whom has a girl on his left and his right.

"Okay, why don't we let you lot get on with what you're doing? We'll see you soon okay" Yui happily speaks out. Ichika and his friends exhange smiles with Yui, Kestrel and the three girls. As Kestrel, Yui and the three Shotacons walk away towards a corridor. Ichika turns round to look at his friends, "Okay Laura what did you find out?" Rin begins with a curious tone. Tomoe leans in closer to hear what it is Laura has to report. "Come, let us sit down and I will show you" Laura speaks out cooly whilst motioning with her hand for Ichika and the others to follow.

Even though the IS cafateria is a well known meeting place, there is never any shortage of seats or tables. Even when Ichika and the girls get sat down, its amazing to see so few people in such a large area. Charlotte and Cecilia beating the other girls to the seats beside Ichika, causing an atmosphere of irration and disapointment to radiate. However the main factor for the seating is for Laura to display or declare what information she has obtained on the lone Israeli boy. "Look at this screen" Laura declares whilst partially deploying parts of her IS. The parts are of the setting of a computer monitor, everyone's eyes immediately become fixed on the holographic computer screens. As Laura looks up at the screens, the screens change to images showing writing, one of which has a small mug shot photo of Kestrel looking at the viewer with a dazed look on his face. Noticing the small writing is going to be hard for Rin and Tomoe to read, Laura sits up with a very military disciplined look of authority. "Ahem... Classified document files number Thirty one, Forty five, Stroke A, Seventy six. Subject Kestrel" Cecilia and Charlotte quickly glance looks at each other before looking forward again. Laura continues on not noticing the anticipated looks on everyone's faces.

_"Subject Kestrel, Nationality.. Israel, Age.. ten, Height.. four foot nothing, Weight.. 30 pounds, Blood type.. A, Home town.. Unknown, Family.. Unknown, Surname.. Unknown. Alternative history is... found March 1st in Tel Aviv piloting an IDF long range IS unit. Engaged and apparently seriously damaged 4 IDF IS units, badly wounding the pilots, Subject Kestrel was eventually shot down by IDF IS pilots after a twenty four hour pitched battle over the sinai pennisula. Young subject was found with serious body injuries, includeing numberous cuts, bruises belived to have been at least 48 hours old. Upon being captured, Subject Kestrel was found with only an identity tag around his neck with the word "Kestrel" engraved. No other forms of indentifycation have been made or established"_ Laura continues with serious look on her face. Ichika and the group becoming more and more engrossed in Laura's findings. As Laura continues on Houki gets a thought in her head, ( "So that Kid has flown IS before, no wonder he's performed well during lessons" ).

_"Subject Kestrel was taken to the IS lab and research centre in Tel Aviv where he was given medical care, upon being there Kestrel was discovered to have had at least 100 internal and external bruises and bone fractures on his body, only visible injuries were those sustained in recent combat or belived foul play with possible Phantom task"._ \- As Laura speaks the words Phantom task, Ichika and the gang nearly jump out of their seats. **"PHANTOM TASK!"** Cecilia yelps, Laura puts an index finger to her mouth and hushes the blonde quiet! "Phantom Task!? You don't suppose the kid was part of Phantom task do you!?" Rin asks with a concerned look on her face. "No, couldn't have" Tomoe speaks out. Everyone including Laura looks at the dark blue ponytailed girl. "How can you be so sure?" Charlotte asks.

Tomoe looks back at the French blonde and sighs, "Because Kestrel seems to have a hatred for weapons, he's had nightmares, acted like a victim, had all the signs of a person effected by acts of terror" Tomoe states. Rin raises an eyebrow at Tomoe "That does not prove anything!". Ichika leans forward and in a very serious tone speaks "I don't think that Kestrel has anything to do with terrorists either". This statement causes everyone to look at Ichika in surprise. However before anyone can say anything Laura defuses the situation "EXCUSE ME! IM NOT FINISHED!" The silver haired girl hisses. Everyone pulls a face, looks at each other and then back at Laura. "Go on then!" Charlotte states with an offended tone. "Thankyou!" Replies the eye patched German girl.

_"Anyway... Subject Kestrel was found to have had a bad lung, possible from inhaleing toxic smoke, possible from fires or expossure to hot or burning materials. A slash wound was found underneath the right eye, a large quality of blood was lost, very likely due to heavy bleeding over a period of over seventy two hours. Medical treatment took a total of 3 weeks to simply counter infected blood cells and injuries due to wounds being expossed to the open and not treated. After medical treatment was completed, interogation was very immediate. Subject Kestrel was discovered to have had very startling evidence of Phantom Task operations and crimes against Humanity. However, dispite numberous attempts to extract further information that could be linked to possible terrorism, __it became govermental knowledge that the male pilot with IS abilities had been discovered. Before being taken by international custody, Subject Kestrel's only admittance to personal information was that he was Israeli, this claim was proved correct due to the language and culture traits. However it is also belived that subject Kestrel has a form of rare amnesia, as cat scans were made on the subject's head showing damage that could be linked to either mild trauma. Psychological trauma includeing post traumatic stress has also been discovered upon subject Kestrel, therefore the choice on either to use truth serium or military interrogation on the subject was abandoned, due to subject Kestrel's young age and discovered traces of victimised trauma"_ \- Laura explains with a serious look on her face.

Ichika and the gang look awe struck, Cecilia and Charlotte's faces are pale, Rin gets the sickening feeling of her blood turning to ice. Houki and Ichika cast looks at Tomoe, whom is looking down and shaking her head. "How did you get this information?" Rin asks with a highly concerned look. Laura looks at the gang and rolls her only visable eye, "The Schwaze haze managed to dig up info on this kid, I sent a message to Clarrisa explaining the situation and she claimed she would look for what ever information she could uncover". Ichika and Houki cast looks at each other, one thing is for sure, when ever classified information is needed, only military hands can aqquire such information. Especially when your as skilled and as well trained as the famous Clarrisa Harfouch. "Is that all?" Cecilia asks whilst looking at Laura, as Laura looks at the holographic computer screen she shakes her head, but at least she brings at least one final form of information to the open.

"Nothing I'm afraid, it says that all remaining information can not be aqquired due to classified reasons, it does say, It is possible that Subject Kestrel has more and vital information as to who or what he experianced or went through, but the Subject shows servere signs of PTSD, and has been pushed to the limit of near suicide due to extreme depression and remorse. It is belived to attempt or further pressure a child in such a case would be an act not of investigation or justice, but out of extreme barbarity, and cruelty. With no family and friends known to the world, Subject Kestrel is in humanitarian hands, but with the ability to pilot IS, it makes him highly valuable. No further details have been aqquired as yet". As Laura finishes, the holographic screen deactivates, as does Laura's partially summoned IS parts.

Tomoe remains face down, then looks up and at Ichika. "Well... that proves my point, the child has to have been through a living hell". Houki and Rin look at each other, "Its no wonder the kid never speaks a word or tries making friends out here" Rin comments with a low tone. "Do you think we should try getting any information out of the kid?" Houki asks with a curious look on her face "No, I would advise against it!" Tomoe speaks out, her eyes slightly filling with tears. Ichika looks down, the feeling of sorrow and grief washing over him. As Ichika lifts his head up, everyone can see the pain in Ichika's eyes. "No... lets not try making the kid talk about it. He's gone through enough". Cecilia and Laura look at each other and then back at Ichika. "Well would'nt it be better to get such pain of one's chest rather than suffer?" Cecilia asks with concern and sympathy. "I don't mean it as way of not helping Kestrel, I just think its too early to start with any forms of questions, trust me... I've been in that position before" Ichika replies with his hands cupped together, elbows resting on the table.

"I agree with Ichika" Houki states, her face full of sympathy and her head down in a look of pain and mourning. "What ever that child has gone through, its best we not bring it up. The kid has only just escaped a hell'ish past, and he's only just experiancing the exit wounds, the last thing we want is to pour salt into his injuries". Tomoe looks up and gives a single firm nod, "Yes, thats something that we have to refrain from doing. My cousin went through hell and back, twice over after having to talk about what she herself went through. It got so bad that she almost lost it altogether".

Laura and Charlotte close their eyes and nod. "Okay wife, my lips are sealed" Laura claims with her hand reasureingly in the air. Ichika smiles at Laura and merely replies "Thankyou Laura". A smile appears on Laura's face, her eyes are filled with warmth. Charlotte places her hand on Ichika's shoulder and looks into his eyes, "Don't worry, we won't speak a word of this to anyone". Cecilia places her hand on Ichika's other shoulder, "None of us will". Ichika then defussing the girl's comforts by stateing the obvious "Thanks everyone, but realy this should be for Kestrel, he's the one we have to be supporting". Tomoe and Houki smile and look at each other. Laura however gets a curious look on her face "So... do you think we should tell Kestrel that we know a bit of his past?". Tomoe cuts Ichika off by speaking first, "I would say not, If we let Kestrel know that we know about his past, he may not feel secure. Over here he must feel that he's far away from his past, and that he can breathe easy.

If we was to open the can of worms, then Kestrel may become worse than what he is". Rin nodding in agreement, "Can't arguee with that, he's had a very nasty line of horrible reminders since he came here, the last thing I want to do, is feel like I'm a child murderer in emotionaly hurting a child". Ichika puts on his serious face, and looks at Tomoe in the eyes, Tomoe returns the serious look. "At some point though, we will have to let Kestrel know that we know about his past.. I mean we only know a certain amount, but we still have to let Kestrel know that we understand his pain". Ichika comments. Cecilia is next to speak, placing her hands together flat on the table surface, "Or at least, Kestrel may find out that we know by himself, but never the less, Ichika is right".

Tomoe looks at the celing and replies "If we want to let Kestrel know that we know about his past, we have to wait for the right moment to appear" Laura with a stern tone and voice asks the one question that nobody can answer "Great... and when is the right moment?". Tomoe lets out a mournful sigh, "I don't know, in cases like these its very difficult to know". As everyone looks at each other a horrible, dark aura casts over the gang. The feeling of misuderstanding, guilt, worry and dread is amoungst the lot of differant feelings emitting from the Ichika and the girls. As the group becomes more and more engulfed in missery, a cheerful voice shatters their solitude.

**"HEY EVERYONE!"**

Everyone almost jumps out of their flesh, as everyone turns their head, they discover the long sleeved Honne. Having a cheery smile and walking very pleasantly up to the gang's table. Ichika and his friends look at each other one final time with serious looks, Tomoe says the phrase that everyone immediately agrees on "We'll talk more about this afterwards". As Honne walks up to the table with at least 7 other IS students behind, Ichika and the gang put on straight faces and wait for Honne to arrive at the table. As Honne arrives, she immediately looks Ichika in the face and in a very pleasant tone speaks out "Ickika, Yamada-sensei asks for you to speak to her after afternoon's lessons". Ichika immediately letting out a confused "Huh?".

Laura and Charlotte looking very confused. Cecilia and Rin looking in concern, Houki however has a straight look on her face. "Yamada-sensei says that you're not in trouble, she asks if you can talk to her on matters concerning Kestrel". Honne happily claims with her arms at her side. As Ichika lets out a sigh of relief, a pink ponytailed girl notices the relief sigh and jokeingly claims "Whats wrong Orimura, did you think that you were going to get thrashed!?". Ichika responds by putting a hand behind his head, closing his eyes and letting out a crafty chuckle.

**\- Scene Change: IS academy classroom, 16:40pm -**

As the sun begins to set in a bright blue afternoon sky, Kestrel sits in a large white classroom, facing a blackboard. The teacher for this class not being Maya, but another female staff member with dark, short black hair, emerald green eyes and a silver pendant round her neck. The uniform the said teacher is wearing the traditonal black that most teachers are known to wear - You all know what I'm talking about! -. Holding a book in her hand, and walking up and down the isles of sat down students. Kestrel as usual completely unaware of what the said teacher is saying. However in this class the popular Laura herself is in this class. Every so often she sends glances to Kestrel, wondering deeply to herself. ( "That child has experiance with an IS, he has a traumitised mind, he has skill in flying and weapons operation. All thats left is to see him fight, I wonder how that will play out. Still... all that information that Clarissa gave me still has'nt answered all the questions that even I want answering. I can understand the child earning a traumitised mind through a blackened past, but to have earned IS skills in such a short period of time... no... theres got to be something else, unless... well... He was born with the talents needed, but even then, thats not a common gift to earn. I guess I'll just have to observe this child for the time being" ).

When IS management is involved, Laura is umong one of the finest operators that can be found, but even then, even the best have to keep their eyes on any skilled new comers. Even as the said silver haired German girl turns her head back towards the blackboard and back to lessons, the concern still remains very clear to her. The main concern is that according to the information that Laura obtained, along with reports of Kestrel's flying and evadeing Cecilia and Charlotte's arms fire, it is clear as day that the Israeli child has a touch with IS. In flight and weapons handleing Kestrel seems to be beyond the average rank, but the fact remains that Kestrel's battle skills are for the moment, unknown. As eager as many are to see IS battles between pilots with skills, Kestrel remains an enigma. Never the less, its got to be a matter of time before Kestrel takes up arms and is placed into battle with one of the academy students, the question is...Who?

"Okay... can anyone answer this question?" Asks the black haired teacher. The class remains silent, some students look at each other, but at least some of the students raise their hands. As the said teacher looks around, she notices Kestrel looking down at his IS study book. For Kestrel, its hard enough to understand what is being said, but to the classroom teacher it looks like Kestrel is the right person to ask. "You, new boy, why don't you answer this question". Kestrel however is unaware that the teacher is talking to him and remains face down trying to decipher the words in the IS studies book. Some students look over and notice Kestrel's lack of response and begin to wonder what is going to happen, however one such student speaks out in a voice full of earnest explination. "Excuse me, Takayama Sensei, but the child can't speak Japanesse yet, so..", "Be Quiet!" the black haired teacher responds cutting off the IS student. As the teacher, now known as miss Takayama walks up behind Kestrel, and puts a hand on Kestrel's right shoulder. As Kestrel looks up at miss Takayama, the said teacher looks down with strict look.

The grip on Kestrel's right shoulder increases. "Well... talk, can you answer this question?". Kestrel looks miss Takayama in the face and with a confused look, tilts his head. As miss Takayama looks down at the Israeli boy another girl speaks, "I know the answer Takayama sensei, how about..", "Be quiet, you speak only when spoken to" Takayama sensei calls out with her head turned to the right. As miss Takayama makes a head turn back to Kestrel, she looks down one last time. "Tell me... what is the answer to this question?", As Kestrel tilts his head, a nervous look comes across his face and a look of utter distress fills in his eyes. After a moment, Kestrel looks down and closes his eyes and in a distressed look, shakes his head. For Miss Takayama, the sight carries a lot of inpertanance. A look of anger spreads across her face. As Kestrel turns his body and head round to look ahead, Kestrel looks down, beginning to pyshically shake.

Miss Takayama looks down with her face full of anger, and she begins to roll up her book. Laura turns her head to wonder what the silence is all about, what she sees is Miss Takayama starting to raise her arm, the rolled up book tight in her grip. Laura begins to get a horrible feeling begin to wash over her, ( "She is'nt is she!?" ). As miss Takayama begins to swing down with the book in her right hand, Laura gets the overwhelming feeling of wanting to jump up and do something to stop miss Takayama from doing something that may be considered unacceptable to a child with PTSD. However before Laura can jump up and do something a fierce, menacing voice breaks the silence, directly at the same time Miss Takayama is about to swing down with a hard force. **"DON'T EVEN..!"** The fierce hissed voice makes Miss Takayama freeze in her tracks, Laura aswell as all the other students turn their heads to see the owner of the aggressive hiss. As Miss Takayama turns her head her eyes come into direct eye contact with the black haired Chifuyu Orimura. For Laura, the sight of the great Chifuyu is a sight that sends a wave of relief.

Its true that discipline is needed when you're in the army, it is also needed when you're running a centre ment to knock moral sense back into convicts, and it is definatley needed when you have to punish a badly behaved child, but for a mentaly wounded child whom has no idea what he's done wrong, thats a differant story. Miss Takayama's eyes widen in surprise for a moment when she sees the angered look on Chifuyu's face. "M..Miss Orimura" the said teacher stutters in an anxious tone. For Miss Takayama, the sight of the almighty Chifuyu is awe inspiring if you're a student, but if your a teacher and have done something to invoke her wrath, thats a differant story. Chifuyu's angered voice does not even leave her for a single moment, for Miss Takayama, it is very, very terrifying. However... as the mighty Chifuyu looks down at Kestrel, whom remains shaking and obviously waiting for the blow. Chifuyu's angered gaze stare Takayama sensei directly in the eyes. "What has he done?" Chifuyu asks with a hint of curiosity. Miss Takayama gets a short feeling of relief running through her body as she puffs her chest out forward, "This student seemed to choose to not pay close attention during lessons. I was merely about to give him the correct discipline available to.."

**"STOP!"**

The black haired, pony tailed woman calls out, for Chifuyu its like arriving in the nick of time to save a soul in distress. "For starters, that child does not speak much Japanesse, secondly the child hardly knows much words in Japanesse and thirdly, the child has a medical reason for any spacing out. Or had you not payed any attention yourself during the staff meeting?". Takayama sensei, goes bright red under the eyes upon Chifuyu's explination, but is mostly affected by Chifuyu's last statement. Miss Takayama then moves aside slowly and silently as Chifuyu places a hand on the shaking Israeli boy's shoulder. Kestrel lets out a loud gasp, and a tear rolls down his face, rolling over his red scar. As Kestrel's shaking comes to a stop, other students watching the events notice the relief in Kestrel's eyes, as well as another emotion.

"All right kid, its okay you're not in trouble". Chifuyu speaks out, whilst giving the child a pat on the head. Laura remains her silent and still self watching the events. "O..Orimura sensei, I.." Miss Takayama stutters finaly noticing the amout of fear escape young Kestrel. As Chifuyu turns her head to look at Takayama sensei, a scowl appears across Chifuyu's face. "Consider this a warning, in future if the kid does anything wrong, report it to me or other staff members. Now... I'll get down to buisness. I came here to let you know that four extra students will be joining your next lesson". Miss Takayama's mood changes from fear to curiosity "Realy? Four extra students?" asks the short haired teacher. Chifuyu's angered scowl changes to her normal serious image. "Yes... I appologise for this, some students have been delayed in lessons and they need to catch up". Miss Takayama sends Chifuyu a smile and in a natural tone replies with "Oh don't worry Orimura sensei, that won't be any problem". Chifuyu smiles back but with serious eyes reminds Takayama sensei of Kestrel "Yes Im sure... and in the meantime, if you want a student to complete any tasks, choose someone else instead of Kestrel. Remember, he's going flat out with lessons as it is". As Miss Takayama's face becomes that of person being put in their place, a very ernest and fearful "Y..Yes Miss Orimura, H..Had I known that.." Chifuyu raises her hand and cuts off the teacher in front of her. "Say no more of the matter Rika. You're one of the best teachers in the academy, I don't want to be forced into suspending that teacher for an offense that could have been prevented. Just be thankful I was here, and remember... a good teacher uses her head and not just her whip" Chifuyu smiles and mocks at that last comment.

The teacher, now known as Rika, Smiles back in return and gives a pleasant bow. As Chifuyu walks away and out of the classroom, Rika Takayama looks down at the Israeli child, whom has just managed to recover from that terrible moment. Rika's emotions are conflicting but at least she places a hand on his shoulder, she feels the child tense up. As Rika pats the shoulder she feels the child calm down. "Okay... ah..." Rika begins, letting out a cough to clear her throat "ah... you, why don't you answer that question?" Rika points to a girl with long purple hair. The said girl smiles brightly and stands. Laura meanwhile has a smile on her face, ( "Instructor Orimura, you never cease to amaze me" ).

One this is for sure, Chifuyu although very strict and fierce at times, is the right person to have around in a tricky spot.

**\- Scene change: IS academy lounge 18:10pm -**

"Wow! So this is the new students lounge!" Rin exclaims with a happy look on her face. For most IS students, the cafateria is the only place that people can meet up after or before lessons, but with the new student's lounge, it should provide new and better accomodation than just sitting in an over crowded cafateria filled with loud chatter and a claustraphobic atmosphere. The new students lounge itself is roughly the size of an average school gym, bigger than a class room, but smaller than the IS academy cafateria. As for whats in the lounge, a selection of cream coloured sofas, 3 large, long tables with metal chairs, a large plasma screened TV on the wall, 5 large fans on the ceiling, white walls and ceiling, 2 large leather armchairs and finally a large gray board on one side of the room where IS academy news articles can be pinned up. "Yeah, sure is... but the strict rule is, no personal IS unit is to be deployed here!" Replies the famous and well known, blue Russian haired girl Tatenashi.

Obviously the damage that IS units cause is a big concern, in fact the damage to the classroom that Laura caused a day or two earlier is still under very heavy repair. "Oh don't worry, I would'nt even dream of it" Rin replies back to the light, blue haired girl. As Rin looks up at the ceiling and takes in the amazing sight, Tatenashi smiles and crosses her arms. "Ya know, I also had a touch in making the plans for this room, so I would be kissing my shoes now if I were you" The Russian girl speaks out in a mocking, playful tone. Rin turns and looks Tatenashi in the face, smiles and places her hands on her hips. "Oh ha, ha! Very funny!". As the two girls share a moment of friendliness a voice interupts the moment "Hello?". As Rin turns her head to look at the owner of the voice, a smile has already apeared on her face. "Sakurada, its nice to see you!". Tatenashi smiles and waves hello at Yui. "Oh please, please do not feel any need for formalities, just call me Yui" The dark haired woman responds with a kind voice. "Okay Yui, oh..ah... I don't think you two know each other. Tatenashi... this is Yui". As Rin lifts her arm as a way of introducing the Russian before her.

Tatenashi surprises Rin by speaking out the words in a very casual manner "Yes, I know who this is, Sakurada Yui. The interpreter for the Israeli boy, am I right?". As Rin begins to stare in amazement, Yui walks up to Tatenashi and is greeted by a friendly hand shake. "Wait a minute, you know about Yui already?" Rin asks with a tone of shock and awe. As Tatenashi and Yui part hands, the said Russian girl merely makes a smug smile and looks Rin the face. "Oh common, you don't honestly think I don't listen to gossip and word between classrooms?". The words hit Rin like a pie in the face. As Rin face palms herself, a feeling of foolishness washes over her. Noticing the moment, Tatenashi defuses the feeling by speaking, "No need to feel embarrassed, everyone makes mistakes". Rin merely holds her head down, but quickly lifts it back up with smile on her face. "Oh I'm not embarrassed, just annoyed that you did'nt tell me sooner", Tatenashi shrugs and holds her arms up with a type of 'Wha?' position. "Oh forgive me, its just I like to keep my friends on their toes!" The blue haired Russian girl exclaims in jokeful tone.

"So, looks like the new kid is having a great time here eh?" Tatenashi asks with a pleasant tone, Rin casts a look of either irony or irritation at the Russsian. "A great time?... The kid's been suffering since he came here". Rins words taking Tatenashi by surprise. "Really? I thought the kid was having the time of his life" The blue Russian headed girl states. Yui smiles awkwardly and sweatdrops. "Just because he was being smothered by the girls here? Common!" Rin huffs out. Tatenashi, places her hands on her hips and looks up at the ceiling. "HHmmm... what is it the kids been suffering from? I heard he had a nightmare but nothing like suffering". Yui and Rin look at each other, Yui shakes her head at Rin, Rin nods in confirmation. As Rin walks up to the Russian girl, Yui begins to speak carefully in a cautious manner, "Well... the thing is, Kestrel has had some issues, so for the time being Miss Orimura wants us to just keep Kestrel as comfortable as can be". Tatenashi, springs to life just as Rin makes it with a few feet in front of her. "Really? What kind of issues?". Rin puts on a serious look and places her hand on the Russian girl's shoulder. "Never you mind about what type of issues the kid has had, just help make him feel as welcome as possible". Tatenashi, looks at Rin and then back at Yui. With both women with serious looks on the face, Tatenashi gets the image and smiles and raises her hands as a submissive gesture. "Very well, very well... I won't stick my nose in other peoples affairs, but at least let me make the kid feel that little bit more welcome over here!".

"What? He's already had a welcoming party, what do you have in mind?" - Rin asks with a curious face and voice.

"Just trust me, the one thing I know above all else is how to entertain guests" - Tatenashi replies with a bright smile on her features.

Rin and Yui cast looks at each other and wonder what the Russian is planning to do.

_**That everyone is chapter 8, please stick around for chapter 9. We get to see what Tatenashi plans for Ichika and his friends. Also as a treat, we get to see Clarrisa Harfouch in the next chapter and for the first time in this fanfic, step outside of the academy.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	9. Chapter 9: A day out in the city

_**Black Falcon 01 returns again with another Chapter, this time we can step foot outside the academy, and see how Kestrel reacts to the outside world. In this chapter a lot more of Kestrel's past will emerge, but I warn you... its not pleasant. Please note... Trauma can forever effect a small child, so lets all consider it a blessing that Kestrel has managed to deal with new, alien like surroundings without proper treatment. Also Clarissa Harfouch is to make a surprise appearance, so bear with me if you can. Anyway... Onwards!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 9:

**\- Town Centre 10:02am, 1/2 mile away from the IS academy -**

It had been since yesterday evening, but the blue haired Tatenashi kept her word. The word in promising to entertain our PTSD suffering hero. Though the surprise request was on short notice, it was by no means, accepted by Chifuyu Orimura. Despite Ichika and the gang's doubts and concerns of Tatenashi being left in charge of Kestrel, Chifuyu had placed Yui in charge of observation, so at least Ichika could relax knowing that a fully dependable gaurdian would be with Kestrel the entire time he would be with Tatenashi. However Ichika and Houki would'nt put it past Tatenashi, although her intentions are good, there are certain things about Tatenashi that kept Ichika and his friends on edge. Given the chance Tatenashi may accidently mislead the young Israeli boy in her care.

The only thing Ichika was not happy about was the fact that Chifuyu had forbayed Ichika from going, reasons for being was due to the fact that Chifuyu had some extra lessons that the said Ichika had to catch up on, but at least it was only for the one day. Never the less Tatenashi had everything under control with just Yui as support, for the moment at least!

Kestrel being between the two females, Yui walking directly beside Kestrel on the right and Tatenashi on Kestrel's left. Tatenashi smiling proudly to herself as she led the two further into the town centre. Many people were out and around, mostly women and young girls. Kestrel paying no attention to the amount of people, but focusing on were Tatenashi was leading him and Yui. Despite being allowed out of the academy for a few hours, Kestrel remained wearing his IS academy uniform, Tatenashi doing the same, still wearing her own white uniform. Yui at least had changed from her usuall office attarie and wearing clothing similar to Maya Yamada, only differance being Yui's skirt being navy gray. Some people cast looks but Kestrel pays no heed to them. Tatenashi being the only one to acknowledge people's stares, gazes or waves with a smile or wave of her own. Yui casts a glance and thinks happily ( "She seems very pleasant and friendly, its rather nice to be out in the town for once, I'd almost forgotten what a large urban area looked like" ).** "STOP!"** The Russian girl shouts, Kestrel immediatley stopping, Yui having to be pulled back by Tatenashi.

A loud car horn blasts, drawing Yui back to sudden reality. As the car makes a sudden slow down, Tatenashi lifts a hand up as a motion for the driver to drive on. Yui becoming slightly embarrassed that she, a mature woman has had to be saved from an accident by a younger, teenage girl. As the silver car turns a corner and drives away, Tatenashi looks Kestrel over, then onto Yui. "Anyting broken or lost?" The Russian girl asks with a smile of relief. "Oh no, I'm okay, thankyou for that". Yui chuckles with embarrasment. Some bystanders whom watched the event whisper or walk off with frowns on their faces. "You don't even know road saftey? Have you not lived in Urban enviroments before?" Tatenashi asks with a simple look on her face.

"Oh its not that, its just my mind was miles away" Yui speaks out in a embarrassed but pleasant tone. Tatenashi puts on a smug look, "If I let that car hit you, you realy would be miles away by now!". Yui's smile lowers and her blood runs cold for a moment, but at least she manages to shrug it off. "Ah yes, I'll pay more attention from now on, don't worry". Tatenashi's face returns to its normal pleasant state. "Very well, common, its this way" The Russian girl speaks out, mimicking with her hand for Kestrel and Yui to follow. "Where excatly are we going anyway?" Yui asks whilst making quick glances left and right at the many differant stores on both streets.

The buildings are so large and high tech looking, even though some are just average with nothing special about them. "Nowhere special, just its nice to be out and stretch our legs.." Tatenashi speaks out, replying to Yui's question. "Besides... I may even find some really good summer wear out here aswell as get a good parfait" Tatenashi exclaims with a eager and happy look in her eyes. Kestrel tilts his head while Yui rolls her eyes. "OH! Look! Over there, common!" The blue haired Russian girl calls out while pointing at a large Mall. Kestrel and Yui follow Tatenashi's finger and discover the Mall she's pointing at. As she begins to hasten her walking pace, Yui grabs ahold of Kestrel's right hand. Kestrel looks up and recives a very friendly and warm smile from Yui, although Kestrel blinks he responds to Yui's kindess with a timid "Thankyou". As the two follow the Russian girl into the Mall a quick thought rushes through Yui's mind, ( "Did she suggest bringing us out here just so she get away from academy work!?" ) As Yui smiles to herself and rolls her eyes, the black haired woman mutters to herself "Kids these days!".

**\- 4 minutes later -**

Yui keeps a nice grip on Kestrel's hand as Tatenashi leads the way through the Mall, for Kestrel the sight is very, very alien and confusing. Even so, Kestrel can't help but be awe-struck. Yui notices Kestrel's face full of surprise as the said child turns his head from side to side, up and down in amazement. Yui takes the chance to ask young Kestrel "Have you never been to such a large building before?", Kestrel looks up and shakes his head. "Sorry what was that?" Tatenashi asks, just catching the Israeli tounge from a short distance away. Yui looks back at the Russian girl and happily states "Its okay, its just that Kestrel here hasn't been to a place like a Mall or shop before". As soon as Yui speaks those words, Tatenashi's eyes widen in amazement. "You are joking" The Russian girl states in bewilderment.

Yui briefly closes her eyes, smiles and shakes her head. "I'm afraid not, in fact little Kestrel here hasn't been to a shop in his life". Yui takes one look at the Israeli boy whom remains looking around the Mall at the many differant faces and colorful signs that keep appearing, left, right and centre. At the moment Kestrel locks eyes with Tatenashi, a bright idea comes to the Russian girl's head. "Well... if he hasn't been to a shop before, then its a good thing I'm here." Tatenashi states with pride in her voice. Kestrel and Yui remaining confused as to what is going through the Russian girl's head. "Please come this way" Tatenashi claims, mimicking with her hand for Kestrel and Yui to follow. Yui and Kestrel look at each other for a brief moment. As Kestrel and Yui follow the eager Russian girl through the Mall hallway, the sounds of music and smells of perfume become for the first time in history known to little Kestrel.

The moment becoming very special for the child as he continues to question Yui questions of "What's that sound being made?, Whats that wonderful smell?" Yui smiling and happily explaining each and every answer to the Israeli youngster before her. As Tatenashi slows her walking pace, she becomes curious as to what the two are talking about. "Anything I'm missing?" The Russian girl asks, Yui looking Tatenashi in the face and beaming happily "Oh its just the sound of music and the smell of perfume, its all new to Kestrel". Tatenashi smiles and looks down at the youngster for a moment, before looking at Yui and commenting "I'm happy he's enjoying everything so far, what I have in mind for him is lot better than any music or perfume". What the Russian girl says is true, but in terms of "Better", that suits her rather than a kid like Kestrel.

**\- 2 minutes later -**

"Here we are, our first call!" Tatenashi smiles proudly with her hands on her hips. Kestrel looking around at the windows and sign, Yui looking more confused than anything else. "Ah... this is a clothing shop for ladies isn't it?" Yui asks with confusion. Tatenashi turns and happily looks Yui in the face. "Thats right, common, were heading inside, you may learn what real fasion is all about!". As Tatenashi makes a step forward to go inside, Yui states in a confused voice "But, didn't you say you was going to take Kestrel somewhere?". The Russian girl turns and looks at both Yui and Kestrel and states in a happy tone "And I am! In the meantime, its best you get some girl to girl talk in you. Anyway, theres some clothing here that I've had my eye on for a while now, and I want to know what else is on offer". Kestrel and Yui look at each other with confused looks. Tatenashi turns and immediately motions with her hand for the two to follow her. Yui and Kestrel take a look at the shop window and whomever is around and follow the Russian girl inside. "Okay, now you guys stay close to me" Tatenashi claims. Yui lets go of Kestrel's hand, but at least the youngster remains walking close behind Tatenashi. As Kestrel looks around, he notices the sight of shop figures with sample clothing on, the sight causing some unrest in the child.

In this shop at least 40 women between the ages of 15 to 40, and the looks they are throwing Kestrel is giving the child a touch of nerves. The looks are not malicous, but the looks on the female faces still makes Kestrel feel unwelcome. It does not help when Tatenashi comes to a stop at an isle of female tops and shirts. "Okay Yui, you get stuck in to anything that may interest you". The Russian girl states. Yui rolls her eyes and sighs, unfortuneatly Kestrel does not keep his eyes on Yui or Tatenashi and as the two females walk away towards a differant isle, Kestrel remains oblivious that he is now alone.

As Kestrel turns his head to speak to Yui, he finds the two females are gone, Kestrel's eyes widen a small amount and the child looks left and right. Nothing but isles of shirts, blouses and skirts appear in his view. Unaware of what to do, Kestrel begins to search for Yui. Carefully walking between the isles of clothing and looking around each and every corner as to not leave any clue unchecked. As Kestrel rounds a corner he finds three women between the ages of 17 to 20, as Kestrel looks at them, the three females stop talking and holding up clothing to look back at the child. The faces the females give are neutrel, but the looks in their eyes are of unwelcomeness. Kestrel's heart begins beating slightly faster than usual and breaks eye contact, walks forward and past the three females, trying to ignore the mutters the females are saying. As Kestrel walks down three rows of school uniforms for girls, he continues to look left and right, desperate to find Yui.

As Kestrel looks forward he finds 4 teenage school girls in common white blouses, blue short skirts and blue collars, the 4 females blocking his path. As Kestrel looks up he finds the 4 schoolgirls have mobile phones in their hands with school bags strapped around their shoulders. The 4 schoolgirls look down, cast glances at each other and begin to mutter. The words being sent towards Kestrel. Instantly noticing the feeling of not being welcome, Kestrel makes a left turn and walks down multiple isles of coats and jackets. However, that does not do anything to help, as Kestrel continues his search he fails to notice 5 teenage girls slowly following him, but... Kestrel does notice 3 29 to 30 year old women chatting to each other about what clothing they should choose. Kestrel does not attempt eye contact and instead walks onward, as he gets to the last isle of coats and comes to an isle of socks and stockings, he makes a left turn and begins to walk calmly. It helps for the moment, untill he comes to a dead end. As Kestrel looks upwards left and right, he notices an arrow sign pointing left. Though he has no clue what the sign means or what it is saying, Kestrel follows the direction down an isle that he was NOT wanting to encounter.

As Kestrel tries to navigate his way through the isles of female wear and barricades of women and girls chatting with each other. Kestrel stubbles, but at least he manages to stop himself from falling. As Kestrel straigtens himself up he looks around and finds he's wandered into the Lingerie section. As Kestrel looks around he notices a group of highschool girls looking at him in a very unfriendly manner. All 4 highschool girls keep their eyes on the youngster, yet their faces look angered. Kestrel looks around and sees another party of females, this time between 10 or 12 and the words like "Little perv" escapes a young woman's lips. To make matters worse Kestrel's heart is becoming panicked, as Kestrel begins to back up slowly, he can't understand what the girls are saying or what he's done wrong.

However Kestrel's backing up becomes short lived as he bumps against something soft. As Kestrel turns and quickly looks up, his eyes meet the gaze of a very fierce looking store clerk, "What do you think you're doing?" The uniformed woman speaks in a stern voice. Kestrel begins to access the situation and quickly acknowledges the pressance of hostility Kestrel backs away again, not breaking eye contact with the store clerk. As the store clerk follows forward, Kestrel speaks out the words "Lo Tov!". - Meaning: "NO GOOD!" In Israeli . As the store clerk reaches down to grab Kestrel's arm, Kestrel looses the power of rational thought and instead an instinct kicks in, the instinct to either 'Fly or Fight'. Kestrel's eyes go into a type of trance and as soon as the clerks hand comes within 3 inches of touching Kestrel's arm, Kestrel lashes forward with his arm in a swing. Knocking the clerks hand and arm away from him.

Although the clerk is taken by surprise, the look of heavy anger appears on her face, and she immediately lunges forward to grab Kestrel's arm again. This time Kestrel, despite his small body, slams a sharp, and painful kick martial artist style into the clerks right thigh. As the clerk hisses in pain and bends down to hold her stinging thigh, Kestrel slams a fist directly into the clerks face, the sound of bone impacting bone is clearly heard. However, the blow is painful for Kestrel, his hand screams in agony, but at least it brings him out of his trance. As Kestrel looks down, he sees the clerk holding her face in pain. As the clerk attempts to pick herself of the floor, blood can be seen gushing out of the clerk's nose and upper lip, blood wets her hand. Kestrel full of fear then turns and flees, his heart beating rapidly. As Kestrel runs round a corner, he sees a pair of rooms with curtains. As a ressult without thinking, Kestrel full of panic, runs into the one room that he will quickly regret running into. The women's changing room!

As Kestrel, holds his hand in pain and slumps sideways against the wall, he feels a pressance behind him. As he slowly turns round and looks upward, his eyes make contact with yet another girl. This one looking directly in Kestrel's eyes, the girl has short brunette hair, brown eyes. The girl clearly of highschool origin due to her wearing a black skirt. As Kestrel and the girl stare each other out, Kestrel glances down and sees the girl's bare, bouncy breast. Quickly looking back at the girl's face, the look of ferosity has replaced the shocked face. As Kestrel starts to move towards the curtains, the girl carefully puts on her white school issue blouse, she then leans down into a school bag and reaches for something. As Kestrel prepares to leave, a sharp and painful, vice like grip grabs his left arm, stopping him dead in his tracks.

As Kestrel looks at the girls face, he sees only malice and violence. Kestrel does not hesitate he quickly dashes forward and in a sharp and defensive motion, places his mouth over the girls hand and drives his teeth down with all the pressure he can manage. The girl's face changes to pain stricken and she lashes around with her arm to throw Kestrel off her hand, in just 3 sharp swings Kestrel slips of the girl's hand, but as Kestrel falls through the curtains, he can hear the sounds of whimpering and pain struck hissing. During this time 12 females are present and are now curious as to what is happening, then... the curtains open to reveal a very furious highschool girl, her left hand, dripping red with blood. As the blood drops hit the floor, Kestrel turns his attention to an object the girl has in her right hand. However at the same time Kestrel discovers what the object is, the 12 females run in alarm and either get behind some clothing isles or run in flight towards the store exit.

Kestrel's flight or fight instincts kick in again, but this time Kestrel chooses the flight instinct. The object in the girls right hand shines in the storeroom light, the black oject lets out a clicking noise. Kestrel goes white, picks himself up and runs at full speed at the store exit. The store clerk whom Kestrel had punched just coming into view casts a look at the snarling, short haired brunette and looks down the barrel of a colt 45 gun! As the girl levels the gun up towards the clerk's body, the clerk jumps backwards, crashing into a isle of clothing. Causing the lot to collapse and land on top of the bloody nosed woman.

At this very moment, whom should appear but Yui and Tatenashi. "Kestrel?" Yui asks with concern. However, all that Yui manages to see is the long, black haired youngster dash past her looking very terrified. Suddenly Tatenashi shouts at the top of her lungs "GET DOWN!". Less than a second later a loud, almighty bang shatters the entire Mall atmosphere. Causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. The highschool girl still with the look of bloodrage on her face and eyes, misses on her first shot. The bullet makes a near miss close to Kestrel's head, hitting a metal frame and making a large spark and collossal crashing sound with tiny metal fragments that go flying. Yui and Tatenashi begin to pick themselves off the floor and get the sight of the short brunette highschool girl dashing past full of uncontrolable anger and fury.

One hand gushing blood, the other hand firmly clutching a gun. **"KESTREL!"** Tatenashi shouts out in alarm! As Kestrel runs out of the store, people are looking at each other and walking slowly towards the clothes store entrance. They quickly turn tail and run for their lives, sounds of screaming and panic fill the entire mall, as the highschool girl dashes out of the store with the gun still in her hand. Kestrel does not look back and instantly makes a sharp left turn down a flight of stairs, the highschool girl aims her colt 45 and fires a second shot. The sound once again echoeing throughout the Mall, the second bullet misses Kestrel, this time the bullet is stopped by hitting a large marble coloumn support pillar. Dust, Marble and concrete shatters, leaving a hole smaller than a coin in the coloumn pillar. However the girl does not stop, she races down the flight of stairs after the long haired Israeli boy. The girl attempts to get another bead on Kestrel, but fails to do so when Kestrel runs behind some stalls, giving him cover.

The chase that follows takes Kestrel and his attacker down various halls and through stores. The third shot is fired when Kestrel runs into a food store, the bullet missing by yards and shattering wine bottles, causing red and white wine to fly with glass shards in a deadly wave. The forth shot is fired when Kestrel runs behind some food isles containing bread and cereals, the bullet misses Kestrel's right leg and instead destroys the electrics for a cooler containing meat. The fifth and six bullets are fired 5 seconds apart from each other when Kestrel runs back towards the exit. Both bullets hitting the vegetable isles, causing fruits and veg to fragment and fly. The seventh bullet misses Kestrel by 2 inches near the body, the bullet hits a till causing money to fly and the till to shatter into a hundred pieces.

The final bullet is also a miss, this time hitting a window of a store just across the hall from the food store. As Kestrel runs around a corner, the girl is finally stopped in her tracks. The said insane girl being struck straight in the head by an IS fist. The IS fist belonging to Tatenashi, as the girl's eyes roll upward and she falls back out cold, the gun she was holding falls on the ground with a clatter. "Oopsie daisy!" Tatenashi exclaims in a sweet, playful tone.

"Tatenashi! Where's Kestrel!?" Yui's voice calls out in panic. Tatenashi puts on her serious face and points towards a corner, "He ran down there!". Yui does not speak, but instantly turns the corner and runs shouting **"KESTREL! KESTREL!"**. As Tatenashi looks down in anger at the out cold brunette, a cluster of sirens can be heard outside. The entire mall is now all but deserted. As Tatenashi places an IS foot on the outcold girl to ensure no escape, an entire team full of S.A.T members burst into the Mall. "SPECIAL ASSAULT TEAM! DON'T MOVE!" Tatenashi, still in fully deployed IS turns and shouts back "LOWER YOUR WEAPONS! I'VE GOT THE SCUMBAG RIGHT HERE UNDER MY FOOT!". The S.A.T teams stare in utter amazement at the sight before them, knowing that their small automatic firearms are no match for an IS, the S.A.T members lower their weapons and walk forward towards the Russian girl.

**\- Scene Change: IS academy, next day, 12:00 noon -**

"Hmm, so thats what happened?" Chifuyu states whilst layed back in an office chair reading reports from both police reports and Yui's reports. For the great Chifuyu, the problem could not have come at an even worse time. The stress showing on the black, ponytailed haired woman's face as she sits up straight and places the reports into her office desk. Kestrel and Yui sit across from the great Chifuyu in vistor seats. Kestrel looking down on the floor with a 1,000 yard stare. As Yui looks at Chifuyu in fear, the sounds of a muffled stutter escape Yui's lips "M..Miss Orimura, if I may say, the police have already resolved the matter as an open and shut case, so.."

"Only because of CCTV footage and because of that looney bitch already having a criminal record with anger management, that however does not change the fact that we have yet even more problems on our hands" - Chifuyu speaks out, cutting Yui off from her explination. Yui remains sat up straight but the fear is still on her face, "Y..Yes Miss Orimura, and as I've already said, I claim full and total resposibility for what happened". Chifuyu rises out of her chair and stands, a frustrated sigh escapes her mouth, "Thats not the point, Its the principle of the matter" Chifuyu grumbles. Yui nods in confirmation.

As Chifuyu walks round her office desk, she looks down at Kestrel with a concerned look. "Its the fact that Kestrel was let out of sight, the incident became public, the fact that Kestrel was put in harms way and a gun was fired at one of my students" Chifuyu continues with a stern voice. Kestrel lifts his head and makes contact with Chifuyu's eyes. "Look at him Yui, when you found him, he was cowering in a rack of tires in an automobile store, you said it took 2 hours to make him calm down, and even then... you had to chase him around that entire Mall untill he calmed down and became tired from running". Yui casts a look at Kestrel, the said child still full of nerves and eyes full of emotional stress.

As Yui looks back at Chifuyu, she sighs and nods. "Yes Miss Orimura, I understand, and I do appologise for this terrible incovienance". Chifuyu places her index finger on her forehead, closes her eyes and sighs in frustration. "Look... Yui, I know that none of this was intended, but the fact is that a student was expossed to danger, and that our hopes of not having scandal with Kestrel, may now be dashed". Yui looks down and with a final glance at Kestrel, looks forward and asks, "So...What is to happen to us Miss Orimura". Chifuyu then proceedes to fold her arms and look Yui in the eyes, but this time she smiles a little. "Nothing serious Yui, In the meantime I suggest you now be a lot more cautious as to what you do and where you go with my students, Kestrel won't be allowed off the academy premises without permission, and Tatenashi will be given 12 hours detention for recklessness". Yui smiles and despite being sat down, makes a pleasant and thankful bow to Chifuyu.

Chifuyu smiles herself, she closes her eyes and shakes her head in a form of affection, as Yui sits back up straight, the look of relief and happiness is spread wide across her face. Kestrel then feels a hand grab his own, as Kestrel turns his head to the left, he sees Yui smiling brightly and nodding her head.

"All right you two, I need to see someone. You can leave". Chifuyu claims in a normal tone, Yui stands with eager happiness, looks down at Kestrel in the eyes and speaks someting in Israeli. The said boy jumps out of the office chair and instantly calling out "Thankyou! Orimura, Thankyou!". The look of happiness is spread across his face. Chifuyu makes a smug smile and quickly speaks out to Yui "Yui, tell Kestrel 'Stay out of trouble, don't go anywhere without permission, get a goodnight's rest and above all else, don't worry'". Yui responds with a pleasant "Yes, Thankyou miss Orimura". As Yui speaks out the phrase in Israeli, Kestrel for the first time makes a very friendly bow to Chifuyu, he repeats the words "Thankyou Miss!, Thankyou Miss!". Chifuyu shakes her head and motions with her hand to leave.

Yui taking Kestrel's hand and walking towards the office door. "Okay Clarissa you can come in now!" Chifuyu calls while walking back her large desk to her office chair. As the office door opens, Kestrel and Yui stand aside allowing the the eye patched German female to enter. Kestrel looks at the eye patched German with curiosity, Yui looking at the famous German woman with wonder. As Clarissa walks through the office door with 3 other eye patched German women walking directly behind her, Clarissa turns her head and looks down at the scar faced boy before her. "Please, take a seat" Chifuyu speaks in a normal tone, motioning with her hand for the popular German female to sit. However before answering, Clarissa casts a smug smile at the Israeli boy as she walks by.

As Kestrel tilts his head, Yui gives Kestrel a tug making the Israeli boy turn his head and look at her face. "Come on Kestrel" Yui speaks out in a very friendly tone. As Yui leads the Israeli boy out of Chifuyu's office Kestrel gets a feeling of pure relief and happiness flow through him. Even as Chifuyu's office door clicks shut behind him, the young boy feels the heavy pressure leave his little chest.

As Kestrel and Yui walk down the white corridor, from a distance Tatenashi looks at the pair leave, and smiles happily. "That Kid has balls, I think he and I are going to get along like a house on fire" As the Russian girl turns away and walks she can't stop thinking about the amusement of knowing Kestrel had bit someone, and faced off against a much stronger foe, one thing is for sure, that sure as hell is something to be impressed with.

_**Okay, Thats Chapter 9, Stick around to see what Clarissa is doing in the IS academy in chapter 10. For those of you who like Tatenashi, then I hope I've captured something of your likeness with how she performed in this chapter. Also I have some more entertainment in mind for our little Israeli hero. For those of you whom understand the stress of psychologic trauma, then may god forever bless you. Anyway, wishing everyone the best**_

**Black Falcon 01**


	10. Chapter 10: Clarissa Harfouch

_**Black Falcon 01 returns with a new chapter, In the last Chapter we left Kestrel leaving Chifuyu's office after some trouble with the outside. Along with getting visit from the well known and loved Clarissa Harfouch, In this chapter you will get to know what she's doing at the IS academy, and what developments Kestrel will achieve. For those whom remain with me, and are keeping up, thanks ever so! Remember all my support goes out back to you fanfic lovers aswell. Anyway... Enough of the introductions on with the fanfic.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 10:

**\- IS academy, Ichika's bedroom, 21:00pm -**

Ichika, dressed in PJs pepares to put his head down and get rested for tommorrows lessons, however as Ichika's head touches the pillow a dreaded thought runs through his head, "Where the hell is Kestrel? Tatenashi said that they would be out for a few hours but this is ridduclous", Ichika mutters to himself. Though he's managed to get all lessons completed in Kestrel's abscene, the lack of the youngster's company has really gotten to Ichika's mind. To make matters worse, he's had to put up with the girls constant attempts to either gain his attention or getting attacked for some reason or another. Ichika's denseness to the girls that want him, really will get him killed one day!. As Ichika leans forward to pull the covers over him, a knock comes at Ichika's door. Ichika instantly sitting up and heading towards the door, "Hold on!" he calls out, wanting whom ever it is on the other side to wait and not leave without even a word. As Ichika gets to the door, and proceedes to open the said mahogany coloured door, the sight that greats him sends an ocean of relief over him.

"Kestrel! You're alright!" Ichika speaks out in a very happy tone, Yui standing directly behind Kestrel and bowing pleasantly at Ichika. As Ichika kneels down and looks the said boy in the eyes, he places a hand on the youngster's shoulder. "Where the hell have you been!? Its night and you've been absent for over 24 hours, what the heck has happened?" Ichika asks, while looking up at Yui and smiling.

Yui closes her eyes and smiles back, "Rest assured, Rest assured Orimura, we've been with Miss Orimura and the academy nurse, nothing to worry about" Yui explains with a happy tone. Ichika looks down at Kestrel and smiles brightly, Kestrel looking confused, tilts his head and blinks. That innocent look on the youngsters face has got to be considered a deadly weapon.

Ichika closes his eyes and smiles widely, rubs Kestrel's head and stands up straight to speak to Yui. "I was told Kestrel would be away for a few hours, what happened?" Ichika asks with a curious look on his face. Yui blinks at Ichika before speaking in a very cautious tone. "Ah... about that, you see... Kestrel and I ran into some... well... trouble" Yui speaks out with an awkward tone as she shifts her eyes to the right. Ichika's face becomes concerned and only repeats the word "Trouble?" in a curious tone. Yui chuckles for at least 3 seconds before raising her hands as a form of reasurance. "Ah... well you see, when Tatenashi took us to a Mall, we sort of well, got separated, Kestrel wandered off alone..." Yui begins to talk, lowering her arms down to her front and blinking at Ichika, who is now with a look of serious concern on his face. Yet he listens with full intent at Yui's explination. "So... Kestrel sort of, came under attack by a store clerk and then, some nasty highschool girl with a gun tried to kill him, so we've kinda had to spend over 24 hours with the police untill the incident could be delt with". As Yui finishes her sentance, Ichika looks down at Kestrel.

The youngster yawning loudly with black marks appearing under his eyes. Noticing that Kestrel is exhausted, head slumping forward and eyes beginning to close, Ichika stands to one side and pats Kestrel's head. Kestrel looks up and in a friendly and pleasant, yet tired tone whispers "Thankyou". As Kestrel stubbles his way into the bedroom heading for the bathroom, Ichika turns his head back to Yui.

"Is he alright? Was he injured or heavily shaken up?" Ichika asks with a look of concern in his eyes. Yui smiles, and shakes her head. "Its okay, Miss Orimura helped clear the situation, also the police made the incident an open and shut case. Turns out the girl that tried to murder Kestrel already had a criminal record for assaults on young boys and men anyway, so lets just say the girl won't be allowed out of prison for a while, but... at any rate, Kestrel was a bit shaken, but I managed to bring him round. We've just come back from the nurse, and she says to 'Just take it easy let Kestrel get a good sleep for tonight, and to stay away from stressful situations'". Ichika closes his eyes, smiles and lets out a breath. "Aaah, good. Thankyou Miss Sakurada. Thanks for your taking care of Kestrel". Yui shakes her head in return and states "Please, Please, just call me Yui. Besides, its not only my job, but also my pleasure to look after Kestrel. He's been through a lot you know?". Ichika puts his back against the door frame, and looks at the bathroom door. "I know, I know he has. Still, thanks anyway". As Ichika looks back at at Yui, Yui smiles in a very friendly manner. "Oh, you're very welcome Orimura, okay... goodnight" Yui happily exclaims whilst giving a very friendly bow, Ichika standing back in front of Yui and doing the same "Goodnight" Ichika speaks out.

As Yui turns and walks away down the corridor, Ichika closes his bedroom door. Directly at the same time, Kestrel appears out of the bathroom in PJs, desperately trying to walk back to his bed. Kestrel looks like a drunken person stubbling and wobbling. Ichika wastes no time and walks forward, placing his arm under the child's arm pit and helps guide Kestrel to his bed.

As Ichika pulls the covers over Kestrel, Kestrel immediately turns off, and enters the world of slumber. Ichika smiling and saying to himself "Nice Kid, He has guts thats for sure".

**\- Scene change: IS academy classroom, 10:20am -**

"Okay, that concludes this morning's lesson" The green haired Maya speaks out with a happy and relived tone. For once lessons have gone swimmingly without incident, as Maya places her books back into her desk, she speaks in a type of desperate voice "OH! Before you all leave..", causing everyone to look at the green haired teacher in glasses, in a very concerned manner. As Maya closes her desk drawer, she smiles and with an open hand, calm voice, motions with her hand towards the classroom door and continues with the words "I would like you to all meet some German IS operators that have arrived here this morning to conduct IS training manuevers and to observe our IS management. Please make them feel welcome". As Maya turns her head to look at the classroom door, all students turn their heads to get a glimpse of whom has come to join their establishment. First it was little Kestrel and now a bunch of German IS pilots, what next!?.

As soon as Maya places her out stretched arm back by her side, a group of 5 female Germans, dressed in military black uniform walk into the room, directly single file, one behind the other. As the German girls come to a stop in front of Maya, all 5 then make a military style turn to the left, facing everyone. Maya looking surprised and slightly impressed at the sight, makes a very slight smile. With the stomp of one foot all 5 German girls make the military attention pose. "Okay stand easy" A German accented voice calls out, from outside the classroom. Upon hearing the call all 5 German girls make yet another stomp of the feet, the legs parted and the arms placed neatly behind the back, the thumbs interlocked the left hand in front of the right hand palm, held above the waistline.

As the IS students stare in amazement, another German female walks into the classroom. Short blue hair and a military hand crooked at one side of the head. Noticing the Blue haired German woman is more of mature age than the other girls, some IS students gasp and gossip to each other in amazement. As the Students look at the German women, they notice something, all females have an eye patch over one eye like the popular Laura Bodewig.

Kestrel, whom is sitting at the back of the class stares with surprise, soon blinking. That woman is the one that he saw earlier yesterday evening. During this moment, Maya walks forward and shakes hands with the German woman in front of her. As Maya and the unknown German turn to face the students, Maya speaks in a very happy tone "This everyone is Miss Clarissa Harfouch, please make her and her girls feel welcome". Clarissa smiling with pride at the greeting, some students stand and clap furiously with open or closed smiles on their faces. Some students squeal in utter joy and amazement.

Kestrel however remains silent and confused, but one thing is for sure whom ever this woman is, she looks very suspicious. The smile she has on her face looks very menacing. Kestrel's heart beginning to beat with nervous tension. As Kestrel begins to look down at his desk, his mind begins to wander, he begins to no longer hear any words Maya is saying, even if he can not understand them anyway. As Kestrel looks down and begins to fret to himself, he does not notice Clarissa's one lonesome eye rests on him, a sinister smile breaking across her face. ( "So thats the child Laura was so interested in, Vveeerrry interesting" ) Clarissa thinks to herself.

"So, miss Harfouch, as you can see all the students here are very excited at your being here" Maya exclaims with a happy look on her face, Clarissa turning her head to look at the said teacher with green hair and glasses. "Much obligied my Japanesse friend, very charmed I'm sure" Clarissa replies with a proud look her face. As Clarissa turns her head to the right to look at the rest of the German girls behind her, Clarissa speaks in a calm voice "Okay girls, fall out when ready". As Clarissa then turns her head once again to look at the IS students before her, the 5 German girls instantly relax themselves and walk forward smiling and waving to the IS students before them. "We of the Schwarzer Hase corps are very honoured to be here, please make us feel at home", Clarissa speaks out in a very sweet tone, her hands placed to together as if she was praying. For Clarissa, that type of behavior is very rare to see, but never the less it makes the IS girls in the class scream out ever louder.

The ear piercing noise shattering Kestrel's tiny eardrums and making him close his eyes tight and hold his ears. However, the problem does not end there. In Kestrel's mind sounds of distress calls are becoming mixed in with girls screaming and as Kestrel begins to struggle to keep his mind focused on some form of normal rationality, his mind begins to stray into a terrible form of panic stricken mode. As Kestrel opens his eyes he sees something that no one else can see, the walls are coated and dripping red blood, the screams from the IS girls making the entire room look and sound like armageddon. The classroom looking like a cold, concrete dungeon filled with torture and death. As Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes his head violently in hopes the visions will go away, the sounds intensify.

Making Kestrel begin to cry in distress, and in a space of 2 minutes his cold, clamy, pale face is nearly drenched with tears. As Kestrel opens his eyes one final time he sees black figures approaching him, some have tools like hammers, drills and saws in their black, clawed hands. The figures faces become visible, female faces with glowing red eyes, and sharp pointy teeth set in nasty, evil grins. Long, black hair spread across the room like Kayako from the J-Horror movie "The Grudge". For Kestrel, its too much and he begins to shake in terror.

Meanwhile, Maya is chatting away with Clarissa, she does not even notice the distressed youngster at the back of the class. None of the students notice Kestrel's panic striken head shakes, and tears of terror. Untill... A loud shattering noise causes everyone to come to a dead stop, as Maya, Clarissa and every other student turns their heads to see what has happened, they see a sight that takes them all by utter shock and surprise. Kestrel has shattered the classroom window, and has climbed onto the window ledge. The sight of utter terror and distress is on the young child's face. Before anyone can speak or shout, Kestrel springs forward and out of the shattered window and free falls over 5 floors towards the ground!

**"KESTREL!"** Maya screams in terror.

Some students go white and scream in shock, some run towards the windows, and although the fall is likely to be fatal, some students look out of the window to see if this is a dream or not. For Kestrel, he does not even notice that he is falling, all he sees is himself running for his life across a hot, and battle scarred desert. As Clarissa and the German girls run towards the window a flash of blue causes everyone to blink. A second or two later everyone sees a sight that makes everyone let out a terrified breath. Ichika has appeared in his personal IS and has grabbed the heavily shaken Kestrel in his arms. Maya whom had tears forming in her eyes, lets out a breath of relief. Many students clap and chear at seeing Ichika holding the terrified Kestrel bridal style in his arms. Ichika looks down at the shaken child in his arms, and can see panic and distress, "Oh no" Ichika whispers in symapthy and fear.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

Kestrel lays on his back in the very same classroom from which he just attempted to escape from in a fit of distress. The only occupants in the room is the academy nurse, Ichika, Maya, Chifuyu and Yui. The Students of the class including the visting Clarissa and the german women, stand outside the classroom pearing through windows attempting to hear the conversation and see what is wrong. "Maya, what for the love of god happened!?" Chifuyu virtually growls at the green haired teacher. Maya stuttering at the angered Chifuyu, "I..I don't know, I..I..I wasn't watching him when it happened". Chifuyu huffs in frustration and rolls her eyes - "You wasn't watching him?!". Maya takes a step back, closes her eyes and gulps. "Y..Yes, I wasn't paying attention to my students and before I knew what was happening, the window shattered and there he was on the widow frame, I didn't get a chance to stop him before he jumped". Chifuyu turns her back to Maya and looks up at the ceiling in stress. As Chifuyu brings her head back downwards, she looks over at Ichika. "Orimura, you say that Kestrel had a look of panic and distress when you saved him?", Ichika instantly standing straight and holding a serious look on his face, "Thats right Chifu..Ah Orimura Sensei" Ichika states correcting himself, maintaining his serious facial look. Chifuyu looks down at Kestrel whom is now making the 'Fetal position'. Letting out a sigh, Chifuyu turns her head and looks at Yui, whom is sat on the floor beside the traumitised child, holding him in a loving embrace. Though Kestrel is still shaken, his eyes are normal now, his crying has stopped and his colour has returned to his face.

"Has Kestrel explained what made him go insane?" Chifuyu asks with a concerned, yet serious look and vocal tone. Yui looks up at Chifuyu and with eyes of a mother heavily effected and concerned for her children, makes direct eye contact. With a serious face, Yui asks clearly in a serious tone "Do you want it straight?". Chifuyu merely remains silent and frowning at Yui. Yui immediately getting the message. "Very well... Miss Orimura, Kestrel claims he saw something, but thats all I understand and know, you better speak to the nurse here for a better explination". Chifuyu's eye contact shifts from Yui and meets the eyes of the academy nurse. "Well?" Chifuyu asks. The nurse looks back at Chifuyu and with serious face of her own speaks out "He won't tell anyone what it is that he saw, I can't get it out of him. But... If I'm not mistaken, a child with the condition like his, has got to have been caused in the enviroment he was in at the time, now... I'm not trained in psychological cases, but I do know that what ever it was that happened in this room, caused his turn. That also has got to have some connections with what ever it was that's caused him to be like he is now".

As soon as the nurse finishes her explination, Chifuyu looks down at the silent Israeli boy - "Can he be treated? He's already made it clear that he does not want to go back to Israel". As the mighty Chifuyu finishes her sentance, the Nurse stands and looks down at the traumitised child. Now with a face of pity sighs and says "I don't really know, I've never seen or heard of a case like Kestrel's. However... he's managed to cope with a lot of changes really quickly, and he's managed to admit that he's seen some images and sounds from his past, so I would say there is a very good chance that Kestrel can be treated. All I can suggest is that we simply talk to him, comfort him as best we can and keep a watchful eye on him and not let him be or go anywhere alone" Chifuyu blinks, relaxes her face and nods slowly. "Very good... Okay nurse, is there anything else here that can be done?", Chifuyu asks with a curious tone. The Nurse turns her head and looks Chifuyu in the eyes, "Not really, he's not injured... thank goodness" The nurse states whilst looking down at the shaken boy. Chifuyu turns her attention to Ichika, "Hey Orimura" Chifuyu states, Ichika instantly looking back at his big sister. Chifuyu then makes a smug smile and nods her head, "Good work on saving one the students".

Ichika blinks and although he is flattered, he makes a very straight face and replies "I'm concerned for all my classmates Orimura sensei". Chifuyu shakes her head and smiles. Any students outside whom heard Ichika begin to whisper and giggle with each other. As Chifuyu makes one last look at Kestrel, she states "Okay, Yui... help Kestrel back on his feet and get him down to the cafeteria for something to drink. After that I want you to see that he gets to his next lessons safely". Yui sighs, but nods in agreement. Chifuyu then looks at Ichika and states "Okay Orimura, get to your next classroom and wait for lessons to start". Ichika replies with a very clear "Yes Orimura Sensei". As Ichika takes one final look at Kestrel, Kestrel looks up at Ichika and his stare fades into a normal look. Ichika nods, smiles and walks away. As Kestrel's head follows Ichika, Yui begins to help the youngster to his feet.

Maya smiling in relief that her youngest student is one piece. "Okay! Okay that's enough shows over!" Maya calls out to the many students whom remain outside looking at the sight before them. As Ichika and Chifuyu walk out of the classroom, the students that remain at the windows, that do not leave continue to mutter and whisper to each other. "Okay Nurse, I think you're free" Maya exclaims with her friendly tone.

"Sure, just bring him to me if he becomes unsettled" The nurse states in a friendly manner, Yui smiling back and bowing with respect. However as the nurse leaves the classroom, the only ones that remain at the windows are Clarissa Harfouch and the German females. Clarissa's frown not leaving her for a single minute.

**\- Scene change, IS Cafeteria, Lunch time, noon -**

"YAY LUNCH TIME!" Shouts the famous long sleeved Honne. Indeed, lunch time at last in the famous IS academy, and a time when all students will appear to get aqquinted with each other. Despite Kestrel's turn during this morning's lesson, there has been no other incidents, and to make things even more better, Kestrel managed to get good ressults during the rest of his classes. Showing that even a child with a tortured mind has a chance of recovery. As Kestrel and the now , well known Yui walk side by side together into the cafeteria, they see the vast majority of students gathered around the German vistors. Yui smiles and sweatdrops, "Some things never change", the office suit - wearing woman states in an awkward chuckle. From Yui and Kestrel's point of view, most of the students are gathered around 5 differant tables, but at least Kestrel and Yui have their chance to get a food tray and head to the food counters without being caught in a long line up. As Kestrel makes it to the food counters 3 well known girls greet him, - Three guesses which ones! -. The Shotacons, Konoe, Rie and Yuno.

Upon seeing Kestrel all three girls run up to the dark, long haired youngster, kneel down and instantly start to smother the youngster. Yui looks down with an awkward face, closes her eyes and sweatdrops - yet again. "KESTREL!" Konoe squeals, "Oh you poor thing, we heard what happened this morning!" Yuno calls out while holding tightly to Kestrel in a deep embrace from behind. Kestrel merely blinks and mutters something in Israeli. Rie whom has a hold of Kestrel on his right sight catching his words. "Huh? I'm sorry what was that?" Rie asks in wonder. Yui knowing what it was Kestrel just said merely chuckles, looks down at the four on the ground and speaks the words "Ah... Kestrel just said "Can I get some lunch please?"".

Yuno, Rie and Konoe look up at Yui with straight faces, blink and then... getting the message, release Kestrel from their bear hugs of death. "Oh, You have a point" Yuno states, while standing up straight. However Kestrel's trouble is far from over, as all three girls look down at Kestrel with bright smiles. As Kestrel straightens himself up and smiles back at the three girls, Konoe looks at Yui and says "I know, why don't you eat with us?". Rie with a eager look on her face agrees and states "Oh yeah, Please do". Yuno however grabs Kestrel's hand and guides him to a food counter, "Please... theres a great special on food today, Kestrel will love whats on!" Yuno claims as she casts a look over to Yui. "What'dya say?" Konoe asks, pushing her face in happiness up to Yui's. Realising theres no way out, Yui rolls her eyes and smiles - "Okay, lead the way ladies".

From a distance the famous Cecilia alcott turns to her maid Chelsea Blackett and in a very irritated tone huffs out "Honestly, Of all the nerve! Ichika turns me down to spend time with that damn cross dressing frog!". Chelsea Blackett merely making an awkward smile as she walks calmly behind the storming Cecilia. As Chelsea turns her head to the left she notices the long, black haired Kestrel between two female students. ( "So thats the child is it? He seems a lot more smaller than what Cecilia described him" ). "CHELSEA!" Cecilia screams in anger, snapping the maid back to reality. "Oh... er, Sorry Cecilia I was miles away". Chelsea replies with an honest tone, trying to keep up with Cecilia whom has her head turned, but is still walking. What Cecilia does not see coming is a large white pillar directly in her path. Chelsea notices the pillar and in a very nervous tone tries to warn the British blonde "Ah, Cecilia ahead of.."

"QUIET!" Cecilia shreiks at Chelsea. As Chelsea lowers her head, smiles slightly and shifts her eyes away, Cecilia remains oblivious to the pillar ahead of her. "I tell you Chelsea! If I get my chance I will get even with that damn annoying man of an Ichika, one way or another!" As Cecilia begins to turn her head forward, she keeps her eyes closed and what happens next, she does not see coming - Yet again!. "If he even dares to speak back to me I will most certainly give that damn man of Ichika a sharp kick in the testi.."

**WHACK!**

"Oooff!" - Cecilia reacts in a very painful manner. As her face takes the full brunt of the impact. As Cecilia falls on her knees to the floor holding her nose and lower face in pain. Chelsea closes her eyes and makes an awkward face. "Well I did try to warn you" Chelsea speaks. Some students whom witness the accident either look in surprise or try not to titter or laugh. Meanwile back with Kestrel, the said child witnesses the accident play before him. Kestrel mearly tilts his head and looks in confusion. Yui titters at the sight. Konoe, Rie and Yuno giggly widely with each other. "Looks like we've got entertainment while we eat" Rie states with smug grin on her face. Yuno and Konoe maintain their wide smiles. As the three girls and Yui look over at Cecilia, they do not realise that Kestrel has already walked ahead of them and is pointing to a picture of some food on a signboard. Even though Kestrel does not even make a whisper to the lunch lady, she manages to understand what Kestrel wants.

As the lunch lady smiles and walks over towards an oven like machine, Kestrel walks down the line behind the line of schoolgirls. As Yui prepares to turn her head to speak to Kestrel a German accent catches her off gaurd. "What a fool that British girl is!". Yui, Konoe, Rie and Yuno turning their heads in surprise and whom should be there to meet their eyes but Clarissa Harfouch. The said German woman smirking at Cecilia whom is now walking towards a table with Chelsea, holding her face in pain. As Yui smiles she speaks out "You are that German lady I saw yesterday, whom is it?" Yui asks with a look of wonder on her face. As Clarissa turns her head back to look at Yui, she smiles and replies "I am Clarissa Harfouch, the top officer of the Schwarzer Hase corps". Upon hearing of Clarissa and her connections, Yui smiles widely and gasps in excitement, "Really? You are THEE Clarissa Harfouch!?" Clarissa's lonely eye widens in surprise at Yui's reaction. "You've heard of me?" Clarissa asks with pride in her voice. Yuno, Rie and Konoe cast looks at each other with confusion.

As Konoe prepares to talk a growl from Rie's stomach brings them back to reality. "Oh right, food!" Rie speaks out in a low voice. Yuno suddenly remembering what they were doing at the food counter, "Yeah, Hey Kestrel what do.. huh?!" Yuno suddenly speaks out, a large amount of alarm in her voice at that last word. "Wheres Kestrel?" Rie asks in concern. All three girls begin to look around and notice Kestrel has simply disapeared, instead all that greets their eyes is a line of schoolgirls ordering and gathering food from the catering staff. "GOD DAMN IT!" Konoe hisses. As all three girls walk in deflated and frustrated emotion towards the end of the line of schoolgirls, Yui keeps speaking to Clarissa, not noticing that Kestrel has slipped from her pressance - Yet again.

**5 minutes later**

After 5 minutes of conversation with Clarissa, Yui finally returns to normality, having her stomach remind her why shes standing in the cafateria. As Clarissa smiles in pride at her fan, Yui bows in respect to the German woman, "Thankyou for talking to me, I hope we can talk again soon" Yui eagerly speaks out, Clarissa smiles back and replies "Yes, I'm sure. Anyway... I'm going to eat with my girls, have a nice day". As Clarissa waves in affection to Yui and walks away, Yui timidly shakes herself calm again, for the said woman, its been a great honor speaking to her Idol for the first time in history. However as she turns, she finds shes all alone. "KESTREL!?" Yui yelps, as she looks around, only to see large amounts of females in the cafateria, speaking at eating with each other. For Yui, the feeling is like a single ton of bricks landing on the said woman's chest, shoulders and face. As Yui slumps her shoulders and leans her head back in utter frustration, a look of scheer frustration and stress on her face. As Yui's head drops downwards, Yui rolls her eyes and shakes her head and mutters to herself "Miss Orimura's going to kill me!"

_**That is Chapter 10, stick around to see how things develop during lunch in the IS cafateria. For the next chapter, you will hear and read students eating actuall Japanesse food in the next chapter. Okay, untill then. Thanks for reading, feel free to review.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	11. Chapter 11: Eventful lunch time

_**Black Falcon 01 returns again with a new chapter, in the last chapter we left Kestrel's interpreter alone in an IS cafateria, and as I promised, genuine Japanesse food will be included in this chapter. We get to see how Kestrel manages to get on with lunch surrounded by new German girls and regular IS students. We also get to learn more about why Clarissa is in the IS academy, how the German girls react with Kestrel and Ichika, and so... wishing everyone the best, on with the chapter**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 11

**\- IS Academy cafateria, Lunch time, noon**

"Hey what's that supposed to be!?" an American accented girl with long red hair states in both shock and surprise, the said American pointing to a small red plastic box. Instantly on cue, a girl with a long black braid and green eyes looks back at the American female and frowns. "This is a Bento, don't they have one on your planet!?" The Girl replies in an irritated and slightly offended tone. The American places her elbow on the grey table and places the palm of her hand under one side of her face, and with a smirk replies back "I know that, I mean whats the food supposed to be?". The braided girl then raises her eyebrows and in a low tone begins to explain to the American. Just opposite across from the curious American, three schoolgirls sit casting looks to each other, gossiping and shareing food. On the table opposite and behind them, three of the newly arrived German girls are being treated as celebrities.

The table is long and narrow with as many as 40 IS students sat on both sides of the table, running the entire length. While most students eat with chopsticks, others eat with knives and forks. All that can be heard in the cafateria is female voices of multiple nationalities, the smell of some of the finest food in Japan filling the atmosphere. "This is rice tofuu, try it, try it!" One girl with long black hair states eagerly offering food to one of the German girls. Another girl, with brunette pigtails and blue ribbons is eating a dish consisting of potatoes, thin slices of beef, string beens covered with soy sauce. A girl with a Purple, short hair and ponytail and brown eyes is eating an egg omlete with a bowl of rice as a side order. A girl with Short Orange hair, pink headband and green eyes is eating horse mackeral with soy sauce. As the German girls become aqquainted with the fuss they are getting, the famous Houki walks across the Cafateria with a bowl of Marble Tofuu. As she shifts a glance towards the scene, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head ( "Oh boy!" ) Houki thinks to herself as she walks towards a vacant table.

Meanwhile as the German girls become either victims of sudden taste bud assault from food that they suddenly don't like, or become victims of falling into a heavenly trance from food that they do like, Houki pays no attention to what is happening and instead attempts to get a table away from everyone else. Though having company is very nice, but when the place becoming over crowded then it is simply to much. As Houki walks through an ocean of females, she finally finds a table far at the back of the cafateria with no one around. Letting out a sigh of relief, Houki walks forward and comes to a stop at one end of the table.

She sets her tray down, upon her table not only is the bowl of marble tofuu but some small plates, one of which has 3 rice balls, 2 plates are food items related to fish I forget what you call them . Beside the plates is a large carton drink, what it is unknown, but must be good anyway. As Houki splits her chop sticks apart and prepares to eat, a small noise stops her from starting to eat. As Houki glances to the left she finds little Kestrel eating ramen. The pressance of the child is surprising, but because he seems silent and not interested in what everyone else is doing, then he can be considered a member of Houki's club.

What Houki instantly notices is that Kestrel knows that she is just beside him, but the said child has not even battered an eyelid. As Houki prepares to eat she suddenly notices something that makes her pause, she looks at Kestrel and notices that he is effectivaly drinking out the Ramen, though he does munch on the actual noodles, he is not using chop sticks to eat. What makes Houki hesitate is that Kestrel is eating this way as if nothing is wrong, as Houki attempts to eat, she keeps glancing at the youngster between each swallow that the makes.

However, despite her best attempts she can't ignore a child that has had a really horrible way to start the morning. Houki has always tried to make herself look like the perfect role model, but deep down in her heart of hearts she knows all to well that despite her bad traits, she is not Chifuyu Orimura. As Houki rolls her eyes and glances side to side, she places her chop sticks down on the table and in a calm voice, with a calm face, looks at Kestrel and asks "Ah...Um Kestrel, are you okay with eating that?". Kestrel instantly stops eating right then and there, lowering his cup of ramen from his face and licking a drop of soy sauce off the side of his mouth. As Kestrel turns his head to the right to look at the black, pony tailed girl in front of him, he has a face of confusion, he tilts his head to the right and with his innocent looking face, with brows raised, he tilts his head to the left, only replying with a tiny "Hm?". Houki blushes a little at the child's face of innocence in front of her, ( "So adoreable" ). However as soon as Houki's mind wanders, she quickly snaps herself back to reality and blinks off the thought.

"Ahh... well..Um.." Houki speaks chuckling to herself, not sure of what to say, this is the first time she has been alone with Kestrel, and it seems that she's nervous around the said young Israeli in front of her. Kestrel merely blinks at Houki, unsure of what is wrong. However Houki manages to bring up all her confidence and after a deep breath asks "Are you okay eating that?" Kestrel only sits up straight and blinks, Houki instantly notices that he does not understand what she is saying. Houki suddenly gets a great idea, and points to Kestrel's ramen. Kestrel shifts his gaze to his lunch and then back to Houki.

Houki holds up some chop sticks and with a hand motion offers Kestrel if he would like the sticks to eat with. Kestrel looks at the sticks and then back at Houki. Houki then makes mimicking motions as if she herself was eating Ramen and offers Kestrel the sticks again. Kestrel gets the picture this time and shakes his head, as Kestrel turns his head away and brings the cup up to his mouth to continue eating, Houki puts a finger to her lips in thought. However with a small groan in her stomach, Houki quickly continues to eat herself. However a few minutes of silence, Houki then breaks silence once again. "So Kestrel, tell me, what caused you to loose it". Kestrel, this time, only casts a look at Houki while holding his cup of Ramen to his mouth. Houki notices Kestrel only looking at her, not responding. This is becoming harder for Houki, being proud and destructive means her pride will be her downfall, and that means that being ignored won't be easily tollerated.

Houki points a finger at her head and twists it as if shes screwing something into her head. Kestrel only lowers his cup and looks at Houki as if shes just wet dribbled on her foot. As Houki takes another mouth full of food, Kestrel blinks at the Japanesse girl and says something that she was not expecting. "You.. Drunk?". Houki very nearly chokes on her food but ends up coughing violently. Some students nearby cast looks at the pony tailed girl as Houki tries to swallow the food that she was munching on. After a moment of struggle Houki regains herself and looks at Kestrel with an angered expression. However Kestrel does not look at Houki and just continues eating. "You little..!" Houki hisses out. As the said girl stands up in a fit of anger, a voice speaks out in an aggressive manner, "**OI!** If you lay a finger on him..." Houki is taken by surprise and as she turns her head, whom should be to meet her sight, but Ichika. Houki has a look of shock on her face, Ichika is defending a child that has insulted her. "Are you threatening me Ichika!?" Houki retorts with frustration.

Ichika sends an angered glare back at Houki and takes her by surprise yet again with his words "NO! I'm warning you! You can attack other girls and you can raise your hand against me when I do something wrong, but if you attack that child for a petty reason... I promise you'll regret it!". Houki blinks in shock before partially summoning her personal IS. As She swings her IS fist forward she screams in frustration. However, the fist does not even get close, it comes to a direct stop in front of her. As Houki blinks, she finds Ichika has partially summoned his own IS. He has stopped Houki's fist, however before Houki can do anything else Ichika grabs her arm and pulls her off her feet, everything happens so fast that she does not get a chance to react. As a ressult she finds herself pinned to the ground, body pinned against the floor, Ichika's knee dug into her back. Ichika holds the side of Houki's head against the floor and in an aggressive tone, Ichika lowers his head to more or less shout in Houki's right ear. _**"Now listen!"**_ Ichika hisses..

"I don't like hurting other people, but I don't stand for watching people like you attack someone for a reason that they can't help. I'm not your property nor am I a pet for you to order around! Neither is Kestrel! If you raise a finger against that child I will personally remove each and every one untill all you have is fingerless hands! Now... I'm going to get lunch, sit beside Kestrel and spend the rest of my time here no longer responding to your beckoning calls, now... I want you to take your lunch, go eat somewhere else... and stay there untill you are ready to start thinking with your head again, and if you even think of trying to attack me when I let you go... I will make sure you hit every single wall in this school!" - Ichika speaks out in a deep, low and sinister voice.

As Ichika releases Houki from his grip and stands up straight, Houki remains still on the floor shocked. When has Ichika been that mature or for that matter so serious! What hurts Houki the most is the words and the way Ichika just spoke to her. Kestrel meanwhile is looking at the sight with a surprised face, as is nearly every student in the cafateria. With a scene playing before them, the reaction from every other student in the cafateria is to watch and see what else happens.

As Houki picks herself up off the floor, she de-activates her partially summomed IS, and turns to Ichika with the face of a guilty child. The reality hitting her in the face like a punch, sure Houki is a proud person and has a right to lash out when badly offended, - everyone has that right -, but when a person is immature enough to not admit their wrong doing, its a differant story.

Whats worse, every other person in the cafateria has witnessed the sight before them, and maybe for the first time Houki has just been partially destroyed by her own actions. As the said girl looks at Ichika with a pale face, she trembles. Ichika's angered face does not leave him, the pain on Houki's heart is becoming heavy with guilt. "I..I'm sorry Ich.." Ichika holds up a hand and hisses out the words "ITS Not ME, you should be appologising to, its that little kid that you was about to assault!". Houki looks behind Ichika and sees the confused and nervous face of the young Israeli.

As Houki looks back at Ichika she tries to justify her actions... obviously whom wouldn't try to justify their actions? "I..I..I wasn't going to hurt the kid for no reason, it was because.." Ichika cuts Houki off again with an obvious voice of truth, "I heard what he said, but he's only a child, he does NOT think like an adult! For all we know he probably learned that phrase from Rin!" Ichika almost shouts out at Houki. As Houki looks at Kestrel again she remembers the night that Kestrel insulted Cecilia, the realisim falls upon Houki's shoulders, like a ton of bricks. As Houki stutters, Ichika points to her lunch and in a calm voice speaks out "Look, I'm willing to forgive and forget anything and everything that you've done to me, but if you start on Kestrel, I wont forgive you, so in the meantime... take your lunch, sit somewhere else and get your head together". For Houki, the humiliation of being proven wrong and looking like a monster in front of over dozens and dozens of schoolgirls, is too much. She slowly walks forward and timidly picks up her food try with her partillay eaten lunch on it, as she lifts up her food tray, tears start to run down her face.

As Houki casts a gaze over at Kestrel, she finds the said Israeli eating yet again. Ichika shakes his head and sighs with a normal look on his face, he sighs out one word, "Go". Houki turns and walks away with her head down, tears beginning drop into her food, she does not make a whisper. As Houki walks away and dissapears into an ocean of schoolgirls. Ichika turns his attention to Kestrel and sighs in relief, placing his hands on his sides.

"Wow, did you see that!" An Italian accented girl exclaims with a surprised tone. By now all the students have gone back to either eating or are gossiping to each other about what they have just witnessed in low whispers and exclaims. Ichika ignores the whispers and the returning sounds of talking. As Ichika walks up to Kestrel, he leans down and looks the said child in the eyes, "Are you okay?" Ichika asks with a careing tone. Kestrel looks at Ichika and merely blinks, Ichika then returns to his standing straight posture and smiles slightly at the fact that Kestrel is no longer in harms way.

Though Ichika feels bad for the way he acted towards Houki, he quickly overshadows the feeling knowing that he acted in means to protect Kestrel. As Ichika is about to speak again, a well known voice makes Ichika turn his head, "Oh, thank god!" The voice is full of relief, and its owner being non other than Yui. Ever since lunch time began Yui has been searching for Kestrel after the said younster vanished from her supervision. As Yui approaches the two boys, the look of scheer happiness and relief is painted all over the said woman's face. Ichika makes an very awkward smile and chuckles the words, "I take it, you've been searching for Kestrel?". Yui looks Ichika in the face and with an embarrased smile replies, "Unfortuneatly yes, I sort of didn't keep my eyes on him when I should have done".

Ichika raises his arms in reasurance, closes his eyes and speaks out "Oh don't worry, don't worry, he's safe with me". Yui stands straight and bows in politeness, "Thank you Orimura, that burden won't happen again", the office woman exclaims. Ichika shakes his head and smiles "Oh not at all, not at all, theres no problem at all". As Yui makes a straight pose she suddenly makes a straight face and in a curious tone asks "Hey, speaking of problems, was there a problem with with your friend?" Ichika's face goes straight instantly and although he prepares to speak Yui continues her questioning "When she walked past me with her head low, I asked her if she was okay, but she didn't answer... I think she had tears in her eyes". Ichika puts on a stern look and folds his arms, and as he speaks, he adds authority to his voice "Thats because she was about to attack Kestrel after the kid asked if she was drunk, so I gave her a scolding". Yui looking at Ichika in surprise and blinking, this is the first time she has ever seen the popular Ichika Orimura with a serious expression.

"And if you ask me I think she's had it coming for a while now" another well known voice speaks from behind Ichika. As Ichika's normal curious face reapears and he turns to face the owner, Yui makes a small smile. The owner being the famous French blonde Charlotte Dunois. "Oh hey Char, I haven't seen you since lessons" Ichika exclaims with a happy expression. Charlotte smiling back at Ichika, as Charlotte places both hands behind her back she stands straight in a very lady like manner.

"Yeah I came to get some lunch" the french blonde explains, before turning to Yui and in a voice of explination "As I was saying, about Houki... I know its horrible to say but... she sort of has had it coming for a while now" Charlotte speaks while having a look of pity on her face, Yui and Ichika looking at the French blonde with a look of wonder at what she has got to say. "You see miss Sakurada, Houki has a habit of not hearing you out and she tends to act before thinking" Yui blinks and places a hand under her chin, "Oh, I see, I see... You've had it before have you?" Ichika blinks at Charlotte in wonder as he notices her look down on the floor, "Char?" Ichika asks in a careing tone. Charlotte lifts her head up and speaks out clearly "Its okay Ichika, its all in the past... She raised her voice to me a few times and acted violent when I was in her way with matters concerning schoolwork or other things". Charlotte shifts her gaze away, going red under the eyes on the last statement.

Ichika oblivious to the fact that Charlotte is talking about him. "I had no idea Char" Ichika states, Charlotte quickly speaking the words "Besides shes assualted Ichika so many times so I have to be honest". Ichika makes an awkward face and sweat drops, "However, as Ichika says... That kind of stuff can't be overlooked when concerning a child". As Ichika looks at Yui, yet another voice calls out "KESTREL! THERE YOU ARE!". Ichika, Charlotte and Yui looking to one side and witnessing Konoe, Rie and Yuno rushing over to the Israeli boy's table with trays of food. "OH DAMN! That reminds me!" Yui calls out, as she begins to walk away she looks back and calls out "I need to get lunch, can you and Kestrel stay where you are?". Ichika replies with a clear "Sure thing!". Charlotte quickly getting a startled look on her face runs in chase after Yui, "Ichika, can you and Kestrel wait here, I'll be right back!". Ichika raises his hand as a way of confirmation.

As Ichika turns his head to look round at Kestrel, whom is the victim of a girl sandwich with the three shotacons, Ichika smiles awkwardly and thinks to himself ( "I know I was being rough and aggressive towards Houki, but I just couldn't take her outbursts anymore, let alone watch her be nasty towards Kestrel... I just hope she's okay by tommorrow" ).

**5 minutes later**

Although a few minutes late for lunch, Yui, Charlotte and Ichika finally join Kestrel and his 3 shotacons. Charlotte being exceptionaly happy that he gets to sit beside Ichika. Yui having a small bento and a side order of horse mackeral. Charlotte's lunch consists mostly of western origin, sandwiches with a side order of French croissants. Ichika not be all too bothered by food, and chooses to have Ramen aswell. As Ichika begins to eat he looks at the flavour of Kestrel's Ramen. "Chicken and mushroom flavour, very nice", Ichika comments with a smile on his face. Kestrel lowers his cup, looks at Ichika and blinks. "Does he want chop sticks" Charlotte asks, just finishing a sandwich. Yui takes the chance to ask the said child after swallowing a good portion of food. As Yui asks Kestrel, Konoe has a hold of an egg omlete in her chopsticks and is raising the food in offering to the little Israeli boy beside her.

As Kestrel lowers his cup, yet again... Kestrel replies Israeli in a small tone. Yui nods in confirmation, turns to Charlotte and states "He says "I've always eaten with my bare hands, without the use of knives, forks, spoons or firewood twigs.." Charlotte stiffling a laugh and trying not to laugh out loud. "..so why must I eat with twigs?"". Yui finishes. Konoe, Rie and Yuno, look at Kestrel with looks of wonder. "He's never eaten with utensils?" Yuno aks. Konoe places a hand on the child's back and looks at the child with pity. "Ohh, poor thing!" Rie exclaims with look of saddness, pulling her seat up directly beside Kestrel. "Here try this" Konoe states offering Kestrel some egg omlete. As Yui turns her attention back towards her food, Charlotte and Ichika look at each other. It brings a thought to mind, What kind of hell has Kestrel experianced in Israel? Who is responsible? And most importantly what can be done to help the traumitised child?

"Do you like it?" Konoe asks with an eager face, Kestrel has just eaten the egg omlete and has just swallowed the portion. As Kestrel turns his head and takes one final drink from his Ramen cup Yui, Charlotte, Ichika, Konoe, Rie and Yui look at the child with confusion. After a moment, Kestrel places his Ramen cup on the table, munches for a few moments, then swallows... Kestrel looks at Yui and speaks some words in Israeli. Yui holds a hand up and motions with it for Kestrel to stay seated, speaking in Israeli in return. "What did he say miss Sakurada?" Charlotte asks with a look of curiosity. Yui looks at the French blonde and replies "He said "I'm finished, that was wonderful"". Ichika leans forward and asks "He isn't going anywhere is he?".

Yui looks back at Ichika and with a very friendly look, replies "Don't worry, I told him to at least stay untill we were finished". Ichika and the girls letting out a sigh of relief. "Miss Sakurada, ask him what he thought about the egg omlete" Rie asks with an eager tone. Yui nods, smiles and asks Kestrel the said question in Israeli, as Kestrel responds in his timid voice, Yui nods and looks at Konoe, Rie and Yuno and kindly speaks out the words "He says "It was nice, but I've eaten enough for now, thank you for the food"". Konoe, Rie and Yuno cast dreamy looks at Kestrel and start to drool. Rie has a small nose bleed coming. It does not help when Kestrel turns his head to look at Konoe and smiles timidly at her. Charlotte and Ichika raise their eyebrows, cast looks at each other and both make very awkward faces. "Ichika always eats so much, we thought all boys did that, but all Kestrel has had is a cup of ramen" Yuno exclaims. "Thats because he's only a little one, isn't it Kes!" Konoe speaks in a very sweet female voice, snuggling herself into the said child's side, stroking his head. Kestrel despite looking confused looks at Yui and speaks in a curious tone. Yui, finishes off a mouthful and swallows before replying back in Israeli lingo. As soon as Yui finishes her sentance, Kestrel replys back almost instantly.

For a few moments, Charlotte whom finishes off her last sandwich, raises an eyebrow ( "What on earth are they saying?" ) the french blonde thinks to herself.

As soon as Kestrel finishes his sentance, Yui smiles and nods, even though she maintains eating. "What was that all about?" Ichika asks. Yui turns and looks at Ichika and replies "He wanted to know what the girls were saying, so I told him that they were talking about why he eats so little and all, so he said back "I've always eaten small meals, in fact this good stuff is the biggest meal I've eaten ever"". As Kestrel gets glomped yet again time by the three shotacons, Ichika, Charlotte and Yui cast looks at each other with sweat drops.

However, a loud laugh suddenly snaps the group out of their moment, as everyone looks to one side, they see the well known Clarissa Harfouch standing with a group of students howling with laughter. Charlotte merely raises an eyebrow and mutters "Germans, you can never miss them!" Yui however turns her head away and shrugs, she still has good food to finish. Ichika turns his head and looks Charlotte in the face and states "I hear that they've come all the way over here for something to do with IS lessons". Charlotte shifts her head and looks at Ichika before saying "I heard that too, but according to Laura there here out of interest of Kestrel". As soon as Charlotte says those words, Ichika nearly yelps in surprise but manages to hold it in. However Ichika leans forward and in low voice speaks "Kestrel? What do you suppose they want with Kestrel?". Charlotte shifts her eyes towards Kestrel and then back to Ichika, "I have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with the fact that he can pilot an IS". The French blonde speaks in a cautious manner.

As Ichika looks over at Kestrel, a feeling of illness hits his gut, Charlotte instantly notices. "You're worried right?" Char speaks in an affectionate tone. Ichika looks at the French female and chuckles. "I can't hide anything from you can I? Yes, I'm worried" Ichika awkwardly admits. Charlotte then leans back in her chair and sighs, "For once, I think I'm in the same boat as you" Charlotte speaks out while looking over at the dark, blue harried German woman. Ichika however looks down and speaks the words "I've just scolded Houki for showing aggressive behavoir towards Kestrel, I just hope I don't have to do something even more serious". Charlotte looks back at Ichika and smiles. "Well, regards of what happened with Houki, I'm sure that incident will wash over within the next few days". Ichika looking up at Charlotte with a guilty face but smiles. "You really think so?" Ichika asks like a curious child. Charlotte then goes bright red under her eyes and acts shifty "Well...er... if you want to... ah... you can always be partners with me when we have next IS lessons concerning duels and all".

Ichika smiles, closes his eyes and in a grateful tone says "Sure, thanks Char!". Charlotte's emotions switch to overwhelming happiness and the French blonde almost squeals at the top of her lungs "I CAN!?". Charlotte's eyes are sparkly and her feminine charm rises to 11. Ichika being the oblivious one blinks in confusion, but keeps his smile "Yeah, Ofcourse... In fact I'd feel cruel if you wasn't my partner". As soon as Ichika says those words, Charlotte's heart begins to skip, and as a ressult she leaps out of her seat and with a beaming smile looks Ichika in the eyes and quickly speaks "OKAY! I'll go let Yamada sensei know right away! I'll see you at next lessons okay!?" Ichika now has a confused look on his face and blinks at Charlotte, but at least Ichika responds "Sure? Well, um... yeah? I'll see you during lessons". Charlotte then quickly grabs her tray with her leftovers, bows to Ichika and hurridley walks off to the disposal to get ready for next lessons. As Charlotte finishes her journey and then runs off, out of the cafateria and down a corridor, Ichika blinks in confusion "What's gotten into her?".

**"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE GET A MOVE ON! LESSONS START AGAIN SOON!"** \- Chifuyu shouts at the top of her lungs, causing all students to start eating rapidly and finish gossiping. Ichika wastes no time and takes his left overs to the disposal area, as Ichika stands he looks down at Kestrel and motions with his hand to follow. Kestrel, despite being sandwiched grabs his empty Ramen cup and breaks free of Konoe, Rie and Yuno. As Kestrel and Ichika walk away from the table, they are soon followed by Yui, Konoe, Rie and Yuno. Obviously they've finished eating as well.

However as Ichika, Kestrel and the females dispose of their empties and leftovers, Clarissa Harfouch's eye catches the group leaving. ( "Most Interesting, that's the child that can pilot an IS, yet he's on good relations with Laura's wife! I wonder how good that child's skill is towards IS combat. From what Laura has told me that child is almost a set of nerves, yet the data on him says differant. One thing is for sure, I WILL see that child's skill with an IS one way or another! It is, after all, part of the deal that I agreed on. Besides... coming out here will give me the chance to get a good grip on brand new manga and anime!" ). The German woman thinks to herself, her emotions becoming very excited at that last statement in her head. However before Clarissa can get a chance to walk after the said Israeli child, Chifuyu's authority toned voice causes Clarissa to ignore the small group walking away. "Clarissa, I trust everything is alright with you?" Chifuyu states, pushing her way past multiple students in her way.

Clarissa turns, smiles and nods her head "Yes, Yes, everything is to my satisfactory", Clarissa speaks out with a tone of happiness. Chifuyu smiling with a smug face in return. As Chifuyu looks down at the German girls, just finishing off their meals, she asks a question of concern and authority "You're girls have travelled a long way, their rooms are still at this very moment being attended to, are you and your girls able to hold onto just spending time in the visitors centre untill your rooms are ready?" Clarissa stands to military attention and makes a happy face, speaking out the words "No problems Chifuyu, No problems at all. Back in Germany me and my girls spent time under the stars with no tents or stoves to keep us warm! We can handle any old visitor's centre!". Chifuyu's face then becomes settled and the black haired woman smiles, "Very well, but remember you have my word, your rooms will be sorted as quickly as possible".

Clarissa bobs her head forward and in a confident vocal tone speaks the words "No need to be concerned Chifuyu, we can handle anything". As soon as Clarissa finishes speaking, Chifuyu puts on a face of irritation and replies "Clarissa, when were outside you call me miss Orimura, you don't call me Chifuyu in front of the students". Clarissa smiles brightly and merely replies with a happy "Yes of course, my appologies!". As Clarissa takes a breath, she looks down towards the corridor from which Kestrel had walked down with Ichika and with a smug smile on her face, Clarissa narrows her eye and mutters "Ooh yeesss! I will be very happy here!"

_**Okay everyone that concludes Chapter 11, Please note, for those of you who thought Houki was treated badly, don't take it to personally. I only based it on what happens when conceited bitches get what they deserve every so often, a good hideing! However, don't worry... Houki and Ichika will make up in the next chapter. Also, Clarissa and her German girls will cause a riot in the next chapter so stick around to see what happens. Also More of Kestrel's past becomes clear. Thanks a lot to those who review these chapters, and please feel free to continue doing so.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	12. Chapter 12: Forgiveness and friendship

_**Once again Black Falcon returns with a new chapter, with IS making another appearance, Kestrel taking his spot yet again in an IS. Thanks for keeping up with me this far, also Ichika and Houki make up. Please note: Houki has a trait of destruction and injustice, also in the manga Ichika himself states Houki as being 'Pure evil', so although helpful Houki is not 100% carrot gold. So that was why I portayed Houki as a person who flew of the bat. So I also wanted to give the impression of what would happen if Ichika was able to put Houki in her place, never the less... This fanfic is mainly to help the mentaly wounded child known as Kestrel, however... thats the explination I have to give, so anyway... on with the chapter.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 12:

**IS academy, IS training ground - 13:40pm -**

It had only been an hour since lunch, but at last the long, black haired, scarfaced child known as Kestrel, was back in an IS and blazing across the sky. Although it was the same IS as he had used before, yet again, Kestrel's face was calm and full of freedom, his ocean blue eyes held mass amounts of happiness in them as the said child soared, climbed and dived through the air.

However instead of being alone, a surprise visitor was flying close by beside him. This visitor was no ordinary student, it was non-other than Yui, although an office woman most of her time as well as an interpreter, Yui herself had experiance with IS operation. Though useful, the sudden surprise that Yui was able to pilot an IS was simply overwhelming for most IS students, Ichika being one of the students taken by surprise. "Its just amazing that Yui was able to fly IS and we didn't even know about it!" Ichika exclaims with an amazed look as he stares at Kestrel's dazzeling flight patterns, Yui being able to keep up with the child merely by flying in a casual manner. "ICHIKA!" Shouts an all too familiar voice, Ichika snapping his head back to reality eyes widdening in a fraction of a seconds and making a jump backwards in his full deployed IS. Automatic gunfire hits the ground causing an eruption of dust, debris and dirt. "Common! Don't space out!" Charlotte calls out, while swooping downwards in fully deployed IS. As Charlotte raises both submachine guns and fires away, Ichika makes intense swerves and jinks, causing bullets to simply crack and ring past him, some rounds missing by mere inches.

As Charlotte pulls herself up level she fires a full automatic burst at Ichika, making Ichika jump and use his skills in flight to evade Charlottes shots. Though Ichika is good with IS skills on the ground, the moves he pulls while airborne are only half way to matching the movements that Kestrel is able to pull off. Some rounds strike Ichika's IS shielding causing his points to drop to 330. "God Damn it!" Ichika calls out to himself as Charlottes shots cause him to loose balance in flight. As Ichika regains control of himself, Charlotte dashes forward and goes for a full forward attack.

As Charlotte swings forward, using her submachine gun as a type of club, Ichika quickly brings up his right and stops Charlottes attack in mid air, however Charlotte is not finished and instantly uses hand to hand combat skills, causing Ichika to continueously raise his arms and knees to counter and deflect the French girl's attacks. As Ichika is using all his skills to ensure Charlotte is not given a quick victory, Charlotte merely keeps up her assault to ensure Ichika looses control. As Charlotte summons all her strength to bring a nasty swing in her arms, Ichika grabs ahold of the French girl's arms and rapidly brings up his knee, hitting the French girl in the gut, Charlotte's eyes widen, the feeling like a hammer of god knocking all the wind out of her. As Charlotte is stunned for that brief second, Ichika releases Charlotte's left arm, summons his sword and knocks a submachine gun out of her hand, however Charlotte recovers and swings with her left leg, striking Ichika in the ribs and knocking him sideways. As Ichika flies through the air, he makes accrobatic side rolls, making in a quick recovery before dashing upwards again after Charlotte. Charlotte fires again with her remaining submachine gun, causing Ichika to twist and jink whilst increasing his altitude.

"Very Good Ichika!" - Charlotte shouts out with a smile on her face.

"I aim to please Char!" - Ichika shouts out in return, with a confident and smug smile on his face.

As Ichika rises to Charlotte's height, the French blonde dashes backwards, Ichika immediately gives chase. As Charlotte gains her distance she deploys a sniper rifle and instantly fires 4 shots at the pursing Ichika, one shot appears to close and Ichika raises his arm, the shot hits his shield and is deflected, the other 3 shots are near misses. However Charlotte is still not finished as she back flips in mid-air and in a hot blast of roaring air dashes upwards before twisting her body, and firing down at Ichika yet again. Ichika is however taken by surprise, Charlotte has moved faster than Ichika expected and has no option but to raise his arm in defence, a total of 6 shots hit Ichika's sheilding. Ichika however gets a desperate look on his face as his screen now has a red rectangular box glowing, with the word 'WARNING' writen in clear white letters. ( "God dammit! Not again!" ) Ichika thinks to himself, the last time something like this happened was when Ichika and Charlotte fought for the first time against each other, the last thing he wants now is for history to repeat itself.

As Ichika's sheild points drop to 101, Ichika attempts to make high speed turns, left and right. Some shots miss widely, but Charlotte is not easily fooled. As she smiles widely to herself and prepares to fire another shot at Ichika's body, Ichika suddenly blasts at full speed to the left and then swoops downwards towards the ground. Charlotte is surprised but not impressed.

**"RUNNING AWAY! NANCY BOY!"** \- Charlotte shouts at the top of her lungs.

**"NO! YOU'VE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING!"** \- Ichika shouts back at the French blonde.

**"OH YEAH!? WHAT IS THAT!?"** \- Charlotte shouts maintaining her confident face.

Ichika whom is now merely hovering 150ft of the ground points up at Charlotte with his right hand, and shouts out **"KESTREL!"**. Charlotte's smile does not leave her, she narrows her eyes and blinks. After 3 seconds the French blonde shakes her head and smirks. She then lowers her weapon, raises a hand and begins to wag a finger at Ichika. "TESK! TESK! TESK! THAT IS THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK!". As Ichika looks at the audiance on the ground, he shrugs and speaks in a calm tone "I tried to be kind".

As Charlotte gets ready to fire a fully charged shot at Ichika, whom remains still, a female voice shrieks out **"DUNOIS! LOOK OUT FOR KESTREL!"**. The female voice belonging to Yui. As the French blonde turns her head to the right in confusion, she sees Yui, wearing the IS attire and flying an IS exactly the same as Kestrel's. Yui has the look of fear on her face and points to above the French female. Charlotte hesitates and just as she is about to speak, Yui shouts yet again **"MOVE! KESTREL'S COMING DOWN!"**, Charlotte merely lowers her weapon, puts on a straight face and looks up. As Charlotte's head lifts she suddenly hisses in pain, the bright and powerful sun suddenly blinding her for a moment. As She raises an arm over her face and narrows her eyes, the shape of an IS diving at un-matched speed catches her off gaurd, Charlotte's mind suddenly goes white with sudden realisation ( "Oh Sh.." ), Charlotte thinks before the object roars mere inches apart from her, the flash of blue and air speed causes Charlotte to drop her weapon in mid air and end up swirling out of control towards the ground. Kestrel despite his close run in merely pulls up and rockets back upwards into the sky in a brilliant flash of blue light making the child look like a swift, blue shooting star.

As Charlotte plummets towards the ground, rolling and spinning out of control, the controls in her IS begin to fail. For Charlotte the amount of G force is overwhelming and she begins to suffer an approaching black out. As the French girl attempts not to panic, she calls out over IS communication "I can't control it! I can't recover!", causing a loud horn to blast, an all to familiar female computer voice calls out "MATCH CONCLUDED, WINNER... ICHIKA ORIMURA!". Everyone whom is watching the sight either roar with cheer or look at each other with confused looks and curious whispers.

"I knew she spaced out during the briefings!" the silver haired Laura Bodewig calls out, arms folding, looking at Cecilia and Rin. Rin raises an eyebrow and in an awkward face comments "Well.. what do you expect from a girl that comes from a city of fantasy", the chinesse girl comments. Cecilia shakes her head and scoffs, "Honestly, and Ichika wanted to pair up with that frog woman in hopes of a good battle, hmph! My foot!".

As the three girls look up at the descending Charlotte, many IS students continue to cast curious looks at each other, many failed to notice that Kestrel made a subsonic flyby, a hair's breath from hitting Charlotte. The bright sunlight helped prevent many students from witnessing the act by Kestrel. However for students that managed to see the act, it is instantly the topic of complete interest. "DID YOU SEE KESTREL ALMOST HIT DUNOIS!?" An American accented girl shouts out with excitedness in her voice. "HOW DID HE DO THAT!?" A girl with a Canadian mayflower on her IS uniform asks. "THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" A Spanish girl states holding her friends hands and struggling not to jump up and down and scream with happiness. amongst the IS students are Rie and Konoe, Yuno apparently not with them.

"THATS OUR KESTREL!" Rie squeals out holding her balled fists up to her chest in excited pride. "IM SO PROUD TO KNOW HIM!" Konoe squeals holding Rie's shoulder, soon sniffing and shedding a tear of happiness. "Yuno Has to know this!" Rie comments, Konoe takes Rie's hands in hers, looks Rie in the face and smiles happily, "YES Lets go tell her!" Konoe shouts, ressulting in both girls standing up and running quickly out of the audiance area and into the building complex.

Meanwhile Charlotte's situation is getting worse, differant warnings are sounding on her IS and multiple IS computer reports keep appearing with flashing warnings. "Power Lost!?" Charlotte almost screams, trying to stay calm. However Charlotte's IS is not responding to her commands, and is beginning to spark in certain points. As Charlotte attempts to regain control, a sudden jerk causes her to stop falling, however Charlotte is left hanging upside down by her right leg. Though shes happy that shes stopped falling, her heart is still beating out of control, as the panting French girl looks up at what ever it is that has saved her, she gets a surprise. It is Maya Yamada, looking down at the French girl with a kind and happy smile. "Yamada sensei, oh... thanks a lot!", Charlotte pants out. Indeed... Charlotte is about 30ft from hitting the ground. As Charlotte looks down in relief, the sudden sight of the ground being so close to her causes Charlotte to almost jump out of her skin.

Maya's kind and friendly voice then speaks out "Very well fought Dunois, Orimura sensei sends her complements, but... I belive you've lost this fight" Charlotte looks at Maya for a few moments and instead remains silent, confused. As Charlotte looks towards the ground, she sees Ichika de-activating his IS and waving happily at her. The French blonde looks back up at Maya and asks "Lost?, but I don't understand". Maya opens her eyes and tilts her head, "Oh... wasn't you paying attention during briefings? Anyone whom flies to high gets a flyby from Kestrel, signalling their loss. This fight had altitude restrictions". For Charlotte the sudden memory hits home, and the embarrassment is like a pie hitting her face. As Charlotte slumps herself and lets herself dangle like a dead animal hanging on a hunter's wall. Maya smiles and in a kind tone speaks out the words "Don't feel bad, everyone makes mistakes, remember you can't always win every fight". Charlotte then looks at Maya again and with a smile on her face replies "Yes, Thanks for saving me Yamada sensei".

**\- 10 minutes later**

"Well done Dunois.." Chifuyu states out with her arms folded and a smug smile on her face. "You lasted 12 minutes in close quarter combat with Orimura before being brought down by Kestrel".  
Chifuyu states while looking at the sky from the top of the arena stands. Charlotte stands behind the said woman, still wearing her IS combat attire. "Thankyou for saying so Orimura sensei" Charlotte nervously states out. As Chifuyu turns around and looks at Charlotte, the smile does not leave Chifuyu's face. "Don't worry Dunois, your IS isn't fataly damaged, Kestrel just gave your IS a power surge, it'll be fine after 12 hours". Charlotte's face suddenly gets a look of scheer relief on her face, the last thing the French blonde wants is to know her IS is out of action. As Charlotte lets out a breath, Chifuyu suddenly puts a serious frown on her face "However... I noticed that you spaced out during briefings, thats not acceptable for a top marked student like you, In fact you can consider it a miracle that Kestrel didn't smash into you out there!" Charlotte's nerves rise to maximum levels and she lowers her head.

Chifuyu does not stop and continues her scolding of the French girl "If you had payed attention during briefings you would have remembered that Kestrel and Yui were flying as altitude monitors, and the first to fly above 200ft was declared the losser by getting a flyby from Kestrel. If it were'nt for Kestrel's flying skills, you both could be dead by now!" Chifuyu speaks in an aggressive tone, making Charlotte's blood freeze in fear, however it is the failure to pay attention during briefings that is the most painful reality for young Charlotte. However before Charlotte can start mentally kicking herself in the ribs, Chifuyu's frown changes to slightly curious one, as does her voice. "Still... You aren't fully to blame for nearly getting killed, Kestrel flew way to close to you. That jet wash and sudden impact of air speed and pressure was way to much for an IS to handle while standing idle".

Charlotte blinks and raises her head to look at Chifuyu whom is watching a blue streak of light buzz overhead, which obviously has to be Kestrel. As Charlotte begins to look at Kestrel and Yui blazing the IS academy, Chifuyu's voice causes Charlotte to look at her again, "Dunois!", Charlotte nearly yelps in fear a rapid "YES!". Chifuyu puts her arms by her sides and in a strict glare makes one final statement "Don't space out again like you did today. You are a top student whom is on the verge of being out classed by a 10 year old child. You should provide a better role model... now... return to the IS training ground and get ready for next lessons! Understood!?". Charlotte stands firm and straight and bows, her voice stuttering "Y..Yes Orimura Sensei!". As Charlotte turns and walks away, Chifuyu's eyes cast a look towards a nearby wall. "You plan on eavesdropping on all my conversations Clarissa?" Chifuyu asks with a firm voice. Clarissa's giggling is heard instantly, followed by the short, blue haired woman walking out from her cover. "Oh no, no! I wanted to talk to you about that Kestrel boy". Clarissa states with a smile and a hopeful face.

Chifuyu raises an eyebrow, and folds her arms again. "About Kestrel? The child that I'm trying to keep from causing unrest at this academy?" Chifuyu asks in a stern tone. Clarissa holds up both arms in a submissive pose, "Please, Please... let us talk somewhere else yes?". Clarissa suggests, Chifuyu sighs before nodding, her mind wanting to know where Clarissa is going with this conversation.

**\- Meanwhile with Ichika, 14:00pm -**

For Ichika the day so far had been very eventful, filled with worry and stress. However the IS victory against Charlotte was well needed in order to restore some of his confidence, even as Ichika was getting changed back into his IS academy uniform, after returning to the changing rooms, he had a proud smile on his face. At least Ichika has had some good fortune in terms of IS academy work and IS operation. However as Ichika finishes changing a sudden thought comes to mind, he didn't see Houki with the others. Ichika's face does lower slightly but the feeling of justice makes him feel as though he still had every right to do what he did. As Ichika lets out a frustraited sigh and walks to the changing room exit, he gets a horrible feeling of guilt.

The feeling makes Ichika become confused at either he was right or wrong, as Ichika opens the changing room door with his face looking at the floor, a voice he was not expecting catches him of gaurd. "Ichika". The voice Ichika knows from anywhere, he raises his head and blinks in surprise. Ichika then lets out a breath and rolls his eyes, "Houki". Ichika speaks out in a voice thats clearly not in the mood for talking about problems concerning friends and love. Never the less, Ichika is a nice person and with a code of honor and as a ressult, he turns to face the girl. As Ichika's eyes meets Houki's, Houki glances to the floor and lowers her head, and sighs. The look of guilt and sorrow is plastered all over her face. However, Ichika notices this and choses to put on a face that fully understands Houki's feelings.

Houki then speaks in timid voice, and stutters "I..I..I heard that you beat Charlotte in battle, good work". Ichika nods and in a low and soft voice replies "Y..Yeah, Thanks".

"Look Ichika... I wanted to talk to you" Houki speaks out quietly, though she is remorseful for the way she acted towards Kestrel, her pride is still making it hard for her to admit her wrong doing. Ichika amazingly knows what Houki wants to talk about and de-rails her denial. "About you and the way you acted in the cafateria?" Ichika speaks as a matter of fact. Houki is taken by surprise but timidly nods. "I..I don't know what to say about that, but... the thing is... well... I.." Houki awkwardly mentions. Ichika rolls his eyes and chooses to help Houki get to the point that she is trying to avoid. "Look Houki... I've already said that I'm willing to forgive any insults and un-justified lash outs that you've done to me, but I've made it clear that I will NOT forgive you if you start targeting Kestrel. If you want to clear things up with me, just go over and admit your wrong doing and ask to make peace with the kid".

"That's what I am planning to do..." Houki states in a small and guilty voice, looking down and placing a hand on one of her arms.

"Well... Why don't you just do it now and end it at that?" Ichika asks with a voice of concern and authority.

"I...I... I just wanted to say that I'm... very... very sorry for how I acted and that I didn't mean to act the way I did" Houki begins with a sorrow cracking voice, the girl trembles with each and every word. Ichika stays quiet and just looks at his childhood friend with the eyes of a curious animal.

"When you said all those things to me... I... I realised what a little scumbag I've been, You aren't my property nor are you my pet. So... I wanted to say I... I... I'm Sorry" Houki whispers out in a very heartbroken voice, tears beginning to flow out of her eyes like a waterfall. As Houki speaks those words, she falls to her knees and begins to burst into deep and clenched sobs. Ichika stares and blinks in surprise at Houki, this is VERY unbeffiting of her character. Although Ichika remains standing, he knows this is the time to make peace.

"L...Look Houki, I've already forgiven you for your offenses as long as you don't continue doing them, just go and appologise to Kestrel and I won't hold anything against you" - Ichika talks in a soft caring tone while holding his hands up. Houki looks up at Ichika, her eyes red and swollen. As Houki gulps and nods at him, she asks a question that takes a lot of balls to ask if you are a person whom can be arrogant.

"So... you forgive me?" Houki asks with a look of curiousness. Ichika makes a kind smile back and maintaining his soft tone replies "Of course, just go up to Kestrel and say sorry and everything will be over and done with". Houki smiles painfully under her guilty stricken eyes, and as she stands to her feet she makes a very sharp bow. Ichika smiles kindly and offers a hand for Houki to shake. As Houki straightens up, she timidly reaches over and takes Ichika's hand in her own, and as the two shake Ichika pulls Houki forward and holds her in a hug. The two don't part for over 6 minutes, Ichika waits untill Houki's sorrowful character finishes shaking. One thing is for sure, the incident that played in the cafateria may very well have helped Houki mature very quickly even though her pride is her own downfall, its taken a great deal for her to regret everything thats happened this far. However Ichika's aggressive actions against Houki may very well have helped put her back in place.

Even though it hurt Ichika to do it, he knows that the act Houki is putting on would not be done if she wasn't genuine. As Houki's sobbing begins to slow down to a few sniffs and whimpers, Houki holds her arms around Ichika and in a timid voice speaks the words, "I'm sorry for everything, but I'm scared that I may do those things again so... I want you to make a promise with me". Ichika blinks, looks down and asks "What type of promise?". As Houki peels away from Ichika, her eyes still red and full of pain, she looks Ichika in the eyes and in a firm and honest voice calls out "I wan't you to promise me, that if I ever put another toe out of line, I wan't you to put me in the same place as you did today". Ichika blinks and in a face full of fear and guilt instantly shakes his head and replies "I Can't go around hitting you Houki, If I did that then.."

"Then shout at me, Just promise me that if I act like a scumbag again, you will show me that you won't stand for it!" Houki demands, putting on a very strict face. As Ichika blinks at Houki, he gets a feeling hit him, the feeling of being unsure as to what he should do. Houki notices this, and comes up with a cunning phrase, "If anyone speaks against you just tell them to speak to me about it, if you won't do this for me or yourself, then do it for Kestrel". As Houki speaks those words, Ichika rolls his eyes and lowers his head. It can't be denied, Ichika acted like any right minded person should have done when protecting a child and himself, but in the end, the sole purpose for Ichika's violent reaction towards Houki was due to wanting to keep Kestrel safe. As Ichika remains silent for a few minutes, his chest becomes tight with concern, Houki's gaze does not leave Ichika for a single minute and she only puts on a relaxed face when Ichika nods in silence, and sighs the words "Okay... if you insist, but as you said its for Kestrel". Houki nods in confirmation and rubs her eyes dry, as she does this she can see unrest in Ichika's face.

Houki then speaks in a neutral tone "Okay, I'm ready to make peace with Kestrel, can you lead the way?" Ichika snaps himself back to reality and nods, with a serious look on his face. "Okay, lets go". Ichika speaks out in a calm voice. However as Ichika and Houki begin to walk down a hallway, Houki uses the moment to help establish a firm form of friendship, "Ichika...".

"Hm?"

"I would prefer it, if you didn't talk to the others about what has happened down here okay?"

Ichika smiles, nods and speaks in a caring voice "Alright, not a word shall cross my lips, you have my word". Houki beams a smile back and in a joking tone speaks out the words "Good, You'd better keep that promise or I'll kill you!". Houki pinches Ichika's shoulder in an affectionate form, Ichika closes an eye and gives a thumbs up, he chuckles back to his childhood friend and replies "Okay, we have a deal!?". Houki's face is now full of happiness and with a blush on her face, looks ahead of Ichika and in voice full of pride speaks the words "Now where friends!". Ichika laughs lightly, soon Houki joins in. For a total of 3 minutes the hall is filled with joyful laughter as the two IS students walk down a corridor with their differances set aside. This scene proving one point to everyone, They grow up... so fast.

_**That concludes Chapter 12, please note... the part where Ichika and Houki make up is based on a real life event that happened to me when I was only 14. So please give me some credit for changing Houki's personality for just a few moments. I'll make my tale fast by saying, ... "When I was 5 going on 11 i was treated very, very badly by other students at school the worst was from a girl older than me, and it wasn't untill I started fighting back like a man, exchanging punches and acting very, very violent back in return to the bastards, that they finally started to leave me alone. It obviously hurt and got me into trouble a few times, but I know now that it was the best choice I've ever made. No one has ever been foul to me since, and the reward was when I went to colledge at 17, that I met up with that girl that was responsible for some of my worst times. I will admit, that I treated her foul in return, with threats of violence when ever she tried talking to me, and it wasn't untill she got me as a partner in helping to put away easter decorations in my classroom when every one else was away, that she finally... In some way... spilt the beans and tried to break bread. She did exactally what Houki did in this chapter... Only differance is... I was not so forgiving, and I'm still not... but, the teacher and her co-worker told me that 'My point was made, and that I had a right to be cruel to the girl whom treated me like filth, but it would be better if I let go of a good amount of that anger and hate... because a good person would never kick themselves in the ribs and break down in tears in front of others out an act of remorse, so... even though I still don't like the lass, I accepted her appology, and I DO forgive her to a certain extent, but never the less... its better to let go of pain and hate, than carry it round on your chest".**_

_**There you have that short tale, and the moral of this chapter is... stand up for your'self, don't be ashamed to fight back regardless of your foes age or gender, protect the weak and vulnerable and most importantly, when a person is truly sorry for what they've done to hurt you, show others that you're better than them by being able to forgive, even if it is to a certain extent.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	13. Chapter 13: Clarissa meets Kestrel

_**Black Falcon 01 returns with yet another chapter, for those whom have enjoyed this fic so far, then I'm happy to have brought smiles to your faces, In this next chapter Yui slips up after Ichika and Houki make up and Cecilia and the *Made up Character* Tomoe become the heronies of the evening.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 13:

**IS academy, new student lounge, 20:00pm.**

Although loosing her battle to Ichika, Charlotte maintained a happy face upon meeting up with Ichika, Houki and the others. Even when asked about it Charlotte kept her happy face, showing a true sportsman spirit. Showing that although in her teens, Charlotte has the makings of a true lady. However, what everyone was more interested in was the fact that Houki and Ichika had made up so fast after their brief fight in the cafateria hours earlier. Indeed, it was asumed that Houki wouldn't speak to Ichika for a few days as a ressult, but amazingly, she and Ichika had swallowed the problem and had made up. Even though Ichika promised that he wouldn't tell anyone of how Houki broke down in tears in the hallway, the answer seemed to be radiating of the said girl anyway.

"Okay hold it there!" Kaoruko Mayuzumi shouts out in a cheerful tone, holding up a very large Nikon camera. Ichika and Houki looking at Karouko, bodies facing each other and hands together in a hand shake position. A large collection of students, except for Kestrel, standing behind Ichika and Houki. "Alright, three... two... one" Kaoruko calls out, a second later a large flash erupts from Kaoruko's large camera causing multiple students to blink. "Okay, thats wonderful!" Kaoruko calls out with a large, beaming smile, lowering her camera and holding a hand up to signal that Ichika and Houki can move now.

As Ichika and Houki part hands and turn to speak to some of the other students, a single lonely eye looks at the group from the end of the lounge. "Hmph! My wife is duty bound to support me and yet he's more interested in supporting a person whom has assaulted him and tried to attack a child!" Huffs a female, German accented voice. The voice belonging to the well known Laura Bodewig standing and talking to some of the newly arrived German girls. Standing beside Laura is a blonde braided German female, wearing a black uniform and eye patch. She merely smiles in an awkward manner and speaks something in German to Laura.

Meanwhile, Ichika casts a look at Laura and the 5 German females standing around her, obviously Laura must be the main centre of attention when concerning matters to do with IS operation. As Ichika's mind begins to wander a sudden squeal causes him to snap back to reality. **"SISTER!"** The popular Honne Nohotoke shouts out in scheer happiness. As Ichika turns his head he sees a girl with glasses and a braided pony tail run up to Honne and glomp the long sleeved Honne in a loving embrace. As the two girls hold each other tightly and start spinning each other around in utter joy, Ichika suddenly realises something...

( "Oh, yeah... Utsuho works for the student council" ), Ichika thinks to himself, rolling his eyes and looking away, amazed at how foolish it is he forgot such an important person for student council activities.

"They did real good with the lounge didn't they?" asks a voice, revealing itself to be the popular Rin. Ichika turns his head and looks at the brunette pigtailed girl. Instantly putting on a smile and swiveling his head around to confirm Rin's question. "Yeah, sure did didn't they?" Ichika states back. As Ichika looks back at Rin, he finds Charlotte beside the Chinese girl. The two girls looking at Ichika in a curious manner. "I heard you and Houki made up, what happened?" Charlotte asks with a look of concern, Ichika looks back at the French blonde and blinks, his face has a look of straightness.

Unaware that Charlotte's real concern is how much rivalry she has to keep up with. Ichika pauses for a moment before smiling and beginning to explain about the cause of the incident and that Ichika would not forgive Houki unless she made things right with Kestrel. As Charlotte, Rin and by now a group of IS schoolgirls of differant nationalities all gather around Ichika and begin listening with intent, Cecilia walks into the Lounge with her maid Chelsea, both females looking around in marvel at the sight. "Most wonderful, don't you think Cecilia?" Chelsea speaks in a happy tone. Cecilia happily smiles and looks around the room, "Yes... most wonderful indeed" Cecilia replies in an amazed tone. As Cecilia and Chelesea walk into the ever growing army of females, the sounds of female talking and giggling become louder and louder in the new lounge. As Ichika becomes ever more pre-ocupied with Rin, Charlotte and the ever growing group of schoolgirls, Houki has a more easier job of explaining of how she plans to appologise to little Kestrel for going off the bat, her face having a large look of guilt and relief, guilty for how she acted towards Ichika and Kestrel and relived for being forgiven by the boy that she loves. Deep down, Houki can't speak against that fact, her feelings for Ichika cause her to act in an irrational manner, she already admitted to Ichika that she loved him at a festival, but was cut off by the sound of fireworks. Yet her irrational behavior to Ichika didn't end.

However, Ichika's scolding of her may very well have helped Houki be honest with her feelings, yet her pride still would not admit her love to Ichika in front of a large group of her own gender, even if her life depended on it, Houki still would not admit her love towards Ichika in front of others. Even so, her explination of wanting to say sorry to Kestrel is 100% true, and at least that story is making itself sound beliveable. However as Houki begins to wonder where the said child is, an Italian accented girl's voice calmly speaks out the words "Look, theres that Israeli child". Houki's head instantly turns round to look for little Kestrel.

"Ahh, theres my little friend" A now familiar voice calls out, Houki makes a slight glance with her head and sees Clarissa walking up to Kestrel and Yui. Houki however does not stand and wait and instead turns to her classmates and quickly speaks out the words, "Hold on, I'll see you later!". As Houki speaks those words she hurridly walks off towards Kestrel and Yui, leaving her classmates to look at each other with curious looks.

As Houki increases her walking pace, Clarissa maintains her own at a normal speed. However Kestrel and Yui have heard Clarissa and have turned their heads to look at the blue haired German woman. "So he's the little one Laura's spoken so much about" Clarissa exclaims with a suspicous happy look on her face. As Clarissa walks up to Kestrel and Yui, Kestrel tilts his head and has a very curious look on his face. Houki on the other hand has now broken into a jog, and is only 12 seconds away from Kestrel. Clarissa is 30 seconds away, so its highly likely that Houki will get to have first turn at Kestrel's attention. As Houki makes a hurried pace she holds her arm up, waves at Kestrel and Yui, attracting Yui's attention. In order to ensure that she gets first crack, Houki calls out "MISS SAKURADA!, Wait!... before you speak to Clarissa I need to speak to Kestrel!". Yui blinks in confusion but at least she nods, acknowledging Houki's desperate request.

Clarissa however is not amused, and frowns at the brunette girl. "I'm sorry miss Harfouch, but I need to speak to Kestrel". Houki calls over to the blue haired German lady. As Kestrel turns around due to hearing his name, Houki comes to a stop in front of both Kestrel and his interpreter. As Houki bows to both Yui and the young Israeli in front of her, Kestrel blinks in confusion. As soon as Houki's eyes meet Yui's, Houki puts on a straight and sorry face and in a calm voice speaks out "Sorry about this miss sakurada, but I need to appologise to Kestrel, can I have a moment of his time?". Yui smiles, looks down and says something in Israeli. Kestrel looks up at Yui and replies back in his native tounge with a straight look on his face. Yui nods and with a kind smile looks at Houki and says "He says "Sure, if theres something she needs to talk to me about, go right ahead"" Houki smiles brightly and gets down on her knees, looking Kestrel in the face, Houki becoming calm by looking into Kestrel's deep, ocean blue eyes.

"Kestrel... I wanted to say, I'm very, very sorry for the way I acted during lunch time, I didn't think about what I was doing and if Ichika wasn't there to stop me, I may have hurt you, so if you want to hit me, you can do it right here in front of everyone... I won't feel angry and if someone tries to stop you, I will tell them about why I am letting you hit me". Houki speaks out in a very emotionaly appologetic tone.

Kestrel blinks and tilts his head. After a minute or two after Yui has finished translating Houki's message. Kestrel stands straight and in his soft small voice, replies something in Israeli, his eyes don't break contact with Houki's for a single second. As Houki blinks, she looks up at Yui's straight face as she gives Houki a translated sentance in a very calm tone. "Kestrel says "There is no need to offer your body to me as a way of getting forgiveness, because even if you did attack me, I would not have been frightend or nervous. I would have either ran away and fought back, but because no one got hurt, there is nothing to forgive"". Houki's heart seems to stop, Kestrel's words are mature for his age, and his face has an emotionless look as if he's been in this position before. Houki looks at the scar faced child and after a moment of stareing speaks the words "Yes... but even so, I shouldn't have acted so badly, so if theres anything I can do to earn forgivness, just tell me".

As Yui repeats Houki's message in Israeli, Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes his head, his face remains straight and as Kestrel opens his eyes to look at the kneeling Houki, he does not even have the slightest look of malice or fear in his eyes. As Yui finishes repeating Houki's message, Kestrel instantly replies without hesitation. After a few seconds, Yui smiles, takes a breath and looks at the kneeling Houki "He says "If you want to do something to make me feel better, just don't do anything like that again, and besides, I've seen worse than you". Houki blinks in surprise, Yui's face looses colour for a moment and her face drops for a moment, as both females look at Kestrel, the said child takes a step backwards, stands still, holds up an arm - outstretched and opens his hand. Offering a hand shake.

Houki's emotions becoming unstable as she looks at the child's face, the bright red scar and empty eyes proving that the said child has suffered a past that not even an adult would prepare to imagine. A tear begins to roll down Houki's face, as she looks at the child and feels an unimagineable amount of guilt and sorrow fill her chest, even as she grabs Kestrel's hand and begins to shake it, the sorrow that is rising is starting to show on Houki's face, Kestrel notices and pulls Houki forward, the two hug for a moment, causing Houki to nearly burst into tears for the second time again today. As Houki squeezes little Kestrel in her arms, her emotions begin to come back under control. For the many students, the sight is overwhelming, many stop talking and instead watch the events before them, Charlotte, Cecilia, Ichika, Rin and Laura smile calmly at the sight. Yui however has a deeply concerned face, ( "What did he mean when he said, "I've seen worse than you"!?" ), she thinks to herself.

**\- 10 minutes later**

As Houki rejoins Ichika and the others, she is met with an ocean of welcome from Ichika and the other IS students. Rin is impressed but deep down she gets a horrible feeling in her gut, she makes it clear by thinking ( "Since when was she so mature? I some how get the horrible feeling that she just got the better of me!" ). However unknown to Rin, Charlotte, Cecilia and Laura are thinking the same thing. "I didn't know you was so mature Houki!" An american girl states with a tone of surprise and impressment. Houki's ego rises as she sticks her chest forward and holds a face of authority, she stutters her words but maintains a good composure "O..Of course I am! Was there any doubt!?". Ichika looks over at Kestrel and has a comfortable look on his face. ( "Well, thats one problem all cleared up" ) Ichika thinks to himself. "Ichika! Common! I'm going to get a drink!" Charlotte speaks out with an annoyed look on her face, a blush rising across her face. Rin stutters in an irritated tone "Y..Yes and so am I!". Ichika turns and looks at both girls and has a confused look on his face. "Okay, err... lets go see what there is" Ichika speaks in a calm tone, Charlotte leading the way with Rin following close behind Ichika. As Ichika, Rin and Charlotte leave the room. Chelsea leaves the lounge, bidding Cecilia a very fine goodnight.

As the maid leaves the lounge, Cecilia calmly walks over to Kestrel and Yui, whom by now are talking with Clarissa and the German girls. Clarissa has now kneeled down on both knees and is having a good look at the Israeli boy before her.

"HHmmm Very nice, very nice" Clarissa states with a very suspicous smile, tilting her body and head to get better angles of the child every now and then. Kestrel becoming unsettled and leaning backwards slightly to keep away from the eye patched German. "Very skilled from what I've seen, and yet so fragile looking" Clarissa states, causing Kestrel's heart to beat rapidly. The said child loses colour in his face, he trembles slightly.

The German girls walking up and gathering around him are making Kestrel feel more and more vulnerable, Yui is standing beside Kestrel but is more interested in Clarissa, being a fan of her makes it hard for Yui to remember her job. As the German girls either begin to look at Kestrel, each with their one single solitary eye, young Kestrel becomes more and more nervous. As Kestrel stares Clarissa in her eye, a short haired brunette German girl walks behind Kestrel and kneels down behind him. Kestrel suddenly goes tense when he feels arms wrap around him, the German girl speaking out "He smells like fresh picked fruits and flowers, like the sweetest perfume". Another German girl with silver cropped hair in a bun kneels beside Kestrel and begins to press and rub parts of his face "And he's soft like my breasts, not firm and rough like most boys". The next German girl has light blue, long hair and a skull hair clip, "You could just eat him or take him to bed as a cuddly toy!", her unpatched eye becoming glazed over. Yet another damn shotacon! As Clarissa spreads out an arm and places it on Kestrel's shoulder, "Say, boy... how would you like to come with us to Germany?" Clarissa asks with a sinister smile and a head tilt. Kestrel begins to tremble, Clarissa however does not get the message and in a playful manner begins to shake Kestrel, the German girl behind young Kestrel begins to giggle deeply and shakes the said child from behind.

As the shaking becomes rougher and rougher, every single German female looks at Kestrel with a look of a hungered wolf. Kestrel's eyes widen for a moment before returning normal, a 1,000 yard stare begins to form in Kestrel's eyes, Kestrel's breathing slows to only a few tiny breaths. However Clarissa after a few minutes notices and begins to slow down on her shaking, her face becoming very concerned with Kestrel's face and lack of response. Yui amazingly is brought out of her trance towards Clarissa and looks down and sees Kestrel has stopped moving, breathing or even talking.

"Kestrel?" Yui asks with concern, every other German girl goes silent and looks at the child carefully. However before anyone can do anything a cheerful voice breaks the silence around the group, "Hello there! Hows our little Kestrel?" Clarissa, Yui and the German females turn their heads to see Cecilia, as the British blonde walks up behind Kestrel she suddenly gets the well known feeling of abnormality in the air. As Cecilia walks around Yui to see Kestrel's face, Cecilia's eyes widen. "Stop". Cecilia mutters, making Yui, Clarissa and the German females blink in confusion.

Cecilia's face suddenly gets a serious and angered look "I said stop! He's suffering! Release him right now!" Cecilia aggressivaly calls out. Making Yui, Clarissa and the German girls look at her in a unsure manner. Cecilia takes action and dashes forward and pushes the German girls away, even going so far as to use aggressive methods to make the German girl holding Kestrel from behind, to fall backwards. "Cecilia!" Yui calls out in a dissapointed tone. Cecilia pays no attention to what Yui or any of the German girls are saying to her, and instead, places both hands on both sides of Kestrel's head, making the child blink, take a deep breath and stubble backwards. As Kestrel holds his head in pain, Cecilia springs forward and holds Kestrel in a careing hug.

As the British blonde shoots an angered look at Yui, Yui blinks in surprise. "I think I'd better watch Kestrel for a while" Cecilia speaks in a tone that makes Yui feel like an idiot. As Cecilia stands up straight and takes Kestrel's hand in her own, Yui quickly speaks to Cecilia in a manner that makes it sound as if Yui is trying to stop a person from helping a person in need. "Miss Alcott, That won't be nessasary, I will handle Kestrel". Cecilia huffs and with an angered look on her face nearly spits out the words "And leave him to suffer from his mental trauma while you slobber all over this German woman!? No way!" Clarissa's face becomes angered as her pride has just been shattered. The German IS students have offended looks also. Cecilia then shakes her head and points at Kestrel's face **"LOOK AT HIM! IS THAT THE FACE OF SOMEONE THATS COMFORTABLE!?"** Cecilia shouts at Yui, making nearly all the students stop what their doing and look over at what is happening. As Yui looks at Kestrel, she finally sees the distress in his face, the sudden weight of Guilt hits Yui on the shoulders like a ton of bricks. "Oh no!" Yui whispers in loud and clear manner, her face looking guilty as hell.

"Why don't you let me take him to the nurse?" a purple, ponytailed girl calls out. Cecilia's eyes don't leave Yui for a single second, but at least Cecilia replies to the familiar female.

"Thankyou Tomoe!". *I bet you all thought I'd forgotten about her!*.

As Tomoe runs up to Kestrel and places a hand in comfort on the child's shoulder, Yui becomes panicked, the sudden realisation is making her look unfit for her job, yet alone be allowed around Kestrel. "I..I'm sorry I just.." Yui stutters, Tomoe looks up at Yui and frowns, before looking at Kestrel and smiling kindly. As Tomoe whispers somthing to Kestrel, placing a hand on his shoulder, Kestrel smiles back at the purple haired girl.

Yui kneels down and looks at Kestrel, her head slumps down and in a low tone says something in Israeli. Kestrel replies in Israeli a small phrase, smiling to Yui. As Yui raises her head people notice tears have begun to roll down Yui's face, her voice full of guilt, and as Yui opens her arms in gesture for Kestrel, Tomoe smiles warmly and mimicks with her hand for Kestrel to approach. As Kestrel looks at Tomoe, he sees the eyes of a good and pure soul, as he looks back at Yui he wastes no time, his hand slips from Cecilia and he walks over to Yui, the two embrace in a short hug causing Cecilia to look at Tomoe with a confused and angered look. Tomoe stands up straight, looks Cecilia in the face and shakes her head. Clarissa and the German girls looking and blinking in confusion at the sight before them.

**\- 10 minutes later**

By now Ichika, Charlotte and Rin have returned to the lounge and have heard about Yui's slight mistake at once again losing focus on monitoring Kestrel. "So that's what happened?" Rin asks with a surprised tone. Cecilia huffs in irritated anger and casts a look at Tomoe. "Seriously! Why did you encourage Kestrel to go back to Yui!?" Cecilia snaps in frustration. Tomoe sighs, closes her eyes, before looking at Cecilia and the others and replying. "Because Yui is the only adult Kestrel has that can translate his tounge, not only that, Yui is also the only adult that Kestrel has any close bonds with at the moment, if we were to remove Kestrel from Yui, then he would be lost, confused and maybe even stressed beyond relief, so stressed... that he could become depressed to the point of suicide".

The words are obvious and cut through Ichika and the others like a knife. Charlotte herself looks at Kestrel and Yui, whom are sat on a lounge sofa talking with each other. Yui looking very sorry and holding Kestrel's hands in her own, the scene is like a loving mother comforting her child. "Can't argue with that, Kestrel seems a lot more relaxed with Yui than he was before she appeared in the academy". Charlotte comments with a straight face. Cecilia notices the scene and places a hand on Tomoe's shoulder "Okay, Okay... I see, I see". Cecilia sighs, holding her head low. "Don't take it too hard Cecilia, it was a very kind thought, and that's what matters right?" Ichika speaks to Cecilia with warm comforting tone. Cecilia's spirits rise, she blushes and perks up. Smiling proudly, with her nose in the air.

"Of course, Of course! How foolish of me to feel defeated over such a foolish mistake in judgement!" Rin, Charlotte and Houki looking at Cecilia with envious looks and back to Ichika with irritated looks.

"Hey, speaking of which, I've not seen you since we met in the cafateria a day or so earlier, where have you been Tomoe?" Ichika asks with concern. Tomoe looks at Ichika and the others and smiles with a face full of explination. "Oh yeah, Sorry about that, I've been busy with school work and all" Tomoe chuckles at the end of her phrase. Ichika nods in understanding before asking a question that Cecilia was on the verge of saying "So is there you can suggest we do to help keep Kestrel calm?".

Tomoe blinks, pauses and turns her head to look at the Israeli child across the room. As she sighs, Tomoe rolls her eyes and calmly speaks the words "Well... Its hard to say, we can only do what were doing already to help keep him happy, if we want to be sure that Kestrel maintains a calm and collected mind, all we can do is be there for him when ever he has a turn and not ask him questions about his past".

"Well I can't see us getting any better ressults even if we didn't ask him about his past" Houki speaks out as a matter of fact. Ichika, Tomoe and the others looking at each other and exchanging nods. "Right, the only thing we aren't going to do is ask him questions about his past?" Rin asks in a curious tone. Tomoe looks at the chinese girl and puts on a serious face "Thats right, the last thing we want to do is open healing wounds, that would be considered cruel and only cause Kestrel's condition to get worse" Tomoe speaks out calmly. As Ichika and the girls cast yet another look at Kestrel and Yui, Cecilia thinks to herself ( "That poor little kid, if those damn German swines do anything else to hurt that kid, I swear... I'll sort each and everyone of them out, no hesitation!" ), Cecilia's face has a serious look on her face, and what can't be denied is that since Kestrel arrived at the academy, a lot of materanal instincts have begun to awaken.

**\- Scene change: IS academy, Ichika's bedroom 21:00pm -**

It had been an hour, but at last, Ichika was able to bid everyone goodnight and get to bed, Kestrel following close behind. Ichika being slower to get to bed due to letting Kestrel get ready for bed first. Even as Ichika finishes brushing his teeth, putting his tooth brush away in a small blue cup, Ichika's mind begins to wander. ( "Good thing we have a person like Tomoe, if she wasn't here, god knows what position Kestrel would be in now" ), as Ichika fills the bathroom sink full of hot water in preparation to wash his face, he continues to think about the Israeli child.

( "Still, I can't stop feeling curious as to what Kestrel has seen and endured, I know what its like to get abducted, but its obvious that Kestrel has had more than just a run in with terrorists. I know I shouldn't ask about what Kestrel has experianced, but... surely talking about it can help instead of keeping it on the chest, but... I suppose that only works for adults" ). Ichika thinks to himself, while washing his face with intent.

Even as Ichika sighs in frustration before drying his face with a red towel, the thought of Kestrel screaming in terror keeps springing to Ichika's mind. That terrible look of fear and distress plastered on Kestrel's white, cold and clamy face sends a sickening feeling to Ichika's gut. The feeling of sympathy is becoming ever more overwhelming to Ichika. Finally wanting to break the silence that is now familiar to Ichika's bedroom, Ichika calls out in a friendly tone "Hey Kestrel, I've got some snacks in the drawers if you're interested!". Even though theres no reply Ichika still maintains a friendly smile on his face, knowing that Kestrel will just be curious at what it is he just spoke out to the said child. One thing Ichika does know, is that what ever occurs, all kids like sweets and with suffering a burden of love letters, valentines chocolates and sweets, Ichika is not short on spice and sweet products. Even as Ichika finishes up in the bathroom he walks out to find Kestrel in the fetal position yet again.

A 1,000 yard stare in his eyes, Ichika's face drops and a feeling of saddness hits his chest. However, this time Ichika is ready for any problems and instead, puts on a confident face and walks to chest of three drawers. As Ichika opens the drawers and rumages through the many packets of chocolates and heavenly spices, Kestrel remains still and silent as a grave, his eyes are fixed on the bedroom wall. As Ichika closes his drawers and carries over 2 boxes of chocolates and 3 small packs of Mikados, he notices that Kestrel has not even battered an eyelid. Ichika remains confident and instead sits on Kestrel's bed and opens a blue rectangular box of chocolate. As Ichika picks up a square shaped chocolate and offers it to Kestrel, Ichika speaks out the words "Here Kestrel, have one". Kestrel stays still, not flinching. Ichika blinks, puts away the chocolate and carefully shakes Kestrel by the shoulder, carefully speaking his name over and over again.

Amazingly, Kestrel blinks, stirs and lifts his head up, turns his head and looks at Ichika with a curious look. Ichika smiles and offers Kestrel a heart shaped chocolate, "Here, Its nice... try it". Kestrel tilts his head and blinks. Ichika mimicks with his hand for Kestrel to take the chocolate but only ressults in Kestrel leaning backwards with a nervous look is his face. Ichika holds up his free hand and with a look of care on his face speaks the words "Its okay, nothing to be nervous about". Kestrel remains still, not moving or blinking. Ichika then gets a good idea, and puts the chocolate in his mouth, munches a few times and swallows. Kestrel's face now has a curious look again, and his posture becomes relaxed. Ichika smiles and offers Kestrel a differant piece of chocolate.

This time, Kestrel timidly brings a hand up and begins to slowly move his hand over for the chocolate, Ichika moves his hand forward and carefully moves the chocolate forward. In a matter of just 3 seconds of contact, Kestrel takes the chocolate from Ichika. As Ichika stares in anticipation, Kestrel places the chocolate in his mouth and begins to much, his eyes seem to become relaxed, and as Kestrel swallows the sweet tasteing object in his mouth. Ichika can see the satisfaction in the child's face. As Ichika smiles with pride a though goes through his head ( "This may be easier than I thought" ). As Ichika and Kestrel eat away for a a few minutes, Kestrel suddenly surprises Ichika by showing him that he's eaten enough, even when Ichika continues to offer the child some more treats, the said child points at his stomach and shakes his head, though he smiles kindly, Ichika understands that Kestrel does not want to either become sick or even become overwieght.

Ichika is amazed. ( "This kid is amazeing! Since when has he been so mature!?" ) Ichika thinks to himself in surprise, before thinking twice and suddenly remembering ( "Oh right! Kestrel has only ever eaten small amounts, so its no wonder he's had enough so quickly!" ). However, even though Kestrel has eaten 8 chocolate pieces, Ichika can see the satisfaction on the child's face. Though that won't do the amount of treats any good before they pass their expired date, then as Kestrel crawls over to his pillow to go to sleep, Ichika gets a bright idea in his head. ( "I know! We can share these with Tomoe, make her feel thanked and welcome!" ) Ichika thinks happily to himself, however Ichika is suddenly brought back to reality upon seeing Kestrel laying on his side in the fetal position, yet again. Ichika's eyes return to a saddened state, and he thinks in a definate manner ( "And by the looks of it, we need her help desperately!" ).

_**That everyone is chapter 13, I will try to make Tomoe an even more common character, stick around for the next chapter, it takes place outside the IS academy again. I know this chapter didn't have much action or meaning, but the next chapter will. Okay... still wishing everyone the best, please feel free to read and review.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	14. Chapter 14: Under the sea

_**Black Falcon again with another chapter, thanks for keeping up with me so far. For those of you whom are getting bored with having a story set only in the IS academy, then this time you'll get another treat. Also I plan to put in more IS combat for future chapters but I'm wanting to get more development on Kestrel and his traumitised mind, so if you can cope with just a bit more human drama then thanks ever so. Also you'll see a lot more Israeli words a phrases, Anyway... On with the chapter.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 14:

**\- Sea life centre and wildlife centre, Japanesse coastline, 1 mile from the IS academy, 09:30am -**

It had been nearly a week, but at last it was the weekend, and a chance for IS students and teachers to either relax or catch up on any vital studies. However, for the IS students it was more of a chance to decompress and unwind. For Ichika and his friends their job for entertaining a certain new face was no where near over, and although Chifuyu had given strict instructions for Kestrel not to go anywhere without proper authorisation, Ichika and the girl's accompanying of Yui and the said child was considered perfect authorisation, but Chifuyu had given Ichika strict instructions to not let Kestrel out of his sight for a single minute. However for the moment Ichika had no need to worry, Yui was holding Kestrel's hand as Ichika, Laura and Houki remained close by walking behind the pair, Cecilia, Charlotte and Rin walked in front of Kestrel and Yui to ensure no foul play. As it was 48 hours off school, Ichika and the gang was wearing their normal everyday clothing.

Note: - For those of you who have watched the OVA, then the clothing the characters wear in that is the clothing the characters are wearing at this very minute -

Yui had changed out of her normal office like clothing and was wearing a blue mini-skirt, thin white knee socks, a thin white sleaveless shirt, high heeled shoes with leather that run up to the knees, her hair was in a ponytail and a butterfly hairclip was in place on the left side of her head. Though Yui had doubts about being out in public wearing revealing clothing, the encouragment was from Tomoe, whom had joined the group. Tomoe had her hair set in its ponytailed state as usual, however Tomoe was wearing Black knee socks, black leather shoes, tight orange shorts and a red T-shirt. Although the group was comfortable about going out, the one thing that was set on their mind was that Kestrel's only exsisting clothing was none other than his IS school clothing. Yui had already thought about this and amazingly had flown ahead. Kestrel walked beside Yui in a small dark blue T-shirt and normal black trousers, however Kestrel's only form of footwear was the sneaks that he had to walk around the IS academy with. As Kestrel walked, his Star of David pendant remained perfectly still around his neck, as if it was part of Kestrel's body, the pendant was mostly concealed in down the Child's uniform when at the IS academy, but now it could be seen by anyone. The only thing that moved on Kestrel apart from his arms, legs and head was his long, black hair, gently swaying side to side, then swaying back and fore all the way down the said youngster's back. For Ichika and the gang, the first the thing that they had all agreed on was to entertain the child with things that they all knew he had never seen before, being a child cut off from the world, sure as hell ment that the said child had never seen wild animals or sea life up close.

The one to thank for this trip to the Sea and Wildlife centre was apparently Charlotte, she had bought two tickets for her and Ichika alone, but with Kestrel's arrival and scenes of emotional stress and pressure, the French blonde couldn't stand and do nothing. Therefore she had Yui and Kestrel take her tickets and had herself, Ichika and the others pay to get in. As the group walked through the entrance gates and ticket counters, Cecilia and Rin cast irritated looks at Charlotte, both amazingly having the same though playing on their minds ( "That Damn French Hussy! Not only did she think ahead of me with finding a dating spot for her and Ichika, but also she got the better of me by showing kindess to Yui and Kestrel! She surely is one to watch out for!" ). As the Charlotte turns her head to the left to look at Rin and Cecilia, the two girls glareing at Charlotte snap from their angered gaze and cast friendly smiles to Charlotte. Charlotte however is not stupid and can feel the irritation venting from Rin and Cecilia, however the French blonde merely takes pride from hit by smiling widely back in return, before turning her head to look forward once again.

Meanwhile Kestrel's eyes are full of amazement as he continously turns his head around to look at the many differant colours, signs, people and souvenier stores. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" Houki asks from behind the group. Her face and tone full of concern. Charlotte glances back and speaks in a confident tone "Of course I know, I've been here before!". Tomoe taking the chance squeezes past Ichika and walks directly beside Kestrel on his right side, Kestrel instantly noticing Tomoe's pressance and blinks in confusion. Tomoe noticing Kestrel's gaze casts a smile down and a loving gaze.

"So where do we start?" Cecilia asks, shifting her eyes left to right. "Yeah, this way" Charlotte states out motioning with her arm for the group to follow. After a few moments, the group walk a dark blue, aquatic lit tunnel, Kestrel's blinks in amazement. Yui notices this just immediately and smiles lovingly to the scarfaced Israeli boy. As Kestrel looks at the ceiling and then the blue glowing walls, his red, facial scar becomes a black line under his eye, but at least its better than seeing the nasty looking red line under his ocean blue eyes. The aquatic sounds are like music to the child's ears and the water seems to make Kestrel's ocean blue eyes glisten and become one with the water behind the glass windows.

As Charlotte, Cecilia and Rin walk over to one side of the tunnel to observe some tropical fish, Yui and Tomoe lead Kestrel to a large window to observe what is behind the glass. Kestrel's eyes become wide with wonder as Tomoe points to the many differant marine species swimming around. As Yui gets caught up in the moment she becomes amazed at the sight, however she does not let go of Kestrel's hand. Tomoe smiles with a slightly open mouth. As Tomoe comments with a tone of amazed wonder "I wonder how many of these species are in here?", a small, timid voice belonging to Kestrel begins to count in Israeli, the said child holds up a hand and points at a fish, numbers it and points to another. "Ehad, Shenayim, Shelosha, Arbaa, Hamisha, Shisha, Shivea, Shemona, Tishea, Asara..". The words in english meaning...

'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten'.

However before Kestrel can finish, Tomoe pats Kestrel on the head and smiles lovingly, she then looks at Yui and says, "Tell Kestrel, 'Don't try counting, theres too many to count! And besides, theres plenty of fish to look at'". As Yui smiles, looks down at Kestrel and repeats the message in Israeli, Kestrel's eyes do not leave Tomoe, as Yui finishes her message, Kestrel looks at Yui and replies a message of his own, as Kestrel finishes, Yui looks Tomoe in the face and speaks the words "He says "Oh yeah many! Its just I've always been good with words and numbers so I sort of made a habit of it"". Tomoe smiles and motions with her hand to continue. Kestrel and Yui smile in envy at Tomoe's energetic spirit and follow. As Ichika follows closely behind he sees Cecilia, Rin and Charlotte run from window to window, all with smiles on their faces and pointing at the very differant species before them. "Just like little kids!" Ichika jokingly comments.

Laura smiles to herself and puts her arm in a loop around Ichika's left arm, clinging to him. "Come my wife! Show me around! This is perfect yaa?" Laura exclaims with her eyes closed with a very proud and confident smile on her face. Ichika looks at the silver haired German girl and makes an awkard face, as Ichika turns his head to the right he sees Houki with an irritated look on her face, her eye twitching. As Ichika gulps in nervousness, Laura begins to drag Ichika along exclaiming "Come my wife! You're holding us up!". Houki clentches her fist and begins to shake but is able to surpress her feelings. As Ickika, Laura and Houki walk behind the group from the first 10 exhibits into an aquatic tunnel, Cecilia, Rin and Charlotte turn their heads and notice Laura clinging to Ichika's arm, all three girls suddenly get the urge to slaughter the silver haired German girl on the spot. Cecilia's eyes burn with rage, and she wastes no time in marching up to Ichika with Rin and Charlotte following close behind. "Ichika! What d'you think you're doing!?" Rin hisses in sheer rage! Ichika's face goes white for a moment and he begins to tremble, Tomoe and Yui turn their heads to see Ichika being interogated by the five girls, Laura being the exception of keeping her smile and lovingly holding onto Ichika's arm.

Tomoe lets out a sigh of frustration. Yui merely closes her eyes and smiles slightly in an awkward manner. "Honestly... Those guys never change!" Tomoe says with a tone of being fed up with watching the same scene over and over again. Tomoe shakes her head nad rolls her eyes. "So... Why are you being so hanky panky with the Kraut!" Cecilia growls out, sending a death glare at Ichika. As Ichika leans back and holds up his free arm as a means of either reasurance or submission, Laura casts an angered look at Cecilia with her single solitary eye, "Who are you calling Kraut!? British Skank!" Laura hisses back in anger. "What d'you call me!" Cecilia retorts, however as Cecilia and Laura send death glares at each other, a sudden small voice calls out "Tistakel!". Causing Yui, Tomoe and everyone else to suddenly stop focusing on Ichika and turn their attention towards Kestrel, whom is pointing at the entrance to the aquatic tunnel.

As Kestrel pulls Yui towards the aquatic tunnel, Tomoe casts a look at Ichika and his fawning girls and in an irritated tone asks "Well come on then! Are you lot coming!?". As Tomoe walks off Charlotte suddenly shakes off her anger and smacks herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. "Oh Damn! What a cow I've been!" The French blonde sighs out with a guilty tone in her voice. As Charlotte puts her hand by her side, she lifts her head up straight and says "This was all for helping Kestrel, and look at me... getting worked up over something petty, I'm no where near being grown up as I say I am". Charlotte lowers her head in shame and walks forward, the reality of how foolish she had been slamming into her chest. Amazingly, the other girls get the same image, "She's right, we came here for Kestrel, and were fighting" Rin sighs out, walking forward herself. Houki walks forward not speaking a word, but has a straight face. Cecilia lowers her head and blinks, before looking at Ichika and Laura. "Yes, look at us... we came here to make Kestrel feel welcome and all where doing is making ourselves look like children". Cecilia then hurridley walks off after the group, Ichika and Laura say no words but follow on anyway.

As Ichika and the girls rejoin Kestrel, Yui and Tomoe, they notice the aquatic tunnel is stunning. Sure, tropical fish are beutiful to look at, but under a gigantic underwater enclosure where all that can be seen above the glass roof is the bright lights, and ocean blue atmosphere filled with water and fishes of all tropical species, that is something to be amazed with. Cecilia looks up and gasps in amazement. "Stunning" Cecilia whispers in awe, looking around at the many species swimming around the thick glassed, water tight tunnel. The only thing on the synthetic seabed outside the glass walls are nothing but man made reefs and casims. The many countless species swimming around the black rocked, under water terrain. As Rin, Charlotte, Ichika, Laura and Cecilia become focused on what is happening with a gigantic school of over 1,000 fish over on their left, Yui becomes interested in gazeing at 5 large sea turtles swimming elegantly through the blue atmosphere, Tomoe becomes focused on a large marine stingray that suddenly glides overhead. Kestrel however notices the one thing that everyone else has failed to spot.

A large gray Shark, as the beast swims towards the glass tunnel, Kestrel's emotions become overwhelmed with excitement and as a reaction points up and calls out in a small and careful tone "Tistakel! Tistakel!". Tomoe breaks her eye contact with a large sea turtle to look at Yui and asks "What is he saying". Yui snaps from her gaze at a school of tropical fish to look at Tomoe and in a curious tone replies "He's saying "Look, Look!"". Kestrel makes a single, small jump with excitement, his hair waves gracefully as he jumps, his star of David pendant moves in an elegant manner also - yet not even a jingle of metal escapes its movement. Kestrel prods the air violently with his hand and calls out "Tistakel!". Yui looks down at Kestrel's happy and amazed face before looking up and getting the shock of her life. Ichika and the girls doing the same. Cecilia and Charlotte's eyes widen and their faces are plastered with amazement, Tomoe, Laura, Houki and Rin gaze in excited amazement as a massive 18ft long gray shark glides over the glass roof, mere inches from the glass. Kestrel's arm falls at his side, yet his eyes do not leave the ocean beast for a single moment. Everyone turns their heads to follow the direction of the massive gray ocean carnivore.

As the Shark swims around a large black, coral set of underwater reef and rockery, untill disapearing from view, Ichika smiles at Kestrel and nods, "Well done Kestrel". Ichika speaks out in a careing tone. "That was amazeing!" Rin states with a happy look on her face. "I had no idea they kept sea creatures that large in here" Cecilia comments with a curious look on her face. Tomoe looks down at Kestrel, whom is now looking around at all the other sea creatures. ( "He has a gift in him, he can see things that no one else can see" ). The purple ponytailed girl thinks to herself. As Tomoe becomes lost in thought, Houki places a hand on her shoulder snapping Tomoe back to reality. As Tomoe snaps her head to look at Houki in surprise, Houki sends a smile back and motions with her hand to follow Kestrel and Yui.

As Kestrel and Yui look at the glass wall and notice fish coming 'Face up' to the glass, Ichika now has Cecilia on his other arm, sticking her tounge out at Laura, whom only sends a snarl back at the British blonde. However as Ichika is too caught up in looking at the sea creatures, he can't be bothered about whom is fawning over him. Houki however walks ahead of Kestrel and Yui, her eyes are full of surprise and wonder. "This is incredible" the said girl exclaims with amazement. Tomoe walks up beside Houki and sends a happy look towards her "Sure is!", Tomoe replies with a large amount of awe in her tone. As Yui and Kestrel mutter Israeli phrases to each other and point in happiness and amazement to each other, Cecilia spies a bunch of clown fish swimming past the group on the opposite side of the Aqua tunnel. "Reminds me of that Disney movie, Finding nemo!". Ichika chuckles back at Cecilia and comments, "Ah... I've not seen that movie, sorry about that". His face has an awkward look on it, proving that Ichika is doing his best to keep things stable between him and the girls. Suddenly Yui yelps out in a tone that makes everyone, except for Kestrel jump "What the hell is that massive thing!?". As the group turn their attention to Yui, they notice the woman is pointing upwards, as everyone looks up... a massive dark blue sea creature, with white spots swims by, everyone's eyes go wide.

Kestrel merely tilts his head and blinks at the massive sea beast, but at least he reaches up with his arm as if he's trying to reach and grab. "I think thats a basking shark" Tomoe comments, her face having a bright smile plastered on it. "Its really spectacular!" Laura comments with happiness, her single eye glistening with amazement in the aquatic blue light.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

As the group exit the Aquatic tunnel and enter a new exhibit room filled with spheers housing star fish, small fish and even jellyfish, Kestrel's amazed face does not leave him, surprisingly the entire group is overwhelmed with amazement. Its common for people to say that they've seen everything, but the fact remains that even people that know and have seen more than their fare share, can never escape the beauty of nature. Ichika makes this point clear as he walks over to a large dome housing dark, glowing blue jellyfish, his face is smeared with awe. Laura on the other hand is more interested in holding onto Ichika, her loving smile not leaving her for a single minute. Cecilia is doing the same, but is remaining focused on the exibits. As Tomoe kneels down with Rin to look at some starfish in a long cutaway section of an underwater trench, Kestrel points over at a large window to ask Yui something, as Yui replies back to the youngster Houki turns her head to look at Ichika, Laura and Cecilia, Houki's face is then showered with irritation ( "That idot!" ), the brunette thinks to herself.

"Kestrel... look..." Charlotte's voice calmly speaks out. Houki turns her head and is met with the sight of Charlotte on her knees pointing to a star fish, The French blonde turning and shifting her head left to right every 3 seconds to look at Kestrel and back to the star fish. "This is a... Star...Fish..." Charlotte exclaims with a cheerful look on her face. Kestrel looks at the French girl and blinks before timidly speaking the words in his broken, accented voice "S..Star...Fish'?". Charlotte smiles happily and claps with her hands, "Well done! Well done!" The French girl cooes with happiness. Kestrel merely blinks and tilts his head in confusion.

Houki looks away and smiles to herself. As she begins to take interest in a collection of small fish swimming in a large dome, Rin's voice calls out to the group making everyone turn their heads. They are met with Rin waving happily to the group at the entrance to a long, dark corridor. Tomoe is standing beside the Chinesse girl with a kind smile on her face. "Hey guys! There's a lot more stuff down here!". Ichika, Laura and Cecilia whom are now standing beside Yui, Kestrel and Charlotte, look at the Chinesse girl and send back happy smiles. Houki walks towards the Chinesse girl, casting a curious look towards Charlotte and Kestrel, the said girl shrugs her shoulders as a way of showing her sincerity.

As Ichika, Kestrel and the gang walk forward in curiosity towards Rin and Tomoe, Yui looks down and smiles lovingly towards Kestrel, an emotion begins to flow into her chest, and without warning a thought springs to mind ( "I never was fancied when I was in University or High school, all my friends had babies about the time they entered their mid twenties, I wonder..." ).

"Yui!" Ichika's voice calls out making the said woman blink and jump in surprise. Yui sends a pleasant look back to Ichika and chuckles "Oh sorry, did you say something!?". Ichika and Laura send looks of surprise back to Yui. "We've been saying your name more than 3 times already" Laura states in a curious manner. Yui merely clutches Kestrel's hand a little tighter, making the child turn his head and look up in confusion at the woman. "Oh... sorry, I was miles away" Yui awkwardly admits closing her eyes and making a nervous giggle. Cecilia smirks, leans forward and looks Yui in the eyes. "Are you and Ichika related, He never pays attention to what we are saying either!". Kestrel turns his head and looks forward while Yui and Laura begin to giggle away while walking in a perfect straight line. As the group meet up with Rin and Tomoe, Rin looks Ichika in the eyes and with a sinister grin on her face, stares Ichika in the eyes and exclames in a demonic voice "This is a darkened tunnel, ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE WORST!" Rin mockingly states out, making goulish poses with her arms, hands open, making her hands look like grappling claws ready to grab Ichika in one go. "Pack it in!" Cecilia hisses in an aggressive tone, clutching onto Ichika's arm slightly tighter with a hint of fear and anger mixed on her face. Tomoe rolls her eyes, while the all well known Laura shakes her head, closes her eyes and huffs "Such Children! Why don't you act like adults!". Tomoe smiles, closes her eyes and titters in an awkward manner. Houki on the other hand merely rolls her eyes and mutters something before walking past everyone and into the blackened tunnel.

Yui looks down at Kestrel and says something in Israeli, as she finishes Kestrel looks up with a straight expression and says something back with a perfectly calm voice. Rin blinks and asks in a curious tone "What was that all about?". Yui sends a happy look at Rin and replies "I asked Kestrel if he was alright with the dark, and if he was scared, he could hold onto me". Ichika, Rin and Cecilia send understanding smiles back towards Yui and then, with a curious voice Laura asks the question that Ichika was on the verge of saying, "What did he say back?".

Yui pauses, looks down at Kestrel, whom is looking at the black abyss in front of him. Then back at the others and saying in a concerned voice "He said "I have no problems with the dark, It saved my life many times over, its just I hope that I won't fall over any people... laying down!". Yui states with a nerve wrecked look on her face, Ichika and the others suddenly get a horrible and nasty, ice cold streak go up their spine. Charlotte's face loses colour and she looks in a fearful look on her face. However, before anyone can ask any questions Houki's face appears from out of the dark and in an irritated voice asks the words "What are you lot doing!?". Everyone nearly jumps, and as they look at Houki they see only her head, neck and hair. "Oh... Its a black curtain!" Cecilia comments. Ichika and the others suddenly get a feeling of relief run through their bodies. "Oh nothing, we were just seeing if Kestrel was okay with the dark" Charlotte explains in a very careing tone, whilst trying not to look like a fool from feeling nervous at the statement Kestrel just spoke out. Houki blinks, looks at Kestrel and smiles lovingly. "Don't worry, there is light in here, if he gets scared he can hold my hand aswell as Yui's". Houki states in careing tone before pulling her head back behind the curtains and disapearing again.

Tomoe looks down at Kestrel, then back at Yui, then... with a serious frown on her face states "Yui... perhaps you and I should speak alone about what Kestrel just said!" Yui, looks back at the Purple ponytailed girl and nods with a calm look on her face. Ichika, Charlotte, Laura, Rin and Cecilia's eyes do not leave the pair for a single minute. The atmosphere becomes heavy for a moment before Rin breaks the ice with a nervous, but happy look and exclaims "Well... err... I'm going in!". Everyone looks at the Chinesse girl as she walks through the black curtains and into the mysterious room behind them. "All right, ah... lets go" Charlotte speaks out, with her eyes closed and her face harboring a smile. Kestrel wastes no time and pulls Yui towards the curtains. Ichika, Laura and Cecilia blink and follow. Charlotte is the last to enter the room, but before she walks through the curtains, her temple has cold sweat and her nerves remain on high level, her face has a serious look and she thinks to herself ( "Laying down?... He means dead! That child has been around dead people in the dark!? Oh my god!" ). The French blonde thinks to herself as she follows the gang into the room on the other side of the curtains.

As Charlotte enters the darkened room she is met with nearly complete blackness, however dark blue, glowing aquatic lights light up the room in numberous areas, however the darkness is the main requirement for the fish that are on display in this part of the Aquarium. As Charlotte looks up she notices a sign on a luminous board emblazoned in yellow, silhouette black letters stand out in a perfect manner, 'PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY IN THIS PART OF THE AQUARIUM, THESE FISH ARE HIGHLY SENSITIVE TO LIGHT". Charlotte however does not pay any attention to were she is going an bangs into something soft. "HEY!" Laura shouts out in an irritated tone. Her silhoutte standing out in the small, but powerful dark blue aquatic light reflecting of glass and from tiny lights on the ground and on the ceiling. "Sorry about that Laura!" Charlotte replies, Cecilia then calls out in a near shreik "AAHH! Something's just squeezed by breasts!". This time Rin's voice is heard in a very reasuring tone "Sorry, Sorry that was me!". Cecilia's voice letting out a loud huff, followed by an irritaded phrase "Honestly! To indecently touch a lady is considered a very serious crime in my country!". Rin's voice replies in anger "Hmph! Its just as serious in my country you dirty minded tommie!". However... before Cecilia can reply, Yui's voice becomes loud and the said woman shouts out "Over here! Over here!, theres light over here!". Cecilia, Rin, Laura, Ichika and Charlotte cast looks towards the brightest traces of light and can clearly see Yui, Tomoe, Kestrel and Houki Silhouetted in the dark blue light.

Ichika manages to untangle himself from the girls and walk freely towards Yui and the others. Laura and Cecilia becoming very surprised at how Ichika managed to slip from their grasp. Rin however sees her chance and runs up to Ichika grabbing his arm. However before Laura and Cecilia can stand, Charlotte runs over both girls making their bodies crash onto the floor and look up with angered expressions. As they manage to pick themselves of the ground, they notice Charlotte has hold of Ichika's other arm. Both Cecilia and Laura secretly snarl at the sight and march up to the silhouettes before them.

As Cecilia and Laura meet up with the others, the faces of everyone can now be seen clearly, aswell as the top half of everyones bodies. Exception being Kestrel, whom is short and invisible. As everyone gathers, Ichika asks a question, his face is clearly seen with concern in the blue light. "Is everyone all right?". Houki pats Ichika on the shoulder and in a voice of compassion replies "Everyone's all right, take it easy!". Houki's face is seen with a look of happiness and care. However, before everyone can regain composure, Kestrel's timid voice speaks clearly in a very, very curious tone "Ma ze?". Yui looks down into the darkness and can make out Kestrel's head, turned away looking at the source of the blue light, his arm can be seen pointing at something. "What did he say?" Tomoe asks in a curious tone. Yui's eyes follow Kestrel's arm while saying the words "He said, "What is this?"". However as Yui's meets the sight of what it is Kestrel is looking and pointing at Yui's eyes widen, her face drains of colour, Tomoe feels the atmosphere tense up and within a second, she and amazingly everyone else look at the blue glass that Kestrel is interested in. Suddenly with out warning, a vast ocean of female screaming fills the entire tunnel, **"KKKKYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!".**

_**Okay that is chapter 14, stick around to see what it is that has caused everyone to freak out. Please note, more Israeli phrases and words will be present from now on, please keep reading and reviewing.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	15. Chapter 15: The seal

_**Hello again, Black Falcon is back with another chapter of Taming Kestrel, thanks for sticking around with me all this time. I'm still wishing everyone the best with their fanfics, and hopeing to help encourage more people in wanting to write their own. Please note, the reason why I am able to add new chapters so quickly is because writing and art is a highly loved hobby of mine, I hope that everyone else is able to do the same. Also I hardly have much to do so I can think of story plots, In fact... this story has been an Idea of mine for the last 3 years, but I never uploaded it because of having to buy a new laptop and not having the balls to go online and share stories with other fanfic writers, however, since joining I have had a lot of positive reviews and I am enjoying sharing this fic with many others. For those of you whom understand me and get positive reviews also... I am with you all to the end, and special thanks to those whom set this site up!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 15

Screaming fills a dark tunnel with only small blue lights as a means of someone finding their way around. The screaming comes from the famous Cecilia, Houki, Laura, Charlotte and Rin, joining the screaming gang of girls is fellow schoolmate Tomoe and the adult Yui. The screaming is ear piercing and extremly painful, Ichika holds his ears and tries to calm the situation down, but no effect occurs. Kestrel however gets the worst of it, the said child holds his ears in agony and closes his eyes, but what happens next causes a terrible psyhcological turn. As the screaming girls begin to quieten off and instead shout and charge around in the darkness, banging into each other and falling, the movements in the aquatic blue light cause flashing images to occur to the Israeli boy. To Kestrel it is if he is seeing electronic blue flashes in the darkness, the child closes his eyes, shakes his head and tries to regain the situation... but it is no good. As Kestrel opens his eyes, he finds himself alone in another room, he sees dark, silhouetted, female figures armed with sharp, long objects and guns in a dark, concrette walled room.

The room is covered with blood splatters on numberous places on the walls, ceiling and on the torn and tattered furniture in the room. However Kestrel sees a person, a man in chains struggling in utter and sheer terror on a nearby bed. A ball, gag in the man's mouth, restricting his ability to talk. Kestrel does not blink, his heart beats out of control, cold sweat drenches his temple. Kestrel's ocean blue eyes widen in terror and as he glances to the left he sees a long green haired girl, thrashing and struggling in a large black haired woman's grip. The women in the room are all set in white lab coats, blood smeared on some of them along the sleeves and front. The small green haired girl is dragged towards a spare, old and tattered bed matress and is secured down with rope and chain shackles.

As the green girl screams in terror, begging for help, Kestrel attempts to move and run to the girl's aid, but is unable to do so. He looks down and to his horror, is tied to the wall, only a vertical bed matress placed behind Kestrel is what is keeping the child unaware that he is against a wall. Kestrel in utter and heart panicked terror tries in vain to call out to the girl, but his voice fails to appear, he knows he is shouting, but his voice simply refuses to make an appearance.

Kestrel's eyes begin to water, he starts to cry in terror, the sounds of men, women and children screaming in fear and begging for help pierce Kestrel's ears. As Kestrel turns his head he sees a naked woman, drenched from head to foot in sweat, an evil, nasty grin is plastered across her face. Kestrel tries to struggle and move as fast and as violent as he can manage, but all efforts are in vain. The nude woman's eyes begin to glow red, and although it is seductive walking, the curved, long black haired woman walks towards Kestrel, a long carving knife is in the woman's hand. Suddenly a loud ear piercing scream makes Kestrel turn his head, the terror stricken child turns his head and finds the restrained man being disemboweled and dismembered alive! Kestrel cries hard and panics like theres no tomorrow. As Kestrel glances to look at the green haired girl, he finds women in lab coats surrounding the girl with medical tools.

Suddenly blood flies across the room, hitting the concrette walls and splattering across the floor. Then, a sharp, ice cold, vice like grip grabs Kestrel's chin and turns his head to the right, Kestrel gets the urge to feel sick, but nothing comes up. He looks into the eyes of the nude woman, a cruel and heartless hysterical laugh erupts from the woman. As Kestrel tries to scream and begins to thrash around, the woman places the cold, sharp carving knife to the side of Kestrel's face... moments pass and all that Kestrel can hear is the terrorified shrieks from people and the deep, lusty breathing from the naked woman in front of him, as Kestrel cries a rainstorm of tears he closes his eyes, after a minute... his body becomes numb and all that he can see is a blue aquatic light ahead of him.

The sounds instantly stop, and even when the child blinks, his entire body feels relaxed. Then after a moment, he gets the feeling return to his body... he then gets a very low and faint voice echo to his ears. "..rel..", Kestrel blinks, yet remains shaking... the voice comes again, but becoming a little louder and clear "..estrel..". Kestrel remains still, he suddenly gets a dark ringed void appears. Then... a silhouetted head appears, the voice is now more clear to the child "..Kestrel!, Kestrel!". As Kestrel blinks and gets the full feeling back through out his body, Kestrel's vision returns fully and he sees the terrified face of Yui, looking Kestrel in the eyes.

The woman's face is full of fear, behind her Kestrel can see the blue lit up faces of Ichika and the girls. "Kestrel! Kestrel!". Yui repeats, Kestrel blinks, and then... with raging levels of adreniline, the child springs forward and grabs ahold of Yui, Kestrel burries his face into Yui's chest, he wraps his arms around Yui's body and cries out of control into the woman's clothing.

Yui wraps her arms around Kestrel's shaking body, she places a hand on the back of Kestrel's head, and the places the other on Kestrel's back. Yui tightens her grip on the child and gently sits down and rocks back and fore, Ichika and the gang looking at the sight with shocked eyes and faces. Suddenly tomoe points to the curtains and says in a very strict voice "Ichika, everyone...  
lets go back outside the tunnel". In the dark blue light, Ichika's face is serious and he walks back the way the group came, Cecilia, Laura, Charlotte and Rin doing the same. Houki stays behind to help Yui and Tomoe guide the terrified Israeli back to clear and safer surroundings, his deep and shaken breathing echoing through out the dark tunnel.

**\- 15 minutes later -**

"So thats what happened" Rin speaks out in a very sympathetic manner, her face is plastered with guilt. Everyone else's face has almost the exact same look. It taken a great deal of effort but Yui had managed to get Kestrel to explain what caused him to panic out of control. Tomoe shakes her head and with a pain stricken face walks over to a wall and places a hand against it. Tomoe shakes her head before turning, sighing and looking Yui in the eyes. "Well... The best thing I suggest we do right now is wait for Kestrel's nerves to return to a stable position, as far as I can see the cause of his turn was due to us screaming in that tunnel". Tomoe explains in a very strict tone. Yui holds Kestrel's hand tightly and looks at the child whom is looking at Tomoe with a curious look. Since leaving the dark tunnel, his colour has returned, he has stopped crying and has returned to his normal self. Cecilia whom is standing looking at the dark tunnel entrance comments "Do you think he will be able to continue further on after what has happened?". As everyone turns their heads and looks at Cecilia, then towards each other.

Tomoe is the first to speak her voice is full of authority "I think he will, he was alright untill we all started in the dark, I don't think the problem is his surroundings, his problem is whom ever or what ever is in that eviroment". Houki folds her arms, looks Tomoe in the face and states "So as long we don't start acting like insane lunatics, he'll be alright?". Tomoe smiles awkwardly and raises her arms in a form of reasurance, "Heh,heh... I wouldn't say lunatics, just don't do anything to make the area look or sound distressed", Tomoe speaks out in a careful tone. Yui's voice speaks next, it is full of concern, "Well.. we'll have to continue, Kestrel is walking back to the tunnel entrance!". Everyone blinks in surprise and to their amazement, notice the black haired Kestrel walking calmly back to the dark tunnel, his eyes are holding a 1,000 yard stare, but the Child's face is full of serious determination.

As Kestrel prepares to enter the tunnel, Tomoe jumps in front of the child, gets down on one knee and places her hands on the child's shoulders. Tomoe has the look of distress and nerve, and as she glances to Yui, Tomoe's voice is full of nerve "Yui, tell him Wait, do not go in there yet, you may not be ready". As Yui replies the message in Israeli, Kestrel shakes his head and looks with a look of seriousness into Tomoe's eyes. The child speaks in a calm voice and remains still. Tomoe looks at Yui and looks with wonder. Yui looks down at Kestrel and then at Tomoe and speaks in a concerned voice "He says "You all did this for me, I can't go back after you've done so much to make me feel welcome, I really like it here. So I want to go on, the only thing I don't want... is to go back to where I came from or talk about what happened"".

Everyone looks at the child with amazed faces, Houki is stunned ( "This child... whom the hell is he!?" ). Rin walks up behind Kestrel and places a hand on his head, a tear rolls down her head "This kid has balls, so I'll go in with him!". The Chinesse girl's face is full of moved emotions. It can't be denied, Kestrel is the most mature child that anyone has ever seen, and for him to want to go on after suffering such a terrible turn, is something that anyone should be heavily impressed with. Charlotte herself stands, and with a serious look on her face walks up and states "No... He can hold my hand, I want to tell my friends that I held the hands of the bravest kid I've ever met!". Suddenly Ichika stands and sticks out his chest, his face has a concerned look on it, but his eyes are full of unbreakable spirit, "Yui... Tomoe... I can't thank either of you enough, but I promised that were ever Kestrel goes, I will follow, he's my friend and friends don't let each other go anywhere alone". Cecilia stands quickly, her eyes are streaming emotional tears down her face, and with an emotionaly moved voice speaks out "This child... is one of the bravest males I have ever had the privalidge to meet, I will accompany him!". Laura is next to stand she has a serious and proud look on her face, she smiles with pride, stands to military attention and salutes the kid, whom has just turned round to see what is happening.

The last time he looked at everyone, Laura, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Ichika had been sitting down on the floor, but now all of them were standing again. Laura casts a proud look at Kestrel and speaks "This child would be decorated for unbreakable courage in the face of the enemy back in Germany, let me escort him!". As Laura finishes her salute and stands easy, Kestrel tilts his head, Yui steps forward, struggling not to cry. She has a bright smile on her face "Thanks you lot, you're true friends to Kestrel". Houki and Tomoe cast happy looks at each other, then as quickly as it happened, Kestrel walks into the Dark tunnel, his friends following quickly behind. The girls starting to wrestle with each other as to whom is going to comfort Kestrel by holding his hand. Tomoe and Ichika smile at each other before Ichika walks back into the dark tunnel after his friends. As Ichika disapears behind the curtains, Tomoe puts on a serious face and turns to Yui. Yui sends a concerned look back to Tomoe.

"I know Kestrel is full of surprises, and cares for his friends, but at heart he's still just a child" - Tomoe comments, Yui sends a single nod back and makes her own comment.

"And vulnerable. I could tell by looking at his eyes, he was still effected as he walked back into that tunnel" Yui states with a serious look on her face.

"Yeah, Kestrel is mature for his age, but still... hes too badly affected to be left alone, I would suggest that we still refrain from asking him about his past, but we still keep a close eye on him incase of any sudden and unpleasant turns" Tomoe speaks out with a concerned voice, as Yui makes a solemn nod in agreement, Yui then walks towards the dark tunnel along side Tomoe. Both females nervous about what could happen inside. However, as both females walk inside, they are greated with a promising sight, Kestrel along with everyone else is looking at the fish the object that caused everyone to freak out. "What the hell is that ugly thing!?" Rin comments, pulling a sickened face. "I think that is an Angler fish" Ichika comments, with a straight face. As Yui and Tomoe look at the said sea creature an embarrasing feeling hits Yui in the face. "We was actually scared out of our flesh by that thing?!" Yui comments with a red blush, although invisible due to the darkness and blue light, Yui can't hide the fact that she is slightly humiliated.

"I thought these things lived in deep ocean water, how did they get their hands on one of these things?" Charlotte asks with interest. Laura merely shrugs her shoulders and sends a unimpressed look "I have no idea". As Laura turns away to look at other deep sea creatures, high lighted in ultra-violet light, Ichika pats Kestrel on the shoulder and sends him a supporting look. Cecilia and Rin guide Houki towards a differant sea creature allowing Ichika and Kestrel to observe the creatures alone for a while. Yui and Tomoe follow close behind, keeping a close eye on the child.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

The group made their exit from the dark tunnel without any further incident, although Ichika, Houki, and Rin had to place their hands over their faces, shielding their eyes in order to protect their eyes against the light. Kestrel and the others had no problems, earning themselves envious looks from Ichika, Houki and Rin. As the group regain their bearings, Charlotte points ahead and nearly squeals with delight, her face is full of happiness and joy "OH LOOK! Dolphins!". Cecilia and Laura blink and then smiles appear on the female's faces. Laura folds her arms and looks at the great sea mammals swimming beside the thick aquatic glass. Laura's face is full of impressment, she confirms this by saying "Intelligent and dependable, Dolphins can be trained to place mines on submarines and rescue servicemen in distress". Ichika and Houki send small but obvious smiles to the German girl. ( "Everything is military with her" ), both Ichika and Houki think together.

As the group look at the great window with as many as 10 Bottlenose Dolphins swimming with beauty and grace behind the cold, thick glass, Cecilia and Charlotte run to the glass and start to point and speak in loving comments. Ichika, Houki and Tomoe walk towards Cecilia and Charlotte, Rin grabs Kestrel's hand and sends the child a happy look. Kestrel looks up at the said girl and tilts his head in confusion. As Rin walks forward with Kestrel in tow, Yui looks at the great sea mammals with Laura and with a highly impressed look on her face states "So beautiful".

As Yui and Laura follow behind Rin and Kestrel, Charlotte nearly jumps in happy joy and shouts "Look! Thats a baby!". Cecilia sends a cooed 'Aaww', while Houki and Ichika look at a white notice displaying information on the great sea mammal. Yui takes the opertunity to look at Laura and asks the silver haired girl, "How many exihibts do you suppose there is?". Laura casts a confused look back at Yui and replies "I'm afraid I don't have a clue". As Yui and Laura look ahead to look at Ichika and the others, Charlotte turns to look at Yui and Laura, and with a straight face replies "Oh this is the Dolphin and Seal exihibits, after these theres the Stingrays, Whales, Sharks, and after those theres simply more tropical fish, crabs and such". Everyone turns to the French girl and shoot her amazed or shocked looks. "Its that large is it!?" Rin comments with surprise. Cecilia casts an angered look and asks with an irritated face "HONESTLY! We planned to eat out today! What are we going to do for Lunch!". Charlotte leans back slightly and makes an awkward face, she giggles in a nervous tone. However Yui manages to defuse the situation by saying "Please, Please, theres a resturant and picnic area in here, surely we will be able to eat out anyway", the said woman holds up her hands in an act of reassurance.

Charlottes face becomes heavily relieved at being saved by Yui's kind personality. As the group becomes relaxed, Laura places an index finger to her chin and rolls her eye up and asks in a curious tone "HHmmm, What do they have out here, I should imagine they have something for children". Rin casts a look at Laura and then looks at Kestrel, Kestrel merely keeps his eyes focused on the bottlenose Dolphins. As the group begin to discuss what to do for lunch aswell as what else to do after the visit to the Aquarium, Cecilia looks at Kestrel and notices that he has his eyes focused on the seals, taking the chance, Cecilia hurridly walks over, takes Kestrel's hand from Rin and guides Kestrel over to the seals. As Kestrel is guided towards the seals, Charlotte notices the pair walking away and with a strong sense of curiosity and justice, follows Cecilia and Kestrel. Although walking away, Laura follows after the trio, followed soon after by Ichika, Houki, Rin, Tomoe and Yui.

As the group stand in front of the seals, Tomoe and Yui look at each other and manage to walk away from the group to discuss matters concerning Kestrel. As Tomoe and Yui walk away, Ichika and the group begin to watch the seals diving and swimming. Cecilia clutches Kestrel's hand tightly like a loving mother, while Charlotte places a hand on Kestrel's shoulder. "These things can out swim a human like a fighter jet can out run a boeing 747". Rin states as a matter of fact. Cecilia, despite kneeling down to watch a pair of seals swim along the coral and shelled synthetic sea bed behind the glass, looks with pride and in a joyful voice states "These creatures are native to my home country, I remember watching them swimming along the beach heads when I was a little girl". Charlotte, Laura and Rin glance at the British blonde and have envious looks set with frowns. Ichika and Houki merely look at each other for a moment and remain silent, both have the looks of wonder, yet at the same time... ironic expectation that Cecilia would come out with such a phrase. As Kestrel tilts his head, he stretches with his arm and places the index finger of his left hand against the glass. What happens next will forever burn itself into everyone's memory. As the group look around with wonder, a single adult seal settles itself at the coral sea bed looking directly at Kestrel. The only one that notices is Houki, then... the seal gently swims forward towards the group at the glass.

Everyone goes silent when they catch the sight, Kestrel keeps very still and silent, he breathes very slowly and silently, as if he is asleep. The seal glides through the water very slowly, cautiously approaching the group. "I think its coming to say hello!" Rin speaks quietly in an excited tone. Charlotte casts a look at Kestrel and in a very low voice speaks the words "Everyone, look at Kestrel, I think its going towards him". Everyone casts a look at Kestrel and notices his outstrechted arm, the index finger pressed against the glass. Houki gets an excited streak and quickly whispers "Don't make a sound or any moves". Ichika gets the feeling of butterflies in his stomach. Kestrel's face is straight, but his ocean blue eyes seem to be full of unimaginable kindess and happiness. The seal continues its approach, and then... just 3 inches away from the glass, everyone's eyes are wide and full of awe, all set on Kestrel's index finger and the seal's mussel, then... the Seal presses its nose, and face against the glass, Kestrel takes a tiny step forward and places the full flat of his hand against the glass, the Seal responds by prodding the glass with its nose. Ichika and the girl's are unable to breathe. None of them have seen anything like this before.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Charlotte asks in a very excited tone, her face is full of overwhelmed excitement. Everyone else is amazed also, Ichika and Houki look at each other, slightly open smiles are on their faces. Rin looks at the Seal's face and back at Kestrel's face, a small smile appears on Kestrel's face, and then... a pink and smooth tounge comes from the Seal's mouth as if it is trying to lick Kestrel's hand, even though the glass seperates any direct contact. Then... the seal backs up from the glass, Kestrel withdraws his hand and with a friendly tilt of the head, waves carefully at the sea mammal in front of him. The Seal then makes a swim-by the body brushing against the glass and as quickly as it happened, the Seal swims away upwards towards the surface of the massive aquarium tank.

The group notices the Seal has a very small fork shaped scar on the left side of its body. As the moment comes to an end, the group looks at Kestrel with amazed expressions. Kestrel blinks, turns around and notices the entire group looking at Kestrel with sheer happy looks. Rin has tears of joy running down her face, Laura, Charlotte, Cecilia and Houki look at Kestrel with looks that only a proud parent would give to their children. Ichika winks and makes a single nod at the child. Kestrel blinks at the group and tilts his head.

Then, a voice shatters the silence "Is something wrong?" Causing everyone except Rin and Charlotte to turn their heads and look at the voice's owner, Whom turns out to be Yui. Ichika sends a loving smile back to Yui and replying "Oh no... theres nothing wrong, things couldn't be better". As Yui and Tomoe walk up to the group, Ichika motions with his hand for everyone to follow. The girls and Kestrel instantly respond and follow the famous Japanesse boy towards a round, metal, circular door and towards the next room. As the group walk past Yui and Tomoe, Rin sends a very pleasant smile towards the group and in a cheerful tone speaks the words "You have just missed one of the most memorable, and wonderful moments of my life!". Yui merely blinks in confusion and casts a look at Tomoe.

As the two females send confused looks to each other, Tomoe breaks the silent ice by saying in an awkward, but pleasant tone "Looks like we missed something important". Yui smiles and as the two females begin to walk after Ichika and the others, Yui comments "And by the looks of it, I'd say it was something really nice!". Tomoe lowers her head in frustration, while Yui rolls her eyes, a brief feeling of dread hits her in the chest and face, and she mutters... "Its always me!". Tomoe and Yui amazingly shake their heads in frustration as the two walk after Ichika and the gang.

_**Okay that's chapter 15, stick around for Chapter 16. That chapter should give everyone a bit more action, aswell as more drama. The next chapter should have Laura being the heroine, due to her great military hand to hand combat, so... thanks for reading, keep reviewing.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	16. Chapter 16: Day out incident

_**Black Falcon, Yet again with another Chapter of Taming Kestrel, this next chapter should have a bit more action in as I know theres a lot of you whom just love that stuff. This time I thought I would make Laura the heroine of this chapter because she hasn't been given much spotlight at the moment. Also this chapter has the very first, proper brawl, so for those of you whom like the idea of fist fights, enjoy... So anyway... That's all I have to say in the introductions and just add the words "Read and Enjoy!".**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 16

**\- Sea life and Wild life Centre 11:30am -**

Despite suffering a nasty turn and having spent an hour or so slowly walking from exihibit to exihibit, little Kestrel maintained a good and stable mind, the 'so called' Hallmark moment he had with a seal helped regain most of his lost composure. Never the less, the first part of the Aquarium tour was now over and all that was left was to walk through an underwater corridor surrounded by water and multiple species of tropical swimming fish. The synthetic coral sea bed of black rocks, coloured sea shells, underwater plant life relaxed the child's mind. The corridor was long despite it being part of an underwater aquarium but kept everyone's spirits up. By now Kestrel was walking beside Ichika and Tomoe, Cecilia and Charlotte walked ahead of everyone, looking around and gasping in amazement at the size and scale of the place. It made it feel like everyone was in fact, under the sea. Rin and Laura on the other hand were filling each other in on local gossip Yui and Houki however took the chance to try and point out and name certain species of fish that swam in schools or solo in an underwater waltz. As the group walked towards a large pair of metal doors at the end of the corridor, a large green sign stood with white letters emblazoned.

The words 'Resturant, Cafateria and Bathrooms' stood out against the light green background of the sign. "Finally!" Cecilia's voice called out, her face held a large amount of relief. Charlotte turns her head and sends everyone a pleasant look, her voice is full of relief also "Looks like we can a spot to sit down and take it easy for a bit". As the French blonde turns her head to look ahead of her, Ichika turns his head to the right to look at Tomoe, his face has a happy look. "Hey, what do you suppose they have to eat in there?", the Japanesse male speaks in a friendly and curious tone, Tomoe looks back at Ichika and blinks in curiosity, before replying "I don't know but I hope they have something edible in there!" Tomoe replies. Before Ichika can respond, Rin's voice cuts him off "Lets hope they have something edible in there, the last thing I want is to do is end up filling a complaint about bad food". The Chinesse girl comments with an irritated tone, making Tomoe and Ichika send awkward looks to each other.

As the group enter the resturant area, the sight is incredible. The area is filled with red sofas, chairs set in front of a large, thick window. Tropical fish, Dolphins and a Basking Shark swimming around in a large aquatic tank. Synthetic coral reef once again being the main enviroment for the aquatic creatures. The resturant is larger than a gymnasium and houses 5 differant food kiosks. The main food tables in the resturant being rectangular mahogany brown, with fixed light brown chairs on the floor. The floor is laminet wood, the walls are pure white and the ceiling has between 10 small or medium lights, all blazing brightly. What everyone notices is that there are other people in the resturant, mostly are just tourists with backpacks and cameras, where as others are young couples, arm in arm.

In total there have to be a possible 30 people in the resturant, for Cecilia and Charlotte the sight is incredible, both girls rush into the room with their arms open, the amount of space they have to move around in is become clearly evident for the 2 females. "This is fabulous!" Cecilia cooes while looking at the ceiling with a slightly open smile and twirling herself around twice. Charlotte looks around with an amazed look on her face, as the French blonde looks away she sees the symbols showing male and female, obviously the bathrooms. As Charlotte looks back the group she quickly speaks the words "Sorry guys, I need the bathroom, I'll be back soon", and with that, Charlotte runs towards the bathrooms. Rin pulls a straight face, closes her eyes and holds a hand up like a student raising her hand to ask a question. The Chinesse brunette states the words "Me too, I'll see you guys in a few moments". As the said girl walks off towards the bathroom doors after Charlotte, Cecilia turns to the group and with a happy look states, "Okay, I'll find us a place to sit down". As the British Blonde walks away, Ichika and Tomoe walk away to a nearby vending machine to buy drinks, the two speaking in low voices like sophisicated adults. Laura however follows Cecilia, her face is straight but she shifts her eye around, suspicious of the people in the room. As the German girl walks past Kestrel in silence, Kestrel blinks and gazes in awe at the magnificent sight before him.

During the said boy's moment lost in a world of his own, Yui comes up behind Kestrel and grabs his hand. Kestrel jumps a little and rapidly looks up, as soon as his eyes meet Yui's loving face, the said child calms down again. As soon as Yui and Kestrel sit down at a rectangular table, 5 loud mouthed girls walk into the resturant. 3 laugh away loudly causing nearly everyone in the resturant to turn their heads and look at the sight. The 5 girls all wear highschool uniforms, 2 girls are tanned and have a good amount of make up on their faces, however all 5 are dressed in a sluty or scantaly clad manner. Ichika, Tomoe and Cecilia looking at the sight and pulling faces in an awkward manner. "Honestly! Why must those people be allowed in such a good, public place!?" Cecilia hisses with her hands clutched into fists. Although Ichika, Kestrel, Tomoe, Yui and Laura are sat down, a pressance of trouble fills the air.

**\- 6 minutes later -**

As Charlotte and Rin rejoin the group, the 5 strange females that can only be described as Delinquents remain in the resturant, although the 5 strange females are sat down, a slight trace of desruptive behavoir remains evident. However as the shouting is only at a low level and the strange girls are not causing a ruckus, nobody pays much attention. The exception being Cecilia whom keeps firing angered looks at the strange girls. Charlotte sits across from Cecilia with her back to the strange girls and places her hand on Cecilia's, then... in a calm voice Charlotte speaks the words "Just take it easy, ignore them", the French blonde states with a serious face. Rin also has her back turned but lifts up a menu and states in a serious voice "Yes, ignore them, just focus on what were going to have for lunch". Cecilia's eye twitches but at least she looks away from the Delinquent girls. Laura is next to speak, this time in a curious tone, "So, my wife, what do you wish to have?", Ichika places a hand to his forehead and sweatdrops. Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin and Houki send irritated looks at Ichika, and to make things worse Ichika can feel the hostile emotions venting from the girls.

However, being a nice guy has its advantages as Ichika holds up a menu and nervously states, "Ah... well... I... I'll choose when I go to the food kiosk" Ichika quickly speaks out in a nervous tone. However it does not help, as Charlotte places her menu down on the table and quickly speaks out "W..Well I am aswell". A red flush is painted on the French girl's neck and under her eyes. "Me too!" Houki claims, her eyes closed and a blush is under her eyes. However Rin, Laura and Cecilia do not follow suit and choose to use their images as ladies impress the Japanesse male. Cecilia sticks out her chest and states "W..Well I for one am going to order this", Cecilia states in a proud voice, pointing at a special on the menu. Rin does the same but says "I'm going to order the special for today". Laura however closes her eyes and merely speaks out in a huff "I'm just having something cheap, back in Germany I was always told to choose food at the right prices!". Tomoe and Yui however pick what they want to eat independently, Kestrel however remains silent and becomes lost in thought. However Yui snaps the said child back to reality by calling his name and speaking in Israeli.

Tomoe however looks across from the group and witnesses a couple, holding hands and sharing food between each other at a single silver, round table. Then, Tomoe looks over at some tourists and can clearly hear the sounds of foreign lingo. ( "There sure are a lot of people coming into here" ) The purple haired girl thinks to herself as another group of people walk into the resturant.

**\- 22 minutes later -**

It had been a few minutes but at last, it was near everybody's lunch time. In that time the group had done nothing except talk about either school or personal interests. Kestrel being the one not saying a word for a moment but remains looking across from the group's table and looking at a set of mermaid statues and strangley shaped sculptures set on white, marble based columns.

Kestrel only looks around at the others when Ichika's cheerful voice calls out "Alright! I'm going to get lunch, can anyone help me out carrying the stuff back to the table?" As soon as Ichika speaks those words, Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin and Laura spring to it, and stand instantly all saying the same thing at once "I WILL!". For Ichika it is surprising, but as always, his dense personality makes him miss the point of why the girls all stood up at once. Anyhow, as Ichika stands with a pleasant smile on his face he looks at Yui, bows and asks in a friendly tone "Ah, Miss Sakurada, were just going to the kiosk to get lunch, will you and Kestrel be alright here for a moment?". Yui looks up at Ichika and with a cheerful voice and happy face replies "Of course, you get yourself sorted out".

As Ichika bows once again, he and the girls walk away to the kiosks to grab some lunch. However Tomoe casts a look at Ichika and his self proclaimed girlfriends, and raises an eyebrow, its not that the girls are being childish around Ichika that makes Tomoe raise an eyebrow, but the fact that a lot more people have arrived in the resturant and now a line of about 20 or 40 people are in front of Ichika and the girls. Most people are just tourists of nearly all origins, but others are merely just the odd person just looking for entertainment. During this time the 5 delinquent girls continue speaking, not in a loud voice, but are pointing and calling out people whom suddenly strike their interest. Tomoe, Yui and Kestrel pay no attention to the delinquent girls but are forced to turn their heads and look when one of the females shout in anger at a random person. The delinquent girl has firey orange hair in pigtails, a rough yet curved pyshical build on her body, and is wearing traditional schoolgirl uniform.

Her friends are the same, even though 2 are tanned and have differant hair styles. The said delinquent girl stands in fury while looking at line of people at the food kiosks. However as bystanders send looks towards the ques and back to the 5 girls, another delinquent female stands with long blonde hair and knuckle dusters on her fists. **"WHAT'A YOU BASTARDS LOOKIN' AT!"**, the rough female shouts in anger, sending violent looks towards every last person in the resturant.

As soon as the said delinquent girl barks out those exact words, people turn their heads away instead look at each other and begin to whisper to each other about the scene before them. Amounst the lines of people at the food kiosks, Ichika places a hand on Laura's shoulder and in a very calm voice speaks the words "Laura, don't do what they want you to do". Laura turns her head away and looks at Ichika, a calm wave of emotions wash over the silver haired German girl. However the delinquent females calm down only a small amount, and instead begin to jeer and make snide remarks about the men or boys in the room.

Ever since the IS was developed, the female gender has litteraly gained control of the world, the only exceptions being Ichika and little Kestrel. The point being made when a tanned girl in highschool uniform marches up to a pair of young middle schoolboys and beins to hiss the words "Get me a drink bitches!". The middle school boys have the looks of sheer terror and distress on their faces. What makes the sight even more foul is the fact that nobody is attempting to help the 2 young males. Any females that look at the sight, merely smirk, smile or look away making snide whispered remarks. As cruel as the sight is, there are some females that do not look supportive of the sight, mainly being Ichika's self proclaimed girlfriends, Yui and Tomoe. As the atmosphere becomes more and more heavy, Kestrel's curiosity gets the better of him and the said child turns his head to look at the delinquent girls, but its a mistake that Kestrel quickly regrets, as he runs his eyes over the 5 rough females, a terrible cold chill runs up the long, black haired child's spine.

Then... although there are plenty of voices chattering away, aswell as the barks and jeers from the rough females, to Kestrel's little ears he hears a whisper that grows louder. As Kestrel turns his head to look at the que at the kioks, a brief flash of a person running away catches Kestrel's sight. Kestrel turns his head and tries to keep up with what it is that has caught his sight, one of the delinquent girls bends over to pick up a knuckle duster, the said girl being the one that marched up to the middle school boys to force a free drink from them. As Kestrel's ears become filled with multiple whispers he is unaware that he has lost his place in reality and is looking straight up at the bent over school girl's skirt.

However as Kestrel looks up after getting a glance of something of unknown origin flying over head, the whispers get louder, untill becoming a loud and ear piercing roar. As Kestrel places his hands over his ears and looks back down, a terrible sight meets his eyes a pale, gray skinned man covered in blood, with severed arms meets the child's eyes, Kestrel practally jumps back in terror. Kestrel's eyes widen and colour drains from his face, as he closes his eyes and shakes his head violently, cold sweat begins to pour out of the child's temple. As he opens his eyes, the zombie like man is gone, but instead... the delinquent girl is marching up to Kestrel, a look of sheer blood rage is on the females face. Behind the green haired female, 3 of her friends march up behind her, all have angered looks on their faces.

Tomoe however notices the approaching females and with a nervous face points at the young approaching women, Yui turns her head and goes white in the face. After a few seconds the 4 delinquent girls come to a stop at Kestrel's table. Yui and Tomoe shift their bodies and look at the 4 females with nervous and slightly concerned faces. As the green haired girl stops directly in front of Kestrel, the said girl points an index finger straight into the young Israeli boy's face.** "IS THIS LITTLE SHIT YOURS!?"** The angered girl states in a hiss. The green haired girl's friends are behind and malicious looks at the child. Tomoe stands and in a nervous voice stutters the words "N..Not to worry, hes with us". The green haired girl then aggressively grabs Kestrel's hair, directly at the top of the child's head making Kestrel wince in pain, and move his hands up to the top of his head in attempts to pry the strong clutch of his head. Yui stands in slight anger, but the look of fear is on her face.** "THIS LITTLE BASTARD WAS LOOKING UP MY SKIRT!"**. The green haired female hisses, making Tomoe cast a curious look at the child.

Yui however puts an angered look on her own face and in a very low and menacing tone speaks the words "Let go of him!". The green haired girl's friends stand from behind, every single one of them sending confident, but very nasty looks at Tomoe and Yui. The green haired girl then snarls, looks down at the struggling child, then back at Yui and speaks the words "I'll let go of him after I've rattled the little perv's teeth!". However Yui snaps and aggressively, but nervously steps forward, her face up close to the delinquent girl's face. "I said let go of him! I won't ask again!". What happens next catches everyone by surprise, Kestrel's fight or flight instincts kick in and in a lightning fast reaction, Kestrel sends a sharp and painful kick into the delinquent girl's right shin, making the said girl suddenly bend down to hold her shin in agony, her friends don't get the chance to react in time and as the green haired girl snarls in pain, another blow hits the girl.

This time the blow being Kestrel making a sharp leap, delivering a knee into the girl's face. The sound of bone hitting bone echoes throughout the resturant, Kestrel's eyes no longer have pupils and his face is straight with a far away look. As the green haired girl releases Kestrel from her painful grip and holds her nose, blood gushes from the said girl, as she hisses and grumbles curses at Kestrel. However this time the girl's friends react and instantly climb over Kestrel's table after the child. Kestrel however makes acrobatic flips, and backflips himself away from the angered females. For Tomoe the sight is a real eye opener, since when was Kestrel able to do acrobatics like that?

**"GRAB THAT LITTLE FUCKER!"** The green haired girl shrieks, with blood rushing from her nose and upper lip. As the bloody nosed girl and her friends give chase after Kestrel whom is now running away from the girl gang, his long black hair trailing behind him in a beautiful and elegant manner. However it is only the green haired girl that manages to give chase, the girl's friends don't get a chance to give chase, Yui however manages to pursue the green haired girl in attempts to protect Kestrel. "TOMOE DUCK!" Shouts an all too familiar German voice. Tomoe does not hesitate and ducks instantly, suddenly... a brown, wooden food tray rockets through the air like a frisbee, striking one of the delinquent girls in the face, and knocking out 2 teeth! However before the blue twin braided girl can react, a sharp blow smashes the girl in the side of the head, instantly knocking her out.

Tomoe looks up an to her relief sees non other than Laura Bodewig, now in intense hand to hand combat with the remaining 3 delinquent girls. It is an incredible sight, Laura using both arms and legs to deflect and strike back at her attackers. All the while this is happening people of both genders between the ages of 12 to 40, look on with awe struck faces. As Laura swerves and twists her body with incredible flexibility, the 3 delinquent girls struggle to keep up with the German female, however when a tanned girl grabs Laura's arm a look of confidence appears on the said delinquent females face, however the smile is short lived... as Laura sends up a flying swinging kick, breaking the girl's nose and dislocating the girl's arm from its socket.

As the delinquent girl falls to the floor in pain, the remaing 2 lose it and go all out on a final assault, the final tanned girl pulling out a knife and attempting stab Laura, however Laura spots the blade and grabs the tanned girl's hand holding the knife, and then with a surge of strength and martial artist movement, breaks the tanned girl's wrist, causing the tanned girl to drop her knife and hold her arm in pain, the tanned girl having a face of extreme pain and agony, however Laura is not finished and sends a volley of punches into the tanned girl's face, after 3 seconds the final blow is a painful kick in the gut forcing the tanned girl to fall to the ground, the wind completley knocked out of her.

The final delinquent girl lasts a mere 12 seconds and all that is heard through out the resturant is a series of bone crackings and blows being inflicted on a body. When the sounds end, Houki, Cecilia and Charlotte walk forward to aid in restraining the 3 floored delinquent females. The fourth with firey orange hair merely holds her hands up in defence, her face is full of fear and nervous sweat rolls down her head and face, allowing Houki and Cecilia to drag her forward and sit her down next to her injured friends.

As Cecilia deploys her IS and stands gaurd over the 4 guilty females, a smile is on her face. "Sweet moves Laura" Cecilia states with an impressed voice. Laura however holds her fists and rubs them. A look of slight pain is on the German girl's face, and when the said German female sends a look at Cecilia a look of seriousness on her face "Yeah, maybe... but I'd rather not repeat what happened in a hurry". Laura states panting slightly.

What can't be denied is that when ever a good fighter goes all out and fights with their strength, the fighter will have to take a breather after the fight, please remember... when a person fights, no matter how fit or good they are, they will never escape the need of stamina. As Charlotte summons her own IS and looks over to a staff member behind the counter of a food kiosk, Charlotte puts on a serious face and shouts out "Call the police, I think they can handle the rest". The staff member noods in agreement and raises a hand in confirmation.

A second or so later the entire resturant is filled with the sounds of clapping and happy exclaimings, and as Ichika and Rin walk forward with trays of food, Rin states with a proud voice "I've got us our rewards for our troubles, great work Laura!". Ichika however points something out that everyone has seemed to forget, Ichika's face is full of concern and his voice is nervous "Hey... Wheres Yui and Kestrel!?". As soon as Ichika speaks those words, the girls all get a terrible feeling of dread hit them in the face, and as everyone casts fearful looks at each other, a male bystander walks forward with short, light brown hair and states in a calm voice "If your looking for a woman and a child... I saw them run into the bathrooms". As the group turn their heads towards the bathrooms, Houki and Laura run towards the two wooden, black doors... both girls have the feeling of sickening dread in their stomachs. As Houki and Laura run off towards the bathrooms, the bystanding groups of people all have sheer grateful looks on their faces as if they have just been saved from death by angels.

**\- In the bathrooms -**

Yui falls to the floor with a nasty set of bruises on the side of her face, however the bloody nosed girl has also taken some blows, a set of bruises on her face and split lip being evidence.

However Yui is not built for fighting and has taken a series of blows in the stomach, a sprained thigh and bloody lip. Although the injuries look and sound feeble, Yui is extreme pain, and as the bloody nosed girl, her face full of conceited pride prepares to drive a kick into Yui's stomach a small figure leaps into the air, sending a flying punch into the bloody nosed girl's face the sound of bone hitting bone again echoes out.

The small figure being Kestrel, but this is the last blow the child deals out before regaining his sense of reality. The child's eyes return to normality, he blinks and makes a small shake of the head. The sight that greets him makes his little heart beat out of control in fear. The bloody nosed girl that he struck, was sent nearly flying into a bathroom mirror, the glass shattering and leaving blood patches on the splintered glass. As the bloody nosed girl holds her head in agony, Kestrel runs into a corner holding his screaming hand, the pain is unbearable to the small child.

Yui sees the sight and manages to pick herself up of the floor and in a crawling scramble, dashes over to Kestrel, sheilding him with her body incase of sudden attack. However, all that is heard is the sound of the bathroom doors bursting open and figures scrambling around. "THATS ENOUGH!" Houki shouts out in anger.

Yui turns her head and notices Houki and Laura pinning the now defused girl down on the floor. Laura casts an aggressive look at Yui and in a voice of seriousness speaks the words "Yui, get Kestrel out of here". Yui, full of pain nods and in a tender manner, helps the shaken child to his feet and carefuly guides Kestrel out of the bathroom. As the pair leave the bathroom Houki sends a look at Laura and with the look of shock and a voice of nerves asks the German female "What the hell just happened!?". Laura sends a concerned look back at Houki and shakes her head.

**\- 12 minutes later -**

It had taken 8 minutes, but at last the law had arrived to take control of the situation. The 5 delinquent girls are led towards the exit by a group of police officers, even though some of the 5 girls have open wounds in some areas, a bunch of para-medics can be seen behind the exit doors. During this time, Para-medics are seen tending to a wounded Yui's face and Kestrel's hand. At least there are plenty of witnesses to help justify the group's actions from the last few minutes. This is proven by the sight of Tomoe, Ichika, Cecilia and Houki talking to a group of police officers with normal straight faces.

Although the idea of having police making arrests is terrifying, the atmosphere becomes heavily relaxed when the questioning officers send satisfying smiles at Ichika and the others, put away note pads and pens in their pockets, make pleasnt bows and walk away. However the para-medics remain with Yui and Kestrel, the small child remaining perfectly still with a dazed 1,000 yard stare in his glazed ocean, blue eyes.

The main female para-medic with short ginger hair with a bun, sends a loving smile to Kestrel as she places bandages on the child's pain stricken hand. The sight for her is amazing, she was expecting a crying and screaming child, but not a cool and collected youngster not feeling a thing. "He isn't even wincing in pain, this has got to be the bravest child I've ever seen!" the female medic states in an amazed tone. The male para-medic, young and full of kindness sends a loving smile at Kestrel also and states in a happy voice "I heard from the others here that he stood against a bigger and stronger girl and left her nose in pieces, Its great to know I'm looking at a man!". The young medic's male ego rising to high levels.

As Yui looks over at Kestrel, a loving and relaxed look is on the young woman's face, even as the medics finish up on treating Yui, the male medic treating Yui looks the said woman in the face and speaks in a very kind tone "Okay, now just take it easy, you're in good condition to head home, but I must insist that you see a doctor just to be safe". Yui sends a happy look back to the medic and nods, "Sure, no problem", Yui states with a kind and cheerful tone. The male medic smiles, stands looks over to the medics treating Kestrel and speaks the words "Alright, I'm done here, I'll see you two back at base". The two medics treating Kestrel nod in confirmation and wave the medic off.

Ichika and the gang look on with concerned faces and make an opening for the medic to walk through, people do the same yet they all keep their eyes on Kestrel. The thought of a little child being the victim of sudden attack, its simply to much to bear. The look on Kestrel's face is shaken and traumitised. As the female medic finishes on Kestrel, she stands and sends a beaming smile back to Ichika and his friends, "Don't worry, he'll be fine!". Ichika, the gang and the bystanders all let out breaths and have relived smiles on their faces. As the female medic looks down one last time at Kestrel, she smiles lovingly and then looks at Yui, "Just see to it that he does not use that hand for a 48 hours and he'll perfectly alright". As Yui nods in agreement, The female medic walks away, with the male medic behind. The group walk forward with as many as 30 bystanders in tow, Cecilia sends a curious look at Yui, her tone is full of concern "Are you alright?". Yui looks back at the British blonde, closes her eyes and giggles slightly. "Oh yes, I'm fine now, nothing to worry about". Houki sends a happy look at Yui and asks in concerned tone "Can you stand?"  
Yui places a hand at the back of her head and replies "Of course I can, my only concern is for Kestrel". Yui replies looking down at Kestrel, letting her arm rest at her side. Ichika's face is full of sympathy and asks a question that is on everybodies mind "What happened? Kestrel suffered a turn, what did he see?".

_**Well, that is chapter 16, stick around for chapter 17 and see if Kestrel will reveal anything. Please note: at this point Kestrel's past begins to become more and more darker to not only himself but to Ichika and his friends, so be warned, a lot more gore, horror and psychological effects will appear, reader discretion is advised.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	17. Chapter 17: A day out salvaged

_**Black Falcon 01 again returns with chapter 17 of Taming Kestrel, in the last chapter we left Kestrel and the others reeling after a run in with a bunch of looney bitches. See how they get on in this next chapter, Ichika has asked Kestrel what it was he saw, and there is a good chance that Kestrel won't say a word, but then again... anything can happen, can't it? For those of you whom are alright with this type of story, then thanks for bearing with me. Remember it is my first fanfic after all, also on a side note, I appologise about any delays in chapter posting due to me and some friends of mine taking part in the 100th anniversary memorial of the Gallipoli Disaster... let us not forget those brave 252,000 British, ANZACs and Austrailians who died, so forgive me for any delays... anyway... read and enjoy the story.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 17

**\- Sea life and Wild life Centre/ 13:00pm -**

It had been nearly an hour since Ichika asked that one single question "What happened? What did he see?", and although Yui had asked 'a sat down on the floor' Kestrel. The said child had remained very silent, in the fetal position... yet again. The 30 or 40 bystanders had all been eager to find out what caused the incident to take place, but now at least the group could get some breathing space, due to the bystanders either growing tired or agreeing with Ichika and the others to move away. As Ichika closes his eyes and lets out a deep frustraited sigh, the said boy looks down at Kestrel, being craddled by Yui and petted on the head by a knelt down Cecilia. "We better leave don't you think?" Charlotte asks as if its a matter of fact. As the group cast looks at the French blonde, the said girl has a look of utter sorrow and pitty on her face.

Rin places her hands on her hips, lowers her head and sighs, "And to think we was having a great day". As Laura and Houki cast concerned looks at each other Tomoe's voice breaks the silent moment, "Shes right, we best not stay here, staying here will simply cause more damage than good". Tomoe's voice is full of utter authority and concern. Cecilia stands and sends a very sympathetic look at Ichika, then turns her attention to Tomoe, "Okay... so what else should we do?". As everyone looks at the purple haired female, Tomoe closes her eyes and shakes her head in frustration, "All I can suggest is get Kestrel out of here and back into familiar surroundings". Yui sends a single solemn nod and looks at Kestrel with emotion filled eyes.

As Yui speaks softly to the Israeli child, Kestrel looks up at Yui, tears fill the child's eyes and a look of distress is seen on Kestrel's face. For Yui, the sight emotionaly shatters the woman's heart and as a ressult, Yui closes her eyes tightly and tears roll down her face. Seeing the emotional breakdown, Houki and Rin rush forward and help Kestrel to his feet, the Child immediately casting looks of confusion and nerve towards both females. Yui gets to her feet a bit slower than Kestrel, but at least she manages to prevent herself from bursting into a wide open sob. As Yui stands, Tomoe walks forward and places a hand on Yui's shoulder for comfort. Yui wipes a loose tear from her face and sends a thankful smile back to Tomoe, "Thanks, I needed that" Yui sighs in a trembling but very honest whisper. Tomoe smiles back in a comforting way, seeing the sight of calmess return, Ichika and the girls all send triumphant looks to each other, all in the knowledge of knowing that any further problems have been prevented, but the fact remains that the main problem is still evident, getting Kestrel to speak about what he saw, or even discuss his past.

Even as Yui and Tomoe walk beside Kestrel's sides, each female taking a hand in their own, Houki looks down at the straight faced child, face pale and the eyes with the usuall 1,000 yard stare. Houki holds a face of pity and looks away from the group, the weight of the problem crushing down on her mind. It is confirmed when Houki mutters the words "We have a really long road ahead of us with Kestrel". However Ichika hears this and sends a reply back "I know, I just wish I could do something about it". Ichika's chocolate brown eyes don't leave Kestrel for a single moment.

**\- Town/City Centre 1 mile away from the IS academy.14:23pm -**

Since leaving the sea and wild life centre, the group has remained silent. Everyone's minds are set on Kestrel, Yui is the worst affected. For Ichika and the gang, the situation is very heavy on everyone's mind, the pressure of the silence is to much to bear. However, the silence is shattered by a small voice, the voice belonging to non other but little Kestrel. For Ichika and the others the small voice is surprising, causing everyone to blink and look at Kestrel with curious looks. Yui however is even more surprised and replies something in Israeli. As Kestrel replies the message his eyes remain on the ground, his head is low and a sound of shame is in the child's tone. Yui's face becomes straight and as she lifts her head up, the said woman calls out the word "STOP!".

Ichika and the gang instantly come to a stop and look down at the Israeli child, wonder and curiosity hits everyone's minds as Yui gets down on her knees and places two hands on Kestrel's shoulders. Yui's face has a small smile on it. As the two engage in Israeli lingo, Ichika and the girls cant help but look at each other and back at Yui and Kestrel. The hearts of everyone beat rapidly, this is probably the first proper conversation that Kestrel has attempted since arriving at the IS academy. Laura's curiosity can only be contained for a limited time before nervously speaking the words "What did he say?". Yui giggles slightly and with a happy look on her head to face Laura and speaks in soft, caring words "He said "I'm sorry everyone, its because of me that we had to cancel our trip out, I know everyone must be angry at me and I want to do something to make everyone feel better"".

As soon as Yui speaks those words, everyone's faces become shocked, Ichika and the girls look at each other with surprised faces, however Yui continues by saying. "So anyway, I told him, 'Nothing is your fault, you aren't to blame, it was those nasty girls that were to blame. We aren't angry, we're just concerned for you thats all'". As Yui finishes her sentance, Ichika and the girls get the feelings of Guilt, Amazement, Happiness and Pride. It is made true when Ichika and the girls look at each other with calm, happy and loving looks, and then down at Kestrel. Then... without hesitation, Ichika and the girls get down on their knees and send loving smiles at the Israeli child. Tomoe places a hand on Kestrel's shoulder and rubs it. Laura shakes her head and speaks happily with a face full of pride "Tell Kestrel, 'I have nothing to be angry at you about, in fact I feel inspired by your courage and balls to stand and fight against an even stronger enemy. You're alright in my book!'".

Yui looks at Kestrel and looks into the child's ocean blue eyes, and repeats Laura's message. As Yui finishes, a look of amazement appears on Kestrel's face, as he lifts his head up to look at Ichika and the others, Ichika asks Yui to translate a message "Tell Kestrel 'You're a good person, so I've nothing to be angry at you about, you can't help the condition you're suffering from'".

Yui smiles lovingly and translates the message, the next message is from Houki with a nod to confirm it "Tell Kestrel, 'The only thing we want to do is to help you, and if you have any problems at all, speak to us about it'". Cecilia's message is confirmed by the folding of her arms and concieted comment "Tell Kestrel, 'Seriously, to get worked up over a silly incident like that, how low do you think we are, the only thing we want is you're safety, don't feel down because of some concieted bitches trying to push you around'". Rin speaks next with fist raised as type of support to how well Kestrel just did "Tell Kestrel, 'Don't worry about it kid, I'm not angry in fact I'm impressed at how you broke the nose on that loud mouthed bitch'". Charlotte and Tomoe merely place their hands on Kestrel's shoulder, close their eyes and send out loving smiles. As soon as Yui finishes translating all messages, Kestrel's face goes bright red and the child looks down with a small smile, a single tear rolls down his face and over his bright red scar under the eye.

A single timid reply comes from Kestrel's mouth in broken Japanesse "Th..Thanks ev'ey'body". With that, Kestrel raises his head he rubs his ocean blue eyes clean of any tears, and as the gang stand back on their feet, and look down at Kestrel with loving looks, Charlotte gets a bright idea, her smile becomes wide and she raises a hand as if she is pointing out a perfectly bright idea. "Hey! I've got it! Its only 14:23pm, theres a parlour nearby, Why don't we go and get some Icecream?".

As soon as Charlotte speaks those words, all the girls faces light up. Rin nearly jumps at the moment and yells in joy "YEAH! Good plan!". Ichika looks at Kestrel and then at Yui before kindly speaking the words "How about it Yui? What do you say?". Houki also sends a kind look at Kestrel, and in a very friendly tone states the words "I'm pretty sure Kestrel hasn't tasted Icecream before". Yui blinks before looking down at Kestrel and smiling. Kestrel merely looks at Ichika and tilts his head in confusion, the said child blinks in confusion. Yui then looks over at Ichika then over at Tomoe.

The purple ponytailed girl smiles and makes a single nod, Yui acknowledges the answer looks Ichika in the face and in a happy tone states the words "Well... I'm sort of... well bothered that Kestrel and I have bandages and band aids on us, and I think we've had more than our fair share of odd stares at us, but.." However before Yui can finish Charlotte interupts Yui and quickly speaks the words, "Thats no problem, I can always bring yours outside if you don't want to go indoors". The French blonde holds up her hands in an act of gesture, For Charlotte she can't belive how stupid she has just been, and it is really humiliating, as it is for the others. However Yui manages to defuse the feeling by stating the words "Thanks, Don't feel offended, but its just... like this... I'd rather not take Kestrel to a place where a lot of people could be". Yui's words are kind and as she runs her hands over her face, the painful guilt of allowing Yui and Kestrel become targets to mindless filth, begins to hit hard against Ichika and the others. The feeling causes Ichika and the others to look down onto the floor, however everyone lifts their heads upon hearing little Kestrel's voice.

As the said Israeli child speaks something in Israeli to Yui, Yui soon replies back with a phrase of her own, and soon enough... a small conversation takes place. As Kestrel and Yui finish, the look of happiness is on Yui's face. The group go quiet, and look at Kestrel and Yui with looks of nervous children. Yui closes her eyes, smiles and states the words "I just spoke to Kestrel about the situation and he says that "As long as everyone is no longer in harm's way, and that no one else sends horrible stares at us, then everything is okay with me"". As Yui looks down at Kestrel, the said Israeli child embraces Yui's limbs and waist, closing his eyes. The sight is emotional for Ichika and the gang, but for Yui... a certain maternal and loving instinct erupts, making her blush.

**\- 20 minutes later, Outside an Icecream parlour -**

Although the occasional person would continue to send the unpleasant look at the freshly patched up Yui's face and Kestrel's hand. Yui and Kestrel were able to get some seats outside one of the best Icecream parlours in the district. The two sat next to each other on a four seated table, with Ichika and Rin sitting opposite them. Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura had a seat directly to the left of Ichika's. Tomoe sat alone but happily on a metal chair directly behind Yui and Kestrel. It had only been a moment but a choice now had to be made, who was going to buy the ice-cream!

Feeling responsible for the days events, everyone instantly volunteered. Although the choice to buy the icecream was not very important at first, it soon esculated into whom was going to stay behind and gaurd Yui and Kestrel, the last thing anyone wanted was a repeat of what happened at the sea and wildlife centre. As the group sat and finally came to the conclusion that the winner would be chosen by rock, scissors and paper, Yui and Kestrel cast looks of wonder to each other and the glanced back at Ichika and the others as they went through their competition. In the end the winners that would stay behind and gaurd Kestrel and Yui were Ichika, Cecilia, Laura and Tomoe.

For the others it was a painful let down to have lost the chance to gaurd Yui and Kestrel, but at the same time the relief was there knowing that some really awesome IS pilots were standing as personal protectors.

As Houki, Charlotte and Rin walk into the Icecream parlour to get their orders and to get some very specials for Yui and Kestrel, Ichika and the remainder of the gang looked on at Yui and little Kestrel with pleasant expressions. Laura is first to break the silence by looking at Kestrel with concerned look "Is his hand okay?" Laura asks with a worried tone. Yui looks down at Kestrel, whom is constantly turning his head left, right and then looking up and down, looking at the many differant Japanesse faces and figures that are walking around. "I would say he's making sure theres nothing abnormal around". Yui speaks out with a sympathetic face, her tone full of concern for the Israeli child.

As Kestrel looks up at Yui, the said woman places her hand over his own, as Yui's fingers interlock with Kestrel, Kestrel looks down at the table with a pained expression. Ichika, Cecilia and Tomoe can only shoot troubled looks at each other. "Poor kid, god knows what hes seen and experianced before coming to Japan" Laura speaks out with a hand placed on the side of her face. Tomoe then takes the chance to pull her free metal chair over towards Yui and Kestrel, as the purple haired beauty pulls her seat over and sits down, everyone looks at Tomoe with curious faces.

Tomoe then takes a breath before speaking the words "All of us want to know that answer, but I think the enviroments that Kestrel has suffered his turns gives us plenty of clues as to what Kestrel has seen and experianced". As Tomoe finishes her statement, everyone looks at Kestrel whom at this moment is looking at a nearby tree with crow perched on the top branches. Everyone pays no attention to the crow or tree, but at least Cecilia and Ichika notice the neutral look on the child's face. "Its nice to see him calm again, its simply terrible to see that gastly terrified look on his face" Cecilia states. Ichika looks over at Cecilia and smiles, "I hear you Cecilia" Ichika states in a calm tone, making the blonde girl blush and act bashful with her arms and hands.

Yui and Tomoe notice Cecilia's bashful act and send looks that can only be described as 'Oh boy!' towards the blonde girl. Laura however sends a nasty frown towards Ichika and then over towards Cecilia. ( "That unfaithful Japanesse cheat!" ) Laura aggressively thinks to herself. Once again Ichika becomes the subject of fuss and he hasn't even got a clue that he is the subject of the girl's attention.

For Tomoe the irony of having to watch this middle school level romance is simply to irritating, and as a ressult the pony tailed female chooses to break the ice by changing the subject. "So... this Icecream stuff, I hear this parlour has some of the best in the district". As Tomoe speaks those words Ichika turns to look the said girl in the face and makes a happy and cheerful expression. "Yeah, it is actually, It only opened a year ago but the icecream they sell here is the best you can hope to find" - Ichika speaks with a cheerful tone. Cecilia however looks towards Ichika with an irritated look. As Ichika and Tomoe engage in small conversation, Yui keeps a firm but very careful hand hold on Kestrel's hand. The said woman making sure that Kestrel does not slip more than 10 inches away from her.

For Kestrel the main interest at the moment is the large, black bird perched in the nearby tree known as a crow. Despite nobody else taking any notice of what Kestrel is looking at, Kestrel pays no attention to the others and remains full of curious wonder. Kestrel and the crow then make eye to eye contact for a moment, and the without anyone noticing the crow, Kestrel smiles and with a face full of kindness tilts his head.

The crow leans forward, head linning directly straight with the back and tail, then after 10 seconds hesitation, the crow leaps from the branch, beats its wings quickly and lands on the gray concrette pavement, 10 feet away from Tomoe. The crow then hops forward slightly, its eyes not leaving Kestrel's. Tomoe still remains oblivious to the black animal merely a few paces from her, and as the crow walks forward towards the group, Kestrel holds his hand out. Although his bandaged hand is tenderly in Yui's hand, there is no pain or for that matter no twitch, which is perfect for helping Kestrel remain calm and collected. The crow continues its journey forward, not hesitating to go up to the Israeli child, but the black feathered animal comes to a stop just 8 inches away from Tomoe's left foot and looks up at the table.

Kestrel then leans sharply to one side to look for the interesting looking animal, the black animal's colour matching the colour of both Kestrel, Ichika and Yui's hair. However Yui feels the tug on her hand, which causes her to turn her head and look at Kestrel. The sight that greets her is shocking, yet at the same time confusing. "Kestrel?" Yui speaks out in a clear and curious tone. Tomoe, Ichika and Cecilia instantly hearing Yui and looking at the child.

From Cecilia's point of view, Kestrel has disappeared, however Ichika can see the child's face full of curiosity. Tomoe gets the worst shock as she turns her head to look at Kestrel and notices the child's small smile and outstretched arm, the child's small hand has all fingers apart, clearly showing the child's thumb and four fingers. As Tomoe twists her body around and looks down, she gets a nasty shock as she notices the large, black crow walking towards Kestrel's outstretched arm and open hand. The animal then stops in its tracks, looks up at Tomoe, sticks out its chest and violently beats its wings.

The crow fires out angry 'CAWS' at the purple haired female, making Tomoe jump. Yui leans backward and notices the black animal sqwalking at Tomoe, only 2 feet away from Kestrel's open hand. Ichika blinks upon hearing the crow's calls but stands instantly after seeing Tomoe jump back in alarm. Cecilia however stands up and walks around her table to see what is happening, the sight before her makes her blink. "Urgh! I can't abide those black things, disgusting creatures!" Cecilia almost spits out, holding a sickened look on her face. However the crow turns its head and body and sends a volley of 'CAWS' at Cecilia. Making the British blonde blink in surprise. Tomoe seeing the sight and sending a smug smirk at Cecilia. "I think that bird is letting you it just felt offended!", Tomoe speaks out in a smug tone.

Yui looks and sees Kestrel's outstretched arm, and instantly tries to pull the child away, however Ichika holds out a hand and quickly shouts the word "STOP!". Yui looks at Ichika and has a nervous look on her face, Ichika however has a very wonderous look on his face, and then... in a calm voice speaks the words "Wait... Lets all just wait and see what happens!". Tomoe looks back at Ichika, blinks in confusion before finally getting the image, "OH! I get it!" Tomoe speaks out in a quick and pleasant tone, as Tomoe looks at Yui a smile is plastered on Tomoe's face and the said girl speaks the words "Trust us... I think that Kestrel is going to be alright... okay?". Yui trembles and looks down at the black feathered animal slowly starting to walk towards the child's hand. Yui had never been very good with animals, so the said woman's nerves seemed to becoming more and more unstable. Cecilia then begins to walk forward slowly to see what happens, the British blonde comes to a stop directly behind Yui.

What happens next takes everyone by surprise, the crow leaps forward and lands on the top of Kestrel's hand. Yui nearly screams in fear, while Tomoe holds a breath. Ichika blinks and has a very anxious look on his face. Cecilia however takes five nervous steps backward. Kestrel however straightens himself upwards, sitting up straight, the child looking and facing forwards towards Ichika again. The child carries the large, black crow on his small upturned hand untill finally resting his arm on the table. Tomoe, Ichika, Cecilia and Yui all stare wide eyed. Ichika then slowly moves to sit down again, Tomoe does the same.

Cecilia slowly walks between her table and Ichika's in order to sit beside Ichika and look in awe at the sight before her. Yui meanwhile shakes with nerves as she looks at the menacing black feathered bird resting on little Kestrel's small hand. The crow maintains eye contact with Kestrel even when Kestrel leans his hand to one side allowing the crow to disembark his small hand and stand on the table. As Kestrel lifts his arm upwards slowly, the crow takes a few steps forward, coming to a stop directly in front of little Kestrel's body. However Kestrel's quality time is not over yet, as the said child smiles lovingly at the bird and has very loveable look in his ocean blue eyes. Everyone lets out a breath and begins to smile widely at the sight. Kestrel places his hand out, and runs his small, thin fingers over the crow's head and back. The bird merely rubs itself into Kestrel's small hand and fingers, for Yui the sight is breath taking. "Incredible!" Ichika whispers with an open smile.

Tomoe blinks, occasionaly rubbing her eyes to make sure she isn't dreaming. Cecilia carefully points Kestrel, then swings her hand towards the crow and then back at Kestrel, Cecilia's face is full of amazement and shock. "How did he do that!?" Cecilia whispers in a shocked tone. For Kestrel the moment is dearly loved and causes Kestrel to smile warmly. Ichika and the females all noticing the happy and loving look on Kestrel's face. The crow looking fully contempt with Kestrel's touch, Kestrel then turns his head to look at Yui and smiles happily, Yui blinks and merely holds firmly to Kestrel's bandaged hand, the nervous tremble felt through Yui's contact. Ichika then blinks and leans forward to get a closer look at the sight. Before anyone knows it, moments pass... everyone to busy looking at Kestrel petting the wild animal before him.

So what happens next takes everyone by surprise, a cheerful voice belonging to Rin shouts out the words "ICECREAM'S UP!". Everyone jumps in alarm, the crow beats its wings violently and dashes into the sky and rapidly flies away. Kestrel holds a hand up and waves goodbye, a smile is on the child's face.

As the group begins to recover from being startled, Rin, Houki and Charlotte walk out with three seperate trays. Rin's tray has 4 drinks, Charlotte's tray has a large vase with a large and full selection of vanilla, chocolate icecream, choco sauce, 4 bannanas and a selection of spoons and straws. Houki's tray has 9 differant drinks. For Ichika and the group, the sight is just amazeing as it was when Kestrel was petting the crow. "MY LORD! What the heck is that!?" Cecilia calls out in a shocked tone while pointing at Charlotte's tray. The French blonde smiles and in a very kind tone replies, "This is today's special, its a chocolate mountain for everyone".

Ichika sweatdrops and in an awkward tone replies, "Thats sweet and all but... what are all those drinks for?". Rin casts a look at Ichika and replies "They're doing a special on drinks so I thought we may like to try the new strawberry, bannana and chocolate flavoured milk". Houki then looks over at the group and speaks the words "These drinks I have are all bottled, just in case we get thirsty on our way back to the academy".

"Hey, you all look happy as angels has something good happened?" - Charlotte speaks out in a curious tone, yet smiling kindly to the group.

"You just missed one the greatest sights I've ever seen in my life" - Tomoe speaks out with a bright, wide smile as Charlotte carries the chocolate mountain to Ichika's table. Houki sets her tray down in front of Cecilia before walking over to get a seperate metal chair in order to sit with Ichika and the others. Rin instantly does the same.

"Really? what happened?" - Charlotte asks Tomoe as she pulls over a metal seat while looking at Tomoe. The purple haired female smiles pleasantly back at the French blonde before grabbing ahold one of the large four cartons containing the cold, chilled flavoured milk, as she pierces the plastic top covering with a blue stripped straw. "This child, has had a crow climb on him!" Tomoe speaks with happy pride while pointing at Kestrel with an index finger.

Charlotte blinks at Kestrel, but snaps her focus to Cecilia when the british blonde speaks the words "Its true! Thats the second animal he's had contact with today!". As Houki and Rin sit at the group's table and look at little Kestrel, the said child merely looks over at Charlotte, then looks at Cecilia. Kestrel's scar face has a very innocent look which is doubled when he tilts his head in confusion.

As Rin is about to speak Yui's voice cuts everybody the Chinese girl off, "So... how are we going to eat this?". Everyone looks at Yui and then at the chocolate mountain. Cecilia places her hands together and speaks the words "Oh yes! How foolish of us to forget!". Rin's eyes glow excited, Houki has a pleasant smile while everyone else looks with awe. Kestrel only looks at the object with confusion. "Okay, as it was mostly my money that payed for this, I get first dibs!" Rin shouts out with a cheerful tone, a small spoon shining in the afternoon sun set in the clear blue sky. However, to Rin's shock... Charlotte has already tasted some of the ice-cream. As the French blonde swallows her first spoonful, Rin casts an irritated look at the French girl, but chooses not to say a word due to the days events.

"Wonderful! Its wonderful!" Charlotte calls out with a happy look on her face. As the group look at each other they all smile and as quickly as Charlotte started, everyone goes for the massive icecream treat set before their eyes. Kestrel however turns his head away and to the little child's happiness notices the crow he had been petting perched in the nearby tree. Kestrel smiles in sheer happiness, the crow looks back at Kestrel and tilts its head. Both Kestrel and the crow share a moment that continues untill Yui rubs Kestrel's shoulder gaining his attention, Yui points to the chocolate mountain and holds a spoon up, Kestrel merely blinks at Yui before the said woman sets a spoonful of combined chocolate, vanilla icecream with bannana and chocolate sauce, as she places the spoon in her mouth, and sends a loving smile at Kestrel she mimicks with her hand for Kestrel to get involved. What soon follows for the Israeli child is the unforgettable taste of the treat that Charlotte and the others are helping themselves to.

_**Okay everyone, that is chapter 17. Stick around to see what happens in chapter 18. Please feel free to read and review.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	18. Chapter 18: Plans for the child

_**Black Falcon 01 is back again with Chapter 18 of Taming Kestrel. This next chapter should take place back in the IS academy, and just on a side note... there will be a lot more chapters set in the IS academy untill for a while, but IS action will take place that is a promise! Also Kestrel's past becomes more and more clear, but be warned there is horror and gore so for those of you readers whom don't like the idea of blood and gore, then I would consider having a person read the up coming chapters with you, but don't worry... I'll warn you when those chapters will come. **__**Anyway... thanks for the reviews, keep them coming... and anyway... read and enjoy**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 18

**\- IS academy entrance/16:00pm -**

To say the least, the end of the day out with little Kestrel had been successfuly salvaged, although the half way point had been a total disaster, it was a big comfort to know that Kestrel's mind was eased after such a terrifying ordeal. For Ichika and his friends the day had also been very heart warming, witnessing Kestrel come into close contact with 2 un-tamed wild animals. The most loved moment was the moment when Kestrel's face had a look of utter amazement after taking his first ever spoonful of icecream from the chocolate mountain.

For Kestrel the moment was more than special and was even better when he tasted flavoured milk for the first time. Although the vast majority of the Chocolate mountain was eaten by Ichika, Rin, Charlotte, Tomoe, Houki, Laura and Cecilia, Yui and Kestrel managed to get their fair share of the treat. Kestrel had never tasted anything so sweet and loveable in his life, however when he was asked if he wanted to ever go back to Icecream parlour again, the child smiled lovingly, closed his eyes and lowered his head. Yui translated the words 'Thanks everyone, but I don't want to become overweight, also let me do something back in return at some point'. The group was heavily touched by those words, even Rin had trouble trying not to glomp the Israeli child and share a family like moment.

Never the less, the journey back to the academy was very well enjoyed, Kestrel had a small smile on his scar marked face all the way back to the academy. Yui's wounds seemed no longer to twinge as they had been doing due to the peaceful journey home. However the peaceful and tranquil journey into the IS academy was short lived after being called out to by a familiar German voice. As the group slowed their walking pace and turned their heads to the left, whom should be walking up to the group but Clarissa Harfouch.

All 5 German girls walking calmly behind the eye-patched woman, but that was not what concerned the group, it was the sight of a large number of IS schoolgirls following Clarissa and the German females that put un-nerve in Ichika and the others. As Clarissa and the large quality of females walked up to the group, Ichika and the others immediately sweatdroped. "Oh great, Now what!?" Rin hisses out in an irritated tone, her eyes closed and her head shaking in irritated rage. Houki however places a hand on the Chinesse girl's shoulder, making Rin open her eyes, turn her head and look at Houki.

Houki then turns her head and looks at Yui and Tomoe, "Dosen't Kestrel have a check up with the nurse at this point?" Houki asks with curiosity, Yui looks Houki in the eyes and replies in an authorised tone "Yeah, he's expected for a check up at this time of the evening". Houki looks down at Kestrel, she sees the child look at the horde of females, then the child looks down on the floor, a look of pain and distress is on the child's face. Houki then looks Yui in the eyes and says in a very friendly tone "Look Yui, why don't you take Kestrel to the nurse and call it a day okay? We'll handle everything here". Yui blinks at Houki and in a very concerned voice asks "Really? What about you and everyone else?". However before Houki can reply, Charlotte shakes her head, closes her eyes for a moment before smiling at Yui, looking the woman in the eyes and stateing, "Today's been really hard for you and Kestrel, you need all the strength you can get". Cecilia then leans forward and says the words "Thats correct, so you and Kestrel get along off to the nurses office".

As Yui looks at the group, she notices everyone has the looks of peaceful happiness on their faces, and as Yui takes one final look at Kestrel, the said woman makes a solemn nod and smiles warmly back. "Okay, we'll see you all indoors then". As Yui and Kestrel walk away into the IS academy hand in hand, Ichika and the others look over the approaching female group.

As the female horde reaches Ichika, a small group point over and point out Yui and Kestrel walking into the IS academy. However any females planning on following Yui and Kestrel are cut off by Charlotte and Cecilia darting in front of the female horde's flank, blocking the path after Yui and Kestrel. Charlotte's face holds a serious look as she points to the female group in frustration "No! Stay away from the kid everyone! He's had a hard day" Charlotte speaks out in an serious tone. The female horde all blink in surprise, but at least the the army of girls manage to get the image and not do anything that they may regret. As a Spanish girl with short blue hair holds up her hands and looks Charlotte in the face, the picture is clear and is the signal for Cecilia and Charlotte to stand easy and relax.

The Spanish girl even goes so far to speak in her rich spanish accent and smile in a reasuring tone "Don't worry, we get the image" the spanish girl speaks out. As Ichika and the gang prepare to walk into the academy a female Geramn accented voice suddenly speaks out in excitement "Ah! You are instructor Orimura's younger brother!". As the entire female group looks over at Ichika they get a sight that can only be described as pure irony. Ichika is surrounded by the vast army of women, causing very angered expressions to appear on Cecilia Charlotte, Laura, Rin and Houki's faces.

"So you are senior Bodewig's wife!?" One of the uniformed German girls speak out in amazed curiosity, Laura gets a very confident wave of emotions rush over her, ressulting in a very smug smile to appear on the German girl's face. Houki and the others only get a realy pissed look on their faces, Rin even begins to grind her teeth in rage. Ichika on the other hand is holding up his hands and smiling awkwardly as he continues to get barraged by the girl's questions. "So you and senior Bodewig are married!?" One of the German girl's asks in a very excited and girlish tone, a look of eager happiness is plastered on the girl's face.

Ichika only closes his eyes and places an awkward look on his face, and nervously speaks the words "Ah... Well... That was mostly Laura's idea". Laura casts a look at Ichika and frowns in irritation. Thankfully Ichika does not catch the angered look, he is to busy trying to defuse the situation with the mass amounts of females. "Thats you're normal everyday clothing!?" A long black haired, Russian accented girl asks while pointing at Ichika's average clothing. Ichika merely looks down and then back at the questioning girl and replies in an awkward tone "Well... Yeah".

However the interogation by the females does not end, "Where have you and the others been all day!?" A red pony tailed, French accented girl asks with a curious look on her face. Ichika only gulps in an axious manner, however as Ichika gets interogated, Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura, Rin and Houki then find themselves bearing the brunt of the IS schoolgirls. "Cecilia that dress of yours absolutley stunning!" A short green haired, French accented girl states in a happy tone, making Cecilia smile with confidence, raise her nose and close her eyes. "Why of course it does! Only the very finest you understand!" Cecilia speaks in a very prideful tone.

Charlotte gets her own fair share of admirers as the French blonde comes under heavy questioning pressure by at least 30 differant schoolgirls. Houki on the other hand only manages to get a quick glimpse of Charlotte and Cecilia coming under heavy pressure before she finds herself surrounded by as many as 20 differant schoolgirls of multiple nationalities.

"Wweellll... I see you lot are busy, so I'll say good evening!" Tomoe speaks out in an awkward manner, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. As the purple haired girl shifts away from the group, she turns her face and body and dashes towards the entrance of the IS academy. "Do I get the feeling we've just been abandoned?" Rin states in an irritated tone while one of the uniformed German girls carefully feel up Rin's pigtails.

As the girls join Ichika in a moment of being treated as celebrities, Clarissa Harfouch's voice breaks the moment as the eye patched woman smiles in a suspicious manner and looks Ichika in the face with her solemn eye. "Well then Orimura's younger brother, when do you plan on entertaining us with your IS skills!?" Ichika merely looks the said woman in the face and in a nervous tone states "Ah... well... I think Chifuyu-nee will have the answer to that question".

Clarissa merely smiles in a look resembling a hungry wolf. As the blue haired woman replies "I see" in a tone of suspicious happiness, a terrible feeling of fear and dread smacks Ichika in the face that travels all the way down his spine. "So Clarissa..." Laura's voice speaks out in a loud and clear tone, the silver haired German female has her arms folded. As Houki, Ichika and a whole group of schoolgirls turn their heads to look at the blue haired German woman. Laura continues her statement in her serious tone. "I understand that you came here for matters concerning the IS, but why did you suddenly get the urge to ask that little Kestrel child to suddenly go with you back to Germany?". Clarissa holds a straight face and has a serious look in her single un-patched eye.

The blue haired German woman remains silent, as she listens to Laura's questioning "According to what I've heard and witnessed, that Israeli boy has been having it real hard, the last thing you want is the image of person whom prays on the weak!" Laura's voice is full of serious suspision, yet with a hint of warning towards the German woman. As female group hanging around Houki and Ichika stare at the German woman, Clarissa then places a happy look upon her face and shakes her head, after letting out a quick giggle "Oh no! Not at all!" Clarissa speaks out in a reasuring tone, her hands are raised to help ease the tension in the air.

"Thats not it at all, I was merely concerned for the child's welfare, after all... that little child aswell as instructor Orimura's younger brother, are the only male IS pilots on the planet are they not!?" Clarissa speaks in manner that changes to an inquisitive tone at the end of her message. Ichika lowers his eyes to the ground, the feeling of multiple emotions rush over him. It can't be denied that Ichika made world history upon being discovered to have the ability to pilot the IS, but little Kestrel was meant to be a confidential, so if it was discovered that a second male pilot was found, along with the child being under 12 years of age, only God would know how the world would react.

The best assumption was that the child would be worth countless millions in any countries currancy. The point being made by Clarissa's eagerness to have Kestrel join her and her girls is more than enough proof. However Ichika is not the only one whom knows this fact as Houki looks at the German woman and speaks the words, "Kestrel may be able to pilot an IS, but his being here is supposed to be a secret. Orimura sensei has already sworn all of us to secrecy, we've all been told that if the world media made big public news of Kestrel, then more harm would befall the child than good".

"I'm well aware of this fact, Instructor Orimura was the first to tell me about the Israeli boy, so you have no need to be so gaurded". - Clarissa speaks out in a calm voice. Her face has a very careing look. Houki, Laura and Ichika then cast amazed looks at each other and then back to Clarissa. "What? Chifuyu-nee has already told you?" Ichika asks in a very amazed tone. Clarissa merely smiles at Ichika and the group and replies "Don't you worry, all will be revealed in due course!" Clarissa speaks in a cheerful, yet suspicious tone. Ichika and Houki only cast wide eyed looks of concern at each other.

**\- Scene change/IS academy, Ichika's bedroom/18:00pm -**

It had been a while but finally Ichika was able to open the door to his bedroom without fear of being either nagged by his friends or being called over for quick photo by the odd IS schoolgirl.

Even as Ichika entered his bedroom he felt the overwhelming relief of peace course throughout his body. However as the dark haired boy entered his bedroom, an atmosphere of steam, condensation, warm air and a sweet fruit like smell filled the entire bedroom. As Ichika closed his bedroom door and looked around he noticed that the bathroom door was wide open, obviously someone had been using the shower, and to Ichika only one person came to mind. "Kestrel?" Ichika asked in a curious tone, all that comes back to Ichika's ears is silence.

As Ichika walks over to the bathroom and peers in, a pair of ocean, blue eyes meet Ichika's sight. Ichika blinks, jumps back in surprise before looking again and noticing non other than little Kestrel in his IS uniform. The child has a concerned look on his face, but soon changes to a curious look when the said child tilts his head at Ichika. Ichika quickly regains his composure and smiles in comfort back to the child. "Hey there Kestrel, you okay?" Ichika asks with a hint of curiosity. Kestrel merely looks back at Ichika and blinks in confusion. Ichika quickly notices Kestrel's lack of understanding so instead Ichika holds up a thumb and soon proceeds to make a loop with his index finger and thumb, showing the 'O' for Okay sign. Kestrel blinks but quickly gets the picture and nods in confirmation.

As Ichika walks over to his bed, he maintains his happy face and looks back at the child, "Hey, it was great when you held that crow today!" Ichika speaks out in a careing tone. Kestrel walks over to the bigger and dark haired boy and in a timid voice speaks the words "Sorry... but.. I.. No.. Understand". Kestrel's face has a touch of embarassment with a hint of awkwardness. Ichika then gets a clever plan up his sleeve and holds up a finger in a way of showing he has a great idea. He places his hands in the shape of bird wings and makes 'Caw' noises. Kestrel leans back and blinks in surprise and confusion.

Ichika notices the child's face full of concern, and instead looks around in awkwardness, amazingly as if on cue, a pair of crows are perched on the IS balcony outside the slideing doors. Ichika makes an open smile and points to one of the perched crows, his face is full of happiness, Ichika looks over to Kestrel and back to the crow and says in a very soft tone "See that?... That is called... a crow... Crow!" Ichika speaks, making a solemn nod and smiling at Kestrel. Kestrel looks at the great, black feathered birds outside and finally understands what Ichika is trying to tell him. Kestrel looks at the great black bird and repeats what Ichika is saying while pointing at the black animals outside. "C..C'owe?" Kestrel softly speaks out in his young, soft, timid and broken accented voice. Ichika smiles warmly at Kestrel, puts his arms by his side and nods.

"Y..Yes, close... but say it like this.. C'row!" Ichika speaks in a calm and slow tone, Kestrel tilts his head, but tries to keep up with Ichika, "C..Crow?" Kestrel stutters. Ichika smiles warmly and nods happily "Yes! Thats it". Kestrel looks down and has a small smile on his face. The feeling of comfort fills the small child's body, even as Ichika places his hand on Kestrel's head.

"Oh that reminds me! I need to take a shower also!" Ichika speaks out, the feeling of Kestrel's long, damp hair managed to get Ichika to remember the sole purpose for coming up to his bedroom. "Thanks Kestrel" Ichika speaks in a warm tone, however as Ichika walks over to the open bathroom door, his bedroom door clicks and opens, revealing the green haired Maya in company with the new celebrity Clarissa Harfouch.

"Oh Yamada sensei!? Can I help you?" Ichika speaks out with a curious tone. Maya merely smiles back, bows pleasantly and walks into the bedroom with Clarissa close behind. "I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you Orimura, but miss Orimura has given me strict instructions to let you know that you are pair up with Kestrel tommorrow. Kestrel is to have his first duel in IS tomorrow". Ichika's eyes widen at the news, and is on the verge of suddenly yelping 'No', when Clarissa beats Ichika to the point and speaks first in a very eager and happy tone "It is a 2 on 2 battle, and your opponents are to be Houki and one of my girls!".

The look of excitement and pride is on her face, but that was to be expected as Clarissa is a hard disciplined woman, so its only natural that a battle would be the type of thing such a woman would be interested in. Maya continues, casting a look at Kestrel and then back to Ichika as a way of showing both boys that she's talking to them while speaking the words "The battle begins immediately after breakfast, so get all the rest you can okay Orimura? Is there anything you'd like to ask or know?" Maya asks in a very kind tone. Ichika folds his arms and speaks in a serious tone, even though his face is straight "Just one thing, Yamada sensei.

Its just the rules of the duel and what weapons will be used, its not because I'm nervous about the fight, I'm nervous about Kestrel..." As Ichika mentions Kestrel's name, he turns his head and attention to Kestrel, Maya and Clarissa do the same.

"Its just that, Kestrel seems to have a problem when he feels in danger, Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin, Laura and even Yui and Tomoe can prove that point. Its just I'm nervous about how he'll react when placed in the face of battle for the first time". Ichika speaks out with highly concerned face, Maya closes her eyes and turns her head towards Ichika with an anxious face. Clarissa however merely keeps her stern focus on Kestrel, the child looks back at Clarissa with a straight face, his eyes or face not showing even the slightest emotion at the German woman's gaze.

As Maya opens her eyes and looks Ichika in the face, a nervous and awkward smile appears on her face. "Ah... well... I'll pass you're concerns on to miss Orimura, for the time being, just take things easy, look out for Kestrel and prepare for tomorrow, okay?" Maya speaks in a near frightened tone. Ichika having no other choice but to acknowledge Maya merely closes his eyes, smiles and looks at the green haired teacher and replies "Ah... Yeah, I'll do that". As Maya makes a solemn nod and casts a happy look down at Kestrel, Clarissa sends a look over to Ichika, nods and smiles.

Ichika gets a creepy feeling run up his spine and he merely closes his eyes, and sends out an awkward chuckle set on an anxious yet pleasant face. "Okay Orimura, don't waste any time getting to bed tonight okay" Maya speaks out in her cheery usuall voice. Ichika merely holds his hand up in acknowledgement as the green haired teacher in company with Clarissa turns around, closes the door to Ichika's bedroom and walks away. As the door clicks shut Ichika sends a nervous look down at Kestrel, a dreaded thought runs through Ichika's mind ( "My god, Kestrel is not anywhere near ready for an IS battle with anyone. No matter how good Kestrel is a flying and target practice, his mind is nowhere near capeable in handling the stress of fighting" ).

As Ichika's face drops to a very sorrowful and sympathetic look. Ichika then looks down at the Israeli child and is unable to feel any emotion but pitty ( "Chifuyu-nee, I respect you and I'll do as you say... but what the hell are you thinking!?" ). Ichika then turns away and heads into the bathroom, even though Kestrel merely blinks in confusion, the child can feel something very, very wrong in the atmosphere.

**\- Scene change/IS academy, Chifuyu's office -**

"Hmph! I thought Ichika might say something like that, he maybe a dope in most areas but he's still a good hearted guy!" - Chifuyu speaks out in her usuall serious tone, a smug smile is placed on the black haired girl's face. For Maya, the matter is less of a puzzle than what it is for Ichika, as the green haired teacher pushes her glasses firmly upwards over the bridge of her nose, a concerned look is on the green haired teacher's face. As Chifuyu sits in her office chair, elbows resting on the shinning mahogany wooden surface. Her hands are placed, one on top of the other and resting directly in front of her nose and mouth. Clarissa merely sits opposite Chifuyu in a thick leather arm chair, her legs folded, side of her face is resting in the palm of her right hand.

The other arm is layed slump over Clarissa's front, the German woman has the look of wonder in her solemn eye. Maya only sits up straight in a visitor's chair, and maintains her focus on Chifuyu "I know that you're eager to see how Kestrel reacts under battle conditions but with everything thats happened recently, are really sure its a wise thing to do?" Maya speaks out holding onto a clipboard and pressing it tight against her front in anticipation of what Chifuyu's answer is. Chifuyu sends a strict look at Maya, sits up straight, sighs, then leans back and relaxes herself in her large office chair. "Maya... Concern for Kestrel is on nearly everybody's mind, you're not the only one whom is concerned for the youngster", Chifuyu replies in a serious tone.

Maya blinks and with a curious look on her face, looks the mighty Chifuyu in the face before asking in her usuall nervous yet curious tone "Then why are we sending a mentaly wounded child into a battle zone so soon?". Chifuyu raises both legs, placing both feet on her table, her stockings shine in the light.

Chifuyu looks at the ceiling, her eyes have a very tired, yet very active look, as Chifuyu looks at the ceiling with her eyes half closed, she speaks in her serious tone "Maya... aren't you the least bit curious as to how that child fights? From what I've heard the way he fights when he isn't in an IS can only be described as a child that has been trained to kill since the moment he was born". Maya looks down and remembers reading the police reports and watching borrowed CCTV footage of how fierce and fast Kestrel moved during the incident at the sea and wildlife centre. "We aren't planning on exploiting the child, we're merely following the very rules that the IS academy follows, which is all students are here to learn to operate the IS, even under battle conditions, it is a well known requirement that one day may save the child's life" - Clarissa speaks out as a matter of factly, her eye shifts from Maya to Chifuyu as she speaks the words.

"And most importantly... according to the information we required from the Israeli goverment, the child has links to Phantom task. Along with the high possibility that if Kestrel fell into the wrong hands, he could be a very dangerous threat as he grows into an adult. If we have hold of him, we have a chance to reduce the risks of the child becoming a very nasty terrorist threat. Its not because we want to make Kestrel suffer and talk about his past, its about making sure the kid does not become a viper in the nest". - Chifuyu speaks with a strict and serious tone.

"Not only that, Kestrel has some very fine skills with the IS already, and from what we know the child loves flying the IS, not fighting. So its also a chance to break Kestrel's true skills into his IS operation. Instructor Orimura's younger brother and numberous other students here at the IS academy have good relations with the child, so in terms of feeling welcome and being given a fair amount of counciling, I would say we can trust whats in the academy already" - Clarissa comments with a serious tone, her eye falling back on Maya.

"I see... but... what if Kestrel's condition worsens? He has PTSD and his trust in us is just developing, what if he feels as though we're trying to hurt him? Would that increase the risks of him becoming a dangerous threat?" - Maya asks, her face filled with nerves and seriousness. Chifuyu merely sighs and closes her eyes, Clarissa only shifts her eye down towards the ground. Five minutes of silence fills the room before Chifuyu speaks the words, "Thats why we're putting Ichika with Kestrel, we belive that the pressance of a person Kestrel has friendly relations towards would help earn the child's trust, aswell as help keeping the kid calm". Maya looks over and notices Clarissa stand up out of her chair and stretch herself, as the blue haired female finishes her few seconds of stretching, the German female walks over to Chifuyu's desk and sits herself down on the edge, the German female folds her arms and looks Maya directly in the eyes.

"We care for all our students out here, we don't let them know that but its our responsibility. Kestrel has no mother, or for that matter any family... so the burden of keeping an orphan in our care is even greater. His welfare is one of our greatest concerns, do you think we don't understand the risks?" - Clarissa speaks out with a hint of frustration, making Maya blink in surprise.

"Maya... you're one of the finest IS teachers in Japan, and its understandable to be concerned for your students, I understand that also... trust me, when ever Kestrel is mentioned, the day when Ichika was abducted by terrorists keeps playing in my head, it hurts... hurts like hell, but in the end... I made an agreement with the Israeli goverment aswell as our own, Kestrel's only hope in life from here on out, is to do the exact same thing that the rest of our students do here, I'm sorry... but its out of my hand". - Chifuyu states in low, slightly emotional touched tone.  
Maya instantly drops her head, and has the feeling of utter guilt running over her.

"However... If something does go wrong, and we can get plenty of evidence aswell as a full medical check up on Kestrel's mental status, then it can be accepted to give Kestrel a full pardon from IS battle training" - Clarissa states with a tone of hope. Maya looks up feels the wonderful feeling of hope, Chifuyu instantly knows Maya's emotions and although she remains looking at the ceiling the black haired beauty makes a statement that keeps Maya in check, "Don't get too hopeful, If Kestrel is deemed unfit for IS battle operation then that will leave him up for grabs by any other country on earth.

Our task to keep Kestrel safe from any ill-minded hands may fail, remember... as the situation with Kestrel stands... the child is priceless in terms of black market and international human experimentation. If some sick bastard got their hands on the child and used him for bad purposes, the ressult could mean death by the hands of some random expert IS pilot from which ever country the child would dragged to".

"So our only hope is that Kestrel succeededs in his first battle tomorrow?" Maya asks with emotional mixed voice, Clarissa confirms Maya's question by looking the woman in the face and nodding.

"However... If Kestrel succeededs, then we can consider it a miracle, if he manages to either win his first duel tomorrow or at least take part with out suffering any serious psycological turns,  
then Kestrel will be considered to be ours in legal rights" - Chifuyu speaks while sitting herself up straight, removing her feet from her desk and lowering them to the floor.

"I know... I just hope Kestrel succeededs in tomorrow's challenge" - Maya speaks out with a sincere tone, Clarissa looks at Chifuyu, then looks back at Maya and speaks the words "We all do".

_**Okay, that is chapter 18 everyone, get ready to read how well Kestrel gets on in his first IS battle in the next chapter, so... you know about why Kestrel is in the IS academy and many more of your questions have been answered, however... the adventure is far from over... Kestrel still has to win his battle and overcome his PTSD challenges. So feel free to read and review, also Kestrel gets a special surprise for his first IS battle. Stick around to see what it is.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	19. Chapter 19: Kes prepares for combat

_**Black Falcon 01 returns yet again as promised with another chapter, in this chapter our new little hero Kestrel, is going into his first ever battle in an IS. Ichika and everyone else is full of dread and worry, Kestrel's conditions for any future aswell as being allowed to stay at the IS academy is either to win the fight or at the least take part without suffering any psyhcological turns. Lets see how well he fairs, so without further ado...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 19

**\- IS academy, IS changing room/ 09:00am -**

Ichika sighed as he finished changing into his blue, standard issue IS pilot suit. The brown eyed boy stood still for a moment, his eyes plastered firmly against the many locker doors. For Ichika the feeling was not of the usual excitement he normally felt when about he was about to fly the IS, but out of sheer fright and nervousness for the small Israeli boy that was just finishing the moment of getting changed himself. As Ichika closed his locker door, turned and looked at little Kestrel with a nervous face, Ichika could see the fear in the child's eyes. Even though Kestrel was keeping a brave face, Ichika knew that Kestrel was not comfortable with the idea of fighting a much larger and more highly experianced opponent.

The sign of Kestrel being scarred was evident since he was told before breakfast, the said child's eyes went wide and the colour drained from his face. Kestrel was in such a nervous state, the child refused to eat anything a breakfast. Yui had attempted to get Kestrel to eat but all efforts were in vain. As Kestrel closed his locker door and looked down at the ground, Ichika could see the amount of distress that was on the child's face. Even the sight of so many girls pointing, looking and whispering towards the small child didn't help this morning, Ichika had felt the overwhelming urge to jump up and punch one of those girls out but he managed to keep calm when Houki placed her hand on Ichika's shoulder, shook her head and put a look of 'Don't do it, it won't help' on her face.

"Kestrel" Ichika spoke in a silent tone. Kestrel paused, faced the lockers, then... very slowly, the child turned to look up at Ichika, the child was white. Kestrel's ocean blue eyes had a large amount of fear in them. For Ichika, it was too much, the brown eyed Japanesse boy knelt down on the ground and took Kestrel's right hand in his own. Ichika could feel the child tremble all the way up his arm. Ichika smiled, put on a loving face and in a very quiet voice, softly spoke the words "Its okay, remember I'm out there with you, just give it your all okay". Kestrel merely stood and blinked. The Israeli child eased up on the trembling but was still in distress, Ichika then had a plan which had been saving as a last resort. The Black haired Japanesse boy opened his arms in a gesture for a hug, and to Ichika's relief, Kestrel accepted.

As Kestrel and Ichika embraced, Ichika patted Kestrel's back and then moved his hand up to pet the terrified child's head. Kestrel's long, shinning, silky black hair felt like velvet in Ichikas hand. Ichika closed his eyes tight and for the first time in ages, began to pray. ( "God, I know its been a while, but if you're here... please, please help this kid! He's gone through enough, and right now he's wreck, so I beg of you... help him! "). Ichika's mind spoke in a highly nervous tone. As Ichika let out a breath and hoped his prayer got through, a woman's voice breaks the silence. "Everything all right!?".

Ichika's eyes opened, as did Kestrel's. However Ichika was not nervous, he knew who it was. "Chifuyu-nee, Kestrel is terrified, must he fight?" Ichika asked in a tone almost sounding like a beg. Ichika's older sister, stood with her arms folded, looks down on the ground, closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I'm sorry Ichika, but its out of my hands". Chifuyu replies in an appologetic tone, while opening her eyes, resting her arms at her sides and looking down at the two boys. Ichika and Kestrel then break their comforting hug, Kestrel looking up at the black haired office woman and remaining silent. Ichika stands up straight and stands easy. "Okay, I understand... its just the language that makes me feel more than nervous, How am I going to communicate with him?"

"I figured you'd say that, but don't worry, we've got Kestrel something that is sure to help with that problem" - Chifuyu replies in a confident tone, a serious, yet smug look on her face. Ichika and Kestrel merely look at Chifuyu with confused expressions. Chifuyu instantly notices and with a motion of her hand, turns and speaks the words "Follow me". Ichika grabs Kestrel's hand, and mimicks with his eyes and head that he should follow. Kestrel merely looks up at Ichika with a cautious face. "Come on, lets go" Ichika speaks in a very friendly and kind tone. The two boys then walk after the office woman towards the IS hangar bays, unaware of the surprise that was waiting for Kestrel.

**\- Scene change: IS academy/ IS hangar bay - **

As Ichika and Kestrel follow Chifuyu through the darkened, large metalic room, Kestrel keeps looking around, turning his head left to right and looking upwards every now and again. The sounds of female cheering could be heard echoing from outside. For Ichika, it reminded him of the first time he went into battle at the IS academy, it somehow eased his mind. Kestrel however was only brought into a more fearful state. As Chifuyu came to a stop, she spoke in her usual firm and serious tone "Stop here". Her voice echoing around the metalic hangar bay, making Kestrel suddenly jump in fright, gasp and snap his attention towards Chifuyu whom stood in front of a large set of sliding elevator like doors. Ichika and Kestrel kept silent and still, as Chifuyu placed her hand on a small black pannel, as the pannel lit up bright blue, the large silver doors slid apart open, revealing a large black sphere.

Ichika and Kestrel unwittingly begin taking steps back at exactaly the same time. As the large black sphere slid forward, Chifuyu folded her arms and kept her serious face. As the black sphere came to a stop and the large silver doors slid shut behind the massive, black round object, Ichika gulped in slight fright. If Ichika was scarred then its obvious that Kestrel must be feeling worse. As silence filled the hangar bay, the only sounds being the female cheering echoeing from outside the massive, open hangar entrance, Chifuyu took steps forward.

Her high heels making echoeing taps as the serious looking woman walked towards the side of the round black sphere. "Ichika, This... Is Kestrel's personal IS". Chifuyu spoke out in a very serious tone. Ichika's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his big sister's serious face. "What? This is Kestrel's personal IS!?" Ichika asks in a tone of disbelief. It is unbeliveable, the said child has only been at the IS academy for a few days and now hes getting his own IS. "Did I stutter!?" - Chifuyu speaks back in a stern tone, her face casting a glare at Ichika, making him gulp in fright. Kestrel merely looks at the black object and gets a terrible feeing of dread hit him.

"This is Kestrel's IS as of today, its brand new and just come from Israel. So consider it a miracle that you get to be near it when it makes its maiden flight". - Chifuyu speaks in now her usual and serious tone. Ichika blinks and points at the black sphere, he speaks out in a very nervous tone "You're giving a brand new IS to a mentally injured child and the thing hasn't been test flown?". As Ichika speaks those words, Chifuyu sighs and shakes her head, her arms are placed at her sides. As the mighty Chifuyu looks Ichika in the eyes, she speaks in a very, very irritated way "Look Ichika! I don't like this anymore than you do, but we are pressed for time. You just worry about Kestrel, we'll worry about the IS, okay!?". Ichika looks down at the nervous Israeli boy, then over at the black sphere.

As Ichika looks down at the floor, Kestrel looks over at the black round object. Light seems to shine off the the smooth black object. As Ichika looks up at Chifuyu he swallows a hard gulp and makes a solemn nod. His voice is serious but full of nerves as he speaks "Okay Chifuyu-nee, I'll do what you want and I'll look out for Kestrel". As Ichika speaks those words, Chifuyu folds her arms, makes a solemn nod and looks Ichika in the face with a serious expression. "Good, now... I'll leave everything to you, just get Kestrel suited up and be out in the area as soon as you can". Ichika looks at the round black object and with a concerned face, looks down at Kestrel. The Israeli child has a nervous face and can be felt shaking. However, Chifuyu notices and sends a small smile down at the scar faced youngster, "I will grant you both twenty minutes to get ready". Ichika looks his sister in the face and sends a very grateful bow to Chifuyu. "Thank you! Thank you Chifuyu-nee!" Ichika speaks in an almost overjoyed tone. Chifuyu rolls her eyes, keeps her arms folded and speaks the words "Its Orimura sensei you dolt! And don't forget that okay!?". Ichika sweatdrops and chuckles nervously with an awkward and nervous face. Chifuyu then turns and walks away towards an elevator.

Kestrel keeps his ocean blue eyes on the black haired woman as she walks into the brightly lit elevator, turns to face the boys before the elevator doors close. Kestrel however manages to get a small nod from Chifuyu before the elevator doors close, leaving both boys alone in the hangar bay. As Ichika looks in suspicion towards the large black sphere, a nervous feeling churns in his stomach. The same questions continously turning over and over again in the black haired boy's mind. ( "Whats going to happen!?, Is Kestrel going to be alright!?, Can we trust this thing!?" ).

As Ichika turns his head away from the sphere and looks down at Kestrel, he notices the Israeli boy has curious look on his face. Realising this is a chance to speak before the big moment, Ichika kneels down and places both hands on Kestrel's shoulders. Kestrel looks Ichika in the face and lets out a deep and nerve wrecked sigh. Ichika rubs Kestrel's shoulders and smiles kindly, as the Israeli boy stays silent, Ichika begins to speak in a very friendly but quiet tone "Okay Kestrel, this is it. Now listen carefuly... When you're out there, the key is to focus and watch the other person's movements, just stay close to me and let me take care of Houki okay?". Kestrel merely blinks in confusion, Ichika instantly understands, the painful reality becoming clear, Kestrel still does not understand Japanese.

The child is still having trouble with the basic phrases, the stress of the situation makes Ichika lower his head and begin to curse to himself. As Ichika slumps down, his hands still on Kestrel's shoulders, the said child places a hand on Ichika's head. Making the Japanesse boy look up, as Ichika's face meets Kestrel's, Ichika is amazed at the confident look on Kestrel's face. Its amazing, but a great relief non the less. It means Kestrel may very well achieve great ressults without suffering any psychological turns, even though a small streak of confidence is no gaurantee, its still enough to numb the sensation going through Ichika's body. A moment passes before Kestrel puts a happy and confident look on his face and in his small, young and slightly timid voice speaks the words "Eyn daaga", - Israeli phrase for 'Don't worry'.

Even though Ichika does not have a clue about what little Kestrel has just said, the happy and warm look on the child's face is enough to bring a smile and confident look on Ichika. As Ichika removes his hands from Kestrel's shoulders and stands up straight. Kestrel turns and faces the sphere, the Israeli child looks up at Ichika with a neutral face and looks confused. Ichika holds out an arm and mimicks with it for Kestrel to place his hands on the sphere.

The air becomes tense, Kestrel's nerves rise again, his little heart beats rapidly and a bead of cold sweat rolls down his temple. Kestrel takes a breath and timidly begins to walk forwards, the child does not breathe, nor does he make a whisper. Ichika rests his arm by his side and takes three steps back in axiousness. As Kestrel continues to walk forward he listens carefully to the sounds echoeing from outside the hangar, the feeling of sick fear and panic churns and twists in his stomach and up his small spine. Then... the moment of truth, Kestrel's small hand touches the cold, black and shinny sphere, and then without warning... a bright, light blue light erupts from the sphere, the sound of a loud, pure, high pitched electronical 'WWhhhiiirrrrrr' echoes throughout the hangar bay.

A blast of wind with the force of a Tornado shoots around the Hangar bay, Ichika is forced to cover his eyes and shield his face in sudden startlement. Kestrel shuts his eyes in pain from the blinding light, the wind makes his long black hair wave and dance elegantly behind his head and back. Kestrel's star of David vibrates and dances in the wind elegantly over the top of Kestrel's blue IS wear. Then... roughly 20 seconds of it starting, the bright blue light suddenly becomes to bright for anyone to handle and then a rapid burst of white stuns Ichika for a second or two. As the light and ice cool wind fade away, the darkness and silence of the Hangar bay returns. However the sounds of cheering outside have suddenly changed into ear piercing shrieks of joy, obviously the event must have been seen, heard and felt from outside. Ichika then removes his hands away from his face and rubs his eyes. He is still dazzeled by the moment of Kestrel coming into contact with his personal IS.

Kestrel on the other hand feels, somewhat stronger... as the child rubs his eyes, he feels the cold, stainless steel fingers of an IS carefuly rub his eyelids. As Kestrel's eye sight returns he finds himself in an IS, however... the sight... its... strangely, bright green. Like night vision. Kestrel is startled for a moment and blinks, he gets a sharp surprise... a rapid and vertical line shoots across Kestrel's face making everything his sight return to normal vision. Kestrel stubbles backwards in alarm, his heart is beating fast and fear is coursing through his small body. However... Kestrel manages to get his bearings after a few moments, which offers some relief to the startled Israeli boy. Ichika meanwhile has only just regained his eye sight from being dazzeled. As Ichika rubs his eyes better and blinks a few times, he looks around the darkened Hangar bay. "Kestrel?... Kestrel?" Ichika asks in a set of pure nerves. As Ichika turns his head, he sees a sight that makes him stare in awe, Kestrel is in fully deployed IS. "Wow, Kestrel!" Ichika exclaims in surprise.

Kestrel's personal IS resembles Ichika's, however a lot of differances are evident. The best way to describe Kestrel's IS is a bit like Armored Mewtwo from 'Pokemon the first movie'.

_**Authors note: Look on the internet if you don't know what armored mewtwo looks like **_

The body and leg shape are the same, as is the arms, but there is no mask or tail on Kestrel. The IS hands are the same as Ichika's, and the pattern on the IS body armor is the same as Cecilia's blue tears. Also on the back of Kestrel's IS is a pair of transparent, glowing white angel wings. The angel wings resemble the angel wings from the anime angel 'Holy bell' from 'Ah My Goddess'.

As Kestrel looks himself, the look of amazement is on the child's face. The look of fear is gone and is replaced with excitement and joy. As Ichika walks slowly upward towards Kestrel, the said child is taken by surprise by a sudden, glowing, green flashing message in english letters suddenly appearing in front of the child's face on a transparent HUD system. The word spells the name of Kestrel's IS. **'BLACK PHOENIX'.**

Ichika and Kestrel jump in surprise, Kestrel begins to panic and starts to shake as many differant holographic HUD panels and words rush and appear in front of the child's face. As Kestrel begins to try and deactivate in a fit of panic, a fimiliar female voice comes over the Hangar bay loud speaker in Israeli. Making the child freeze and look around in alarm. Ichika stands straight and chooses to remain absolutely still. The japanesse boy thinking to himself ( "Okay Ichika, just calm down... Chifuyu-nee and the others know what their doing, just try to keep Kestrel calm" ). As Ichika activates his own IS and stands looking at Kestrel, whom remains turning his head around in fear, trying to find out where the female voice is coming from. Ichika walks over in his IS towards Kestrel. The female voice, whom we all know is Yui, proceeds to talk in calm Isreali to the child. As Kestrel begins to calm down, Ichika makes it within 4 feet away from Kestrel.

For little Kestrel the sight of a friendly Ichika is the perfect medicine to calm down as Kestrel looks into the Ichika's friendly face. The Japanesse boy's eyes are full of warmth and care and as Ichika smiles at the shaken Israeli child, Yui's voice begins to speak in a joyful tone, making Kestrel breathe slowly and normaly. As Kestrel stands perfectly still and observes the holographic HUD panels showing differant images at once and then changing to a long blue glowing, computer like, loading bar. As the bar reaches full and flashes in bright, light blue, the Holographic HUD panels disapear and all that remains is a holographic, 3D notice appear in Kestrel's face saying the words 'ONLINE... WELCOME KESTREL'. The words are in Israeli hebrew, so at least it puts Kestrel's mind at rest and calms his nerves. The said Israeli child even smiles in amazement, even as the Holographic notice goes away, leaving a regular HUD system just the same as Ichika's.

"You look good Kestrel". Ichika speaks out with an affectionate nod. Kestrel looks over at Ichika and speaks a very happy "T..Thank you".

As Kestrel and Ichika look over Kestrel's personal IS they loose track of time and soon enough Chifuyu's voice is heard saying "Okay you two! Get ready for battle!". Both boys look at the Hangar ceiling in surprise. Maya's voice is next to be heard "Okay, Kestrel has been registerd in and his IS has made Kestrel it's owner. Kestrel's IS is called 'Black Phoenix', and were getting data feedback up here, Orimura... you and Kestrel get on to the catapults and get ready for battle, combat starts in sixty seconds". Ichika's eyes light up, but his face remains full of concern. As Ichika turns his head to look over to Kestrel and get him to follow by hand signal, Ichika gets a surprise... Kestrel has already walked over towards the catapult. Although Ichika does not see it coming, he shrugs off the moment and quickly joins Kestrel on the catapult. He clutches a hand over and over in confidence and prepares for launch.

**\- Meanwhile with Maya and Chifuyu -**

Maya and Chifuyu observe the moment in darkened room, the only light being from the computer monitors. The moment of Kestrel activating his personal IS was observed on the computer monitor, but unbeknownst to Ichika and Kestrel, the moment when Kestrel activated his IS caused an unbeliveable surge of power that caused the CCTV cameras to glitch, even the computers in the room where Maya was sat, suffered blackouts or went dead. However, with a genius like Maya, power was soon recovered and the computers were soon restored to full operational status. Chifuyu blinks in a form of surprise, but keeps her serious facial image. "Have you got everything back to how it was?" the mighty Chifuyu speaks in a firm tone. Maya keeps her eyes fixed on the main monitor and smiles kindly, as she speaks, her voice is full of relief and pride. "Just got everything back online now".

For Chifuyu and Maya the moment when the untested IS let out its power surge has left a feeling of concern in both women. Although nothing serious has befallen the IS academy, the moment that occured is something that can't be ignored. "Can you identify what that blackout was all about?" Chifuyu speaks in her low and serious tone. Maya frowns and looks in an intense manner at the computer monitor. "According to the Data here, it was caused by that IS Kestrel has just linked with" The green haired teacher speaks with a normal tone. Chifuyu looks at the CCTV cameras and notices both boys standing on the catapults, Chifuyu's frown does not leave her for a single moment. The mighty woman looks up at the ceiling and calls out the words "Ichika, Kestrel... you will launch in thirty seconds, countdown starting now". As Chifuyu lowers her head slowly walks up behind Maya, the said woman speaks in a firm tone "Okay Maya, lets focus on Kestrel's IS, get as much data you can on that thing". Maya sits up straight, and smiles with a confident face, she pushes her slightly slid down glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, and in a tone full of pride speaks the words "On it!".

**\- With Ichika and Kestrel -**

Ichika and Kestrel stand directly apart from each other in their fully deloyed IS, both boys looking out at the open Hangar. The sounds of female cheering still echoeing around and outside, as Ichika blinks and takes a breath, he turns his head to the right to look at Kestrel. The Israeli child is knelt down on one knee as if he's about to dash forward in a rapid marathon sprint, the said Israeli child has a normal and calm face on him. Kestrel does not blink, but Ichika can tell that the Israeli boy is full of nerves. As Ichika looks away and looks towards the open hangar, and the clear light from the hangar mouth, resembling one's idea of heaven, Ichika and braces himself for the launch. Both boys remain silent, Kestrel's small heart is beating rapidly and the child's nerves remain.

Even when Maya's voice echoes through the loud speakers 'Ten seconds to launch', Kestrel's eyes are full of tense fear, however... the scar faced child remains ready to blast forward, his IS holographic angel wings open and spread, looking magnificant and glowing in the dark and cool IS Hangar. Then... a male computer voice breaks the silence with the words 'ACCESS!... SYSTEM START!'. Ichika gulps and looks forward, a frown appears on the Japanesse boy's face.

3D Holographic images appear on Ichika and Kestrel's IS HUDs. Each image showing differant data readings in bars, pie charts and wave lengths. Kestrel blinks and to his astonishment the data output readings dissapear from his IS HUD. For the brief moment, Kestrel has the feeling of relief course through his body and is put at ease, but also has the feeling of curiosity on his face as to how his HUD just changed from regular IS HUD to the HUD resembling that of an F-22 Fighter jet. Altimiter, speed icon and targeting recticle appear on his Holographic HUD. Kestrel then swallows, takes a few breaths and places a slightly serious look on his small face. Getting ready for the moment he knows is coming, Maya's voice comes over the loud speaker in 3 second intervals, 'Launch in... five... four... three... two... one'. Kestrel and Ichika take one final blink together and instantly after that, the loss of gravity is felt in both Ichika and Kestrel's bodies, the feeling of moving forward at rapid speed courses through both boy's bodies.  
The Open hangar doors look like the gate to heaven as the two boys rocket forward on the catapults, the feeling of fear and panic leaves Kestrel altogether, replacing his emotions with excitement

The two boys blink as the light of day makes a slight stun to the boy's eyes, less than a second later the image of the almighty white and vast IS battle stadium welcomes both boy's eyes. The freezing cold wind blowing from high speed movement makes the hot and nervousness emotions blow away from both of the boy's faces. As Ichika and Kestrel rocket out of the Hangar bay, the sounds of female screaming and cheering is followed by the flashes of cameras in numberous areas from from the IS stadium balcony. The sight of Ichika blazing from out of the IS hangar makes many of Ichika's fangirls scream, jump up from their seats and jump and down in utter love crazed joy. However Kestrel is the one that stuns the female hordes as the sight of the long, black haired boy with wide open angel wings on his back makes Kestrel look like and angel from heaven. Ichika swerves while climbing for height, quickly coming to a stop and beginning to hover 100 ft off the ground.

Kestrel also slows his approach and comes to a stop just beside Ichika. The Israeli child turns his head from side to side, looking at the many thousand female faces and forms that are drapped in white uniform and cheering with fangirlish delight at the sight. Ichika turns his head and looks at Kestrel, as Kestrel looks at Ichika and fixes his sight on the Japanesse boy, a smile appears on Ichika's face. Even though the sounds of female cheering begins to calm down, the feeling of nerves still erupts from Kestrel's small heart.

However before both boys can take in the atmosphere any more than what they already have done, Chifuyu's voice is heard over a loud speaker, 'This Battle is a two on two duel, the rules for this battle are... the battle is anything goes, you are to fight untill one side looses all their shield points, or untill the other side forefits the fight. Battle conditions are that no one is allowed to fly beyond the IS stadium, if anyone flies beyond the IS stadium, that person is considered out of the battle'. A few seconds later Yui's voice repeats Chifuyu's message in Israeli, and after a moment Kestrel blinks and in a straight and understanding face, nods in confirmation. As Kestrel looks over at Ichika a sudden female voice snaps both boys attention towards one end of the massive oval shaped stadium. "HEY ICHIKA!".

"HOUKI!" - Ichika shouts back in return, as Kestrel turns his head, the Israeli child notices the well loved and known Houki in a bright redish, pink IS. Beside Houki is a blonde braided girl in a black IS resembling that of Laura bodewig's. As both females raise their altitudes to match Ichika and Kestrel, the two boys blink and prepare for the inevitable battle. As this is happening the numberous females in the IS stadium stands, all point and exclaim their amazement at the IS Kestrel is operating, even Charlotte and Laura are honest with their comments as they sit side by side in the front row of seats between mulitple differant females.

sensei is always full of surprises". As the two girls join the mass of females that are pointing, stareing and letting out multiple comments of amazement and wonder, directly opposite on the other side of the stadium, Cecilia, Rin and Tomoe are also amazed at the sight. "What the hell is that IS supposed to be!?" Rin comments in a shocked tone while pointing at Kestrel. Cecilia places a hand under chin in an act of curiosity "Don't ask me, I've not seen anything like it, perhaps its a new model". The British blonde speaks out.

Rin merely shifts her eyes and casts a look down at the British blonde as if Cecilia had spoken like a complete idiot. Tomoe on the other hand has an amazed look on her face, "He looks like an angel, so beautiful". The purple haired female states out in awe.

"LOOK! LOOK! THERES OUR KESTREL!" - A certain female voice calls out. As Cecilia and Rin turn their heads, they notice Kestrel's popular shotacons. Konoe, Rie and Yuno. The three girls are pointing up at the child, blowing kisses and waving. As Cecilia and Rin, raise eyebrows and put on awkward expressions, the crowd of amazed females become ever more evident. Though most females have the looks and sounds of amazement and heart throbing love at the sight of Kestrel's white glowing angel wings, many others are more impressed at the shape and colour of Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix'. However before any further comments can be made Maya's voice comes over the loud speaks once again with the words 'STAND BY, PREPARE FOR BATTLE'.

_**Okay everyone, stay in anxious suspense and stick around for chapter 20. Wait and see what happens, in the meantime... keep sending reviews over my way. I'm already working on how the battle will be fought as we speak. Remember the rules of the up-coming battle and keep a very active imagination to help picture the senario taking place. I'll be back with chapter 20, real soon!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	20. Chapter 20: First blood

_**Black Falcon has returned yet again with another chapter of Taming Kestrel, As promised... I would be as quick as I can with the chapter that shows Kestrel in his first battle in IS. For those of you have a good imagination and have kept up so far, thankyou ever so, but the adventure is not yet over. Remember the rules and conditions for Kestrel's first IS battle and read what happens. **__**Okay... I'll keep introductions short and get to the moment everyone is wanting to get to, so read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 20:

**\- IS academy, IS arena -**

Seconds passed after Maya's voice echoed across the almighty, white and vast IS stadium, the four contestants for the anticipated IS battle remained perfectly still, suspended in the air. One side merely stareing the other out. Ichika and Kestrel's eyes not leaving Houki and the braided blonde German girl for a second. As the four IS contestants stare each other out, the air becomes thick, and a dead silence befalls the entire IS stadium, every single IS student that has been standing, retakes their seats and stares the four figures with wide eyed expressions. The entire IS stadium is full to the brink with IS schoolgirls, the moment has got to be the biggest ever known so far in the IS academy. Houki placed a serious look on her face and glared at Ichika's white IS ahead of her.

Ichika notices the brunette girl's gaze and casts back a serious frown, ( "Okay, all I have to do is stay focused on Houki, avoid her attacks and get her to fight in close quarters" ), Ichika thinks seriously to himself. The main worry in Ichika's mind was that Houki's IS was a fourth generation and was extremely powerful in terms of attack and speed, but Ichika's confidence remained with his Byakushiki. As the two teams began to develop battle stratagies, the blonde, German braided girl looks intently through a holographic 3D hug attempting to get accurate scan data on the Israeli child's IS ahead of her, but to no avail. The German girl's IS only placed a 3D model of the IS Kestrel was operating, no real and reliable information being relayed through the German female's IS. The German girl blinks in surprise and finds it unbeliveable that her IS is unable to get any reliable information on the mysterious IS ahead of her. As the four IS operators stare at each other Maya's voice appears again in a loud voice 'COMENCE BATTLE!'

Houki and Ichika dash backwards away from each other for 4 seconds and then begin to dart forwards to each other, Ichika deploying his Yukihira Type 2 blade and making a sharp roll as Houki deploys both her twin Katanas and instantly swings an attack at Ichika with her left Katana blade 'Karaware' sending a massive pink beam slash ressembling a crescent moon towards Ichika. Ichika dives for the ground at full blast, evading the attack and causing it to hit a neutrilising shield around the IS stands, the reason for the shields being to protect the crowds and the building wall against damage. The beam that impacts the stadium sheild causes a large blast of pink light that dazzels many of the crowd, as the light depleats, some girls scream and cheer at the moment. Ichika rolls around left to right in a zig,zag pattern in order to evade more 'Karaware' attacks. Light flashes and explosions of ground dust and debris fill the atmosphere in the IS stadium.

Houki dashes forward in an upward climbing turn to the left before summersaulting herself in the air and sending down a mulitpule volley of red lasers downwards with 'Amatsuki'.

Ichika raises himself and makes and air borne forward roll, most laser shots strike the ground making more coloumns of dust and dirt erupt in a spectacular manner, but 2 shots strike Ichika's IS.. one hit on the right leg and the other on the left wing. Making Ichika loose his balance making most of his shield points fall, as Ichika regains stability as he falls towards the ground, he raises an engery sheild, protecting himself from another barrage of 'Amatsuki' attacks. As Ichika places a desperate look on his face, he dashes backwards in a backflip before rocketing upwards, blasting dust and debris of the ground. Ichika The colour of blue impacting red, flashes across the entire IS stadium as Ichika's Yukikhira impacts Houki's twin katanas, sparks fly as the two IS pilots swerve and charge each other in the air.

As Ichika swings forward with Yukihira, Houki exploits an opening and strikes Ichika in the side, making him fly sideways... As Ichika recovers a large yellow glow erupts from the Japanesse boy, in a quick flash that causes everyone to blink, Ichika shifts his IS into 2nd form, Byaksuhiki's fold out armor expands and makes Ichika and his IS glow in a slight yellow colour for a moment. Houki sends a confident smirk at the Japanesse boy as she charges towards the said boy. ( "So he's shifted from out of his default setting!" ) Houki thinks to herself, excited at the prospect of having a very intense IS fight with her childhood friend.

Meanwhile, as Ichika and Houki begin to battle, Kestrel remains perfectly still in his 'Black Phoenix', the child is nervous but not panicked. However as Ichika and Houki begin to dance around slashing and dashing one another in a dazzeling waltz, Kestrel looks at the German female. The German female does not blink or hesitate, the German female charges forwards at Kestrel and launches 3 bright, purple beam spears at the child, Kestrel instantly reacts and side dashes, facing the German female and not breaking eye contact.

As the German female twists herself in the air and fires 5 more beam spears at the child from her IS arms, Kestrel dashes forwards, the beam spears miss and impact the ground. As Kestrel rockets into the sky at unbelivable speed, and then loops over to dive at the German female, the IS students in the stands are more than overwhelmed at the sight. Cecilia, Rin and Tomoe look out at Kestrel and the German female, from their point of view, its easy to notice that Kestrel's IS is moving in a manner that is almost unheard of, its reaction is faster than any IS thats been seen before. Rin frowns at the sight and in a voice of concern speaks "That IS is fast, real fast!". Cecilia looks out with an amazed face, her tone is full of wonder "You're telling me, its almost as if... it knows whats coming!". Both females do not take their eyes off the Israeli child as he continues to evade purple beam spears that dash around through the air, impacting the saftey shields around the audiance and exploding in a shower of bright pink sparks. Kestrel summersaults, twisting his body, rolling and letting the purple beams make near misses with his IS.

Across the stadium, Charlotte and Laura look at the Israeli child and are amazed at how fast he is moving, one second the child is there and the next he's flashed across to another side of the IS stadium. Then... Kestrel flies downwards towards the IS stadium corner, The German girl makes a victorious face and deploys the Schwarzer Regen model's most popular weapon, the 'Purizushi' A.80 caliber heavy railgun. As the shoulder mounted weapon is deployed, the blonde, braided German girl fires 5 rapid shots at Kestrel as the child slows down his movements to avoid slamming into the IS stadium wall. The projectiles travel at mach 7 so the chances of reaction and defence is slim. For Kestrel the battle looks lost, as the 'Purizushi' projectiles have the ability to either badly weaken or pierce any IS shield. Kestrel however begs to differ, the 5 shots don't even leave a scratch. As the 5 impact the supposedly IS, 5 large green flashes erupt as each shot hits Kestrel's IS.

Followed by 5 massive explosions that stun and cause IS schoolgirls in the IS stands to stand and gasp in terror. The German girl slows her movements down to a hover and has a look of smug victory on her face, but... as the black smoke clears after a few seconds, everybody gets a very powerful shock. The German female's eyes widen and her face drops to a look of astonsihment, Kestrel's IS hasn't suffered a scratch. The sight is incredible, causing a large quality IS schoolgirls to gasp and point in surprise. Kestrel's IS is surrounded in a fading glowing sphere, as the transparent sphere goes away, Kestrel's eyes change. The child's eyes have lost their pupils, the child's face is straight and the power of rational thought has disappeared in the child's mind. Kestrel's fight or flight instincts have kicked in.

In the stands Charlotte and Laura have stood up to look down at the sight, Charlotte's face is full of amazement, "DID YOU SEE THAT!?" The French blonde hisses out in a tone of disbelief. Laura stands directly beside Charlotte and with a shocked face looks at the Israeli child, whom now blasts back into the sky as if nothing happened. Dashing over the German female in just a Micro second, before making elegant flight stunts with a long blue beam like trail streaking behind. Laura suddenly gets a sickening feeling in her gut and clearly speaks in a low tone, "That child just neutralised a 'Purizushi' volley without suffering any damage!". For laura the sight is unbeliveable, Laura's single soloemn eye does not leave the now hovering Israeli child for a single second. Kestrel on the other hand looks through his Holographic 3D HUD, a series of 3D layouts of the Schwarzer Regen appear in front of his face, mulitipule rows of data appear and high light spots on the 3D layout of the Schwarzer Regen.

As Kestrel blinks, the 3D layouts vanish before being replaced with a normal IS HUD. As the child blinks a very angered look appears on the Israeli child's face, and then... in just a micro second, the child dashes forward towards the German female, deploying a cylinder object in the left hand, as the cylinder object sets firmly in Kestrel's hand, a long red, glowing blade suddenly appears from out of the cylinder object. The object instantly being recognised as a sword, resembling a light saber from the star wars franchise. Kestrel's non-pupiled eyes glaze and shine in the morning sunlight as does his entire IS. The child's eyes are filled with blood lust and uncontainable rage, his face merely looks seriously stressed in an angered way, but for the many IS schoolgirls that notice Kestrel's face, it is a sight that none of them will never forget.

"LOOK! KESTREL LOOKS REAL MAD!" - An American accented girl with long, firey red hair exclaims while pointing at the fast moving Israeli boy as the said child makes a slash attack with his long, bright red blade. A beam attack ressembling Houki's 'Karaware' flashes through the air, The German braided girl uses her Schwarzer regen's AIC projector in a clear transparent negating field to defend herself against Kestrel's attack, but to everyone's surprise. The beam attack shatters the German girl's AIC, causing a large explosion that leaves a large black cloud, the German female is blown backwards and down in a spiraling tumble.

The German girl loses half of her entire IS shield points. Laura nearly yelps in utter fright, as she stands straight and startled. Many other IS schoolgirls do the same, Charlotte is umongst the stunned females that point and call out to each other. Other IS students merely cheer and clap, this is fight that nobody has ever seen before and its turning out to be very impressive, aswell as interesting. Kestrel meanwhile hovers over the German female whom crashes into the ground, causing a large colomn of dust and debris to erupt and leaving a crater the size of a two story building in the ground. Kestrel blinks, a white line flashes sideways across his Holographic HUD, changing the image to thermal vision, just like the Predator bio mask from the 'Predator' franchise. Kestrel's serious 1,000 yard stare expression does not leave him for a second, the said Israeli boy tightly clutches his long, red, glowing beam sword in his hand and prepares to dive, the 'Black Phoenix' angel wings open and spread as the Child makes a position resembling a perched bird of prey, while hovering in the air.

The German girl in her Schwarzer Regen begins to pick herself up of the ground and looks up stunned, getting a nasty shock as she sees the Black IS hovering over her head, ready to pounce. The German girl however keeps her cool and instead blasts upwards and then sideways in a dash, firing 4 beam sabres at Kestrel, Kestrel does not move and lets the beams approach him. The Child is not out of surpises yet.

Kestrel does not blink, his glazed and traumatised eyes stare fiercely at the German female in her IS, as the purple sabres dart towards Kestrel and come within a single second from hitting the child, Kestrel holds up his right arm, the fist balled and with a swing, knocks away the first purple beam sabre. The beam deflects of Kestrel's arm and into the IS stands causing many stood up students to fall back and over each other in alarm at the sudden flash of the beam hitting the protecting shield. The second purple beam sabre is deflected by a punching motion from Kestrel's right arm, the purple beam depletes into purple sparkles as the Israeli child's IS fist contacts the purple spear. The third and fourth purple beam spears do impact Kestrel's IS but only cause a bright, transparent, glowing, green sphere to suddenly erupt from around the child's IS. The sight of the purple beams impacting the invisible wall only confirms that the green sphere that lights up is an invisible shield, and a very powerful one.

The German female however remains calm upon finding out what the green bubble like object is that appears around the Israeli child, and chooses to use a different method of attack, the German female launches 6 wire-guided daggers at the still, hovering Israeli child, and to the German girl's relief, all 6 wires impact Kestrel's IS and constrict it. For the German female, it is like a weight of her chest, and the braided female smiles in relief, her face is straight but still full of fear. However Kestrel, his eyes still holding uncontrollable emotions, merely twitches an eye at the German girl as his IS begins to loose power.

Even though Kestrel does not move his body, he manages to lift both arms up to his face in an X shape, the red bladed sword still glowing and electronically humming in his left IS hand. Then, with a blast of Blue electronical energy, Kestrel sharply draws both arms to his sides in a slashing motion, resembling a super powered person breaking free from a vice like grip. The German girl's 6 wires short, turn pitch black, spark violently blue before severing in mid air, causing all wires to explode, causing the German female to fall back in alarm. As the German female tubbles down towards the ground yet again, Kestrel makes a leaping motion in mid air and dashes forward towards the falling German girl, his body is positioned as if he's laying perfectly flat on his front, his arms are by his sides, slightly parted from the side of his body.

Kestrel's legs are also slightly parted, the only parts of the child that move during his 4 second dash towards the German girl is his long, black hair that waves and blows elegently in the roaring, freezing wind.

As Kestrel makes it to the German female, the Israeli boy uses his free hand to deliver a powerful punch into the German girl's IS body. The German girl feels the terrible blow and her eyes open in a terrifying manner, it feels like god has just knocked the wind out of her entire body. However Kestrel's assault is not over, the Israeli child delivers a sharp and powerful swinging kick into the German girl's back. The ressult is that the German Girl and her IS fall instantly towards the ground, IS shield points drop to only 5. For the braided German its too much to accept, she can't understand whats happening, and as a last ditch attempt deploys a final tactic against Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix'.

The Schwarzer Regen's 'Panzer Cannon', a pair of shoulder mounted 80 caliber railguns appear and begin to fire a volley of shots against the pursuing Israeli boy. Kestrel merely twists and barrel rolls, avoiding the shots by mere inches, and finishes off the stunned German female with a single diving slash from his red blade. As the Israeli boy slows down to a hover, only 10 ft from touching the ground. The German female crashes into the ground, the IS saves her from any serious injuries, but the twin railguns suffer total loss, Kestrel's blade has slashed through the 80 caliber cannons as if they were made of butter.

The 80 caliber cannons have a scorching orange line directly down their sides, a second or so later, the railguns slide apart in half before explodeing into a shower of fragments and shrapnel. The German girl's Schwarzer Regen's shield points drop to 0, and instantly deactivates, leaving a battered and badly bruised German girl coughing and gasping in a large crater, scratches and purple/blue bruises covering her entire body.

A loud horn then blasts followed by a female computer voice saying 'RED TEAM MEMBER, OLGA ACKERMANN HAS BEEN DEFEATED, WINNER KESTREL'.

From above Houki and Ichika freeze from their battle and look down in shock. A dead silence fills the entire IS stadium that seems to last for a near eternity. Kestrel lands gently on the IS stadium floor, his red blade retracts and goes into its cylinder, before deactivating. A few seconds after, the child lifts a hand and places it on the side of his head, the cold IS hand seems to help ease a terrible ache, as the child closes his eyes and stumbles backwards in a brief moment of serious dizzyness. As Kestrel opens his ocean blue eyes, his pupils have returned and the child's sense of thought has returned.

As he turns around and notices the many, pale, white faces, some of the faces have amazed looks, other faces have the look of disbelief. As Kestrel blinks and tilts his head in confusion, he hears a female groan. As Kestrel looks down, he notices the blonde, braided German female laying on the floor seemingly in pain. The Israeli child gets a terrible feeling of guilt and fear rush over him. Kestrel's eyes widen and the colour drains from his face, however help is at hand, a pair of green academy IS land just behind Kestrel and rush over to the fallen German female. The female pilots cast proud looks at Kestrel, much to Kestrel's confusion. As the female students send winks at Kestrel, the small child hears a small clapping sound, the Israeli child rapidly turns his head upwards to the right in the direction that the clapping is coming from. Kestrel manages to catch the sight of a short, light blue haired girl standing up and clapping, a proud look is placed on her face.

As Kestrel blinks, a feeling of sick fear washing over his little body, he notices more IS schoolgirls stand and start to clap at the startled Israeli child. Meanwhile, as Kestrel looks down over at the IS schoolgirls attending to the fallen German girl, he notices one of the IS female pilots cast looks of joy and proudness. The child's main concern is that he hopes he hasn't badly hurt the blonde, braided female, however he gets a relief when watches the German female helped to her feet by the two IS students. The braided girl lets out exhausted breaths, and has a dazed and stunned expression on her face. Then, the braided girl is lifted off her feet and carried bridal style towards an exit on the IS stadium ground floor. Kestrel's ocean blue eyes do not leave the two Green academy IS for a second, as this is happening, the clapping has increased to loud uproars, many IS schoolgirls are cheering, waving and calling out the Israeli child's name. Kestrel breaks his attention from the two walking away IS, and turns his head and body around, looking left to right in an upward direction. He notices almost every IS schoolgirl standing and praising him, the exceptions being Charlotte, Laura, Cecilia and Rin.

The said schoolgirls have got awe stricken faces, Cecilia and Rin are standing and looking down into the IS stadium and the standing Israeli child. Cecilia and Rin have the looks of amazement and startlement. "Did I just imagine that!?" Rin speaks out with a wide eyed expression. Cecilia turns her head to look at Rin before looking back down at the victorious Israeli child, "I wish that was the case, but I'm affraid we haven't. That in-experianced Israeli child defeated that German girl without even braking a sweet!". Tomoe is looking awe stricken, she hasn't seen many IS battles and this has got to be the best she has seen yet. Kestrel's shotacon admiriers Konoe, Yui and Rie are jumping in lovesickness and joy, eyes closed and screaming happily. Love hearts practically leaping and bursting around them.

Kestrel's transparent IS angel wings are idle and are closed, making him look like a perched bird of prey, however Kestrel's body is clearly noticeable as his large, black IS arms and hands are raised, the Israeli child's IS hands are placed either side of the small child's head, holding down his small ears to block out the sounds of female screaming and cheering. Kestrel's face has not got the slightest bit of amusement and instead the child sighs in frustration and closes his eyes. As the child remains stood still in the 'Black Phoenix', Laura looks down at the Israeli child, her face is white and her single eye is wide with shock. Charlotte whom is standing beside the silver haired German girl, looks down at little Kestrel with a shocked, yet impressed face and is clapping in a modest manner.

For Laura the shock is overwhelming, not only watching a fellow team member be defeated before her eye, but the fact that Kestrel's brand new IS seemed to mop the floor with a Schwarzer Regen model so quickly. Laura can't breathe, she can't say a word, a terrible chill runs up her spine. The questions the other IS schoolgirls are asking merely makes the feeling ever more sick and worse for the demoralised German girl.

"What type of IS is that!?" - A Orange ponytailed girl asks

"How did that little kid do that!?" - A Short, black haired girl exclaims in a surprised tone

"Did you see the way he moved!?" - A Purple braided girl asks while pointing down at Kestrel

"I've never seen anyone move that fast!" - A long blonde haired American girl shouts out in amazement.

Laura can't stand it anymore, she leans forward and speaks in a low voice into Charlotte's left ear. "I..I'm going to speak to Clarissa, I..I'll see you later okay?". Charlotte does not turn her head but in a normal, neutral tone replies the words "Sure thing". Laura wastes no time and in a rush, dashes away up a flight of stairs between the multiple rows of cheering and jumping IS schoolgirls, and rapidly rushes away in a hurry to find Clarissa. As Laura is running through the isles of clapping and cheering schoolgirls, a the sickness feeling does not leave her, and for the first time in nearly a life time, the feeling of fear is in the German girl's gut. ( "What happened!? What is that IS!? How did the child win that fight so easily!?" ), each question rapidly repeating itself in the silver haired girl's head. For a girl like Laura bodewig, a college like the blonde, braided Olga is no pushover and to watch such a well trained and disciplined friend get defeated by an enemy considered weak, cowardly or inferior with what looked like contemptious ease is something that can never be overlooked.

Meanwhile as Kestrel turns his attention up to look at the hovering Ichika and Houki, Chifuyu's voice breaks the cheers over the loud speakers with the words 'GOOD JOB KESTREL, RETURN TO THE IS HANGAR AND REMAIN ON STANDBY IN CASE ORIMURA GETS DEFEATED'. As Chifuyu voice echoes away, Yui's voice is heard repeating each and every word in Israeli. As soon as Yui's voice ends speaking, Kestrel looks down at the ground and pauses for a few seconds, as the child lets out a nervous and frustraited sigh, a 1,000 yard stare begins to set in the child's eyes. However, Kestrel looks up and kneels down on the ground, his IS wings open and spread out, a second later... the child springs forward, blasting himself into the air, as the child makes a moderate speed ascent upto the IS hangar, the cheering female hordes wave, blow kisses and call out the child's name in a repeated rythym "KES-TREL!, KES-TREL!, KES-TREL!".

The Israeli child only makes a barrel roll as he climbs into the air all the way up to the IS hangar, the child's IS angel wings briefly fold outward from their swept back position, before folding inward and letting the child land on the very edge of the IS hangar entrance like a bird. Kestrel does not look back outside, but with a rapidly beating heart, grabs ahold of his star of david pendant still proudly around his small neck. The child walks forward slowly while quietly muttering the Israeli anthem into his tightly clutched star of David. Chifuyu's voice shatters the now dying down cheers with the aggressive words I DIDN'T SAY STOP! ORIMURA AND SHINONONO CONTINUE BATTLE!".

From outside Houki and Ichika jump in startlement, quickly cast looks at each other, frown... and continue the battle, the sounds of female screaming in joy echo around the IS stadium once again. Ichika charges Houki sending his Yukihira down in a swinging slash attack, Houki however counters with her twin Katanas, blocking Ichika's attack, as the blades impact, sparks fly and both Ichika and Houki are propelled backwards in a moment of momentum, however both Ichika and Houki charge forward again, engaging each other in a fierce close quarter sword duel. Ichika notices the moment and activates 'Ignition Booster', Byaksuhiki's speed increases, instantly putting Houki on the defensive. The Japanesse brunette puts on a face of struggle as she swings and deflects Ichika's blade.

However, with a personality with Pride, Houki is not yet finished with Ichika and exploits and opening, Ichika takes a very fierce punch into the chest, knocking him backwards, and although Ichika recovers from the blow... Houki dashes backwards, pointing a katana at Ichika and firing her 'Amatsuki' sending a volley of redish pink lasers at Ichika. Ichika is unable to react fast enough, and is forced to hold up his arms in an X - shape, a total of 11 laser hits strike Ichika, knocking him off balance and sending him flying out of control towards the IS stadium stands. However Ichika manages to recover, his heart is beating rapidly and anxious sweet has started to appear on his temple. Houki sees her chance and lets loose with a deadly swinging beam attack, the 'Karaware' moon beam attack slices through the air, Ichika sees the red threat and takes evasive action, as he dashes upwards towards Houki, he wists and snap rolls himself in a desperate move of accrobatics in attempt to evade 'Karaware' attacks. However Houki does not waste any time and activates her 'Reiraku Byakuya', restoring lost energy.

Ichika's 'Ignition boost' enables the said Japanese boy to quickly catch up to the rapid moving Houki, Houki then backflips in midair and charges forward again at Ichika. The 2 engage in a fierce and violent sword battle. From below in the stands, the light show is breath taking.

Ichika twists, rolls and deflects multiple barrages of Houki's Katana swings, but suffers a great energy drain when Houki delivers a sharp swing that knocks Ichika off balance, soon followed by a volley of kicks and fists into Ichika's wings, body and leg IS armor. Ichika's shield engery falls to 231, causing Ichika to blaze backwards, however... its a mistake that Ichika quickly will quickly regret. Houki does not blink nor hesitate and fires a barrage of 'Amatsuki' at the zig zagging Ichika, the black haired boy desperate to evade Houki's attacks.

Ichika growls, places a very irritated face on him and summons all his power to make a rapid charge at the ascending Houki. However Ichika's shield points begin to drop rapidly, Houki notices this and prepares to finish Ichika off in one final barrage of 'Amatsuki' and 'Karaware' attacks. Ichika zig zags, swerves ready to evade. As Houki fires, Ichika swerves... and as Ichika begins to slow down to keep the last of his shield points, Houki pounces with a melee attack in mind. As Houki prepares to swing with her Katanas to make the lethal blow, Ichika takes Houki by surprise.

In the rapid blink of an eye, Ichika snaps himself, the blades miss by hair breaths, Houki opens her eyes in surprise, Ichika then slams a knee into Houki's gut, making the brunette gack in sudden agony, an elbow attack over the back of Houki's IS quickly follows. As Houki tumbles for a brief moment, Ichika dives forwards and slashes with his blade, one Katana is knocked clean out of Houki's hand and is sent tumbling towards the ground. Ichika does not ease up and beings to slash and dash at Houki's IS, the Japanesse brunette manages to evade most attacks but suffers 10 direct hits, causing her IS to suffer power downing and IS shield point depleation. Ichika however knows that Houki will quickly recover and deploys his most powerful weapon, the 'Partical cannon' As Houki begins to pull her senses round from Ichika's attack, she is just in time to get enough time to raise her sheilds to maximum as a large and powerful red beam fires downwards, Houki closes her eyes and braces for the impact. The entire sky above the IS stadium glows a mix of red and blue as Houki is catapulted backwards and down by Ichika's powerful red beam. Ichika's IS points drop rapidly, but Houki also suffers the same. Houki's IS shield points drop more rapidly that what her 'Reiraku Byakuya' can handle.

Houki loses her surroundings and is heavily dazzled by the light directly in front of her face, suddenly... Houki's world gets a flash of yellow, followed by a black cloud. Seconds later, the world tumbles and rolls around, the impact of hitting the ground shakes Houki badly. Houki's IS shield points drop to 98, her power has fallen. As Houki begins to pick herself up off the ground she looks up and notices Ichika diving towards her at rapid speed, Ichika's sword blazing in the morning sunlight. Houki raises her sole remaining Katana in defence, Ichika swings down with his blade, Houki counters with a defensive thrust, the blades strike each other. Ichika then lands on his feet, and soon both Ichika and Houki are engaged in a desperate duel to the finish.

The speed, swinging, thrusting and deflecting causes blue sparks to fly. The IS students in the stadium stands cheer with joy and anticipation, many shout 'ICHIKA' others shout 'HOUKI'. After 10 minutes of intense sword fighting, Ichika and Houki both summon all their remaining strength for one last assault... as the two pilots scream they swing in anger at each other. As the blades contact, a bright white light erupts that blinds all IS schoolgirls in the stadium and a mild earth tremor shakes the entire stadium.

After 2 minutes, the light fades... and as the IS school girls rub and blink their eyes in awe struck silence, the one question is on everybody's mind, Who's won the battle?

_**Okay... phew! , that's chapter 20, god! All that was hard to write! IS battles are not my fortei, but I will continue trying for everyone. Thanks for reading and stick around for what happens in the next chapter. The next chapter will determine either Ichika or Houki as the winner, please remember everyone... it can be very tiring writing! So please be grateful with what I've done so far. Anyway... feel free to review.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	21. Chapter 21: Victory and aftermath

_**This is Black Falcon 01, returning once again with another chapter, this chapter is peaceful yet has a lot of info on Kestrel's IS. First of all before this chapter starts, I'd like to say to everyone, Thanks for the reviews and follows, keeps my confidence up, Also I'm sorry for any spelling errors, My Spell check is on and off like an uncontrollable light switch, one minute it works the next it won't. So I do appologise for any inconvieniance, please bear with me. Also this chapter is late because I have been building a 1/350 scale HMS Warspite, gave me something to do with my hands besides typing, the model is still being built F***king thing! , so i'll be delayed with more chapters.**_

_**Also its May 7th, the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, let us remember the 1,200 souls that were killed on that horrific day, theres also a documentary called 'Lusitania Murder on the atlanic', so please, for all you good souls that respect the brave peope of ww1 and its unlucky victims, please join me and some friends in a 2 minute silence at 14:28pm, because thats the point when Lusitania went under, 18 minutes after being torpedoed. Watch that documentary on Youtube if you're interested in watching it.**_

_**anyway, thats all my explinations and sorry in advance, but this chapter is shorter than what is normally posted, due to the fact with paying respects to Lusitania and having to build a ship along with taking care of animals and all, so sorry in advance, I promise to get more chapters posted as quickly as possible anyway... read and enjoy.**_

**Taming Kestrel Chapter 21**

It had been mere seconds since the climatic clash, white flash and tremor that signalled the end of Ichika and Houki's IS battle, as the masses of female IS students in the IS stadium sat or stood rubbing their eyes and managed to co-ordinate their vision on the 2 possed IS in the IS stadium, the one question was on everybody's lips. 'Who's won the battle?'. Ichika and Houki looked at each other, not breaking eye contact... both pilots panting and amazed at the events that just happened. The entire IS stadium was still, motionless... every single IS schoolgirl including Charlotte, Cecilia and Rin, had left their seats and stood to look down at Ichika and Houki. Not a single whisper escaped anyone's mouth as the masses of females look down at the panting and tired out IS pilots.

Silence and stillness fills the entire IS stadium, not a single sound is heard apart from the slightest 'woosh' of a breeze. Minutes pass with what seems like an eternity,  
untill suddenly, a loud horn blasts followed by a computer female voice 'THE MATCH IS CONCLUDED, THIS BATTLE IS A TIE, OVERALL RESSULTS PLACE BLUE TEAM ICHIKA AND KESTREL AS THE WINNERS WITH THE HIGHEST SHIELD POINTS, ICHIKA AND KESTREL HAVE WON'.

As the female computer voice finishes its sentance, Ichika and Houki's IS deactivate, leaving Houki and Ichika standing in large crater left behind following Houki's IS crash into the ground. Ichika and Houki blink, keep their eye contact whilst slowly standing up straight. Then, a clap occurs, followed by another and soon enough not only the sounds of clapping, but whistling, cheering and screaming fills the entire IS stadium. Most IS schoolgirls jump for joy, others wave at the two IS pilots, Houki and Ichika merely look around them, then at each other and both put awkward faces on while sweat dropping.

From in the stands, Charlotte gazes wide eyed, she was not expecting a tie. Yet she was not expecting Ichika to win any significant ressult either, so it looks like this event has proven Charlotte wrong in her opinions of Ichika, with schoolgirls clapping around her, the French Blonde puts a very cheerful smile on her face, stands straight and claps out with dear and sincerity. Across from the French Blonde, Cecilia and Rin stand, both with their arms folded, smiles on their faces. "Looks like Ichika has done far better than what was expected of him" Rin exclaims in a tone full of pride.

Cecilia raises her nose and places her hands on her hips, "Of course he has! Its because of all that training that I so derely and happily gave him! That proves that my teachings are infact the finest that.. HEY! WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME!" Cecilia suddenly shrieks at the Chinese brunette, Rin places a frown on her face and looks the British blonde in the face and with an angered gaze hisses out "You know all to well it was MY training that helped Ichika win this battle! While you were away making poison, I was the one giving Ichika IS training lessons!". As Cecilia and Rin begin to engage in a verbal confrontation, Houki and Ichika cast proud looks at each other and exchange hands as a means of very good sportsman ship!

**\- In the IS hangar -**

As the cheers of females echo around the hangar bay, Kestrel looks towards the open Hangar bay doors, the Israeli child's face is full of concern. The main concern is if he is going out into battle again. However as the Israeli child stands idle, Chifuyu's voice shatters the silence with the words 'Okay Kestrel, stand down and deactivate, good work out there'. Kestrel turns his small head around, left to right, looking for the loud speaker. However as the child is searching, a feeling of deep relief washes over him when a series of small, golden words suddenly appear on a holographic HUD in front of the child's face.

The words are in hebrew and are exact translation of what the mighty Chifuyu has just spoken out. As Kestrel reads those words and smiles, a small electronic noise makes the child snap his focus back towards the hangar doors, and to Kestrel's relief, he notices the Hangar doors closing. The Israeli child wastes no time, deactivates his IS and instantly begins his next task, trying to remember the way out. The Israeli child then gets the awfull feeling of sick irony wash over him as the youngster wanders around trying to find an exit. However, Kestrel does not have to wander around in the dark for long as a very friendly and much welcome female voice calls out to the Israeli boy. As Kestrel turns his head towards the direction of the voice, his face then harbours a small, timid but very warm smile.

Standing in an open doorway with her arms by her side is Kestrel's closest japanesse friend, Yui Sakurada. As Kestrel hurridly runs over through the dark towards Yui, Kestrel notices the dark haired woman with a very warm and kind look on her face, the woman also looks like she is happy to the point of bursting. Unbeknownst to Kestrel, the said Israeli child has accomplished his goal, and a very unpleasant and uncertain future was now avoided. One thing is for sure, Kestrel will surely be hungry and be a lot happier for the rest of the day!

**\- Scene Change/ IS Teachers lounge -**

It had been merely moments since the end of the IS battle, but the hurry to hide away and discuss the events that took place in the IS stadium is underway in what can only be described as an instant. Clarissa sits at a large, wooden table with 4 German girls, Laura whom has only just joined the group shares the nervous and pale faces on all the German females. It has been a very, very unpleasant day for the German women, the images of Kestrel piloting his mysterious black IS and defeating one of the finest German IS pilots is like pouring salt into a very painful and open wound. Clarissa is proof of the concern, her face white with fear, she can no longer breathe. Her hands are cupped, and placed in front of her face, fingers intwinned, not a whisper is escaping her mouth.

The German girls also remain silent, each and every single one has a frightened look on their faces. One such German girl speaks in a very low voice, while keeping her head, and single solentary eye focused on the brown mahogny table. "T..That child, he.. he decimated our team mate in seconds!". Another German girl with a serious frown on her face looks down and merely speaks the facts that everyone is too heavily burdened to face. "I.. Can't belive a ten year old boy.. would fight so fiercely, it was as if, he's fought like that before!". As Clarissa looks up and places her hands on the large round table, the dim lit room makes the German woman's face ever more serious, in fact the darkness of the room adds some form of safety and comfort. As Laura pulls a large wooden chair back, and sits herself down, another German female speaks the words "What worries me is... if that child can beat one our girls so easily, what else could he do!?". Clarissa sends a cold look over to the German girl and in a nervous, yet aggressive hiss, speaks the words "You think none of us know that!?". As Clarissa turns her eye away from the German girl and over towards Laura, the two females make eye contact. Both have the concerned, yet serious looks on their faces.

"Captian Bodewig, that Israeli child... what do you know of him!?", Clarissa asks in a serious tone, the blue haired German woman's face does not loose its seriousness. Laura instantly and quickly acknowledges the German woman's question and in a frown leans forward slightly and calmly speaks the words "That child is a complete mystery, I no nothing of his battle stratagey or skills, but what I do know is, the child seems to have an ability to fight fiercely and skillfully if under attack, I'm sorry Clarissa, but I only know as much as you do". As Laura finishes her explination the German girls whom had been looking at the silver haired girl, immediatley turn their heads and attention over to Clarissa, even though these German girls are disciplined, they really need the guidance from their leader. Clarissa leans back in her chair and lets out a highly tense sigh, the German woman looks at the darkened ceiling above her. "I don't think instructor Orimura has any information on the child, but never the less I'll ask her for any information".

As Clarissa finishes her sentance, another of the German girls lifts her head up and in a tone of curiosity asks "Do you suppose its possible the child was part of 'Phantom task? From the info that we have, the child was once a victim in their clutches, do you suppose the child was trained to fight in case of being captured?". Laura closes her eyes, shakes her head and looks over at the German girl. As the two females make eye contact, Laura speaks in a calm voice "I would say no, if the child was part of phantom task, he wouldn't behave like he has been doing since he came, here, the nightmares, the looks of fear and innocent look on his face would suggest that he could have merely been a test subject for them". As the Laura finishes her sentance and turns her gaze back to Clarissa, the German woman regains her calm breathing ability.

As the German girls look around at each other, dead silence fills the room. A long moment passes before a German girl with a long blonde braid and single green eye states in neutral tone "So regarding what we do know, should we just count today's events as maybe a lucky break for the child?". As the German females turn attention on the braided blonde, another German girl with pinkish red hair in a braid speaks out in a confident tone, "I think shes right, we've just been focusing on the child, that IS of his is unknown, so for all we know the child's victory is due to his IS".

"Yes... that is a very real possibility, that IS is unlike anything I've ever seen before, but... still..". A short blue haired, black eye patched German girl speaks, before trailing off and letting silence fill the room again. "Any data on that IS is vital! If that child has hidden skills and talents with IS piloting then that makes him all the more important to keep our attention on!" Clarissa speaks out in stern tone while sitting up straight and again folding her arms across her chest, all the German girls look over at Clarissa, their single eyes are full of wonder.

As the eye patched germans stare at Clarissa, Laura steals any attention by speaking the words, "Any data on the child's IS should be recorded on the academy computer systems, I can get us a copy of that data no problems!". Clarissa quickly turns her head looks down past the two German girls and in a firm tone and serious looking face, speaks the words "That IS data is going to be highly confidential, so highly confidential that instructor Orimura won't be very keen on having us get a copy of it, according to what she told me, the IS the child is piloting is a mystery even to her, in fact it wasn't even test flown". As Clarissa finishes her statement, every German girl looks over a the mature German woman and gawks in awe.

The situation is uncanny, everyone's face has the same look Ichika had earlier this morning. Laura is the most affected, Laura has always been a professional and is true to the factor of common sense, to let a child handle a brand new and untested weapon is something considered highly out of order. "That IS is untested, what were those god damn jews thinking!" The redish braided German girl splutters in shock. Clarissa merely sighs and blinks with her single, solitary eye. "I have no idea, but one thing is for sure... we've got to get more intelligence on that child's IS, even if it means going into battle against him".

As Clarissa finishes her sentance, the memory of watching the black IS blazing around the sky running rings around the German girl. The sting of sudden shock and defeat is merely increased to heavy and dangerous levels. However... as the German females look down at the smooth, mahogany shinning table, a new feeling strikes the German women in the gut like god's fist.

The feeling of nerve and anxiousness at having to challenge what looks like a far more superior IS with its piloting being a near invincible child. The emotions are proven when one of the German girls stand, the look of seriousness is placed on her face. "I, will fight that child's IS!". As soon as the German female speaks the words, the other German girls look over at the German female whom stands straight, arms by her sides, hands balled into fists. Clarissa merely rests her arms on the table, slumps forward in concern while keeping her eye on the German girl. Nobody says a word, and after a few seconds, the German girl continues by defiantly speaking the words "Let me challenge the child miss Harfouch, I want to be the one whom makes that child's IS pay for humiliating us!". Clarissa rolls her eye and places her first and second fingers to her forehead.

Clarissa looks down and closes her eye and sighs out the words "Kesserling... I understand that you want to beat the one whom defeated Ackermann so quickly, but don't you think what you're doing is just a foolish act!?". The German girl closes her eye and shakes her head, the serious look on her face not leaving her for a single moment. One German girl with short green hair stands and in a fearful tone speaks "Are you insane!? You can't seriously be considering fighting that child and his IS, for all we know what we saw was only the tip of the iceberg!". The German girl with a purple short hair looks back at the Green haired German female and in a serious tone replies "I'm not affraid of being beaten, if I can exploit more answers from that child and his IS, then wouldn't that have any better ressults than what we have now!?".

Its true what the German girl is saying, better to gain information by using oneself as a living target or shield, but the risks are highly clear and the possibility of suffering yet another defeat like today is very, very true. However the risks and lack of information does not seem to hinder the German girl. Even the green haired German female's words of truth have no effect on the purple headed German girl standing across from her, "But what happens if that Israeli boy ends up mopping the floor with you!?". The Green haired German girl's voice is full of fear and heavy concern.

The Purple haired German girl snarls in frustration and sternly snaps back "I'm not going to loose to that child!". As the Purple haired German female finishes her defiant statement, the next person to speak takes everyone by surprise, its none other than Laura, the silver haired German girl's voice sounds like its riddled with sterness after suffering defeat. "Yes you will... From what I can see, that child is not to be looked down upon, two concieted bitches did that earlier before today even occured, and I know their still regretting it!". Laura states as a matter of fact, looking down and remembering the reports of Kestrel tearing open a highschool girl's hand with his teeth and knocking out another with a punch to the head.

However despite Laura's sudden statement of not agreeing with the purple headed German girl's plans, the said German female remains standing with a serious look. Although purple haired German female puts on a concerned look and looks down for a brief moment, she quickly recovers and shakes her head. The green haired German girl, places a serious frown on her face and with beads of sweat on the right side of her temple, the German girl speaks in a nervous tone "Yeah!, did you see the way the child moved!? did you see the look on his face!?... no pity, no remorse, no fear, no emotions what so ever on the child's face. His eyes had no pupils... its like... for that moment, the child wasn't even human!".

"Well we can't sit around doing nothing!" The purple headed German girl speaks out in a tone of desperation, as the remaining German girls turn their heads and look at each other, the reality sinks deep, sitting idle with no valuable information and the feeling of crushing defeat is merely doing nothing to help the demorlised German women. The purple haired German girl making the reality ever more obvious to the remaining German females, however the purple haired German girl also points out a fact that nearly all but Laura had forgotten, "Look! We came here to observe and study this child! If we can gain as much information as possible on him, aswell as prove that child is beatable and can be led down a lawful path, think of the good that we could do.

We may even be able to discover how instructor Orimura's younger brother and the child are able to pilot a machine that only women can operate!". All but the green haired German girl blink and begin to have second thoughts. "We can't beat that child in the state were in now! His IS too powerful and the child is unknown to us at the moment! If we aren't carefull, we'll end up in hospital like Ackermann!". The Green haired German girl shakes her head violently for a brief moment and looks down in frustration. However the purple haired German does not blink and instead, places her hands on her hips and fiercely huffs. As the purple headed German girl turns her attention away from her comrade and looks over at Clarissa, the look of desperation is deep in the frustraited girl's eye.

Clarissa remains silent, and instead casts a look over to Laura, Laura blinks and merely mimicks with her hand, out of options, Laura is in a hopeless situation. The stress of what has happened has hurt her, and as a soldier, the silver haired German is privalidged to do something against the person whom just defeated her teammate. Clarissa acknowledges Laura's hand motion, and in deep understanding of Laura's feelings sits up straight and lets out a breath. "Okay... you have permission from me and captian Bodewig, but you also need permission from instructor Orimura, also... I want everyone to agree that if Kesserling is defeated, nobody else will challenge that Israeli boy to a fight untill further notice!". Clarissa speaks out in stern tone, as Clarissa sits up straight, the order becomes instantly understood. Every German girl stands up straight, and in strict military attitude stands to attention, all German girls salute while all saying "YES MA'AM!". The purple haired German girl is especially happy, a smug look is on her face and as she places her arm by her side, the German girl proudly speaks the words "Don't worry miss Harfouch, that Jewish fag and his tin can is going to go down in flames! I Swear on our honour, I will win against that boy!". Laura casts a look over to the German female and quietly mutters, "I certainly hope your right! That child maybe a mystery, but he's something you should not look down on!".

**\- Scene change/ 12:00 noon/ IS cafateria -**

"KKYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ear piercing shreiks ring across the entire academy, IS schoolgirls point and rush over in a massive stampedeing horde towards the large hallway entrance. Each one speaking and shouting multiple differant tounges from multiple differant nations of the world. Its a very special moment, for the IS schoolgirls that is. Ever since the end of the IS battle Ichika, Houki and Kestrel are the main talk of the academy, the main focus being on Ichika and Kestrel. Ever since going back to regular classes, Ichika has been bombarded with questions, affection and fan attention. Its the same for Houki, though despite being female, she has no shortage of female fans that look at her as a school idol or older sister figure. The main irony being that Houki is not as badly pressured as Ichika. For the said Japanesse boy, he is constantly getting surrounded by fangirls as he struggles to find his way into the IS cafateria to get lunch. For Ichika, its yet just another day of normality.

Sure... its nice to get famous and have girls swooning all over you if you're a single, solo guy... but in the end, its always something that bites a guy in the ass due to the pressure and frustration. As Ichika struggled his way through the ever deep growing ocean of soft bodies and sweet smelling perfume, the amount of females talking become no longer understandable, the entire place sounds like its language is nothing but utter nosense and jibberish. For Ichika the situation becomes more and more intense untill he is forced to a dead stop. 20 yards away from the food isles. By now the mass growing crowd of girls is so deep its like being crushed, Ichika can only hold his hands up as if hes surrendering to gunmen and hold an awkward face with a sweat drop. Ichika merely rolls his eyes and mutters "Somethings never change!".

_**Okay... sorry about it being short, but as I explained... I am pressed for time. I PROMISE on pain of death, I will get these chapters posted on a regular basis once again soon. Please forgive me for any innconvienance. I'll see everyone soon with Chapter 22.**_


	22. Chapter 22: PTSD

_**Hello everyone, I'm back early... turns out that I underestimated my own hand skills and finished that 1/350 HMS Warspite earlier than expected, never the less the thing was a REAL bitch to fully complete! However I think although I wasn't as skilled as a thought I am, I still did better than what I expected! Don't worry readers I won't use such trivial matters to take me away from writing again! As you know... I AM a man of my word and I promised to compensate you all with regular chapters as much as possible. Anyway as promised... here is the next chapter.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 22

For Ichika, the situation good not be any worse, he is once again the subject of fuss, surrounded by an ocean of IS schoolgirls, the sounds of girlish chatter and loving squeals becoming ever more intense. Even as Ichika holds up his hands, closes his eyes and mutters "Nothing Changes", away from the said Japanesse boy... Houki sends an angered look over to Ichika, the frustration of how Ichika is not doing enough to repel the female army is like the Japanesse brunette is ripping her hair out. As Houki's eye twitches the female admirers around Houki are also increasing, this true factor snaps the Japanesse Brunette back to reality. Causing the said Japanesse girl to suddenly rethink her oppinion of Ichika, the girl suddenly replaces her irritated facial look with the look of sudden discomfort and ephiny. Houki merely closes her eyes and smiles awkwardly, as her fangirls begin to swoon all over the her.

"YOU WERE GREAT HOUKI-SAN!"

"CALL ME SISTER!"

Houki merely holds a hand up and mimicks with her hand in an attempt to calm her fangirls down, which remarkably has some positive effect. As Houki and Ichika's fangirls increase, from a distance Charlotte, Rin and Cecilia were walking towards the counters to order lunch. For Charlotte, Cecilia and Rin, the main subject on their mind was not Ichika, but the small Israeli child known as Kestrel. Even as Cecilia, Charlotte and Rin grab their food trays and calmly walk over to the food counters to order from the many differant classes and types of food, the subject has not for a moment slipped their mind or for that matter, their lips. "Did you see the way Kestrel moved out there!?" Cecilia states as she places a carton drink on her food tray and points up at a picture of food above the staff members head.

As the staff member smiles and makes a single nod, Cecilia slowly walks forward along the counter with Charlotte and Rin tow. Rin on the other hand is in an even less eating mood than Charlotte and Cecilia and merely points to some sandwiches, "I can't get the image out of my head... Kestrel's movements, the way he depleated the attacks and the way he floored that German girl". Rin states in a tone of disbelief. Charlotte takes a plate of her own and sets it carefully on her food tray, her attention focused on the smiling staff member in a white cook like attire.

As Charlotte lowers her head in respect to the staff member, the French blonde turns her head and looks ahead of her at the Chinesse Brunette and British Blonde. Although shocked by the days events, Charlotte is less effected than Rin and Cecilia. "Ah... Well, Kestrel is still mysterious to us so maybe today was just an example that the child is full of surprises" As Charlotte reaches over to take a drink from the staff member the French blonde merely looks both Cecilia and Rin in the face and with a very friendly and kind face, speaks the words "Maybe we just need to relax, maybe Orimura or Yamada sensei can explain what type of IS Kestrel has, if anyone knows they do".

Cecilia and Rin place cheerful looks on their faces and smile at the French blonde, "Sure... yeah, maybe we're getting worked up over nothing!" Rin states out in a happy tone as she and Cecilia exchange happy looks with the French girl. As Charlotte points over to a table, Rin and Cecilia follow Charlotte's finger, as they turn to look into Charlotte's face, the French blonde speaks in her normal kind tone "I'll be over there okay?" Rin and Cecilia smile in confirmation and with the mimick of hands Charlotte pleasantly walks over to a large rectangular, gray table to eat her fresh and delicous looking meal on her plate.

As Rin and Cecilia look back at each other, the smiles drop, and the two girls merely blink in worry to each other. "Something tells me that some of us aren't looking seriously enough at the matter at hand" Rin speaks in a serious tone, her face is full of worry. Cecilia turns away to take her order before looking back at the Chinesse girl and rolling her eyes. "Its simply gastly! That child whom seems to me a mental wreck manages to tackle and defeat a much older girl with an IS unknown, and nobody seems to see the suspicous side!" Cecilia speaks in a nervous tone. As Rin takes her order from the staff and sets it on her food tray, the Chinesse girl lifts her tray to her chest and looks Cecilia in the face, "If you ask me, maybe we ought to keep our eyes on the kid, I don't think he's a bad child but.." Rin speaks in a tone of curiosity before loosing track and looking away at nothing in particular. Cecilia notices and finishes off Rin's statement by calmly saying the words "Yeah, I wounldn't say the child is bad, but it goes without saying... the child seems to be unprodictable, and seems to have hidden secrets that could make him dangerous!". Rin sighs, looks down with a sorrowful look before taking in a breath and looking at Cecilia. As Rin's eyes meet with Cecilia's, the brunette girl speaks in tone of authority. "I say we keep our eyes on him, just to be on the safe side". Cecilia makes a solemn nod and frowns.

As the two girls look at each other, a cheerful voice snaps both females back to reality, causing both Cecilia and Rin to look at the food counter and notice a line gathering. Cecilia and Rin, remembering that they are ready to eat merely smile awkwardly and bow in politeness to the que of IS schoolgirls. Many IS schoolgirls send back awkward smiles and sweatdrops in return as Rin and Cecilia calmly walk away to join Charlotte at her table. As Cecilia and Rin walk away, some of the schoolgirls in the line begin to look at each other, all whispering or muttering lovey dovey phrases of Ichika and little Kestrel.

Meanwhile Ichika is finding it ever more difficult to cope with the many questions and affectionate fuss from the mass of female schoolgirls, his only hope being that maybe these girls will all suddenly get real hungry and walk over to get lunch, which was becoming ever more distant from the hungry stomach of Ichika Orimura. Since the IS battle the boy has been burning off a lot of his strength and now the effects are catching up with him, along with being a guy a good meal is well and trully needed, especially if the guy is althetic and needs lots of energy. Even the painful feeling and hungry growl from his stomach didn't seem to make the picture any clearer to the massive amounts of females crowding around Ichika.

Houki on the other hand had managed to regain a steady walking pace through the mass schoolgirls, mostly answering questions and smiling. As Ichika notices this happening, a sick feeling of envy runs through Ichika's body and mind. How Houki manages to handle her fans he'll never know. Ichika always tries to use Houki's tactics but all attempts seem to add more fuel to the fire, as Ichika blinks, lowers his hands and turns his head left to right in desperation he soon discovers Houki and her trail of fangirls have walked over towards the food counter, Ichika gets the image. He's been abandoned to solve the problem alone and Charlotte and the other girls are nowhere in sight. "ICHIKA SIT WITH US!" - An Italian accented girl with long red hair shouts out.

"NO SIT WITH US!" - A Chinesse girl with black hair in twin buns exclaims with joy.

What Ichika has grown to notice is after the questions, the lovey dovey moments occur, no shortages of love confessions and marriage proposals appear. At least Ichika has learnt at this point, the moment when he can escape and get on with what he wants to do is only a few minutes away, but with the amount of IS schoolgirls, it seems to be a long drawn out race against time as more and more females begin to engulf the Japanesse boy the intent on maybe winning the said boy's heart. However as Ichika begins to fret, an ear piercing shriek nearly deafens him. As he turns his head in rapid motion to discover the owner of the scream, what he sees a long, light green haired girl with a hair bun on the back of her head pointing.

The girl's eyes are sparkling with joy and happiness, what everyone notices is that the girl is pointing towards the entrance to the IS cafateria. As the unknown girl turns her head to look at the ocean of eyes stareing at her, the green headed girl shouts out words that can only be described as sort of a miracle, yet at the same time a disaster for whom or what ever it is the IS schoolgirl is pointing at. Ichika and the mass hordes of schoolgirls don't have long to wait for what it is the unknown schoolgirl is so happy about, as a small uniformed person walks into the IS cafateria, white sneaks and white IS uniform, ocean blue eyes and long black hair. Ichika gets a feeling of relief and happiness course through his entire body.

"Saved by Kestrel!" Ichika chuckles happily to himself, although its a relief to see a familiar face, the problem with Ichika is soon shared by the terrified Israeli child as a stampeede of IS schoolgirls rush over to the scar faced boy, all with lovey dovey and awe struck happy intentions in mind. As the schoolgirl wall around Ichika begins to thin out, Ichika is finally able to move and struggle towards the direction of the food counters. Although Ichika now has breathing space, he soon looks over an notices Kestrel being smothered, the child is no longer in sight, instead all that greats Ichika's eyes is a wall of curvy bodies, smooth, bare legs and the occasional flash of coloured and shinny underwear from the bent over girls as their skirts rise. Kestrel's ever growing fan club smothers him, each and every female oblivious to the mental wounds that plague the helpless child's traumitised mind.

Ichika's face becomes full of pain and sympathy and being such a good hearted guy, he can't ignore a child in distress, and as a ressult... he begins to push the IS schoolgirls away from him as he heads over in the direction of Kestrel, the look of seriousness is placed on Ichika's face. Any IS schoolgirls that notice the serious expression either comicaly miss the point by clutching themselves and squealing in delight, or simply stand aside looking at Ichika with curiosity and wonder what is going to happen. As Ichika gets to the girls that have their backs turned to him, he reaches over and by either placeing hands on their backs or shoulders pushes the girls away saying serious toned phrases like "Okay thats enough", "Leave the child alone he doesn't like this" and even the phrase "Move aside!". As the schoolgirls move apart making a path for Ichika to walk through, Ichika's serious and slightly angered face does not leave him.

It only changes to a sorrow and sympathy filled expression when he looks down and notices Kestrel sitting on the cold IS cafateria floor in the fetal position, the Israeli child has his eyes closed and tears of fear are rolling down his face. The child's bright red facial scar tends to sparkle or shine with each terrified tear that runs over it. As Ichika gets down on one knee and moves a hand forward to place on Kestrel's head, the Israeli child open's his scared eyes and without a seconds hesitation jumps up and stands to his feet, Looking Ichika in the eyes and regains colour to his pale and nervous face.

Ichika lets out a breath and smiles, its a big relief. Even as Ichika stands up straight and smiles kindly at Kestrel, the hordes of schoolgirls remain silent watching the moment in amazement. As Ichika lifts his head up straight and looks around he finaly notices the masses of IS schoolgirls around him, the happy look on his face drops. Kestrel gets a terrible feeling of dread as he looks into the many differant female faces each one with happiness, wonder or envy. Kestrel wastes no time and hides behind Ichika, only leaning sideways to peer out at the mass hundreds of schoolgirls that look love hungry. Ichika on the other hand puts a hand behind his head and lets out a nervous chuckle. The mass swooning begins all over again!

**\- 42 minutes later -**

After 42 minutes of stress and frustrated struggle, Ichika and Kestrel finaly manage to make it over to the food counter, even though the mass IS female army still remains close behind both boys, Ichika and Kestrel manage to grab food trays and are able focus on getting what they want for lunch. Ichika stands just behind Kestrel and helps the Israeli child communicate with the catering staff at what the said child wants for lunch. The mass IS female horde that stand close behind Ichika and Kestrel shift their attention from Kestrel to Ichika and remain silent at what is going to happen next. Kestrel looks up at Ichika with a straight face and points to a familiar image on the wall. Ichika blinks, turns his attention to the staff member and speaks in a calm tone "He wants some ramen, chicken and mushroom flavour by the looks of it". The staff member sends a very warm smile back and bows in respect, saying back the words "Of course, coming right up".

As Ichika looks down at Kestrel, the Israeli child tilts his head in confusion, Ichika merely smiles kindly and motions with his arm for the child to walk over to the end of the counter. Behind Ichika, the mass of schoolgirls turn and begin to whisper to each other phrases of "So thats what the kid likes", "I wanna see what he looks like when he eats", "Will he be eating with Ichika?". Since the end of the IS battle, the main goal for most of the IS schoolgirls is eating with the main victors of the battle. As the mass female horde watch as the Israeli boy walks over to the end of the food counter to wait for his order, Ichika speaks to the catering staff member to make his own order. It takes a minute or two, but Kestrel quickly gets his lunch and after stuttering a quick "Thank you" to the catering staff, Kestrel rushes over to a free, grey rounded table to eat. Ichika follows the child with his chocolate brown eyes and smiles kindly, as he brings his attention back to the catering staff and walks over to end of the food counter, the mass group of IS schoolgirls do not take their eyes off both boys, only breaking attention when its their turn to order lunch.

Ichika does not have to wait long untill he is able to get what he has ordered, the catering staff bring a fair serving of udon and as Ichika and the staff member exchange bows, the feeling many schoolgirl guts is desperation. As Ichika walks off to join Kestrel many IS schoolgirls get into a crazy frenzy, all wanting to be served as quickly as possible to join the 2 ever popular growing school boys. Ichika remains oblivious to the schoolgirl's stares as he calmly walks over to a large grey table to sit with Kestrel, normaly Kestrel would be with Yui, but due to office buisness with Chifuyu, the nervous Israeli child has to sort his problems out alone, but then again... Kestrel has surely had worse problems in his life, and at least he gets to sit with Ichika, whom obviously is his closest friend in the academy so at least Kestrel isn't suffering. Its much better to sit with a friend than being glomped by an ocean of strangers whom talk in a lingo completley alien.

As Ichika settles himself down in his table the ocean of female eyes does not leave him or his small girly haired friend. Word speads too fast in the IS academy, and maybe one day it will be the death of somebody, Ichika and Kestrel are not even able to escape it for a single moment, the point being clear as a group of IS schoolgirls rush over with their lunches to join the two boys. This time however a friendly face is amoungst them. "HEY ICHIKA!" A well known and cheerful voice calls out, Ichika instantly smiles pleasantly and answers the caller before turning his head, "Hey there Honne!" Ichika replies almost instantly. As Ichika turns his head Honne appears with non other than the famous Tatenashi, blonde haired Tina hamilton and ofcourse Honne's close friends Sayuka and Yuzu.

For Ichika the sight is big relief, Tatenashi is first to spot the relief in Ichika's eyes. The blue haired Russian girl smiles with a smug expression as she sits down at the grey rounded table, setting her food tray down with great care. "You look releaved, did you think we were going to glomp you!?" Tatenashi speaks out in a jokeful tone as she breaks open some chop sticks. Ichika can only make an awkward smile and in a very nervous yet happy tone speaks the words "Heh, am I that obvious!?". Tatenshi can only reply with a cheerful laugh as she gets herself ready to eat. Honne, Sayuka and Yuzu are quick to start eating but quickly become distracted by Kestrel.

As Yuzu swallows a mouthful of food, she points over to Kestrel, Yuzu's face is full of curiosity and concern. "Does he need help? He's more or less just drinking his food". As soon as Yuzu speaks those words before taking another mouthful of food, everyone looks at Kestrel and see the Israeli child lifting his Ramen cup to his mouth and more or less just drink his food, the only time the long, black haired boy lowers his cup is when he munches away on the noodels and chicken pieces before swallowing. As Honne places a fresh piece of food in her mouth and begins to chew, the long sleeved girl only tilts her head, but her eyes are full of happiness and tender care. Sayuka swallows and raises an index finger, turns to Ichika and with a happy face speaks the words, "I got it! Why don't we try teaching him to eat with chop sticks?". As Sayuka finishes her suggestion, the blonde haired Tina Hamilton looks over and smirks, "Hell no, I bet that kid wants a fork!" Tina speaks with confident smug tone. Kestrel all the while pays no attention to the group and just maintain his focus with eating in his own manner.

Ichika notices and after swallowing a portion of food speaks, "From what I've been told Kestrel has always eaten like that, so I guess its going to be a while for him to kick the habit". Tatenashi merely rolls her eyes before taking another mouthful of food, the Russian girl is at loss for words as she looks intently at the mysterious Israeli boy before her. However her silence is cut short when Ichika asks in a very curious tone "Say Tatenashi, I have'nt seen you around for a day or two, where have you been?". Tataneashi merely smiles confidently and sits up straighter than usual. "What d'you think!? I am an IS student, so I have been studying and all, or had you forgotten!?" Ichika merely sweatdrops, the feeling of being a complete idot hits him like a pie in the face. Honne, Sayuka and Yuzu merely sweatdrop and chuckle. "My bad heh,heh!" Ichika speaks while lifting another portion of food into his mouth.

Tina eats with a fork, so her character looks for a small second, real badass as she twirls the fork in her hand and smiles in a smug manner. "From what I've seen you were also in detention for endangering the new kid!". As Tina speaks the words, her eyes focus on Tatenashi whom for a brief moment gets a temper patch on the side of her temple, but at least the blue haired Russian girl keeps her cool by closing her eyes, facing the American blonde and speaking "Yes... if you must know, that detention stuff was only for 12 hours and even then it was minor. Secondly I didn't mean for that incident with the psycho bitch to occur outside!". Tina merely shrugs her shoulders and gets back to eating with a smug facial image.

"Hey Ichika, that was some great fighting out there!" Honne speaks out while holding her hands up high. Yuzu points over at Kestrel, her eyes fixed on the silent eating Israeli youngster "Kestrel did great also!". Sayuka wastes no time and instantly asks a question that Ichika can not answer "What kid of IS is it that Kestrel has!?". Ichika merely looks over at Kestrel with a nervous expression and replies in a silent tone, "I... realy don't know, I don't know what type of IS Kestrel has or for that matter how Kestrel learned to fight like that, he just sort of... just did it". As Ichika's brows raise in concern for the Israeli boy, Tina lifts her head and looks at the Israeli child with concern. "During the battle I tried to scan the kid's IS, and nothing interesting came up, all it gave me was just a 3D holographic model, nothing of use". As the American girl maintains eating, Ichika and the others look over at Tina with surprised looks. "Realy!?, nothing came up even though you tried scanning that thing!?" Ichika speaks in surprise. Honne blinks and turns her attention over to Kestrel, the long sleeved girl maintains eating and instead looks at little Kestrel with amazed wonder. Sayuka swallows a portion of food and maintains her look on the American girl. "Did Orimura sensei know you were trying to scan Kestrel's IS?". Tina blinks and replies in a neutrel tone "Yeah, Orimura sensei told me to try and scan the kid's IS for as much data as possible".

"And nothing came up at all?" - Tatenashi speaks out completley flabbergasted.

"Not a damn thing! All it gave me was heat signiture, 3D model layout and mass readings". - Tina speaks out in a tone that resembles utter defeat. Even though Tina didn't take part in the battle, the task given to her by senior Orimura was still a task that the mighty Chifuyu entrusted to Tina, and to fail it makes Tina look like a complete fool. Tatenashi looks over at Kestrel and can't belive her ears, the child's IS was unable to be scanned. Ichika then states a factor that everyone instantly takes interest in, "Chifuyu-nee told me that Kestrel's IS was a brand new untested model, and when Kestrel activated it... I felt power, power that I've never felt before, it was amazing". Everybody instantly shifts their attention to Ichika and looks at the Japanesse boy with amazed eyes.

Tatenashi has a more excited look on her face than the look of nerve and concern. "Really!?, The kid's IS felt powerful!?... If you ask me, i think we're looking at a new generation of IS!". Ichika merely blinks but does not shake off Tatenashi's statement, in fact Ichika mostly agrees with Tatenashi. "You really think so?, If thats the case then I wonder how it will look and behave when pushed to maximum limits". Honne, Tina and the other girls at the table all shift their attention over to Kestrel whom remains eating, the scar faced child's innocent look remains on his face. Tina blinks and speaks a fact that many seem to have forgotten, "If you ask me I think its not only the IS that helped Kestrel win that fight, from what I remember the kid looked completley possessed when he was fighting, looked like he had fought like that before!". As Tina finishes her statement, the feeling of sudden memory rush hits home.

In everybody's mind the memory of watching Kestrel blaze forward with no emotion in his face, plays over in everybody's mind. As the group look at Kestrel, Honne speaks out in a very curious tone, "Do you think he's been fighting in IS before he even came here?". Yuzu whom had been busy eating swallows a portion of food before speaking in a tone as if its a matter of fact "Well... he has scars on him and he acts very weird in certain senarios, so maybe he he was a child soldier or something". Ichika shakes his head and after eating a portion of food speaks out in low and serious tone, "He has P.T.S.D, he's traumitised". As Ichika finishes his statement, its not only the girls sitting at his table, but also girls on the table just behind Ichika that freeze eating and look at the Japanesse boy with wide eyed expressions. All except Tatenashi whom sighs and shakes her head, she even speaks in a deep sympathetic tone, "I thought he did, well... its sort of screamed out, what with the nightmares, the incident with those bitches and at the IS training range, that kid's obviously a mental wreck".

"That child has.." - Sakuya speaks out slowly while pointing at the long, black haired child. Honne finishes off her friends statement by saying "He's got, P.T.S.D?". Ichika quickly places an index finger to his mouth so that nobody speaks aloud. However at that moment, 6 girls from the table behind Ichika rush around and put their faces up to his own. Ichika jumps back in alarm and sweatdrops, Tina however smiles in a very smug tone at the sight and says the words "They say people get killed because of their tounges, if you aren't carefull you'll be your own downfall". Ichika merely closes his eyes and sends an awkward face over to Tina while smiling.

_**Okay... thats all I can think of for now, it'll take me a day or two to get back into the groove of fanfic writing but I will keep my promise and do everything I can to maintain a regular update of chapters, so anyway, thanks for putting up with me, keep reviewing and and thanks for waiting for my return. Wishing everyone the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	23. Chapter 23: Black out in class

_**Black Falcon 01 appears again with another chapter of Taming Kestrel, as promised, I'm doing my best to maintain regular chapter updates, this chapter is a peaceful one but I'm hoping that its interesting enough for everyone, this chapter has a bit of horror concerning Kestrel's traumitised mind so... be ready for it. Anyway, enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 23

\- IS academy cafateria -

Minutes had passed since Ichika had spilt the beans on the fact that Kestrel was suffering from P.T.S.D, and was now living to regret his mouth betraying him, but at the same time... nobody could blame him, he said it with the best intentions in a form of protecting Kestrel. Kestrel had been suffering constant glompings and over affectionate horse play from the girls and with the fact of mental trauma playing on the child's mind, the risks had only just hit Ichika and as an act of protecting the vulnerable child, the japanesse boy had opened his mouth and let loose with the words that he and his friends had vowed to keep secret. As the six random schoolgirls stood in 2 groups, 3 in each group on both sides of Ichika, with their faces up against his.

The faces of Honne, Yuzu, Sakuya, Tatenashi and Tina remained still and motionless, the only one not paying any attention to the moment was Kestrel, whom remained eating calmly. Ichika envied the child, the Israeli boy's youth and vulnerableness kept him out of trouble of the older people's conversation. Ichika looked left and then to right, the terrible feeling of sick irony and dread spread through him like wild fire, and as Ichika swallowed a thin amount of slobber in his mouth one of the random IS schoolgirls blinked, her brown eyes stared deeply into Ichika's eyes and in a very curious tone says the words Ichika was praying would NOT come from anyone's mouth "Say that again please". Ichika holds both hands up in defence and puts a nervous face on, even though Ichika was only half way through his meal, the feeling of the amount he has just eaten is like now starting to churn in a very sickening way due to the fear in his body.

Tatenashi rolls her eyes and puts her index finger to her forehead, umoung the group of girls, Tatenashi is the most understanding, so it would have been far better if only she, Honne, Tina, Yuzu and Sakuya were the only ones to know, but now... Ichika is facing a senario that he could have done without.

"Did you just say that little Kestrel here suffers from P.T.S.D?" - A girl with short black hair asks, her green eyes fixed on Ichika's brown eyes.

Ichika turns his head left to right and quickly stutters the words, "P..Please, don't speak out loud, it was supposed to be a secret!". Even though Ichika's voice is a low hiss, the desperation is clear as day, fortuneatley all six girls instantly notice and instead cast looks at each other and then, without hesitation, grab Ichika by the arms and drag him over to their table. Ichika's face has a shocked and curious. A sweatdrop rolls down the side of his temple, as Ichika is pulled over, the hushed voices can soon be heard by Honne and the others. Tina finishes the last of her lunch while saying out in a mocking tone "That Ichika, he'll kill himself one of these days!". Tatenashi proceededs to finish the last of her lunch, after witnessing Kestrel being very busy eating away from his Ramen.

As Honne, Sakuya and Yuzu soon join, a bright idea suddenly comes to Tina's mind. "Hey, I just found an idea! This little kid has had it hard right!? So why don't we take him out somewhere!?". Tatenashi turns her head and shakes her head, Honne, Sakuya and Yuzu look at the blue haired Russian girl and wait to see what the Russian female has to say. As the blue haired Russian swallows a mouthfull of food, the Russian smiles slightly and speaks out "Its a nice thought, but he's been out twice in just one week and each venture out turned out to be a nasty disaster". Tina rolls her eyes and sighs, the frustraition is evident in the American girl's voice. Honne smiles awkwardly while munching on her own portion of food, but at least Yuzu speaks for her. "Don't feel bad, its the thought that counts".

Tina only sends back a brief smile and rolls her eyes, the American girl now feeling helpless. As Tina stares at the surface of the grey table a sudden and cheerful call comes from Honne, "Well, its May right now, so we don't have to wait long for summer break, in 2 months time we'll be going out on school funded trips and such". As Tina hears these words her spirits rise instantly, as he lifts her head, Tatenashi casts a look over to the American blonde both girls think of exactaly the same thing and in a twist of irony or coincidence both raise an idex finger and speak at the same time. "I've got an idea!".

**\- Scene change, IS classrooms 18:30pm -**

"Okay everyone, that concludes today's lessons!" A cheerful voice speaks out, its owner being the famous Maya Yamada. As Maya stacks her books with a cheerful smile on her face, many students rise from their seats and make a kind respectful bow. The bow lasts for a few seconds and as it ends, the students all turn to each other, each and everyone has a cheerful and pleasant face, low and kind conversation fills the entire classroom. The exceptions being Kestrel and Ichika, however for Ichika, the day had been very foul, but that was mostly due to his own mistakes.

Ever since lunch ended Ichika had not been able to focus on any of his lessons, ressulting in him getting either a shouting or wack on the back of the head by a rolled up book. Kestrel needless to say was in the same boat due to him not understanding a word that anyone was saying. Sure Kestrel was being given Japanesse lessons, but he was realy not managing, the child was only able to handle the basics on child level, so it would naturaly be a while before Kestrel could understand anything the teachers or students were saying.

For Ichika the problem was how to explain the fact that he had given the game away to a bunch of random girls. They had promised Ichika that they would not say a word, but the promise came with a bargin point, in return... Ichika was to take the 6 girls out to resturants, study with them and let them in on any gossip. For Ichika the problem was like the weight of a thousand bricks crushing his head and body, he felt sick... he had no clue as to how to explain the situation to Houki and the others. One thing is for sure, they would surely kill him if they got their chance.

As Ichika slams his head onto his desk, frustrated stress very nearly causes Ichika to start crying. Even as Ichika puts both hands on the back of his head and clutches it in frustration, the stress is becoming intense. Kestrel whom remains seated at the back notices this and only tilts his head. A question mark appears comic style over the small child's head. However, for Ichika the problem gets ever more worse as his blessed childhood friend Houki appears and coughs out as a way of letting Ichika know she is standing inches away from him. Ichika instantly responds and lifts up his head in fear, he manages to put on a brave face and smile awkwardly at Houki. As he looks at his childhood friend, he notices her arms are folded and an inquisitive look is on the Japanesse girl's face. "Whats the matter with you?", Houki speaks out in a low tone. Ichika merely stutters and desperately tries to find an answer, he sweats beads on the side of his head, he wants to run screaming down the corridors but he can't find the strength to do it.

Amazingly Houki manages to help Ichika out by saying "Its time for us to spar, You did remember our sparing practice was after lessons didn't you!?".

For Ichika, the moment is almost like an angel from heaven has smiled on him. He places a hand on the back of his head and nervously chuckles the words, "Ah yeah, sorry about that... I was real nervous about it thats all!". Houki rolls her eyes, shakes her head and huffs, "God's sake Ichika! You're such a pain at times!". Ichika finaly finds the strength to move and manages to pull himself out of his seat and stands up straight.

The relief that Houki hasn't found out whats realy wrong with him is a sheer blessing, but deep down... Ichika knows its only a matter of time before Houki and the others know what he's so stressed over, the main problem being what to say or what to do when he is out of options and found out. Houki however wastes no time and grabs Ichika by the arm and begins to drag him out of the classroom, as the pair leave the classroom, the schoolgirls that fill the room all look with sweatdrops or with envious looks. Its long been a dream to be part of sparring practice with Houki and Ichika, but with the two being highly skilled aswell as strict in methods of sparring with long wooden swords, the fears of being badly hurt or scolded is simply to heavy for most of the schoolgirls to handle.

Even so, as Houki and Ichika leave the classroom, the IS schoolgirls all continue to gossip to each other, some leave the classroom to go to after school clubs, others however remain in the classroom and look, point and whisper to each other about little Kestrel. Since Kestrel's quick victory in the IS battle the child has become the number one academy celebrity. Many girls have tried to fuss the child but all or most have been driven away by Ichika, Houki and the others. The main protectors have been Kestrel's shotacon lovers, Konoe, Rie and Yuno. If Kestrel could talk class A japanesse he would admit that he would rather be left alone, but he would also admit that he would be lost and confused without them to help in times of need.

Kestrel's lack of understanding of the Japanesse lingo ironically has saved his bacon in many points today, many Japanesse girls have tried to ask him questions about how he felt in battle, and one thing is for sure... If Kestrel was asked questions that he finds difficult to answer, the child would be in a terrible depressed state by now. However Kestrel's problems are nowhere near over for today... as Kestrel looks down, away from the faces of 4 IS schoolgirls whispering and pointing at him, a brief flash of movement makes the child turn his head. As Kestrel looks over to the left over at the corner of the IS classroom a white fire burns, Kestrel's heart starts to beat slowly but deeply, cold sweat rolls down the side of his temple as multiple and sinister demonic whispers in unknown lingo fill the child's ears.

Kestrel blinks, lowers his head and rubs his eyes in fear. As the child looks over at the classroom corner, the white flames have grown, scorching the ceiling and leaving pitch black, red hot patches. Kestrel's breathing slows down to a near stop and the child's eyes widen in fear. Suddenly... a little girls voice speaks out from behind Kestrel, the voice is sorrow filled and sounds like tiny desperate plea. "Help me Kestrel, Help me".

As Kestrel turns his head rapidly to the right, he sees nothing. The air becomes thick for the child, he turns his head back to the left and notices a pale skinned woman in a torn and bloody, white coloured swimsuit. The sight causes Kestrel to tremble, the child can't summon his strength to move, his arms, legs and body won't respond to his mind's comands. White flames envelop the bloody woman, the woman has all her limbs, but the dead woman has a total of 3 bullet holes in her body, Kestrel can see all the way through the holes. The woman then begins to move, white fire remains around the woman's body, burning with power, the woman's eyes are on fire. To Kestrel, it looks like the woman is a zombie burning in pure white fire.

The situation is too much for the helpless Israeli child, and as a ressult the child places his hands over the sides of his head and he closes his eyes, sweat rolls down the side of his temple, the child's heart beats fast out of control in utter fright. As Kestrel opens his eyes again, the room has changed... instead the child finds himself on the top of a ridge, he lowers his arms, and rapidly looks around, nobody is around, the place ressembles the middle east. A possible valley region with only short and light growing desert plant life, as Kestrel looks around, he calms down, untill he looks down...

Kestrel gasps in terror, he looks into an open and freshly dug grave, mass hundreds of bloodied and mutilated bodies of men, women and children lay motionless, some severed heads look up at the child with wide and terrified eyes. Kestrel stumbles backwards and closes his eys in desperation. As he opens his eyes again, he finds himself back in the classroom, but nobody is around. All that greats the child is the burning, dead woman... walking forward towards him like a zombie, stumbling and twitching. Kestrel can't move, he looks away in terror, as he looks forward again the woman face is only inches away from Kestrel's, the child goes pure white and starts to shake out of control, tears of terror roll down Kestrel's face.

The woman opens her mouth in a very abnormal way, the jaw unhinges and drops low stretching the mouth, Kestrel finally summons his strength and manages to call out in distress, the dead, zombie woman fires up a massive amount of blood, shattered teath and white fire. Everything goes black, the turn stops and the child falls to the floor clutching himself and shouting out multiple Israeli phrases in distress. Kestrel's body losses strength, his head becomes heavy and the nothing but exhaustion overwhelms his body. Everything goes dark and nothing but slumber overwhelms him as the childs traumitised eyes roll upwards into his head, followed by the complete loss of conciousness.

In a darkened void, nothing but stange, un-familiar female voices fill the void, then... light appears in the form of eye lids parting. The source being Kestrel being brought round back to reality by the IS academy nurse. Kestrel's eyes slowly open, nothing but blurred and multi-visioned human shapes and faces great the child's eyes. As Kestrel blinks a terrible ache erupts through his head causing Kestrel to put a hand to his forehead in agony.

Then... as Kestrel closes his eyes and slowly re-opens them, the faces of nervous and concerned IS schoolgirls great him, the academy nurse is amoungst them. As Kestrel's bearings return he feels himself layed down on the ground, but at least the pain in his head now goes away. As Kestrel begins to pick himself of the floor the many IS schoolgirls back away in order to give the child breathing space, the academy nurse places a hand at the back of Kestrel's head and places another on the child's chest. As Kestrel manages to sit up straight, the academy nurse turns to a long brunette schoolgirl and says something in Japanesse. Kestrel notices this, and watches with curiosity as the schoolgirl turns and rushes out of the classroom.

As Kestrel lowers his head to look at his hands, the fingers are apart and the palms are open and visible, as the child turns his hands over to look at the tops and knuckles. The academy nurse places a hand on the child's forehead. Kestrel jumps slightly at the sudden feeling of the nurse placeing her hand on his forehead and begins to tremble. As he rolls his eyes left to right, he notices a total of 20 IS schoolgirls speaking calmly to him and then to the nurse, the nurse only replys in a calm tone. Although Kestrel can't make out what these women are saying he knows that he is in good hands.

"What on earth happened?" The knelt down nurse asks while turning her head to look up at a pair of schoolgirls. Both IS schoolgirls look at each other and then back at the nurse, the first of these schoolgirls has short, dark blue hair and green eyes. Her face is calm, but full of concern as she looks down at the scar faced child. "I don't know what happened, he just started stareing at the walls, turned his head a few times, screamed, panicked for some reason then fell on the floor wrything as if he was a worm in bleach". The random schoolgirl speaks in a concerned tone.

The nurse rolls her eyes and in a calm voice speaks the words, "Another turn, the poor child". As the nurse looks down at the sat up child she places a hand carefully on the child's shoulder, she sighs and with a final look at the ceiling speaks in a very low and careful tone, her face is serious yet full of concern. "You girls have seen something that I was wanting to avoid, so I guess its best I explain whats wrong right here and now". The 20 differant IS schoolgirls become tense and send nervous and concerned looks to each other, all in suspense as to what the nurse has got to say. As the Nurse turns her head to look up at the standing schoolgirls, the nurse asks a question in a very low tone. "Can I trust you all with what I'm about to tell you?".

The schoolgirls look at each other one final time before looking at the nurse with concerned looks. The nurse sighs and with quick lowering of the head, looks up and says in a very clear tone "This Child... is suffering from what is known as Post-traumatic stress, and its a very serious case, the child has had a very, very bad upbringing... so I must ask that you all keep a close eye on him if he's around with you all". The IS schoolgirls go white in the face, some blink in surprise, yet some still find the strength to talk. "Post Traumatic stress? W..Whats happened to him?" a short, green haired girl with a long braid asks in wonder. The nurse sends a frown back and speaks in a low and strict voice "That, I can't say... I don't even know the full details myself, theres some things he hasn't even told us yet, and even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you all because you wouldn't even dare imagine what the child's endured!".

As Kestrel casts curious looks to the nurse and then back to the schoolgirls, a girl with firey, long orange hair points down at Kestrel and speaks the words "So that explains the scar on his face and the ones I saw on his back". Less than 2 seconds later another girl with twin black pigtails speaks "Yeah, it also explains why he freaked out in the IS training range".

Although the subject is supposed to be confidential, the nurse knows all to well that the incidents are spreading wildly causing concern, so its a good thing that Chifuyu came prepared and gave clearance for the child's disorder to be made public knowledge following the child's IS victory. As the schoolgirls look at each other with guilty expressions, Yui dashes into the classroom, the look of fear is on the woman's face. "KESTREL! Is he okay!?" Yui asks, the schoolgirls clear a path instantly for the office woman to walk through.

As Yui rushes up to the scar faced child sat on the cold classroom floor, the nurse places a hand on Yui's shoulder. As Yui looks into the nurses face, the nurse casts a serious look at the woman and speaks the words "Hes okay, but I've had to tell the students about whats wrong with the child, we best let miss Orimura know". Yui closes her eyes and nods, as she stands to her feet and takes Kestrel's hand, Yui looks over at the nurse and and speaks in a very serious tone "Okay, I'll take Kestrel to miss Orimura, he'll be safe there with her for the time being".

As the nurse stands up from her kneeling position the look of concern and worry is on the white coated woman's face. As the two women engage in small talk, the IS schoolgirls look down at Kestrel and all have the looks of pure guilt and sorrow, one girl with long blonde hair speaks in a guilty tone "The poor brat, he's been suffering all this time an yet all we've been doing is spreading bad rumors about him". Another schoolgirl with a blue pony tail speaks the words "My god, the poor lil' kid", as the mutterings of pity begin to fly, Kestrel observes the group and notices the change, the main emotion running through the child's mind being curiosity and nerve.

**\- Scene change / IS cafateria - 19:20pm -**

It had been merely a few minutes since the alarm was raised, but thankfully Chifuyu was able to respond with lightning reaction. The main difficulty of the problem being how to explain Kestrel's mind condition to the IS students and how the students should deal with it. Even as Chifuyu stood with her arms folded and spoke in a very serious tone to the mass numbers of IS schoolgirls, the mighty Chifuyu was unable to escape the feeling of dread, the last thing the IS academy staff wanted was for the child to be seen as a freak or bad omen, but... Chifuyu had an ace up her sleeve, her ace being none other than her younger brother. Since Kestrel's arrival Ichika had done nothing but aid the said youngster, regardless of what occurred.

One thing was for certain, when Ichika is involved the IS schoolgirls would go and over the top in order to back up the said Japanesse boy. Chifuyu felt high levels of pride as she spoke out how well Ichika had been aiding the Israeli child, although she would never admit it, she was proud to be her younger brother's older sister. Many IS schoolgirls felt the same, the image being clear on their faces as Ichika was being mentioned. Ichika himself wasn't amongst the schoolgirl army, but at least he would wake up the next morning and feel a great pressure had been lifted of his chest. Finally... after 1 hour of strict words Chifuyu sent out a very fierce glare and barked the words...

"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?". Every single schoolgirl stood straight and called out in a very lound tone "YES MA'AM!".

As Chifuyu looks down a smug smile comes across her face, and with a quick swivel looks over at Maya and speaks in an jokeful yet serious tone "Okay Maya, dismiss these morons!". Maya smiles brightly and bows in acknowledgement. As Chifuyu walks away calmly Maya claps her hands and in her cheerful yet usual tone speaks out "Okay everyone, get ready for bed, its a big day again tomorrow!". As the schoolgirl army disperses and starts to slowly walk out of the cafateria chatting and gossiping, Maya rushes over to join Chifuyu.

"Its quite the set back, us having to make little Kestrel's condition known to everyone" - Maya exclaims with an anxious tone and nervous face.

"Hmph! Not really" - Chifuyu speaks out with a smug and proud look on her face. Maya however is unable to read the sign and asks in her usual and neutral tone. "What do you mean by that?".

"That dopey brother of mine may have just given us a lucky break! At least we don't have to worry about the students treating the kid like an alien here!" - Chifuyu states out with a tone of full and uncontained pride. Maya instantly gets the picture and smiles brightly, but the smile is short lived. "Yes, but... is it really a good idea to approve of the next IS battle with Kestrel so soon?". As Maya finishes her nervously asked question, Chifuyu's serious face returns and with a strict glare ahead of her, speaks the words "That child has hidden tallents, you saw it yourself the way he fought today.

If anything... that IS of his is a topic we can NOT overlook. Make no mistake about it, I want to see what happens tommorrow and most importantly... we WILL unlock any secrets that Kestrel holds!". Maya puts on a serious face and looks ahead of her, she makes a single nod while walking directly beside the mighty Chifuyu.

As the two teachers walk away down a corridor, Cecilia, Rin and Tomoe walk along with the mass army of schoolgirls, each and every female is constantly on the gossip about what they have just been told. Its big news and something is not going to be forgotten in a hurry, many schoolgirls are looking at each other with straight faces while others look at each other with faces of guilt. "So Kestrel has suffered from trauma this whole time?" a short silver haired girl asks Tomoe with a concerned look. Tomoe nods and speaks in a very soft and cautious tone "Yeah, hes had a realy hard time since coming here, so if any of you girls want to help the poor kid I would suggest using a small and careful approach".

The silver haired girl turns to her friends and begins to speak in to as many as 10 or 20 schoolgirls at once, Since Chifuyu mentioned Tomoe being one of the main heronies in Kestrel's long drawn out fight to recovery, nearly every single schoolgirl has gone up to the purple haired beauty to get as much knowledge as possilbe on how to deal with the 10 year old youngster in IS academy care. For Tomoe it was a very flattering moment, not the least to say it still is, but at least she's being given a chance to make a point be known for the best intentions.

It also gives Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura and Houki a chance to speak to each other without fear of being interupted or for that matter disturbed by any random IS female. The main subject on the 5 girls mind was not just the concern for Ichika and Kestrel, but what the concern for what could happen tommorrow. With Laura being the only one with any inside information, going over to see what the German female had discovered or had overheard was by now a very common thing for Houki and the others. Upon being told that a second IS battle was to take place against Kestrel, the reaction was one of both shock and surprise, Charlotte amazingly was the one least affected but by the look on her face, the concern was still there. "For real!? Kestrel is going into battle again tommorrow!?" Rin exclaims in a surprised tone.

Laura places both hands behind her back while walking forward, the said German girl looks down for a moment and then back up, the German female takes a breath before speaking in a serious tone, "Thats right, I for one am not very supportive of this up coming battle, theres no data on the child's IS and the child seems to have hidden skills, I can't help but get the feeling, tommorrow is just going to be a repeat of what happened today!".

As Laura finishes her statement, Cecilia looks up at the ceiling with a nervous look, as the British blonde lowers her head and looks over at everybody, she speaks with confidence, but the fear is still in her voice. "I for one am quite interested in what happens tommorow, after all... a bit of confrontation may help kill the child's fears and concerns".

Charlotte lowers her head, her face is full of concern, as is her voice. "Maybe, but Laura has a point... the way Kestrel fought this morning was if he was possessed by something, and if that be the case... who's to say the kid isn't going remain in control of his actions tommorrow". As Charlotte finishes speaking, Rin becomes involved with her normal and calm tone. Rin has a serious looking frown on her face and as she looks over at Laura, Cecilia and Charlotte on her left, the chinesse brunette speaks in a tone as if it is a serious matter of fact. "You can look at it like that, but from what I saw this morning, Kestrel managed to regain control of himself as soon as that unfortunate German bitch was laying on the floor with her ass kicked... No offense Laura!" Rin puts on a cautious face and holds up a hand towards Laura as a means of trying to prevent any quarel. Laura gets a temper patch on the side of her temple but manages to keep her cool, even though the German girl is wanting to polverise Rin for the sharp tounged remark. "None... Taken!". Laura hisses, her single unpatched eye holding some uncontainable amounts of irritation and anger.

Houki whom walks between Laura and Rin manages to defuse any straying from the subject by putting on a straight face and speaking in a calm voice. "Regardless of what has happened today, the main factor we should look at is the fact that we have no info on Kestrel's IS, if we wish know more about what type of weapon that thing is, the only way we can find out for ourselves is by letting Kestrel go into combat tommorrow". Cecilia instantly acknowledges Houki, but looks at the Japanesse girl with a concerned face, her voice is full of curiousity "I'm not saying anything against that, but don't you think it could be considered child abuse to force a child into a battle on such short notice!?". As Cecilia finishes her statement, Laura and everyone else looks down in pity, the feeling of guilt hits Laura in the head, and although the strong and disciplined girl is trained to feel no emotion, but since Kestrel arrived, its a fair assumption that humanitarian insincts have kicked in. Ready to drop the subject altoghter Laura casts a final look at Cecilia and with a sigh, speaks the words "I don't approve of this battle anymore than you do, but in the mean time I suggest we follow instructor Orimura's instructions and just do our best for the Israeli child".

As the Laura and the group look ahead of them, following the mass groups of IS schoolgirls out of the cafateria, the same question in all 5 of the girl's minds. ( Whats going to happen tommorrow!? ).

_**Okay everyone, thats chapter 23, the next chapter should have IS combat briefing and such, I'm not sure if the next chapter has the next battle or if it will be the one after. I usually make these chapters up as I go along, but it still seems to work anyway... anyway to get to the point, keep reading and reviewing. Wishing you all the best!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	24. Chapter 24: Ready for round two?

_**Black Falcon 01 returns yet again with chapter 24, in regards of fanfic writing its fair to say 'YEAH! I'M BACK BABY, BACK!". Anyway, I don't want to burden everyone with the usuall introductions so I'll say please read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 24

IS Academy/ Ichika's bedroom/ 21:30pm -

Ichika practacly let himself collapse down on his bed, he was exhausted. All day the Japanese boy had been running, twisting, flipping, sparring and above all else worrying. As the softness of Ichika's pillow contacted Ichika's face, the feeling of utter bliss washed over Ichika's body. The comfort of being in his pajamas, laying down on a soft and comfy matress with a good quilt was practacly heaven for his exhausted body. As the Japanesse boy rolled over on his back to look at the ceiling, the feeling of relief ran all over him. For such a good hearted guy like Ichika, the feeling of relief was that he knew that a great weight had been lifted off his chest. The feeling being that he no longer had to hold the secret that Kestrel had P.T.S.D, the memory of Houki walking up to Ichika and telling him that he no longer had to keep Kestrel's mental sickness a secret kept playing over and over in Ichika's head.

The said Japanesse boy smiled brightly as he wearily looked up at the ceiling, the feeling is like an angel smiling down on him from heaven, Ichika had not felt such overwhelming happiness in years. Ichika's mind overlooking the fact that he nearly screamed in happiness upon knowing that didn't have to keep his mouth sealed and having to follow on with the bargin point that those six random schoolgirls had forced him into doing. Even though Ichika was out of trouble with the schoolgirls, he knew that he had to explain everything to Houki and the others before any of those schoolgirls got there first. However Ichika merely overlooked the problem, he was too happy to focus on any more problems. The feeling in his chest was like a bouncy child, and deep down Ichika felt that he was cheering and jumping in utter happiness. As Ichika spread his arms and legs open on the bed, he merely blinked in joy.

Suddenly... a sudden knock at the door caused Ichika to turn his head, as Ichika sprung to his feet the smile did not leave his face. Even as Ichika walked calmly to his large mahogany door the feeling of excitement did not leave his body, as Ichika came to a stop and reached down for the handle he could hear female voices on the other side of his bedroom door. It was at that point, that his smile left his face and the feeling of normality ran through his body. ( "Who the heck is this at a time like this?" ), Ichika thought in a very inquisitive tone. As Ichika pulled down on the shinny, gold door handle, Ichika confidently pulled, taking a step backwards to allow his door to open, the sight that greeted him took him utterly by surprise. Greeting Ichika was a group of scantaly clad dressed females, the thin differant coloured silk nighties happily hugged the beautifuly curved bodies of each and every girl. However Ichika, being the dense and gentleman figure, easily managed to evade the arousing side of the situation, but what did catch Ichika's eyes was that all these young ladies was holding a single solitary box each in their hands. Ichika was also taken by surprise by the amount of females outside his door, there has to be at least 20 or even 30.

As Ichika leant back in surprise before blinking, one of the girls spoke. A long blonde haired girl with piercing green eyes and a Canadian flag emblazoned on her light blue, silk night dress. "Orimura... we all wanted to say well done for taking care of lil' Kestrel, so... we... thought that maybe, you'd like to have something for your trouble". The Canadian female spoke, her face getting a slight flush of red under the eyes. As the Canadian female finishes talking she holds up a small white box, Ichika can only blink in curiosity as he looks intently at the white box. Then, another girl with black hair and twin buns on her head speaks, holding up a small green circular box. "This is from me to little Kestrel", the unknown girl speaks in a very friendly tone. Ichika sends back a smile as he glances his eyes over the many differant, random female faces, each one with a smile and a small blush under the eyes.

"Speaking of which, where is little Kestrel?" an American girl with a type of cowgirl'ish accent asks trying to look around Ichika. Ichika holds up both hands, maintains a friendly smile but is clearly uncomfortable by the the random girl's sudden question and brief and eager movements in trying to find the Israeli boy. Needless to say the other girls all stand on tip-toe or lean down trying to look around Ichika, and it only takes a few random seconds untill an Italian accented girl points past Ichika and with a cheerful tone speaks the words "There he is! He's laying down on that bed". Ichika puts on nervous and anxious face and places both arms outwards, stretched, to order to bar the way into the bedroom.

As Ichika braces himself for a sudden charge forward he quickly and nervously speaks out "Ah..Okay ladies I know you want to talk to Kestrel, but he's had a hard day and all so... I think we'd better not disturb him... heh,heh... he needs to sleep after all". As Ichika finishes speaking he suddenly closes his eyes, a psychological mallet hits him on the top of the head, ( "You idot, you just tried one of the oldest tricks in the book!" ), Ichika thinks to himself in utter frustration. The point being made clear when a green ponytailed schoolgirl blushes, kneels down to look under Ichika's arm and affectionatly speaks the words "Look at his face!". Ichika can only close his eyes and smile awkwardly as another girl points and with a sympathetic tone speaks the words, "I know that position, its called 'fetal'. Thats a person does when they've suffered a very terrible experience".

At this point Ichika's prayers are answered when one of the girls in a long, pink, silk nightgown speaks in a very soft and kind voice "Yeah, and by the looks of it Kestrel looks real tired, so... I do appologise Orimura, could you give this to Kestrel?, and tell him that my door is always open if he needs a friend".

As the blue eyed, brunette girl hands over a blue square box to Ichika, Ichika can only take the box and send a smile back. "Thankyou, I will tell Kestrel okay?". Ichika speaks out in a very friendly tone. As the girl bows kindly to Ichika and bids him goodnight with her hand, the other schoolgirls suddenly remember the time and that tommorrow is supposed to be important. All girls in front of Ichika then proceede to hand over multiple lots of differant coloured and shaped boxes, forcing Ichika to use both arms to hold and in effect, struggle to acknowledge the girls kindess.

Although unable to bow, he makes a series of cheerful "Thank you's" and other small grateful phrases. Even as the girls walk away, smile and claim that they will see Ichika and Kestrel in the morning, Ichika can not help but get the feeling that he has inadvertantly just made things worse with Kestrel. All of the girls had offered their friendship and even a space in their rooms if Kestrel needed to spend the night with someone other than Ichika. Sure, its the thought that counts, but as Ichika slings the many boxes onto the bedroom floor making a series of high cluttering sounds, Ichika lets out a sigh as he looks at the sleeping Israeli child. Kestrel lays down on his right side, knees held to his chest, the child's long black hair spread out like a beautiful cascaded waterfall. The child's eyes are peacefully shut, the scar on his face blazes with an angered image on his small, peaceful sleeping face.

Ichika can only look down and sigh in a weary manner, even as he closes the door, letting out its typical 'Click', the feeling of worry is on Ichika's chest, yet... at the same time Ichika feels pride at knowing that all the many differant schoolgirls would be there for the traumitised child if he needed aid. ( "Okay... I've managed to evade one obsticle, now I have another" ), The Japanese boy thinks to himself as he looks down at the scattered boxes of sweets and silk hankerchiefs that have tumbled out of the boxes and have litterly scattered left, right and Centre across the bedroom.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

( "Phew, finaly done!" ) Ichika thinks to himself, a triumphant look is on his face. Despite being able to clear up the mess that was accidently made the triumphant feeling is sadly short lived.

As Ichika unfolds the sheets and prepares to get to get into bed, a small whimper makes the Japanese boy turn his head. Ichika instantly looks over at Kestrel, his face is full of concern. As Ichika's eyes rest on the Israeli child, he notices the scar faced boy crying in his sleep. Kestrel is trembling, letting out small whimpers and muttering unknown phrases in his native tounge.

Ichika wastes no time and instantly springs up and onto his feet, his face is full of serious concern. "Kestrel?" Ichika speaks out in a very nervous, yet serious tone. As Ichika walks over to the shaking Israeli boy, he notices that although the child is layed in the fetal position, the child is clutching himself tight. As Ichika gets to Kestrel's bed, his heart beats in utter fear, it looks like a repeat of that horrific nightmare that Kestrel had not to long ago. With fear in his heart, coursing through his entire body Ichika leaps onto Kestrel's bed, he grabs ahold of Kestrel's arm, rolling him over and breaking him out of the fetal postion, but the child does not awaken. As Ichika begins to rock the child by the shoulders as carefully as he can, he speaks in a low, and stern, yet careing tone. "Kestrel, Kestrel!".

For Ichika the situation can only be described as a living nightmare, the child's crying does not stop, cold sweat streams down the child's temple, and the strong vibrations of the child's terrified shaking spread up Ichika's arm and into his body. Then... as quickly as it begins... Kestrel stops shaking, his sorrow filled ocean, blue eyes suddenly open. The look of distress is on the child's face, but at least this time he isn't screaming and panting deeply.

As soon as Kestrel's eyes open and the said Israeli boy starts to roll his head around in fear and curiosty, Ichika's face becomes relaxed, a crisis has just been averted. As Kestrel blinks, sniffles and looks up into the kind eyes of Ichika, the child lowers his head to look at Ichika's body. The Israeli boy closes his eyes, sorrow filled tears rush down his face, Ichika notices and places a hand on Kestrel's pitch, black, long hair. The child begins to sob, and merely grasps ahold of one of Ichika's hands, even though the child is crying with his mouth partialy open and the sobs are held in as much as possible, Ichika knows the amount of distress the child is in, and pulls the traumitised child to his chest. As Ichika holds the child tightly the feeling of utter sorrow pity becomes nearly overwhelming, very nearly ressulting in Ichika crying aswell, thankfully the said Japanesse boy brings his emotions under control and holds in his pitty.

Ichika and Kestrel remain in the comforting embrace for what seems like hours and once the two males part, Kestrel suffers from exhaustion, the child's crying has stopped completley but the effects are still evident on the Israeli boy. The child only moves a fair amount after lowering his head in respect to Ichika and speaking in a very timid and tired voice, speaking the word "Thank you, Th...Thank you Ichika". Ichika can only send out a very warm and friendly smile and as Ichika watches the child rest his head on his pillow and cover himself over with his bedsheets, Ichika replies in a very kind tone "Don't worry about it Kes, you just get rested up okay". As Ichika pats the child on the shoulder, Ichika looks over at his bedroom clock, its 22:00pm. Instantly snapping to it, the brief feeling of fear rushes over the Japanesse boy. The last thing he wants is to be caught awake by a member of staff, even as Ichika turns of his bedroom lamp and gets under his bedsheets Ichika casts one final look at Kestrel, the child's pale face looking peaceful and innocent. The child is deep slumber, the moonlight that shines through the bedroom window lights up the entire room.

Ichika makes a small smile and as he rests his head on the softness of his pillow, one thought runs through his head. ( "Be safe here my friend, and god... I know I'm asking a lot of you, but please... help this kid, he's in pain... please don't let him suffer" ). Even though he knows prayer dosen't always give much reasurance, its the only thing Ichika can do to find some form of salvation for the sleeping Israeli child.

**\- Scene Change/ IS cafateria/ 07:00am -**

To say the least, Ichika managed to get a very good night's sleep. The Japanesse boy still unaware that a good night sleep was well and truly needed because had he been told about Kestrel having to go into another IS battle, the ressult would have left Ichika restless for the entire night. For the moment the knowledge that Kestrel's second IS battle was today, remained unknown for the moment, and even then, Ichika wouldn't be told. Chifuyu had other ideas for Ichika today. Anyhow... as Ichika and Kestrel sat side by side each other at a corner table in the IS cafateria the main subject on everybody's mind was making sure little Kestrel felt welcome.

It was intended by many to great the traumitised little child as he left Ichika's bedroom, but due to a certain gut feeling in Ichika's body, ressulting in the sound of an early morning shower, Kestrel was drawn to the realm of awakeness. Though it was unintentional, Kestrel was brought out of his slumber at 05:40am. Even though Ichika had attempted to convince Kestrel in getting back to sleep and have an extra hour of slumber, Kestrel showed no intentions of getting his head back down. For the many females that have only just been given knowledge of Kestrel's P.T.S.D, the disapointment struck hard, but at least the many IS schoolgirls didn't feel too badly put out, the sight of the said Israeli youngster sitting beside Ichika and eating a small breakfast, was enough to compensate the feeling.

Ichika and Kestrel sit together alone in the cafateria when the first IS schoolgirls appear to the 2 restless males, so at least the many kind hearted females would have their chance to great the traumitised Israeli boy.

What the IS schoolgirls don't immediately notice is the 1,000 yard stare in Kestrel's emotion filled, ocean blue eyes. Even as Kestrel eats away on a slice of golden, buttered toast, the said Israeli child merely stares into nothingness whilst looking down, not a single whisper or whimper escapes the troubled child. Ichika on the other hand has a warm and bright look on his face as he eats away into his own breakfast, a small and light Japanesse special to start the day. The 20 or so IS schoolgirls do not rush up to the two sat down boys, but they don't take their eyes of them.

Ichika notices the IS schoolgirls calmly walk over to the food counters to get their breakfasts and gets a heavy feeling of relief wash over him as the line of beautiful and smartly dressed schoolgirls do not instantly rush over and swarm him and Kestrel. Ichika smiles in happy relief, he closes his eyes for a moment... even when the Japanese boy opens his eyes and carries on with his eating, a single thought suddenly comes to mind ( "If only it was like this all the time when we need it the most, then I may consider this place heaven on earth" ). For Ichika, its very flattering having girls from nearly all corners of the world swooning and fussing over him, but Ichika isn't like most men, most men would think the entire academy is a heavenly harem, but to a good hearted person like Ichika, the females here are merely equals to him and Kestrel. Ichika would never think of the girls here in a lewd and indecent manner, he is far too much of a Celibate Hero for that.

Kestrel being the same, except for the fact that Kestrel is a tormented child, and most probobly thinks of the IS academy as a living hell. As Ichika reaches the last portions of his breakfast the very thought hits Ichika hard. As Ichika puts on a very hurt expression and looks down at the child, knowing all too well what could be playing on the child's mind, Ichika's mind begins to wander ( "Poor Kestrel, I know what its like to be loved, but he dosen't even know what love even means or is. He's never had a family, and the only things he's ever known in life is pain and misery..." ), then as Ichika looks away and puts another fork full of food into his mouth, his facial expression returns to normal, a wild idea hits him in the head, ( "I wonder..." ) Ichika begins to think to himself. His brown eyes roll upwards as he swallows his mouthfull of food.

Ichika has always been a good hearted person, the idea being that if Kestrel has no where to go, Ichika could take care of him. Although Chifuyu and god knows whom would probably not approve of it, Ichika can't ignore the idea of doing something to support the mentaly wounded child. As Ichika becomes lost in his thoughts, a cheerful female voice snaps him back to reality. "Hello Orimura-senpai".

Ichika blinks in surprise and returns to reality, as he turns his head round he notices 4 differant, white uniformed schoolgirls. All are unknown to him, but he still manages to send back a very friendly smile and acknowledgement greeting. "Hey there, how are you girls doing?" Ichika replies with a happy tone. Kestrel whom is finishing of his toast only rolls his ocean blue eyes upwards and only slightly lifting his head.

The IS schoolgirl that speaks has a Norway flag on one sleave, brown eyes and bright Orange hair, her friends also have norway flags on their IS uniform sleaves. "Are these seats taken?" One of the girls asks with a pleasant smile on her face. Ichika merely shakes his head and motions with his hand in signal that the girls can sit down. The IS schoolgirls eyes all light up, and waste no time in joining the 2 boys.

The last person to join Ichika and the others as girl with long blonde hair and green eyes, only form of nationality on this girl is a Brazilian flag on her uniform sleave. Any other IS schoolgirls wanting to get close to the boys merely sit on the tables closest to the table Ichika and Kestrel are sitting at. Ichika does not fail to notice the struggles to whom gets to sit closest towards him and Kestrel and only closes his eyes, keeps a straight face and sweatdrops. After a few minutes, Ichika finaly finishes his light breakfast, a satisfied smile on his face, its been a while since hes tasted something so sweet. However, with nothing else to do at the moment, Ichika takes the chance to relax and lean back in his seat. The IS schoolgirls do ask Ichika if he's going anywhere, and put relieved faces on after Ichika claims that he and Kestrel are staying put untill its time for lessons.

"So Ichika, are you and Kestrel okay?" The green eyed Brazilian girl asks, just swallowing a mouthful of food. Ichika sends back a pleasant expression and instantly responds "Yeah, me and Kestrel are getting along perfectly".

"See... the thing is, we want to help with Kestrel" One of the Norweigen girls states, her eyes making full eye contact with Ichika. Ichika only smiles back and is about to reply when another of the Norway girls speaks in a definate tone "Its true, after being told of Kestrel's condition, we couldn't just stand and do nothing". For Ichika, its no surprise. In fact, Ichika was expecting a mass group to start coming forward and offering to help with Kestrel. Ichika however acknowledges the girls offers by holding up both hands and saying in a calm voice "Okay, Okay... You all have my blessings, but the thing is, Its not realy me you should be asking, its that girl called Tomoe Shimizuki". As soon as Ichika speaks those words, an entire group of IS schoolgirls gather around him and his table.

Obviously, Ichika is taken by surprise. All the girls remain silent, the many differant faces stare Ichika down with curiosity, waiting for him to speak. Ichika notices this and as he lowers his raised hands before turning his head round to look at all the many differant schoolgirl faces. "You see... well, I'm only just learning about people with P.T.S.D and as far as I can see, I'm the only one Kestrel trusts, that is... apart from miss sakurada". Ichika explains in a straight and normal tone, the many differant schoolgirls that have suddenly begun to gather around his table. The girls remain silent, each and every one listening with intent.

Ichika takes the chance to explain even further by saying "Its not that I don't trust anyone, its just that Tomoe has told me that people with this condition are extremely fragile, the last thing that anyone here wants is for Kestrel to get worse, so... if anyone here does want to help, I would suggest you all talk to either Tomoe or Yui".

"Did someone call me?" - Yui's voice speaks out from amongst the crowd. As soon as Yui's voice everybody turns their heads to the right to seek out the black haired office like woman. Ichika stands, notices Yui looking around for the person whom just spoke her name, and raises his hand. As he waves happily over to Yui, he calls out in a nearly overjoyed tone "Over here, Over here!". Then, Ichika gets a happy surprise when the mass schoolgirl group rushes over towards Yui, calling her name. Some girls proceede to ask Yui questions about permission to help aid little Kestrel where as others ask Yui about if she can help them learn to speak in Israeli. For Yui, it is shocking yet overwhelming in raising the woman's confidence in the job she is doing. Ichika feels a great deal of happiness and hope in regards to little Kestrel's condition. The said Israeli boy for the moment only looks in curiosity at the mass huddles of IS schoolgirls swarming around Yui, the child can only put on his innocent face and tilt his head, the only emotion on the child being a slight bit of concern for Yui. As Ichika and Kestrel look over at the sight playing before them the five random schoolgirls do nothing but go back to eating their breakfast, the last thing anyone wants to do is waste good food.

Then, a very welcomed voice breaks the slight silence over Ichika's table, upon hearing the voice Ichika and little Kestrel immediatley turn their heads to look forwards, the cheerful and friendly face of Charlotte welcomes the two boys eyes. "It looks like things here as a loud as usual", Charlotte states with a hint of amazement. Ichika can only smile slightly before returning his attention back to the many differant IS schoolgirls that are swarming around Yui. "Heh,heh... Yeah, apparently everbody is suddenly wanting to get involved with Kestrel and his mental health welfare" Ichika replies while sweatdropping at the sight of the many differant schoolgirls adding pressure to their questioning towards Yui. Charlotte closes her eyes for a moment and makes a small smile, and as she opens her eyes again to look at the sight she states a fact that Ichika can only instantly agree with. "Sort of obvious this would happen, but at least everyone here is acting with the best intentions".

Ichika turns his head to look at the French blonde, his face is calm and pleasant. "Thats what I thought last night when a whole bunch of the girls here turned up outside my bedroom door with a whole bunch of sweets for young Kestrel here". As Charlotte looks down at the sat down Israeli child, the said boy looks up at Charlotte and blinks in confusion. "Aaah... hee,hee... my bad, I sort of had a feeling that was going to happen, I was planning on warning you but everyone had gathered outside your bedroom before I had a chance to do anything". Charlotte states in a form of slight embarrasment as she shifts her attention from Kestrel to Ichika.

Ichika sends a warm and friendly look back at the French blonde and speaks in a kind tone "Hey don't worry about it, I think I handled the situation real well myself actually". Charlotte can only blush and look down in a bashfull manner, as the French blonde fidgets a stuttered question escapes the French blonde's lips, the question is hinted with desperation but at least Charlotte is being very, very brave in asking a personal question to the boy that she has such lovey, dovey feelings towards. "Ah... Ich.. Ichika, I was wondering, that if... you aren't busy this weekend, would... y..you like to go to the... Would you like to go with me to the brand new swimming pool and leisure park on saturday!". Charlotte fixes her eyes on the floor, her face is bright red and it is clear that the French blonde is shaking. Ichika picks up Charlotte's question and with a bright and pleasant look replies "Sure, I'd be happy to". As soon as Ichika replies those words to Charlotte, the French blonde's eyes light up, the said girl jumps happily off the ground. Causing Ichika and Kestrel to suddenly lean backward and blink in complete surprise, both unaware of what it is that the French girl is so happy about.

As Charlotte jumps again, her short IS uniform running up and showing her silky pink underware as she happily jumps, a sudden voice breaks the moment. "What are you so happy about!?". Theres no quess as to whom the person is, as Ichika and Kestrel look behind an overjoyed Charlotte they notice non other than the silver haired Laura bodewig. Charlotte ceases jumping and stands straight, a few seconds later places both hands behind her back, swivels round and casts a smug victorious smile at Laura.

Laura can only look in confusion at the French blonde, Charlotte does not say a single word and instead, walks away, chest stuck out. The French blonde merely strutting away in happiness like a peacock. As Charlotte walks away towards the food counters to order breakfast, Laura turns her attention over to Ichika and asks in a curious tone, "You wouldn't happen to be cheating on me would you my wife!" Laura's face has an angered expression, causing Ichika to leap back in surprise, he shakes his head violently. "W..What are you talking about!? Me and Kestrel here don't know nothing about nothing!". Ichika calls out in defence, the Japanese boy slightly using Kestrel as a form of defence. Kestrel on the other hand merely looks at the German girl and then over to the Norway girls, whom look at the Israeli child with sheer fascination. Although the Norway females and the Brazilian girl are calmly eating, their attention on Kestrel hasn't broken since the moment they sat down. Laura acknowledges Ichika's statement by folding her arms and smiles back with happiness.

The German girl's tone is full of confidence, "Ofcourse, how stupid of me, my wife would never cheat me would he!?". Ichika can only sweatdrop and chuckle in a very awkward manner. As Laura walks over to Ichika and Kestrel, the German girl's face changes from proud to concerned, she casts a short but brief glance down at Kestrel. Laura lets out a sigh before looking up at Ichika and speaking in a solemn tone. "Wife, Instructor Orimura wishes to speak to you this morning, Kestrel is needed by Yamada sensei". Ichika instantly catches Laura's deflated tone and in a very cautious and serious tone asks the words "Is something wrong? You sound like your sentancing someone to death!".

Laura can only look sternly at Ichika and speak in her military, strict like tone "If you have a problem with the choice that's being made, I suggest you take it up with Instructor Orimura". As soon as Laura speaks those words Ichika gets a terrible chill run up his spine. Ichika looks down at Kestrel whom is focused on the 5 strange females looking at both boys with fascinated looks on their faces.

As Ichika looks back at Laura, he notices Laura's face is white. "What? What choice is being made, what are you going to do with Kestrel?" Ichika speaks in a very stern tone, his face is serious with anger. Laura can understand Ichika's feelings of wanting to protect the Israeli child, but as painful as it is, she has no option but remain silent about Kestrel's second IS battle. "I'm sorry my wife, but Instructor Orimura will explain everything" Laura speaks out with a solemn tone, her face is full of pity yet at the same time, full of authority. Ichika's cool begins to fail and he raises his voice a slight amount, his heart is beating with fear, the main concern for the mentaly injured little boy sat down in front of him. "What? Chifuyu-nee? What does she have to do with all this!?" Ichika nearly barks in anger.

However, just at that moment... Chifuyu's voice appears from behind Ichika. "That's Orimura sensei Ichika! I won't tell you again!". Chifuyu's voice is full of stern anger, and as Ichika turns to face his sister Ichika speaks in a stressed tone "Orimura sensei... What are going to do with Kestrel!?". Chifuyu sends Ichika back a stern glare, from behind her, Maya hides behind Chifuyu's back, a nervous and awkward face is on the green haired teacher. "First of all Ichika Orimura, you will NOT speak out of term with me, Secondly you are needed by me today, Thirdly... what Kestrel is needed for today will be revealed in due course, and finally... you have five minutes to finish what your doing right now and to head over to classes, I'll speak to you personaly after your first lesson is over". Ichika can only look at his sister with a strict look, but the fierce expression of his sister is overwhelming and soon Ichika is forced to look down and sigh. His face is deflated and as he looks down at the curious Israeli boy looking over at Yui whom is begining to get some control over her unfortunate problem with the mass IS schoolgirls. As Ichika raises his head, he summons his strength with a final sigh, he speaks the words "Orimura sensei, do I have your word that Kestrel is in good hands?".

Chifuyu can only close her eyes and smirk, Ichika's kindess will get the better of him one day. As Chifuyu opens her eyes, she looks over at her younger brother and calmly speaks "Just trust us for once you dope of a brother!". A smirk is on the strict woman's face. From behind Maya turns her head to look over at Yui, and as quickly as she appears, rushes over to Yui's aid. Laura follows Maya, the guilt of knowing that Kestrel is being forced into a fight against his will is making Laura feel like a child murderer.

"Okay Ichika, if your finished, just follow me" Chifuyu speaks out in a tone of authority. Ichika casts one final look at Kestrel and sighs, the fear is clearly evident in his voice. Kestrel looks up at Ichika and blinks. Ichika knows the last thing he wants to do is put Kestrel into a state of panic, so to ease both his own aswell as Kestrel's nerves, Ichika places a hand Kestrel's shoulder and speaks in a very warm voice "You take care of yourself okay". Kestrel only blinks before turning his head to look at Yui and Maya, the Israeli child instantly knowing that something is wrong can only just look down at the table.

His small heart beating in anxiety as Ichika follows Chifuyu away from the table in a normal walking pace. As Kestrel follows Ichika and Chifuyu with his eyes all the way untill walking out of the cafateria althogether. After a few moments, Ichika and Chifuyu dissapear from view, leaving Kestrel with terrible sick feeling in his gut. The said child nearly jumps when a hand suddenly rests itself on the child's shoulder. As Kestrel looks up, his eyes meet with the friendly face of Maya, the green haired teacher with glasses smiles warmly and in a cheerful tone speaks the words "Okay Kestrel, nothing to be afraid of, just come with me and the others to the IS hangar". Kestrel blinks, looks to the right of Maya and is relieved to see the friendly face of Yui.

As Yui repeats Maya's message the child timidly and slowly stands to his feet, as the child turns his head and looks at the many differant female faces all looking down at the child with wonder or eager happiness, the child's heart beats rapidly, it does ease up when Yui grabs Kestrel's hand, but never the less... Kestrel reaches for his Star of David pendant and clutches it tightly in his hand. Then... after 3 minutes Kestrel, Maya and Yui walk out of the cafateria. The mass numbers of IS schoolgirls just getting breakfast wave to the child, some call out messages of good luck, others merely make solemn nods at him. Each and every single schoolgirl eager for the IS battle that is going to take place.

_**Okay thats chapter 24, the next chapter should definatley have Kestrel's second IS battle take place. Thanks for the reviews and follow ups, it keeps my confidence on the rise. Anyway... the next chapter should come up soon. Stick around everyone.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	25. Chapter 25: Song of war

_**Okay everyone, Black Falcon 01 is back, as you are already aware... I am a war historian with my favorite armed service being the airforce. So if I've been delayed then it was simply because I've been reading about ww2 vintage RAF planes being restored, a brand new aircraft has arrived at the museaum not far from where I live so forgive me but, as soon as I read about it... I was determined to look and get up close to it. The aircraft is a DC-3 Douglas skytrain, a lot of American and Canadian paratroops flew in them, so anyway... enough with the explinations, on to the story... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 25:

Footsteps echo down a clear white corridor, figures in the form of 2 women and a child walk calmly down the marble white corridor. It had been nearly 40 minutes since Kestrel left the IS cafateria with Maya and Yui. The child's second IS battle is only minutes away and yet the long haired, scar faced child still had no idea that he was going to be thrust into another battle against his will, but as Kestrel walked calmly down the familiar corridor hand in hand with Yui, the child got the terrible feeling of dread hit him in the heart. The look of anxiousness hits the child, the look on his pale face giving away the very real emotions that little Kestrel is suffering in an alarming uncontrolable state. The silence is cutting into Kestrel in a very unpleasant state, and the sound of the footsteps that echo is doing nothing to help the nervous Israeli boy. Kestrel is dying to up and speak but can't find his voice, however Kestrel is not the only one whom is very unsettled about the matter. Yui can hardly breathe, for the moment the office like woman has the feeling of her heart in her mouth, as far as she was concerned, Kestrel was only going to do one IS battle, and now he has to fight another the very next day.

This fact adds rage to the woman, the thought in her mind being that the people at the IS academy are all child abusers, and in some areas... Yui is absolutely right. Even when she was told of what was going on, she felt even more foul when she was told not to tell Kestrel untill the very last minute. ( "What for the love of god are these people thinking!? Sending a traumitised child into a fight without any warning!?" ) Yui thinks to herself, a very nasty scowl on her face. All the while, Maya walks ahead, her face has a look of pity on her face, it can't be denied... Maya is very humanitarian, but in the end she is doing as she is told, as horrible as it is. Many wartime veterans could agree with how she feels, she HAS to do as she is told, even IF she feels as though it is the wrong course of action. Finally after minutes of tense, silent walking, the three finally reach a door, as Maya presses a small square button, a large metalic door slides open.

Kestrel can only look down and close his eyes for a moment, Yui can feel the child tense up through her hand. Yui casts a brief look at little boy before looking at Maya whom has walked into the dark, cool IS hangar. "Maya, must Kestrel go through this?" Yui asks with a pained expression, Maya turns her excited face is gone. Instead Maya looks at Yui with the look of a guilty person, as she speaks her tone is low and pained "I'm sorry Yui, but this duel has been granted by Chifuyu, theres nothing I can do". Yui looks down at Kestrel and closes her eyes for a moment. The child's gaze remains fixed on the cold metalic floor, Yui blinks... the saddness and guilt is making her end up on the verge of tears. Then, a familiar voice shatters the silence as both Kestrel and Yui slowly walk into the IS hangar and the metal door slides shut behind them. "Yes!... and this battle was demanded by one of my girls, it seems she has a grudge against the child!". Yui puts an angered frown on her face as she stands up straight and looks to her left, from out of the darkness the blue haired Clarissa Harfouch walks out, arms folded and a smirk on her face.

Yui clutches tightly to Kestrel's hand, Maya and Kestrel look over at Clarissa with nervous expressions. "So... it was you who wanted to put Kestrel in this situation". Yui speaks in an angered tone. Clarissa closes her single solitary eye for a brief moment and maintains her smile. The sight makes Yui want to march up and punch the German woman's lights out, but thankfully Yui contains her anger. Clarissa shakes her head and shrugs with her shoulders, putting her arms in the 'What?' position. "Please, Please... Don't misunderstand me, I was against this match just as much as you are, but in the end we all decided on a majority vote that the Israeli child should be challenged in a one on one battle".

Yui can only frown at Clarissa before turning to Maya and saying in a stern manner "Maya, can you take care of little Kestrel? I want a word with... this... WOMAN!". Yui practacly spits the last word from her lips as if was poison. Maya instantly nods nervously and carefuly takes Kestrel from Yui. The Israeli child looks up at Yui and is at loss, he has never seen Yui so angry before.

"Probably wise, we don't want anything to happen to our precious Israeli child here would we now!?" Clarissa states in a suspicous tone while looking down at Kestrel and smiling in a very sinister manner. Yui looks down at Kestrel and smiles warmly, she says a few words in Israeli before turning her attention back to Clarissa. Kestrel does not reply to Yui's words, but the look on his face says that he is feeling a lot more comfortable. As Yui and Clarissa walk towards the exit, the metal door slides open, and then... in just a few seconds both women walk out of the hangar and out of the room.

As the metalic doors close Maya looks down at Kestrel with a pleasant look and guides the child over to the launch pad. Kestrel does not breathe, he is terrified, the colour drained from his face is proof that the child does not want to fight or for that matter do what these women want. The moment gets worse when the IS hangar doors open, the bright heavenly light of the outside meets the child's ocean blue eyes. The child's face changes from nervous to curious, the sounds of female cheering echo from the outside.

It is the sounds of female cheering that make Kestrel's heart beat rapidly, cold sweat rolls down the side of his temple. The child knows all to well what this means, he is going to fight again, if Ichika was there, maybe the feeling of fear would subside, but... as Kestrel churns things over in his little head, a brief thought comes to the child's mind, making all forms of fear die down a fair amount. The thought being ( "I've had worse! So I better just face death now and get it over with!" ). Upon ending his thoughts the child looks up at Maya with a straight face. Maya tilts her head, sweatdrops and looks down, its a very awkward situation for the green haired teacher. As Maya releases Kestrel's hand she kneels down, places both hands on Kestrel's shoulders, and as she brings her face to the said Israeli child's face level, speaks in a very kind tone "Just give it your best out there, its just the one battle for today, after that you're free for the rest of the day". Maya's words are full of care and consulation, but nothing has an effect on the small child. Kestrel still dosen't understand a word that any Japanesse person is saying, the point being proven as the small child tilts his head slightly to the left and puts on a nervous face.

Maya lowers her head and looks down at the floor in frustration, as she lifts her head up she smiles kindly at Kestrel, stands to her feet and points to the hangar door. Kestrel instantly looks towards the open hangar doors, his ocean blue eyes seem to glisten in the light being shafted through the open doors. As he looks back at Maya, the green haired teacher begins to walk away slowly backwards, she points to the Hangar doors again and in a final tone of kindess speaks the words "I'll see you after the match, and god speed my little student!". With that, Maya turns around and walks towards the very same elevator that Kestrel saw Chifuyu walk into just yesterday. As the elevator doors close and the faint sound of humming begins, gradualy fading to silence.

Kestrel is alone and nervous. Looking around, the nerves are boiling to the surface, the scarred Israeli child has no clue what to do. As the child slowly walks over towards the launcher, the feeling of his Star of David around his neck attracts the child's attention. As Kestrel closes his eyes he does all he can to muster some form of fighting spirit. However with the only form of spirit being national, Kestrel sticks to peaceful thoughts. The Israeli flag waves in a calm breeze in his mind, then as the child clutches his pendant, the timid sounds of a song escape the childs lips..

Please note, this song is an actual Israeli airforce march called Al Kanfei Hakesef, which translates as 'On silver wings'. You can hear and play the march on youtube. This song has been cut short for the benifit of the story and for you readers.

"Al Kanfei Hakesef Rechuvim"

_**\- They ride on silver wings**_

"Abrirei haru'ach be'avim"

_**\- Heroes of the wind, in the clouds**_

"Ha'azim vehatovim"

_**\- The strong and the good**_

"Kivnei-reshev yagbiu uf"

_**\- Like birds, they will soar high**_

"Uvetoch shamayim neki'im"

_**\- Whithin clear skies**_

"Zoharim shiv'at hareki'im"

_**\- The seven heavens shine**_

"Va'anachnu mamri'im"

_**\- And we take off and fly**_

"MiGolan ve'ad Yam-Suf"

_**\- From Golan to the Red sea**_

"Nas hayam vayisov achor"

_**\- The sea has fled and turned back**_

"Vehanahar-Charava"

_**\- And the river turned to dry land**_

"Tas achi ufanav la'or"

_**\- My brother flies and his face is toward the light**_

"Vediglo alai ahava"

_**\- And his flag is over me like love**_

"Hasulam raglav ba'adama"

_**\- The ladder's feet are on the ground**_

"Ach rosho bishmei hamilchama"

_**\- But its head is in the skies of war**_

"Tas achi el mul chama"

_**\- My brother flies toward the sun**_

"Kivnei-reshev yagbiu uf"

_**\- Like birds, they will soar high**_

"Hu cholef kelahav hachermesh"

_**\- He passes like the blade of a sickle**_

"Hu kachetz shaluach velochesh"

_**\- He is like an arrow sent out whistling by**_

"Hu kotev michtav shel esh"

_**\- He writes a letter of fire**_

"MiGolan ve'ad yam-suf"

_**\- From Golan to the Red sea**_

...And with that, Kestrel takes in a deep breath. He looks up at the open IS hangar doors, and closes his eyes and prepares for launch. Although the song doesn't give Kestrel much fighting spirit, its the best thing he can do in terms of raising his morale. The sounds of cheering become ever louder upon the sounds of an object blazing past the IS hangar at high speed. Kestrel blinks, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell that the flying object was an IS. Kestrel swallows a mouthful of slobber, then releasing his grip on his Star of David, stands straight, his chest is out and the child stands defiant, though the look on his face is still full of fear. Kestrel blinks and then, in a flash of powerful and blinding blue light, Kestrel deploys his 'Black Phoenix'. The black IS gleems in the light, the sounds of the female cheers would make the moment utterly spectacular if anyone was watching from in the hangar. Kestrel looks down, the IS hud flashes with differant holographic panels before changing to a regular IS hud.

Kestrel wastes no time and stands on the launcher, bends his knees and braces himself for launching. At first, nothing happens. The child's heart beats hard, the child wanting to get everything over and done with as soon as possilbe and this delay is not helping anything. However, Kestrel's prayers are quickly answered as he feels the ground leave and move in lightning speed. The child gets the feeling of engery and excitment hit him, his 'Black Phoenix' angel wings open and spread in the forms of a bird of prey pouncing for sudden take off. Then, as quickly as it begins, the child finds himself outside, the warm sun bathing and cleansing Kestrel's nerves better than the finest hot spring.

**\- IS Stadium -**

For the many thousands of IS schoolgirls the sight of Kestrel blazing out of the IS hangar with slightly spread angel wings is a moment to point, gasp and scream in utter excitement. The mass amounts of IS schoolgirls were not expecting Kestrel to head out into the IS stadium so quickly, so the obvious feeling of surprise is everywhere. For the blonde braided German girl in the 'Schwarzer Regen' smirks in confidence.

The feeling of excitement at avenging her team mates fallen honour is all over the German girl's face. As Kestrel comes to a stop, the child looks at the mysterious German girl, the look she is giving him is causing vast amounts of discomfort. The German girl maintains her confident face as she rapidly flies across to one end of the IS stadium, quickly positioning herself, ready for the signal to start battle. As both Kestrel and the German girl face each other face to face, a series of flashes erupt from the IS stadium stands. Many differant schoolgirls are standing with cameras, snapping away, wanting to either record, document or savor the moment as much as possible. Kestrel looks around him, curious and nerve stricken at the vast amounts of schoolgirls waving, cheering, pointing and photographing at him.

As Kestrel looses himself in looking at the many differant faces and listening to the many differant tounges and voices, the German female smiles in a smug manner, placing her IS fist into one hand in motion of getting ready to polverise someone. ( "That child is my opponent! Heh! This'll be a walk in the park! I'm gonna make that Jewish fag scream for humiliating Olga!" ) The German girl hisses in her mind, Kestrel thankfully not noticing the German girl looking at him with a very nasty intentional minded face. As Kestrel looks over at the German female in the distance, the child blinks, the IS Hud shows a zoomed in image of the German girl, the HUD change and the sudden look of the nasty smiling German girl cause Kestrel to jump in alarm, but at least the child does not yelp in surprise.

For the next three minutes Kestrel merely looks over at the German female, the zoomed in image slowly zooms out to reveal the German girl in IS in an image that makes it look like she is standing directly in front of him. As Kestrel looks with amazement at the HUD, white vertical lines zip over his HUD, Predator Bio mask style. One minute showing a thermal image of the girl in IS. A minute later a computer scanned 3D model. Another 2 minutes later a glowing green x-ray vision display, before finaly returning to normal style. However, 3D models of the German girl's IS appear in front of Kestrel's face, holographic arrows and words pointing towards key high lighted areas show up on the child's IS HUD. As Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix' scans away showing numberous data feedbacks, the German girl notices the child standing idle stareing and blinking at her with a straight face.

To the Blonde braided German, it looks like the child has seen a ghost. Needless to say, the German girl does not suspect the sight and instead lets her ego rise to overwhelming levels. "SO CHILD! ARE YOU GOING TO DO THE CORRECT THING AND SURRENDER!?" The Blonde braided German female shouts in happy confidence, her IS hands placed on her hips. Kestrel does not reply and as the words from the German girl appear, the cheering in the IS stadium dies down to almost utter silence almost instantly. The IS schoolgirls sit back down in their seats, the pointing and waving stops and all that remains on the anticipated faces of the IS schoolgirls is utter desire to watch the duel about to play before them. A second or two later, the German girl folds her arms, sends a smug and serious face to Kestrel and shouts the words "SILENT EH!? WELL, I KNOW I'M UTTERLY BEAUTIFUL TO A MERE BOY LIKE YOU! BUT I'M AFRAID I'VE GOT TO WIPE THE GROUND WITH YOUR ASS TODAY!".

Kestrel, full of nerves looks at the hovering German female and maitains his silence. The German girl however keeps her face and posture of smugness, "WELL, AREN'T YOU GOING TO SPEAK KID! WHAT DON'T YOU GET!? YOU'RE GOING DOWN IN FLAMES TODAY, YOU'RE DEFEAT IS IN RESPONSE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO OLGA YESTERDAY!". The german girl calls out, the serious look of hidden rage is clearly evident in the German girl's eyes. Kestrel only blinks, his little heart begins to beat in fear, the sight of the German girl reminds him of one of his tormentors from back in Israel.

The child shakes his head and blinks after suddenly getting the imaged face of a bloody faced woman with long red hair, brown eyes and a nasty evil grin, replacing the face of the German girl displayed on his IS HUD. To Kestrel's relief the imaged face instantly vanishes, and as Kestrel begins to focus on the German female before him, the said Blonde braided girl shouts again, this time she holds out her arms as if she's embracing power or showing something to the world in some form of magificance. "COM'MON BOY! JUST ADMIT DEFEAT AND DO WHAT ALL MEN DO BACK IN GERMANY! JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES, LICK THE HEEL OF MY BOOT AND PRAISE YOUR UNDYING LOYALTY AND SUBMISSION!". As the German girl finishes her statment, she begins to laugh in utter confidence. Kestrel just blinks and tilts his head, the child completley at loss for what it is the German female is saying. From in the stadium stand Kestrel's shota cons Konoe, Rie and Yuno, look at the German girl and snarl in anger. Konoe has the overwhelming urge to jump and rip the German girl's head clean off and drink her blood for afters. "That bitch!" Konoe hisses.

Rie clentches her fists and looks at the hovering German girl in anger "That disgusting whore is making our Kestrel look like he's nothing more than a helpless pup!". Rie puts in with the look of an angered animal. Yuno is the one whom states out anyform of humanitarian issue "Ever since the IS was made all bitches like her think that boys are just something to take out selfish frustration on, since I was a little girl I was always told not to be a selfish person and treat boys as equals, regardless of what others think, and from what I can see its hussies like her, that are the cause for Kestrel's post traumatic stress!" Yuno barks the last words in rage. As Yuno finishes her statment, an Irish accented girl with twin green buns speaks in a form of reasurance to the furious shotacon girls. "Hey don't get like that just yet, for all we know that German is all talk and that her laughing is just a way of hiding her nervous insecurities!".

As the mass hundreds of IS schoolgirls mutter to each other while looking up at the 2 still, hovering IS before their eyes. The German blonde points at Kestrel and continues her preaching "TRUST ME BOY! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU REALISE THE TRUE MEANING OF PAIN! IT IS AFTER ALL WHAT ALL MEN ARE MADE TO HAVE DONE TO THEM ISN'T IT!?". The German girl laughs out loudly once again upon finishing her statement. The German girl leans her head back and laughs loudly, her eyes close as she becomes lost in her moment of concieted pride. From in the stands a girl that gifted Kestrel with sweets last night stands up in a fit of anger, points to the German female and shouts out the words "I've had it! KESTREL! FLATTEN THAT BITCH!". As soon as the pony tailed, brunette girl finishes shouting, a fair amount of other IS schoolgirls look at the standing girl and then, after a moment... another girl stands, anger and irritation is on her face also. "I have a big brother and I've never once thought of him like an underling, KESTREL! KILL THAT HUSSY!". As the purple pigtailed girl ends her phrase, more girls begin to stand.

Its true that since the IS was made, the world has become female orientated, but at least there are still a fair amount of people that still belive in the old order of equal and fair treatment, but... in truth... I could be because of Kestrel that many of the IS schoolgirls are acting the way they are. From in the air, Kestrel fails to notice the mass stand up of many IS schoolgirls, he remains stareing at the HUD image of the cackling German female. However, as if on cue Maya's voice comes over a loud speaker and calls out 'EVERYONE RETURN TO YOUR SEATS, IS PILOTS STAND BY FOR COMBAT'. As Maya's voice echoes across the IS stadium, Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix' displays Maya's words across the HUD in Israeli. Kestrel blinks, turns his head and looks around, and then positions his body, ready for combat. Kestrel's pure white, holographic angel wings open and spread out, an auror of glowing blue engery forms around Kestrel and his 'Black Phoenix'. The German girl grins and deploys an 80 caliber cannon, postions herself for battle and remains stareing in concieted pride at Kestrel. A moment of dead silence fills the entire IS stadium, every IS student stares at the 2 hovering IS in silence. A moment that feels like an eternity passes by before finally the moment everyone is waiting for comes, Maya's voice calls out 'COMMENCE COMBAT!'.

The German girl wastes no time and instantly begins firing a full voley of 80 caliber rounds at Kestrel, Kestrel's IS wings position to a partialy open state like a diving Peregrine Falcon.

The child moves rapidly left to right in a zig zag pattern, each and every shot making a near miss, ringing and whistling past. However the German girl is not out of surprises and starts to use her purple spears, lifting both her arms, opening hands and firing a barrage of 80 caliber and purple spears. Kestrel dashes around making tight turns, rolls and loops. From in the IS stadium stands, the child looks like a bee making sharp unmatched movements. The German girl however is not impressed and begins to rush forward still rapid firing her 80 calibers and purple spears at the rapidly moving Israeli child.

As Kestrel makes an athletic barrel roll to avoid the shots, the German girl ceases fire and blasts forward at maximum speed, her IS fist is fully clenched, the blonde braided female is hoping to get up close and exploit any weakness in close quarter hand to hand combat. From in the stands the mass numbers of IS schoolgirls stare in utter surprise at how fast Kestrel is moving, most of the German girls shots where widely off target, and by the looks of it... Kestrel is only just starting. The German girl makes a very dazzeling dance like spin in the air before coming to a stop below Kestrel and firing wildly at the rapidly moving Israeli child. Each and every purple spear wizzes past the rapidly moving Israeli child. Kestrel at this point looses his sense of thought, the pupils in his ocean blue eyes shrink and vanish leaving plain blue orb like eyes. The fight or flight instincts have just began to take effect.

The German girl fails to notice Kestrel's peronality switch, and merely looks up with an slightly irritated face and shouts out "WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE UP!? ITS A POINTLESS STRUGGLE HERE CHILD!". Kestrel summersaults in the air backwards, his long, black shinning hair blows elegantly in the wind, and as Kestrel dashes backwards, he looks at his IS HUD emotionless. Then, the child lifts an arm upwards, the hand is open... a cylinder object activates and appears. As Kestrel clutches the object in his hand, a long glowing red blade instantly deploys. Kestrel then charges forward at the German girl, the look of a serious frown is on the child's face. The German girl dashes to the left and fires wildly at the rapidly moving Israeli child. Purple IS spears are merely deflected and knocked away by Kestrel's rapid swordman like skills, deflecting purple sabres that are reflected back towards the German girl, left, right and centre.

Kestrel looks like a Star Wars Jedi sending lasers back towards an enemy, the German girl's facial look changes to amazed, but it is clear that the blonde braided female is not finished with Kestrel yet. The German girl deploys both 80 caliber Panzer cannons, firing wildy in a fit of either panic or anger. Kestrel counters by charging forward, swinging and deflecting shots with utter ease. The German girl flies around as fast as possible trying to evade the Israeli child, but all efforts prove to be in vain as Kestrel easily manages to match the German girl's every move. Then as the German girl tries to fire a barrage at point blank range, Kestrel suddenly flashes forward, instantly ending up face to face with the German female.

Then, with one violent swing, Kestrel slashes with his blade, blue and yellow lightning sparks and volts flash and fly as the German girl is suddenly propelled backwards. Flames and smoke trail the German girl. The twin panzer railcannons suddenly explode sending masses of flying debris and shrapnel, the German girl is taken by surprise and begins to tumble towards the ground out of control. as the German girl's world begins to roll and tumble a terrible feeling of sickened fear hits the German girl like a 1000 bricks.

The look of irritated rage is on the German girl's face, her IS HUD has multiple red warnings at once, alarms scream in her ears and her shield points are seriously depleated. Thankfully the German girl recovers mere seconds from hitting the ground. As the german girl looks up she gets a nasty surprise, Kestrel is nowhere to be seen. Then a powerful blue flash and the feeling of a million exploding shells smash into the German female causing the German girl to fly out of control. Then, with an almighty crash, the German female smashes against the IS academy wall, dust, debris and marble fragments fly wildly in every direction. The German girl's IS HUD continues to flash red warning signs and words, but at least the German female still has control of her IS. She manages to pull herself forward and blasts forward out of the debris and dashes upwards getting some height, as she looks down she notices Kestrel standing on the IS stadium floor.

The child stands with his red blade in one hand, and the child's IS angel wings are positioned in the closed position like a bird, the child's red blade is facing towards the ground, but what realy attracts the German girl is the sight of a rifle in the childs other hand. The rifle resembles the main weapon that the Gundam 'Tallgeese' uses from the anime 'Gundam wing'. The child points his weapon directly at the German girl, but does not fire.

Instead the rifle glows blue, and then in a quick flash disapears. Obviously deactivated, but Kestrel's face shows no sign of being finished. ( "No... This is impossible! How can that little runt be doing so well!?" ) The German female hisses to herself, the sight of Kestrel stareing at her with glazed and highly traumitised eyes cuts into the German girl like the sharpest knife. For a proud and disciplined girl, the German blonde can't stand being humiliated in this manner, and then... with a lunatic expression of rage on her face screams as loud as she can and charges straight forward at Kestrel, purple cables deploy from the German girl, the German girl's IS glows bright purple with an ocean of blue sparks emiting from nearly all points of the girl's IS.

Kestrel remains still, his glazed eyes fix on the screaming and highly strung German female. Seconds later a massive and almighty eruption of dust, dirt and debris occurs. Followed by a massive fireball explosion, a series of blue sparks fly out of the now massive and billowing, black smoke cloud. Every single IS schoolgirl jumps to their feet and stares in bewilldered amazement. Many IS schoolgirls look at each other and then back towards the massive smoke coloumn, the only sounds that come from the IS stadium are the whispers and mutterings from the pale and nervous faces of the many differant IS schoolgirls. Then... a loud horn blasts followed by the expected female voice, 'THE MATCH IS CONCLUDED, WINNER... KESTREL!'.

_**Okay... phew, once again another long chapter comes to an end, I know the IS battle was shorter than expected, but that was the main intention, remember Kestrel's IS is mysterious after all. **__**Anyway, stick around for chapter 26. See everyone again ASAP.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	26. Chapter 26: Generation six

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 returns with a new chapter, as you know in the last chapter Kestrel was confirmed the winner, so in this chapter you should finaly get some information on Kestrel's IS. This chapter is peaceful but non the less has both Ichika and Kestrel experiance more of the IS schoolgirl's non-changing fuss. So, anyway... please read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 26

It was less than 10 seconds since the horn blew followed by Maya's voice announcing that the scar faced, Israeli child known as Kestrel had won his second IS battle. In the time that followed all that could be heard in the IS stadium was utter silence, suddenly a single IS schoolgirl jumped from her seat, a bright and overjoyed expression was on her face. The schoolgirl's long blonde hair flutters elegantly as she jumps in utter happiness. Only one phrase escapes the happy girl's mouth "HELL YEAH!", and with that... every other girl raises from their IS stadium seats with either an happy struck face or an awe stricken face in surprise. The sounds of clapping and cheering erupt in an ear piercing roar, from in the stands Kestrel's shotacon admirers Konoe, Rie and Yuno grab ahold of each other and scream with delight, tears of happiness roll down all three of the girl's faces. The screaming and cheering intensifies once Kestrel slowly and calmly hovers out of the billowing black smoke, his weapons deactivated and his IS angel wings spread wide open to show their beauty.

Kestrel's eyes regain their normal look as the pupils return, the child blinks in curiosity as his senses return. As little Kestrel looks around to see the many differant IS schoolgirls waving, clapping, cheering and whistling to him, the sight of the black smoke catches his attention. The smell of burning metal, wire, and earth is inhaled deeply up Kestrel's tiny nose, as Kestrel's nostrils get a full lung full of the smoke, the child's eyes widen a little, the sickening feeling the many differant things that have happened hit home like a bomb.

Kestrel looks up at the IS hangar across from him and above the IS stadium, he wastes no time and with a brief kneel, followed by the wide open spread of his angel wings, blasts up towards the IS hangar. The child's IS angel wings are open, just perfect for the child's calm and mild speed flight upwards untill reaching the IS hangar. As Kestrel flies into the IS hangar the sounds of female cheering does not die down and only begins to die down when medical teams run into the IS stadium towards the black smoke to pick up the wounded German female.

As the Medical team exit the smoke cloud carrying the German girl on a dark green stretcher, the sounds of gasping fill the stadium. Kestrel's IS didn't suffer a scratch in the battle, but its clear as day that the German girl's IS was completley destroyed in the final assault. Shards and fragmented pieces of IS metal scatter the ground as the smoke clears. A crater the size of a 3 floor building is embeded in the ground, small fires still crackle and sizzle on the scorched, blackened ground. Only a few schoolgirls stand to observe the IS remains in the stadium, while many rush out of the stadium in eagerness to find and congratulate Kestrel.

The good thing about the aftermath of the battle is that nobody is seriously injured, if there was... sirens would have sounded, followed by the onrushing of thousands of staff workers. The feeling of complete idots hit any IS girl's that felt that they were going to see blood and brains smeared or splattered around the IS stadium. However, the blonde braided German girl is in a terrible state, the girl is bleeding from the face, body, legs, arms and back. Both of the German's girl's arms are dislocated and a series of horrible bruises and burns cover the German girl's body.

The medics that rapidly rush into an emergency ground exit have the German girl strapped to the stretcher with braces holding the body, head and neck still as possible to ensure no internal or external damage occurs to the wounded blonde girl. From in the IS stadium, an all too familiar girl looks down at the sight, the Girl being Honne, holds a finger to her chin, the long sleeve rolls down her smooth and beautiful looking arm. Honne has a look of surprise and curiosity on her face and proves it by speaking in a low voice "I wonder if that German girl will be alright?".

**\- Scene change/ IS academy/ Chifuyu's office 10:30am -**

2 hours had passed since news spread that Kestrel had won his second IS battle, for Maya and Chifuyu it came as no surprise, but were heavily concerned by the end ressults. Chifuyu only frowns as she sits cooly in her large, black office chair, legs crossed. Chifuyu held in her had a large clip board, harbouring 3 differant coloured papers. Across from Chifuyu in 3 seperate seats sat Maya, the academy nurse and Clarissa. Directly behind Clarissa, the nurse and Maya, stands the remaining 4 German females. In each and every one of the young German female's faces, the look of utter defeat and loss was held. One such German female with a brown ponytail stands with her eyes open, her face pale, looking down at the floor.

The shock of suffering a crushing defeat twice at the hands of a small ten year old Israeli boy stung, and stung very, VERY hard. Chifuyu sighs as she places the clipboard down calmly on her desk, for the mighty ice queen the news and reports of Kestrel's exploits are causing a large amount of concern, luckily not many IS academy students have seen it. Its clear as day that Kestrel's IS is very powerful, and only now after such a hard struggle has any information been obtained, but at the end of the day, the main concern is the saftey of the students. Chifuyu makes that factor clear by relaxing her self in her chair, leaning back, looking the nurse in the face with a very serious face and speaking in her cold and strict tone. "So... the German girl, she is going to be okay?". As Chifuyu finishes her question the nurse places her hands on her lap and sits up straight, a small smile is placed on the medical woman's face. "Yes, Yes of course... she will unfortunatley be in intensive care for a few days but thankfully she is not in critical condition". Chifuyu smiles, closes her eyes for a few seconds before looking at the nurse and replying in a cool manner "Very good, I find it an astounding miracle that she even managed to survive an IS explosion, but... I think we have Kestrel's IS to thank for that". Chifuyu finishes while frowning at the numbers of females in the room, for the nurse, all this talk of IS is very confusing, all she has ever learned to do is patch up a seriously wounded human being.

Maya sweats but keeps a cool and serious face, she keeps her eyes focused on Chifuyu, not blinking for a single second. Clarissa sits with her legs crossed, her face has the look of serious and high concern. Since the end of the IS battle, Clarissa has been as silent as the grave, which obviously comes as no surprise due to the sight that played in the IS stadium earlier on. Taking in a deep breath and letting out a loud sigh, Chifuyu rises out of her chair with a small, black remote control in her hand.

As the mighty office woman raises her hand and presses a thick red button, the darkened room suddenly glows bright red with a holographic T.V like screen appearing from 2 emitters, one in the floor and one in the ceiling - each emitter enlined in verticaly As Chifuyu returns to her seat she lifts the remote again and presses down on another button, as quickly as she lowers the remote, a red, 3D, Holographic model of Kestrel's Black Phoenix appears presented to Maya, Clarissa and the remaining 5 females in the darkened room. Clarissa sits up straight, the German girls behind the sat down women stand at military 'At ease' position, yet they all stare at the 3D Holographic model with intent, the looks of bewillderment are placed all over the German girls' faces.

Chifuyu straightens her posture and speaks in her authority tone "Okay... as you are all aware, Kestrel has won 2 IS battles with the IS presented before you, and as you are also all aware of... no data was aqquired on this IS, untill now". As Chifuyu ends her phrase, the Holographic presentation of Kestrel's IS suddenly becomes joined by a series of lines, words, numbers and arrows all pointing to differant high lighted areas on the black IS. Clarissa looks sternly at the Holographic image and is quick to ask a question, as she speaks, Clarissa's voice is full of concern and sterness. "Instructor Orimura, the data readout on the main body and chest armor states a differant material to those of other IS ever built, do you happen to know what it is?". As Clarissa finishes her question, the Holographic image of the black IS suddenly zooms in on the chest and body. As Clarissa blinks with her one, solitary eye, three white transparent boxes appear with various differant information.

Chifuyu replies in a serious, yet concerned tone "According to the data here, the material this IS is made off is made of a newly created metal substance that reads as... Diamonium, and according to data readout, this new form of material has a form of atom that self repairs any cracks or deformaties that the IS suffers during battle. It even has a resistance to acidic substances, making it nearly impossible to suffer chorosion, the body and chest is also the main power house that harbours a life support system that... according to our data here, can heal the pilot and regenerate any lost and damaged flesh or bone if any serious or mortal wounds are suffered during battle. In regards to its defensive capeabilities, the IS is eqquiped with self recharging and regenerating shields, if a laser hits the shield, the shield sort of adapts to the attack, so the next shot has less effect".

Clarissa stares in amazement, looks over towards Maya, whom merely keeps her gaze focused on the many differant holographic boxes and information being played before her eyes. As Clarissa looks at the Holographic model she quickly speaks a phrase that everyone is asking to themselves, "What else does it say?". Chifuyu stands, sticks out her chest, takes a breath and speaks as the 3D Holographic image returns to showing the entire IS model. "Well... according to the data, the IS is a generation six". As Chifuyu finishes her answer, Clarissa nearly jumps out of her seat in alarm, but thankfully remains seated.

For the German girls standing with their backs to the wall, everything is becoming overwhelming... its like looking at the hand of god, the power that the IS possesess, clearly surpasses any other IS on earth. Most IS built are generation four, and the fifth generation has only just came out, so for a sixth generation to come out, it is like killing two birds with one stone. Another factor is that Israel clearly has some very tallented scientists and all answers must lie with them, because its painfully obvious... that the data being showed is only a small amount, and not all of it is going to be detected with the gear that the IS academy has.

Chifuyu makes this painfully clear as she sighs, soon speaking the words "The only other remaining information we've aqquired is that the IS also uses a very small amout of engery in its attacks, and that the armor and surrounding shields somehow neutralise any other attack if faced head on. It somehow feeds off the energy in enemy attacks and equalises it in a form of energy restoration, also the IS is considered to have a very low mass readout, which makes the IS very, very light in terms of weight, yet the armor allows it to be super resistant to enemy attacks".

For Clarissa, Chifuyu's words are like a death sentance, but still... the discovery made is utterly breath taking and has to be savored. As Chifuyu blinks in silence, Clarissa then switches to a question that everyone wants to hear, Clarissa's words are like a curious child, matched by her pale, anxious face. "What about the IS weapons? Any data on them? And what about its speed and maneuvers?" Chifuyu folds her arms, closes her eyes and with the look of hopelessness on her face merely presses the red button on her remote and solemnly speaks the words, "Why don't you see for yourself!?". As Chifuyu presses the button, a series of data readouts appear, the holographic images of Kestrel's red 'light saber' like sword appear along with the 'Gundam - Tallgeese' like rifle. The Holographic images enlarge, vast series of data is presented to every female in clear white letters, Kestrel's rifle is the first to be presented, the presented data reads the words..

**'Primary weapon number 2: 'PROMETHEUS'**

_Weapon type: Rifle/Cannon_

_Weapon muntion: Ultra, highly charged Plasma_

_Weapon attack form: Semi fire, Charged beam_

_Plasma colour: Light Blue_

**_.Charged beam attack:_**

_\- Particle charged, focused beam of massive plasmatic charged particle energy, sub-sonic high velocity, unable to be deflected by current known IS shields, easily capeable of tearing through any currently made reinforced armor or buildings, beam requires 3 minutes to fully charge to full destructive level. Once fired the PROMETHEUS needs to recover from firing via deployment of 'Coolant unit'. Recovery takes between 5 to 10 minutes untill PROMETHEUS is capeable of firing either charged or semi attack_.

_**.Semi fire attack:**_

_\- Simple one shot fire at a time of simple charged plasma, PROMETHEUS is capeable of firing 150 before having to recharge. If a single shot is fired 3 seconds apart, recharge is not required._

**' Primary weapon number 1: 'NOSFERATU'**

_Weapon type: Sword_

_Blade colour: Red_

_Blade energy: Plasmatic_

_\- Self repair, self recharge blade, capeable of piercing all current known forms of armor or shielding. Sword relies on handling of its operator as blade is unable to cut through other IS swords, except in cases of hard, sharp swings._

**EMERGENCY IS BOOST SPEED: MACH 20**

**IS CRUISE SPEED: MACH 8**

**STANDARD SPEED: MACH 4**

**ADDITIONAL WEAPONS: - ACCESS DENIED - CLASSIFIED UNDER ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCE PROTACOL**

**ADDITIONAL: SPACE TRAVEL CAPEABLE FOR 200 HOURS.**

As the data is read out, Clarissa and the German girls look with pale faces, each and every female in the room, except for Chifuyu, looks very nervous and worried. Clarissa very nearly stubbles back in alarm. What Kestrel has in his possession, is a super weapon that can only be described as 'The Death Star'. The fact makes Maya sweat heavily and tremble, the German girls go cold with fear, their mouths open and stare in shock. Clarissa is the worst affected, it is clear that if all data on the 'Black Phoenix' is not all gathered, then the IS is highly dangerous, and for a child like Kestrel to be able to weild that weapon or even be in possession of it, can be only considered as suicide or a death wish. Clarissa points the fact out by frowning at looking Chifuyu in the face. Clarissa speaks in a very strict tone "Instructor Orimura, you've got to remove that IS from the Israeli boy". Chifuyu sighs, looks down in defeat and with a low tone, speaks the words "I'm aware of that, but unfortuneatly... we can't, if you want a proper explination, ask the nurse here". Chifuyu motions with her hand for Clarissa to look at the nurse, as Clarissa turns her head to face the academy nurse, the nurse motions with her hand for Clarissa to sit back down. Clarissa wastes no time and calmly reseats herself, what Clarissa instantly notices is that the academy nurse has a pained and sympethic look on her face.

"We attempted to seperate that Black Phoenix IS from Kestrel by using simple methods, but when they failed we tried... other... methods". The nurse trails off for a moment before continuing to look at the Clarissa. Clarissa remains silent, her face is full of seriousness yet curiosity. As the nurse looks at the eye patched German woman, a brief change in tone is caught, the Nurse sounds like a woman whom has just lost a child, the look on her face matches the nervous, yet saddened tone in her voice. The nurse makes a brief sigh before calmly speaking the words "We... did a check on Kestrel while he was asleep and we found that the IS... its... well... rooted itself to Kestrel. It sort of, well... its acting like a second heart, and by the looks of it was intended to be there for pilots that are fighting wars. If Kestrel was in his late twenties then it would be possilbe to easily remove the IS core from Kestrel, but as a child, the IS core is implanted into Kestrel's bodily systems. If we remove that IS core from Kestrel, his heart and body organs will slowly or rapidly begin to shut down, like a cancer... so... even if we manage to remove the IS core, we'll only end up murdering an innocent child".

Clarissa's blood almost freezes as she looks with a pale face at the academy nurse. Maya looks down at the floor, guilt overwhelming the teacher, Chifuyu takes her seat and with a final click of her remote turns off the holographic presentation of Kestrel's IS. The red glowing room suddenly lights up to bright normality again. Although Chifuyu does not show it, she is the worst whom is effected by the news. As a head teacher she is expected to look after her students and ensure their safety, even more so now that she has a ten year old child under her supervision. To make the mighty Chifuyu feel worse, the painful knowledge of knowing that Kestrel has suffered a hell'ish past makes the problem even more difficult to cope with.

The German girls can only look at each other with shocked faces, not one knowing what to do or think. The nurse looks as though she is about to burst into tears, the woman looking like she is about to hammer the last nail into little Kestrel's coffin. Clarissa can't breathe, but at least manages to find a voice, even though it is full of fear and resentment, the German woman asks a question that is only becoming harder to answer "So what can we do? Are we just going to sit here doing nothing!?". Amazingly Chifuyu straitens herself up and looks over at the bunch of emotional stricken females and places a very brave face on, the mighty Chifuyu - belive it or not, is always first to notice something, and although the plan is filled with hope, its the only form of salvation that the IS staff members have to hold on to. "Look, I'm not the type that gives up hope, nor am I going to sit back and let one of my students come to harm... so for that matter, I think I have a solution". Upon hearing those words, Maya, Clarissa, the nurse and the remaining women look over at Chifuyu with eager and amazed faces. Chifuyu slumps forward from her sat down posture and places both elbows on her large desk, her hands interlock fingers as the office woman rests her chin on top of her hands.

As Chifuyu puts on a serious face, she speaks in a very calm and collected voice, the sudden realisation that hope is still around almost brings Chifuyu to tears of happiness. "I know its a dangerous situation we have here, but in the end I suppose we look at our IS pilot for once and not the IS. From what I've seen Kestrel only likes flying in IS, and tends to only fight when pressured into doing so, when he fights outside the IS stadium, he never summons his IS, no matter how bad the situation looks, the child is traumatised, he's trying to forget his past, and as long as he finds peace and decompression his mind remains stable. I would say we aren't in any real danger, that child has only just came into this world and is mature for his age, he knows right from wrong and tends to like keeping himself to himself, and... not only that... he likes my younger brother".

Upon saying those words, Chifuyu's mouth raises into a proud smile. For Chifuyu, she is now in yet another moment of feeling proud for her younger brother, one thing is for sure, if Ichika was in the room with Chifuyu, the said office woman would have to be held down from wanting to jump and smother her little brother to death with praise, kisses and cuddles. Maya merely blinks in confusion amazingly not getting the point. "Ah... I'm sorry but I fail to see how that is supposed to help us". Chifuyu rolls her eyes, shakes her head and sighs.

Despite Maya's failing to notice where Chifuyu is going, the nurse however opens her mouth into a small smile and lets a loose tear roll down her face. As the nurse sniffles and wipes the tear away, the nurse speaks in a tone that can only relate to a person sick with sudden happiness and joy. "Ofcourse, Ofcourse!" The nurse quickly speaks out, nodding her head. Chifuyu looks at the nurse and smiles with pride. The German girls that remain standing 'at ease' only look at each other and raise eyebrows at each other. Chifuyu leans back in her seat, smiling with a smug victory like face, as she crosses her legs, the almighty and beautiful Chifuyu speaks with her normal cool tone "Thats right, Ichika is someone that Kestrel trusts, someone that Kestrel has any form of happiness and comfort at being around. It might not look like it, but you can tell by the way those two walk around together, Kestrel is happy and at ease being around Ichika. In regards of education, Kestrel is wise beyond his years... I suppose we have the sick bastards that tortured him to thank for that!". Chifuyu frowns in anger upon bringing up the subject of Kestrel's tormentors, but in order to make the bright and hopeful side more clear to Maya and Clarissa, Chifuyu has no option but to bring up Kestrel's past. Never the less, doing just that pays off and Maya finally gets the picture. As the Green haired teacher smiles, Chifuyu smiles back, closes her eyes and makes a single, slow nod. For Maya, the situation now is unspeakable, the feeling of hope and joy cuts into the Green haired teacher, making her nearly jump and scream with joy.

"I see easily what Chifuyu Orimura is getting at, Kestrel is a child that is only just beginning to know what its like to be loved, we've aided him when he's suffered psychological turns, we've fed him, washed him, treated his wounds, comforted him when he was emotionaly in distress and now the students here are beginning to accept Kestrel for whom he is. Its not to late to aid little Kestrel on his road to recovery and the pace we've already set is a perfect start. As long as we continue to observe him and help guide the child down the right path he is going to be a child that we hardly know we have. Ichika is already accepted Kestrel with open arms because of him being such a kind and good mannered young man, and is also the first male that Kestrel has any firm relationship with, and already fills the role of a perfect older brother, so I would say the only problems we face is what girls may try to attack Kestrel, because from what I've seen... Kestrel ONLY reacts on a defensive manner, if nobody attacks him... the child is harmless". - The Nurse explains with a happy and excited face, the tone of her voice is clearly filled with joy.

"Couldn't have worded it better myself!" - Chifuyu replies with a pleased face. As Chifuyu stands with her hands on her hips, Clarissa looks down at the floor, rolling her eyes. For Clarissa it takes longer for the bright idea to sink in, and even when it does, the German woman is not fully conviced. "Instructor Orimura, forgive me if I seem to be offending, but I hardly think that relying on relations is going to help us in our current situation". Upon hearing Clarissa's statment, Chifuyu sends over a slightly angered look, making the German woman flinch in surprise. As Chifuyu takes in a breath, before calmly speaking the words "Clarissa, let me put it this way... That child is clearly a soul in distress, he's found salvation and happiness here, I know that a simple thing like friendship and good relations is hardly any promise for any good ressults, but its the ONLY thing that we have to rely on for the time being". Clarissa blinks, and looks at Chifuyu with a face of caution. The Office woman continues to look at Clarissa with a stern expression, untill Maya speaks out with a hopeful tone and puts on a pleasant face, "Look, Chifuyu is planning on heading to Israel to speak to the minister of defence and the people that built the Black Phoenix, so untill we obtain information from them, all we can do for the moment is maintain stable relations with Kestrel untill we can come up with a more reasuring plan of action. From what I've seen Kestrel is not a problem child and seems to not want any trouble, so I think we have nothing to fear".

Clarissa holds up both hands, closes her eye for a moment, before speaking in a defeated sigh "Okay... okay, I'll trust everyone's judgement, but i still feel unsure about the situation". As Clarissa rests her hands on her chair arms, Maya and Chifuyu look at each other one final time, both women are thinking the same thing ( "None of us feel comfortable about the situation, but for the time being, its the only hope we have, not only for our sake... but for the child's also".

_**Okay, thats chapter 26, I hope the info on Kestrel's IS is understandable and satisfying, for those of you have been able to keep up so far, then don't go away... the adventure is far from over, **__**there's still a lot of drama, comedy and action to cover, so... for those of you whom like this fanfic, Stick around!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	27. Chapter 27: Aftermath of combat

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 returns with a new chapter, Don't worry... I don't have any explinations or comments to bore you with this time, so I won't waste any time... so please read and enjoy this fresh out of the oven chapter...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 27:

**\- IS academy students lounge / 19:00pm -**

It had been a hard day, Kestrel not only had to endure fear and combat, but in the aftermath had to endure the deafening screaming, and suffocating glomping by the many hundreds of his newly obtained fans. Ichika also had a stressful day of having to be lied to, and later being dragged around the entire IS academy by his big sister making conversation about the wellfare of little Kestrel. Needless to say... Ichika finally had the answers to many of his questions, and Kestrel had earned his right to not have to take part in any further IS engagements, though maybe his IS had something to do with helping the child stay out of trouble.

Since the end of the IS battle earlier that morning, Kestrel had successfuly managed to crawl his way through school lessons, mass fussing and nervous stares. Ichika was understandably still angered by his sister and the others having to push Kestrel into a second battle, but at least his temper was let out by his spar lessons with Houki in the IS academy dojo. What followed was a good spar lesson which heavily impressed Houki, for all boys... anger not only provides uncontrollable behaviour, but also gives them focus. The very sight of Kestrel being in one piece was enough to quel Ichika's rage and make the black haired, Japanesse boy smile with happiness again.

An hour had passed since final lessons and it was only a matter of time before bed time came, but Ichika and Kestrel could finaly use the spare time to decompress. For Kestrel, rest was well and truly needed, despite being good at fighting in an IS and being a child with a lot of energy, Kestrel's mind and body was not used to the fuss from the IS students and endless string of schoolwork questioning from the IS teachers.

Kestrel merely groaned in stress and exhaustion as he rested his small head on one of the two sofa arms, the fabric and padding provided a perfect soothing embrace for the strained child's oncoming and throbbing headace. Ichika could only cast a pleasant but sympathetic look of pity at Kestrel as the small child's long, black hair spread and cascaded down the the child's side and back. From Ichika's point of view the bright red scar appears to be on the left side of the child's face, but never the less the red scar still stands out on the child's face, looking fierce and ready to spill blood again, in the brightly light room.

For a brief moment, the sight of the scar on Kestrel's face sends a small chill down Ichika's spine, but thankfully the Japanesse boy manages to brush it off. The only thing that would make everything perfect would be if the mass hundreds of females wasn't buzzing around both males, for Ichika the feeling of envy washed all over his body at watching little Kestrel relax while the sounds of female gossip, chatter and swooning fuss filled the air. Ichika would never be able to relax with the mass groups of girls fussing him and chattering in a moderate to loud tone, but knowing Kestrel, the child has most likely had endured worse, so maybe its no surprise that little Kestrel can relax amounst a group of swooning schoolgirls.

"So adoreable!" A pair of IS schoolgirls with short blonde hair exclaim, looking down at the resting Israeli child with dreamy expressions. Many other IS schoolgirls armed with some form of camera waste no time and snap away photographs of Ichika sitting beside the curled up Israeli boy. Most images take Ichika by surprise and as such capture amusing looks of bewillderment on Ichika's face, eyes open in surprise and mouth slightly open. As the many differant IS schoolgirls snap away, Ichika can only put on an awkward face and close his eyes for a moment, it is quite painfully clear that any words Ichika can speak or any act he makes wont stop the mass schoolgirls taking images or video footage of Ichika and his small Israeli friend. Even if he was to speak or act in the kindest manner, it still wouldn't make any differance.

However as Ichika begins to lower his head in regret, a very welcome voice breaks the moment, causing all IS schoolgirls to look over their shoulders at the sight. "What's going on here!?". As the many IS schoolgirls look over their shoulders, the famous Charlotte Dunois walks appears. Many IS schoolgirls simply look at each other before spreading themselves apart, clearing a path for the french blonde to walk through. Other IS schoolgirls snap or video their French idol, for Charlotte this is nothing new, in fact the said French blonde is used to the fuss. The only problem being when the mass dozens fuss Ichika and Ichika does nothing to push any off the other girl's temptations away, but then again, all the girls had that tollerance problem with Ichika, Kestrel was an exception because of his mental illness and tender age. "Hey Char, What are you doing around here this late at night!?" - Ichika asks in a pleasant tone, Charlotte merely smiles and folds her arms, her face is happy and full of fun going joy "I was about to ask you and everyone else here the same thing" Charlotte replies as a matter of fact. At that moment, just 2 seconds after replying one such IS schoolgirl jumps forward, puts her joyful and lovestruck face up to Charlotte, making the French Blonde suddenly freeze up, smile slightly and sweatdrop. "We wanted to congratulate Kestrel on his second IS victory!" One schoolgirl with long pink hair and blue eyes speaks out in a happy tone.

"We looked everywhere for him and when we found him, he was with Ichika on the sofa here" - An Irish accented girl with short orange hair speaks out, pointing over at Ichika and Kestrel.

"Doesn't lil' Kestrel here look so lush and sweet!?" - An American accented girl with a large brown ponytail comments while looking over to Ichika and Kestrel.

Charlotte can only chuckle in an awkward manner, she closes her eyes for a brief moment, before opening her eyes and speaking in a calm and rational tone. "Ahh... yeah, and speaking of which, Yamada sensei just gave me personal instructions to see that Kestrel gets to bed". As soon as Charlotte finishes her sentance, everyone stops, blinks in surprise and cast looks of curiosity to Kestrel and back to Charlotte. Ichika also shares the moment of curiosity, but only for a few moments. Soon everyone else gets the picture and smiles in a very pleasant manner, the fact has been screaming out since the moment Kestrel sat down, the day has been very hard on Kestrel's small body. The fact is then spoken in words as the 'Now growing popular' Tomoe's voice is then heard breaking the silence. "He's just a ten year old child, and today's been very harsh, even though a child has a lot of energy... Kestrel's mind carries a lot of stressful burden, so for a child like him, today will deal a heavy physical and mental blow". Upon hearing Tomoe's voice, Ichika jumps up in surprise, a look of relief and happiness is spread across his face.

However, Ichika is not the only one to be happy to see Tomoe, since Kestrel's P.T.S.D was announced, Tomoe has become a very famous person in terms of counciling and support, not only for Kestrel... but to everyone else. Charlotte smiles with pride, turns to face Tomoe and after resting her arms by her sides, the French blonde speaks in a very welcoming tone, "Good evening Tomoe, I take it, you've come to look for Kestrel aswell?". Despite being stared at in a loving manner by many differant IS schoolgirls, Tomoe smiles in acknowledgement of Charlotte's question. "Actually no, I was on my way to bed and then I just happened to notice a large group of people in the student's lounge". As Charlotte is about to reply, Maya's voice speaks out, causing everybody to jump with surprise. "Yes, and everybody has two hours before it is time to get bedded down". Although Maya's voice is full of joy and happiness, many IS students jump in alarm, Ichika, Charlotte and Tomoe are the only ones that are not effected, the three young adults simply look over at the green haired teacher with a usual happy and loving face. Maya closes her eyes for a moment before putting both hands together as if she is praying, as she tilts her head and smiles warmly the nerves of many students instantly ease up. "Okay everyone, I know you all want to help and provide support for little Kestrel, but please remember to give the child some space, he's had quite a hard day today".

As everyone turns their heads back towards Kestrel, they are greeted with the sight of Kestrel yawning and begining to sit up straight, blinking his ocean blue eyes from tiredness back to being alert. To some IS schoolgirls, its the most adoreable sight they've ever seen. Maya looks over at Ichika and with her happy and warm face, speaks in her normal and calm tone "Has there been any problems with Kestrel since this morning?". Ichika is surprised for a moment by Maya's question, but quickly shakes off his surprise by looking down at Kestrel with a calm and pleasant look.

Kestrel, feeling an overwhelming amount of exhaustion flowing around his small body, rubs his eyes, sits up straight and stretches his arms. Even though the stretching of arms does not remove any full feeling of tiredness, Kestrel manages to bring himself round and notice the many differant females either gazing or looking down at him with loving or sympethic looks. Ichika feels a large feeling of comfort flow through him, and turns his head back towards Maya. Ichika's face is full of normal happiness and with a warm tone speaks the words "No, Kestrel's been fine". Maya claps once and in her playful tone cooes out "Okay! Thats wonderful to hear, just make sure Kestrel gets his head down tonight". As Maya finishes speaking Charlotte puts on a cautious face and in a low and careful voice, asks a question that nearly every single person has forgotten to ask. "Yamada sensei... if I may ask, in regards of Kestrel's IS combat, will he be forced to fight another duel?". Many IS students, including Tomoe, Kestrel and Ichika look over at Maya with curious faces.

Maya's emotions suddenly change, the feeling of utter and considerable nerve runs through her body. The green haired teacher in glasses holds her hands up and in a nervous, yet ernest tone speaks the words "A..Ah, n..no need to be s..so concerned, This time me and Orimura give you our words of honour, Kestrel will not have to go into another duel for quite some time. If he does get into his IS, it will only be for training or flying".

For many of the students, Maya sounds honest but the way she acts says differant. For Ichika, the feeling of sickening nerve and unpleasantry rolls and turns over in his guts, however Maya has never been much of a liar, so as much as Ichika, Tomoe and Charlotte doubt it... they have no choice deep down but to trust and take Maya's word. Maya can understand the resentment in Ichika due to the forcing of Kestrel having to go into battle, but with any luck any further confrontation will not occur. Ichika takes another look at Kestrel, before looking over at Maya with a nervous face, he sighs and in a weary voice speaks the words "Okay Yamada sensei, I trust you". As Ichika finishes his phrase many other IS students look at each other, then once again at Maya.

Maya smiles, lowers her raised arms and speaks in her usuall cheerful tone, her eyes closed and a bright warm smile beams off the green haired teacher's face "Well then thats great!". Tomoe is next to ask a question, this time its a question that is unrelated to Kestrel. To ask this question, Tomoe looks Maya in the eyes, sets her face to curious and speaks in a very careful tone "Yamada sensei, about that German girl that challenged Kestrel today, is she okay?". Many IS students look over at Tomoe, Charlotte is one such student, and as the mass number of girls look at Maya the obviousness of the fact that a person's life was put in danger hits home. Maya defuses any nervous or fearfull feelings by closing her eyes, shaking her head and smiling for a brief moment, as Maya finishes she looks calmly at Tomoe and speaks in a careing tone "No need to worry, she's perfectly okay, all she needs is a few weeks of medical care and then she will be as good as grass". As soon as Maya finishes speaking, the looks of utter relief flow over the many differant IS schoolgirls, Tomoe being one the ones most relieved.

The last thing Kestrel wants to do is claim the life, even though Kestrel is just a child, if any news got out that a person like Kestrel had killed an IS pilot... even by accident, would cause some very unpleasant results.

Maya helps reinforce the good news by beaming a loving face and smile over to Kestrel and speaking in a very warm tone "For the time being, Kestrel has performed better than we expected, and we've gathered data on Kestrel's performance, mental condition and IS piloting skill... and... Our German visitors today agreed that, due to the surcumstances, it would be better if Kestrel would NOT take part in any more duels".

Upon hearing Maya's news, Ichika gets a smile of utter joy, and instantly and rapidly bows in the best and respectful way he can to his teacher. "Thank you! Thank you Yamada sensei!" Ichika calls out in joy. As Ichika straightens himself up, Maya fidgets with her hands as she places both arms and hands infront of her, a faint blush is spread across her face. Charlotte can only smile and look at Kestrel with reassurance.

Tomoe lets out a breath and smiles widely, the purple haired female rolls her eyes and blinks as she looks happily at Maya. Many other IS students also have the looks of relief on their faces, even as the many dosens look at Kestrel, the Israeli child only blinks and tilts his head at the many dozens of girls, the only sound that escapes the child is a small "Uh?". The innocent and harmless look of the wild, animal hearted child only makes the many differant IS schoolgirls look at the child with looks of love struck hunger or motherly loving instinct. As the girls look at Kestrel with their either sympathetic or carnal smiles, Charlotte defuses the moment by looking Tomoe in the eyes and speaking in a very, very cautious manner, the French blonde anxious as to what Tomoe's answer is going to be. "Say Tomoe... I saw you speaking to Yui today and I couldn't help overhearing that Kestrel has been speaking to the nurse about his turns and nightmares, does he ever try telling you about what he sees?". Charlotte's face has look of pity, but the curiosity is clearly evident on the French blonde.

Tomoe feels her blood freeze for a brief moment, the smile on her face drops and the purple haired girl looks down on the ground with a look of sorrow and pain. Many IS schoolgirls break eye contact with Kestrel and swivel their heads to look Tomoe. Maya is umoungst the group to look at Tomoe with a curious look, one thing is for sure, for a teacher, the wellfare of one of her most youngest and fragile students is something that is NOT to be taken for granted. Tomoe keeps her eyes focused on the floor, the look of saddness and pain is evident on the purple girl's face, the many years of having to look after her familiy relative, and now having to look out for an even younger victim of unimaginable terrors, hits hard like a knife in the purple headed girl's young and pain stricken heart. Tomoe shifts her eyes left to right before looking up at Charlotte with a very serious frown, Charlotte blinks in surprise before casting back a serious frown of her own. Tomoe relaxes her face, inhales, then lets out an emotional battled sigh, as she looks at Charlotte... every other IS schoolgirl looks Tomoe with anxoius looks, though some girls blink ... everyone, including Ichika, waits with anticipation.

"Look... first of all... I want to say, I'm grateful that you've asked me and not Kestrel, asking Kestrel would be considered an act of cruelty. Secondly... Kestrel hardly speaks a word to me, most of the information I get comes from Yui and even then, its only a small fraction. Thirdly... you should never ask a victim questions of what torture they endured, and fourth'ly... what I do know... you can't really begin to understand what Kestrel has endured, so... if I was to tell you and then someone went up to him and told him that they know about what he's experianced, it could lead to the child commiting suicide!". - Tomoe explains, her voice rocks with quilt as she finishes her phrase. For the many schoolgirls that were expecting Tomoe to spill the beans, the explanation is a pure nasty shock.

Many IS schoolgirls cast shocked looks at each other, the only exception is non other than Maya, but it is only to be expected. Maya is a mature woman with a lot of experiance with good and bad moments in life, so Tomoe's explination is merely a reminder of the all to painful truth of the number of possible reactions a traumitised child with give or suffer if confronted by a painful secret being spoken of directly in front of him. Maya can only sigh and shake her head, her face is full of sympathetic sorrow. As she stands up straight, she speaks in a very clear voice, she turns her head slightly to the left and then back to the right, her attention focused on the mass number of surprised schoolgirls. "Okay everyone! Okay! Calm down!". As the many differant IS schoolgirls look at Maya with surprised looks, Ichika and Kestrel send neutral looks and each other. Ichika feels vast amounts of pain in his chest, even as he looks back over at Maya, Ichika can't help but feel the sickening feeling of guilt... yet feeling a good amount of reasurance and saftey knowing that Maya is capeable to gain control of the situation.

With Charlotte, the vast whispers and gathering around Maya, along with Maya's voice seems to filter through one ear and out the other. For Charlotte the painful reality of being told she asking questions that could claim the life of a vulnerable child causes tears of guilt to fill in her eyes. The French blonde stares at the floor, sorrow filling her face and eyes, Tomoe unfortuneatly does not notice Charlotte's pain and is to embroiled in watching Maya explaining to the other females about how delicate a traumitised child's mind works. Ichika is also focused on Maya and the other females and also fails to notice Charlotte's saddness. For Charlotte the feeling of being suddenly foolish is also humiliating and causing ever more pain and tears to roll down Charlotte's face.

Nobody notices Charlotte crying... except for one! As Charlotte looks down and lets silent and struggled tears fall to the floor, a small feeling contacting her hand causes the French blonde to look down. To her startled amazement, the sight of a curious Kestrel looking up at the French blonde with a straight and calmed expression. Kestrel's soft and small hand grasps Charlotte's hand causing the French girl to blink in surprise, Kestrel tilts his head and blinks with curious gaze. As Charlotte looks into the child's ocean blue eyes, the feeling of gratitude and happiness returns, making the French blonde smile. Once again the ( wise-beyond-his-years ) Kestrel surprises Charlotte in the most innocent manner. For Kestrel to come and try to aid Charlotte out of an act of pure kindness, is more than enough to ease Charlotte's saddness.

As Ichika shifts his gaze away from Maya over to Charlotte, he is amazed to see Charlotte looking down at Kestrel with a warm and loving smile. Kestrel has the curious look on, innocent and calm. Ichika smiles with pride, folds his arms and calmly walks over to the pair, the cause of Ichika feeling pride is due to seeing Charlotte and Kestrel's hands in contact in the hand shake position. "Getting along well eh Char?" Ichika speaks with pride. Charlotte sniffles, wipes a tear away from her eye with a free hand and looks over at Ichika with proud and cheerful look of her own. "Like a house on fire!" Charlotte replies with bright and pleasant expression.

**\- Scene Change/ IS academy hallway/ 20:40pm -**

It had been an amazingly long hour of chatter and discussion in the students lounge, but finally, Ichika and the others were on their way to their respective bedrooms. For once Ichika could smile about the idea of going to bed, most of the time Ichika merely looked forward to the moment were he could relax, but this time he smiled due to the knowledge that he could get a very and well earned nights rest, to the dark haired Japanese boy... the very word and thought of bed, had never felt or sounded so good. Charlotte walked hand in hand with Kestrel, the French blonde seemed to be in no hurry to let Kestrel's hand go, the gratitude was still being felt inside Charlotte's chest, in fact the softness of Kestrel's hand was very comforting to the French blonde.

Many of the IS schoolgirls that were in the student's lounge with Ichika and the others had followed on with Maya. Maya's main reason for following was due to following her duty as a teacher, making sure the students got to bed at a reasonable hour. Non the less, she smiled with happiness watching and hearing the many differant IS schoolgirls look and gossip away to each other. As Ichika walked forward down the brightly lit hallway, the eager Japanese boy failed to notice Charlotte's voice speaking out to him. His mind was to focused on getting to bed and resting up for the night.

However, Charlotte managed to get Ichika's attention after making a loud and clear call out to the Japanese boy "ICHKIA!". Ichika jumps in surprise and instantly turns his head to the left to look down at Charlotte, an awkward expression is on his face, added by a nervous smile. Ichika does close his eyes for a few seconds before opening his brown eyes and speaking in a very calm voice "Ah...Sorry about that Char, I guess I let the idea of going to bed get to me". Charlotte can't blame Ichika and merely shakes her head. She places a happy look on her face and looks back at Ichika, she speaks in a cheerful voice "Don't be sorry, its been a hard day... anyway, I was saying that if Kestrel here needs an IS partner, I can always stand in". Ichika blinks and smiles, but... before he can speak, one of the many differant girls walking behind, cut him off. "We will pair up with Kestrel if he needs some support" - A girl with a long red braid speaks out in a cheerful manner. Charlotte and Ichika look behind them, the cheerful looks of more females greet their eyes.

Then, the group is taken by surprise when one of the girls turns to a brown, mahogany door lifts a hand and waves in a very feminine manner. "Okay everyone, i'll see everyone in the morning".

"Sure thing!" - Another IS schoolgirl replies, many other IS students acknowledge the schoolgirl with hand waves and biddings of goodnight. Ichika and Charlotte are amoungst the group that bid the girl goodnight, and as everybody has guessed, a routine of schoolgirls bidding each other goodnight and acknowlegding each other begins. At first the routine is simple, but as the group begins to slow down to allow some last minute gossiping, time begins to fly.

Ichika becomes slightly uncomfortable, as he is the main subject of any girl's chatter, Kestrel is now included but thankfully, the Israeli child is oblivious, the scene proving that maybe Kestrel's lack of Japanese could very well be a blessing. Maya despite being female is able to defuse any long drawn out chatter by reminding everyone that bed time is approaching. Kestrel also reminds everyone by slumping to the side, very nearly falling to the floor asleep, Charlotte however is the perfect anchor and manages to help the child back onto his feet. For Ichika and Kestrel, the knowledge that their bedroom is only a few doors away, makes both boys feel as though they are walking ever closer towards an earth made heaven. Then, Ichika's prayers are answered when he, Kestrel and the group finally come to a stop outside his bedroom door. For Ichika, the feeling makes him want to jump screaming in happiness, but manages to keep his cool.

Kestrel is the one whom acts honest as he breaks free from Charlotte's hand and tiredly stumbles his way towards his bedroom door, Ichika notices little Kestrel's exhausted act and wastes no time in opening his door for the scar faced youngster. As the group look at Kestrel with the looks of sympathy, the child turns to face the group. The sight surprises everyone in a calm manner, but it is virtualy instant for everyone to guess what the child is going to do. Kestrel, with his ocean blue eyes full of tiredness eye lids slowly dropping over his eyes, makes a very exhausted bow to everyone and lets out a timid, but very tired "Thank you".

Maya smiles in happiness and kindly leans her body forward in a small bow of her own and speaks in a very loving tone "You're very welcome Kestrel". Many of the remainding IS schoolgirls either let out a series of 'Awws' or loving 'You're welcome's' of their own, for many the sight of Kestrel's very first respective bow, is the most adoreable they've ever seen. Kestrel lifts his body and head up and with a tired face makes a small, timid but happy smile, then turns and tiredly stumbles his way towards his bed.

As Ichika smiles down at the child, Charlotte's voice snaps the said Japanese boy back to the group. "Say, Ichika... Yamada sensei has given me and some of the girls permission for a girl's night, so if you like... why don't you bring Kestrel over to my room for a few hours?". Ichika pauses, looks at the French blonde with a normal, straight face for a few seconds before smiling and speaking in a very calm, yet curious tone "A girl's night? I assume you mean something like a 'Slumber party'?". Charlotte looks over at 6 girls and shrugs her shoulders, the IS schoolgirls do the same while looking at each other with curious faces. As the girls look at Ichika with small smiles and pleasant faces, Charlotte speaks in a tone that houses a hint of desperate hope. "Ah, yeah... I suppose you could call it that, don't feel pressured to join if you want to spend the night with Kestrel thats fine". As Charlotte finishes speaking, Ichika notices the hopeful looks in the other girl's eyes, the sight makes Ichika blink. Ichika pauses and looks at Maya, then... with a face unsure of what is happening speaks the words "I thought students here were to be in bed at a strict time, and besides I thought those things were forbiden at the IS academy?" Maya instantly responds with a bright and beaming smile, the green haired teacher holds an arm up, hand palm flat and out in a position of explination "It normaly is, but because of summer time approaching, along with the good work thats been made, Orimura has given any social gatherings the green, but she does insist that everyone is asleep by a certain hour". Maya places her hands together in moment of happiness, her face is full of joy. For Maya, the idea of letting most IS schoolgirls decompress in such a manner reminds her of her own school days, Ichika however, still remains confused, he looks at the teacher with a curious face and asks in a neutral tone "Realy, but... what about the gender situation, I thought that a boy being thrown into a herd of girls would be considered inapropriate".

Many IS schoolgirls look at each other, roll their eyes and shake their heads, each one has the ironic thought in their heads ( "I had a feeling he would say something like that!" ). Maya smiles and shakes her head in calmness. As she speaks, she lifts up an index finger in explination "Oh no, not at all... the fact that Kestrel would be with you, would be considered an act of innocence a minor amoungst an adult group would be considered a gathering with clearly appropriate intentions". Ichika opens his eyes, the 'IDIOT' hammer hitting him on the head, many IS schoolgirls smile and shake their heads.

Charlotte being one such female huffs in amusement before asking one last time with an eager look on her face, "So, will you and Kestrel join us?". Ichika smiles, looks at the many differant female faces and happily speaks the words, "Sure, me and Kestrel will be there". As soon as Ichika speaks those sacred words, some schoolgirls leap in the air, Charlotte is one of the girls that practally jump in utter happiness, face full of joy, eyes closed and the soft breast and body bouncing as the said female lands back on her feet. Maya and Ichika are taken by surprise, and both lean back in surprise, both have a sweatdrop on the side of their temple. As the 'VERY' happy group of 12 schoolgirls finish their leaps, each and every one happily bows in respect, looks Ichika in the face and lets out a very quick and happy "Thank you! We'll see you there! Goodnight!". Maya can only smile, at the sight as the many differant schoolgirls rush away to their bedrooms, the only one remaining being Charlotte whom lifts up a piece of paper and places it in Ichika's hand.

Ichika bows in respect in acknowledgement of Charlotte's invitation and exchanges goodnights. As Charlotte rapidly walks away, the French blonde looks over her shoulder and calls out "The night starts at nine and is on in two days time!". Ichika awkwardly smiles and raises a hand in acknowledgement. As Ichika places the folded piece of paper in his uniform pocket, Maya walks up to Ichika and smiles, the green haired teacher impressed by the way Ichika is either dense or kind. "Take it easy on the night okay? If you're not careful a whole lot of other girl nights may occur, so be ready for any questions okay?". Ichika blinks in surprise and speaks back in a happy yet creeped out tone "Ah... yeah, don't worry... I won't let anything happen, goodnight Yamada sensei". As Ichika exchanges bows and watches Maya walk away back down the corridor, Ichika leans his back against the door frame, puts a hand to his chin, looks up in confusion and asks clearly to himself "What does she mean by that?".

_**Okay that is Chapter 27, stick around to see what happens in the next chapters. Be prepared for what ever moments occur in Charlotte's slumber party, please continue to read and review, remember, it is all very much appreciated.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	28. Chapter 28: The Gym incident

_**Hello everyone, I've just looked over my Fanfic and yes... I know my style was differant at the begining but that was just the foundations before my gears got oiled, but please remember it is my first fanfic, I'm sure those of you whom are reading at home will understand, anyway... this chapter should remind you of your times in Highschool gym or at the least remind you of some classic experimentation used in Gym or work out scenes, anyway... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 28:

**\- IS academy/ athletic track and field/ 09:10am -**

Ichika, Kestrel and the entire gang line up outside the IS academy, in front of them, the sight of a large round oval running track - Olympic game stadium style 'only smaller of course!'. In the Center of the oval surrounding track, dead center, is a large green patch with individual areas for shot put, hammer throw, javelin, pole vault, long jump and triple jump. One thing is for sure, Ichika is grateful for getting a good night's rest, because today, he'll definatley need it. Although the IS academy is an area for IS training, the rule of keeping the students active, healthy and up to shape is all to true, though for Ichika and the gang it should be no problem, it will be like being back in highschool. Though for Laura and 3 of her German female visiting friends, it will be a walk in the park - After all, Laura and her friends are military trained, so its very likely that Laura and the Germans will run rings around everyone today. The main attire worn by the mass numbers of IS schoolgirls is the same, blue body tight IS flight suits that are used for IS piloting. Ichika and Kestrel's IS flight suits look exactly the same, { Please remember that }.

For today's early morning lesson of running around and keeping fit, the tutor is non other than the athletic P.E teacher Miss Kitami. { She's a made up character like Yui and Tomoe }. The P.E teacher coming out onto the field to greet the 40 differant students in a body tight IS flight suit. The flight suit easily shows the curved woman's abbs and muscle toned arms and thighs. Miss Kitami's short, light blue tomboy'ish hair is a perfect match for her goofy, friendly, yet serious playful face. Some students cast disgusted looks at each other as they see their P.E teacher happily jog up to them.

Despite being a woman, she has a lot of students that grumble or wish badly of her, which is probably due to her long lessons that draw out nearly every ounce of strength and living breath out of nearly every single student. Ichika is familiar with Miss Kitami's hardships, and understands the anger felt by many students, the only students happy or accepting of the woman is mostly just Laura and a few handfuls of other random IS schoolgirls. "Okay you lot! Great to see y'all could make it out here this mornin'!" - Miss Kitami shouts with a proud and cheerful expression her face. The tomboy'ish teacher even holds an arm in the air as if she is celebrating victory, but most students just look at the short haired teacher with unamused looks. As the short haired woman lowers her arm, sticks out her chest and looks at her students with eagerness, the feeling of fear and dread strikes not only Ichika, but every other IS student in the gut.

Ichika has heard a lot of dam'nations to hell cursed upon the teacher by most of the students, but deep down Ichika can't refuse the possibility that Miss Kitami probably does not mean any harm and is just over the top towards her students, but Ichika can't speak against the truth that he himself has wanted illness or some form of bad omen to fall upon the teacher on many occasions.

"Okay y'all, today I want to divide you into six differant teams, so when I call your name, I want y'all to form in a line in front of me!". The tomboy'ish teacher explains while pointing to the ground directly in front of her. The teacher holds in her right hand a clipboard with a pen fixed on a small piece of thread on the top part of the black, plastic sheeted board. Many students tense up and look at each other with fearful looks, each and every one nervous and dreading what 'Torture' was laying in wait for them. Ichika himself cringed a little at the very thought, the japanese boy always got the rough side of humiliation from the tomboy'ish teacher, even if it was merely in a form of showing Ichika's weaknesses in sports, Ichika always felt the sick at the very mention or thought of having to work with the short, blue haired woman. Miss Kitami is an attractive woman, she looks very young despite being in her late thirties, but in the end many of the students in her lessons become to embroiled in hating the woman's possible sadistic side, rather than her nice attractive looks.

Cecilia is proof of hating the blue haired woman but scowling and hissing at the woman through clenched teeth. Charlotte's face has a nervous image, which shifts to a panic stricken look when she is called forward by miss Kitami. Laura on the other hand has an eager and calm expression, miss Kitami was very fond of Laura and always has the look of pride when calling her forward, and it was clearly evident that Laura was proud of being called forward, it was made evident by the silver haired girl strutting forward, her face full of happiness and pride. As the moments passed, Ichika looked down at Kestrel and stared at the child with a deep look of pity. Ichika had a single thought running through his head, ( "I can't bear to think of the pain she'll inflict on me, but if she goes to far on Kestrel today, I WILL tell her!" ). Ichika frowns in a serious moment looking forward, though he is nervous and tense as to what is going to happen today, the good hearted Japanese boy is hell bound on looking out for his small and timid Israeli friend.

Then... as expected, Ichika is called forward. Swallowing a gulp, Ichika raises his head, and confidently walks forward. What greets Ichika is a line of schoolgirls in six differant lines, Ichika notices that Laura and Cecilia is at the head of two differant lines, Laura has the look of pride and excitement while Cecilia looks like she is about to cry with frustraition. As Ichika turns his head to look forward he notices miss Kitami pointing to a line with its lead girl having long, curly brown hair. As Ichika walks down between the lines of females, he notices Charlotte in the line opposite his, the French blonde sends Ichika an awkward look.

Ichika smiles back in an awkward manner before getting to his destination behind a short black haired girl with a braid, though Ichika is uncomfortable about miss Kitami, he is also nervous about the fact that girls in his group are going to stare, whisper and swoon over him, its happened many times over and as a ressult makes the Japanese boy always want a partner whom he knows in his group. The Japanese boy's heart beats in a highly nervous state as he notices the many differant IS schoolgirls in his team blush and turn their heads in a lovey dovey manner towards him.

Ichika however manages to shake off the moment and look forward in desperate hopes that Houki will be the one to join his group, as the remaining schoolgirls are selected and brought forward to their respectful lines, Ichika's heart beats nervously, he even holds his breath in a hopeful prayer that god or some other devine force will grant his wish, but... fate proves to be against Ichika. As Houki is sent over to Laura's line, Ichika closes his eyes and looks down on the ground, the stress and frustraition nearly makes Ichika start crying or scream in stress.

However, Ichika's disapointment suddenly changes to a moment of happiness as little Kestrel is directed over to Ichika's line. For Ichika, the sight of his little Israeli friend walking over to his line nearly makes him cheer or clap in happiness, as much as Ichika hates to admit it, Kestrel will be an antidote to his girl trouble for todays P.E lesson, but today's antidote will have a differant meaning... most of the time when Ichika has Houki or any of the others he follows directions, but with Kestrel... Ichika will have a chance to lead his little Israeli friend, have a reason to ignore any lovey dovey waves or winks from the schoolgirls and instead focus on leading an example for his traumitised Israeli friend.

As Kestrel calmly walks down the lines of stareing schoolgirls, Ichika sends the child a warm and comforting smile. Kestrel merely blinks and tilts his head at Ichika in a form of confusion, then as Kestrel walks behind the last female in Ichika's line, miss Kitami turns round and looks forward as the last remaining girls take their places in their respective lines. Then, Ichika and the others are snapped away from looking at the thin and very adoreable looking Kestrel by the sudden and loud voice of miss Kitami "OKAY! You lot better give your all out there today! I expect to see some sweat come off you all!". Ichika can only cringe and think desperatley to himself of what options he may have for today's events, though with none in sight, Ichika can only sigh, look down and just brace himself for what ever unpleasantness is coming. "OKAY YOU LOT! EACH TEAM WILL SPEND TWENTY MINUTES ON EACH AND EVERY OBSTICLE OUT HERE TODAY! AND... YOU ARE TO START YOUR LESSONS, RIGHT NOW!". Miss Kitami shouts with joy at the top her lungs, she points in victory to the sky, raises a leg, the sharpness of her dainty looking knees show well under her thin, dark blue IS wear. As she relaxes herself she notices to her satisfaction the many IS students calmly walking over to their designated areas, though miss Kitami does not give any indication as to where each team is going to, it makes no differance to her.

All that matters is where the team leader is going to, Laura leads her group with a proud and confident look, Cecilia on the other hand lowers her head and holds a snarl. Ichika then looks to his right notices Houki amoungst a line of girls holding a straight and emotionless face, the said girl looks as though she is ready to take on any obsticle for today, but as they say, 'Never be fooled by appearances'. Houki is dreading every moment of today just as much as Ichika and the others. { Well, maybe not everyone }.

**\- 6 minutes later -**

For Ichika and little Kestrel, their first port of call was a set of monkey bars to do pull ups. The mass of monkey bars and cages were quite large despite being nearly dead center in the middle of the field, but never the less it was more than capeable of suiting Ichika's team all at once. Many IS schoolgirls spent most of the time climbing the maze of silver, shinning metal bars, leaving Ichika and Kestrel to do pull ups.

For the many IS schoolgirls, being up high on the monkey bars gave them a chance to see from many differant angles of how adoreable Kestrel looked in making attempts to grab a high leveled bar. The Israeli boy jumps over and over again, his Star of David pendant along with his long, black shinning hair seemed to look very elegant running up and then back down. Ichika can only look and sweatdrop at the Israeli child tries in vain to grab a bar to pull himself up with. Then... after 6 jump attempts, Kestrel can only look up at the bar that Ichika has one hand tightly grasped upon.

Ichika looks down an a sympathetic gesture smiles and in a soft tone speaks the words "Ahh... yeah, awkward moment". The moment then becomes more and more awkward as three IS schoolgirls leap from a low level bar on the ground. The small sounds of them landing softly on their feet attracts Ichika's attention, as the Japanese boy looks over to see the three IS schoolgirls, Kestrel looks past Ichika and notices a low level bar, an idea appears in Kestrel's head. Meanwhile as Ichika looks at the three random females, he fails to notice Kestrel calmly and silently walk past him.

Kestrel's white skin looks like he is washed with the cleanest soap in warm sunlight. "Ichika Orimura, I noticed that Kestrel isn't able to do pull ups so if you like, would you mind if we take care of him?" - A girl with a black ponytail asks. Ichika, with a hand still grasped on one of the monkey bars, merely sends a comforting smile down to the questioning schoolgirl. "Oh... heh,heh... yeah, theres no problem at all, just be careful with him okay". Ichika replies with a kind and pleasant chuckle. However, as the three IS schoolgirls send lovey dovey squeals and giggles to each other, they fail to notice that little Kestrel has already started. The Israeli boy has grabbed ahold of a monkey bar that is normaly used for the placing of a foot on for climbing, and as a ressult has started to mimick the IS schoolgirls making their pull ups.

"Okay! Here Kestrel, come with...us!?" - A girl with a Orange braid speaks, her tone shifting from joyful to confused. Ichika and the three girls blink in confusion and start to shift their heads to look around for the Israeli boy. However, they don't have to turn their heads around for long, as an IS schoolgirl with long curly red hair speaks in cheerful manner "Don't worry about little Kes', he's managing!". Ichika and the 3 girls look up towards the IS schoolgirl, and see her pointing directly downwards, a smile is on her face. On the red headed girl's left are 4 more females with happy looks, on her right are 6 females looking over at Ichika and then back down to Kestrel with impressed or curious facial expressions. As Ichika looks over, he is astonished to find Kestrel, heaving his small body in hard drawn pull ups. It is clearly evident that Kestrel is having trouble in in continously pulling up bodily weight, and the strain is clearly evident on the child's face.

Ichika and the idle standing girls can only smile and look with impressment at the sight, untill a sudden and sharp voice brings the entire group back to reality "OI! OI! What are you lot doing standing around! I didn't say stop! Com'mon people! I Wan'na see sweat!". Ichika and every single girl in his team snap their attention and notice non other than miss Kitami, the woman has a serious yet pleasant facial image. "Okay you lot, what'a you lot doin' standin around!? All I see in front of me is the new kid breakin' a sweat!" - Miss Kitami calmly yet, sternly speaks out while pointing over at little Kestrel making his struggled pull ups. Ichika and the girls only get a brief chance to look again at Kestrel before miss Kitami smiles widely raises her nose in the air, sticks out her chest and howls with a short and loud laugh. The short but brief laughter makes Ichika and his entire team look over at the teacher with looks of either confusion or alarm.

As miss Kitami relaxes herself, she happily shouts out with a sharp point at the mass of monkey bars "OKAY! OKAY! No more dawdling! Get working!". Ichika and the girls don't hesitate and instantly get back to breaking a sweat.

"That's it! That's it! keep it up you lot! keep it up!" - The tomboy'ish teacher calls out, casting a final impressed look over at little Kestrel. As the blue haired teacher walks away, Ichika and the others sweatdrop.

"Looks like lil' Kestrel has out foxed us with terms of rule following eh!?" - An American accented girl with long green hair states with a playful smile on her face. The said female takes a glipse over at Ichika and makes a flirting wink. Ichika only sweatdrops and lets out a nervous chuckle before speaking in a calm and neutral tone "Ah... yeah, well he does me credit! Thats what I always say!". As Ichika finishes his statement, the sound of pride and happiness is hinted in Ichika's voice, making many of the IS schoolgirls look at each other with happy and impressed faces.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Ichika and his team hurridley finish making their way over towards the next phase of their P.E, the field events, that include long jump and high jump, Ichika looks over at the running track to see Charlotte and the girls in her team rushing along the track as fast as their legs can carry them, from where Ichika is standing he fails to notice the exhaustion beginning to appear on the French blonde's face. However he manages to notice the exhaustion appearing on Cecilia's face, the British Blonde looks down gasping for air, having just completed her turn in javelin. Cecilia unbeknowst to Ichika has already gone through the track events and is already on the verge of collapsing, many of the girls in her group look they already have done. Ichika sweatdrops and puts on a nervous face, as he looks away and ahead.

His team has split into two groups, one has gone for triple jump, the other has chosen long jump. Blinking, Ichika wastes no time in choosing which event to participate in, the last thing he wants is for miss Kitami to have him by the ear lobe for malingering. Ichika chooses long jump, Kestrel whom is busy observing the other schoolgirls fails to notice Ichika move forwards, leaving him open for recruitment. Meanwhile Ichika waits in the gathering line, one by one, each schoolgirl runs forward, leaps and lands heels first in the sandy landing space. Ichika feels a tense moment run up his spine, but he has confidence in his athletic skills. Smiling slightly to himself, he suddenly hears the sounds of girlish chatter catch his attention, and as he turns his head to the left, recieves a unexpected surprise. Kestrel is being pulled over to the triple jump by a pair of schoolgirls, the child's face is full of fear yet at the same time, curiosity.

Ichika's heart seems to stop, his nerves and concern runs high, but he's trapped. As a girl with twin, white buns prods Ichika in the back snapping his attention. "Its your turn to jump Ichika" - the girl speaks with a friendly tone. As Ichika turns his attention forward and notices the clear running track and sand patch in front of him, the Japanese boy can do nothing but go along with the event he's chosen.

"Oh damn!" - Ichika hisses to himself, knowing its pointless to argue, Ichika kneels forward, readies himself for a rapid boost of speed, then... charges forward, his legs running as fast as he can make them move, then... in just a short period of time, gets to the red marking line, with one almighty jump... springs himself forward, the air runs through his thick, black hair. Then... the japanese boy places both limbs forward and with his heels, lands himself in the sand. Though the impact takes away some frustrated fear out of him, Ichika does not look back at how far he's jumped and instead rushes over to the back of the cue, along the way he easily manages to ignore the many whispering females speaking in very girlish ways about how attractive Ichika is when he is either working out or how cool he looks when he's running.

For Ichika, the one thing on his mind is how his little friend Kestrel is getting on, Ichika's heart thumps away, as he steadily jogs back to his spot at the back of his team's line. As Ichika reaches the back of the line he notices little Kestrel just 5 girls away from his turn to make the jump. Ichika gulps, his face is full of nerves ( "Please god, If you're there, help him out here will ya!?" ) Ichika thinks to himself in a desperate manner.

As Ichika looks away and casts his look over at the hammer throw, he notices Laura and the German females getting the better of the other students, needless to say... the remainder of Laura's team seems happy by watching the German girls beat them anyway. Ichika sweatdrops and casts his vision over to another point and notices an exhausted Cecilia panting and gasping, her team looks realy shattered, even if Cecilia and most of the girls at the academy are thin and fit, even the fitest of people have limits. Miss Kitami failing to notice the deflated state and seeming just forcing more labour onto the girls.

Ichika's sympathy clearly goes out to the females, then... as he turns his head he notices Charlotte and her team on the hurdles, one girl or two smashes into the said jumping obsticles and falling hard on their sides or front, normaly you would expect a female to easily clear a hurdle, but due to the exhaustion flowing from most of the females, its only obvious that one or two will fall down. As Ichika looks back over to Kestrel he notices the said Israeli boy is now 2 girls away from his making his jump. All the while this is happening, Ichika does not loose attention on moving forward in line. The clue being that a person rushes past you and that you can hear the footsteps, along with the person rushing past you while your looking in the exact direction that the person will rush by. Ichika takes one final look away from Kestrel and looks at Houki complete an easy pole vault, his body and mind fills with envy.

Houki has always been an athletic type of person, so maybe its no surprise that she can complete an event with ease. Then, as Ichika takes a look over to his left, he is just in time to see Kestrel begin running down the track, his long black hair rushes and blows beautifuly in the wind as the child rushes forward, the child then gets to the red mark and to Ichika's surprise, manages to make an impressive leap forward, as the child lands on his feet, Ichika holds a brief breath. Kestrel then springs forward again, the leap is shorter than the first but the child gives it his all.

Then, the child summons all remaining spring and jumps as far forward as possible. The child lands safely in the sand, causing many observing girls in his team to gasp and point amazed at how well Kestrel just did on his first attempt. For Ichika its just a relief that Kestrel has done so well on his first move and has not felt the painful burden of embarrasment. ( "Thanks! Thank you god!" ) Ichika thinks to himself, the Japanese boy relieved highly that his traumitised little friend has completed his second challenge with good ressults, for a child... the jump distance is very impressive, and hard to belive an amature child has achieved the said distance ressults. Even though the ressults are not over the top or amazing, its still a good effort.

Ichika and Kestrel: - 02 -

Lessons: - 00 -

**\- 5 minutes later -**

Although the monkey bars, Long jump and triple jump had been a success, the next challenges would be a lot more challenging, this time Ichika's team would do three challenges in a rotation setting. One person would do one event, move on to the second, then on to the third before moving back to doing the first event. The events where Shot put, Javelin and Hammer throw. Ichika was confident for himself in the on coming events, he was good in javelin and always had very good ressults in shot put, but hammer throw was one of his least loved events, but at least he was on to a part that did not require any running around and jumping, his heart was already beating hardly and the Japanese boy and his team were all hell bent on getting their hearts to slow down and get as much strength back as quickly as possible.

This time however Ichika was not letting Kestrel out of his sight, he was going to ensure that he was directly behind Kestrel, and only one event away. The two boys however were in the middle of the line this time, and this gave them a short amount of time to brace themselves for the upcoming event. As the first female rushes over towards the shot put, the one directly behind braces herself for the coming event. Kestrel on the other hand, closes his eyes and places a hand to his head, the child remains that way for at least 30 seconds before blinking, lowering his hand and arm by his side and looking forward with a nervous face.

Ichika does not fail to notice the child's anxious state and can do nothing except place a hand on the said child's shoulder, making the child instantly turn and look up at Ichika with an anxious expression. Ichika places a soft and sympathetic look on his and smiles kindly, "Don't worry about it, you'll do great okay". Ichika speaks in a loving and warm tone. Kestrel can only look down on the ground, a 1,000 yard stare begins to form in the child's eyes, but thankfully the child does not hear any abnormal sounds or see any disturbing images.

It only takes a few moments and sure enough, it is Kestrel's turn on the events, and although the child gives it his all, the ressults are not as good as expected. The shot put flew only a small distance, the javelin only flew a metre, and the hammer was simply to heavy for the child to pick up. Ichika does his best to comfort the child which has some good effect, but its not the lack of ressults that bothers Kestrel, its the look miss Kitami sends the Israeli child. The tomboy'ish teacher has a very disappointed look on her face, and looks at the child as if she has just seen him break her objects, eat her food or steal something from her possession.

To Ichika and the other students, the lack of performance is easily forgiven due to Kestrel being a simple child, but to miss Kitami, the brutality of a P.E coach sometimes knows no limits. The tomboy'ish teacher shows her dis-satisfaction by marching up to Kestrel, and leaning down sending a very sinister glare at the child. Kestrel's eyes widden and the colour drains from his face, the child begins to tremble as Miss Kitami sends a very angered look at the boy. "Well, well, well... what do we have here, a kid that clearly has fun lazing around I suspect!". The tomboy'ish teacher speaks in a nasty sounding hiss. Ichika notices the Kestrel's discomfort and instantly places a frown on his face, even though he knows that speaking against a teacher could land him in trouble, Ichika's good and loving heart will get the better of him every time. "Miss Kitami!" Ichika speaks in a low voice that seems to demand attention. The said blue haired teacher rolls her eyes and straightens herself up, sending back an angered expression at Ichika. Ichika nervously tenses up but manages to keep his serious facial image and voice. "Miss Kitami, If I may say, Kestrel is just a little boy, he isn't ready for challenges like these".

To the schoolgirls in Ichika's team, Ichika is making everyone stop and watch with amazement as he speaks in serious tone to his tomboy'ish teacher. To the schoolgirls, Ichika is making himself look like a damn brave hero, but from Kestrel's point of view, the nightmare is only just starting. Kestrel takes his eyes off his teacher for a few moments, and looks over at Ichika, as the said child turns his head back to look at his teacher, what greets him as a sight that makes Kestrel start to tremble in an alarming manner. In Kestrel's mind, the tomboy'ish teacher's hair has changed to colour to pitch black, the large and muscular woman is holding a long, black, blood drenched whip in the left hand, red drips of wet, fresh blood seem to drip off the blackness of the looped whip.

Her clothing has changed to black trousers, a blood drenched white T-shirt, blood splattered jewelry items are on the woman's fingers and arms. Most jewelry is made from pure bone and ressembles finger bones in human hands, made into some form of decrotive jewelry or accessory. Around the woman's neck is a line of 4 or 5 small human skulls, set on a long silver chain. The woman's left ear has an ear ring in the form of a rabbit's foot. However, as the woman turns head to look at Kestrel, the woman smiles in a very, evil manner. Her eyes are furious and sinister, wide and deranged in a very demonic way. The smile on her face is very satanic, and her smile clearly shows a set of vampire fangs. Kestrel's heart beats out of control, he shakes very heavily as his eyes meet his vision's own, evil and menacing gaze. A single tear of fear rolls down Kestrel's face, and the child tries to back up.

Back in the world of reality, a schoolgirl with long dark blue hair blinks, and just happens to take her green eyes off Ichika and Kitami, then in a startled manner, places a face of fear on her face, and shouts out as loud as she can "OH MY GOD! KESTREL'S SEEING THINGS AGAIN!", the girl points over at the terror stricken Israeli boy to confirm her claim. Everyone, including Ichika and miss Kitami look over and to their horror notice Kestrel with a utterly terror stricken face stareing wide eyed at miss Kitami. Ichika wastes no time and rushes forward, his heart beats wildly and his face is full of alarm, the only motive in Ichika being 'Rescue'. Thankfully Kestrel does not run away and Ichika is able to get a firm hold on him, the remaining girls in his team rush forward ignoring miss Kitami's yells of protest. As Ichika kneels down hold tightly to Kestrel, Kestrel slumps backward, violently shaking, eyes remaining wide open and full of terror.

As the girls in Ichika's group make it up to where Ichika is now on his knees, they find Ichika cradling Kestrel in his arms. Ichika has a serious look on his face, but his emotions are full of panic and distress, the japanese boy shakes and grasps Kestrel's pale and clamy hand in an effort to help calm Kestrel down. 4 of the schoolgirls join in Ichika's desperate efforts, calling out to Kestrel in hopes that the long haired boy with calm down and stop shaking, but the look on his face says otherwise. "Ichika, I'll go get the nurse!" - A girl with short purple hair speaks out, rushing away as fast as she can towards the academy, Ichika's only reply is a loud and short "Thanks!". However as the now large group of females converge around the panicked Kestrel and distressed Ichika miss Kitami looks down with a curious but angered expression. From Miss Kitami's point of view, this is all a hoax, yet something tells her, its very real... but, P.E teachers seem to lack the humanitarian side and instead the strict and brawn side makes the blue haired teacher, place a balled fist into one a palmed hand and with a look of determination begins to march forward at the 2 boys on the ground.

Trouble is approaching, but, unbeknownst to Ichika a figure from the distance has already noticed the trouble and is already on its way to the rescue, but... what or who is it?

_**Okay, I think its fair to say I've reached my very first climatic and heart in the mouth ending chapters leaving many to question what is going to happen in the next chapter, Well... don't worry the next chapter is being writen as we speak. Stick around friends!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	29. Chapter 29: Inhumanity of PE teachers

_**Hello all, Black Falcon 01 returns again with yet a new chapter of Taming Kestrel, as you are well aware we left the gang in the last chapter with heart in the mouth moment, and as I promised this next chapter will provide a hopeful amount of satisfaction to you readers... on a side note, I know that some people hold really serious grudges against past teachers and so on, especially P.E one's, so take some entertainment in knowing that one such teacher gets something coming, anyway... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 29:

Mere seconds had passed since little Kestrel's horrific mind turn had caused him to collapse in a fit of terror in Ichika's arms, the Israeli child's nerves continued to spiral out of control as the child stared, wide eyed at the sky, violently shaking and becoming drenched in cold sweat. For many with common sense, the images before them proved that the child's spasams and acts were genuine, however... common sense does not apply to the IS academy P.E teacher, Miss Kitami. To her all that mattered the most was performance, sure... most of the time she acts with the best of intentions, but because she hardly gets sick or suffers injury, as far as miss Kitami is concerned, the child is only making a well performed act to slack off lessons.

As much as many students hate to admit it, miss Kitami is friendly to a point, but deep down she is also the devil teacher from hell with a very strict personality when it comes to sports or P.E lessons. The point being made by the tomboy'ish woman suddenly dusting up her knuckles and marching forward towards Ichika and the gathered crowd of girls with a very fierce expression. So far miss Kitami has just lost one girl in her lesson in an act of running to fetch the nurse, so as far as the blue haired woman's concerned, she is damned if she is going to loose any more students to 'What to her' looks like a well performed act. Ichika and the girls don't even notice the blue haired teacher storming up to them.

"Kestrel! Kestrel! What's wrong!?, Look at me!" - Ichika calls out with a serious face, his voice is full of desperation, the Japanese boy shakes the Israeli child's shaking body, but holds the child's small head in one hand. All the while this happening the mass gathering group of IS schoolgirls hang over the 2 boys, 10 females however, kneel down... one such girl reaches over and grabs Kestrel's clamy right hand. Kestrel does not blink, even though tears of terror are streaming down his face. The top half of Ichika's body hovers over Kestrel, the Japanese boy's brown eyes look deeply into Kestrel's terror stricken eyes, but to no avail. All Kestrel can see is an endless flashing stream of random differant places in Israel appearing one after the other each image appears and then dissapears before the child can assess the situation. As the group of IS schoolgirls begin to hover over the child and look down with looks of concern and deep pity, miss Kitami reaches out to grab the back of one of the standing schoolgirls.

As much as many would belive, the schoolgirls do NOT make a whisper as they are suddenly pulled away from the mass group of gathering females. What many students that are pulled away instantly notice, is the fierce look of disaprovement. Charlotte is amounst the females pulled away, the French blonde is taken by bad surprise by miss Kitami's powerful vice like grip. The force of being pulled away feels like she is suddenly thrown away with out a single inch of warning. Cecilia and Laura are a lot more fortunate, and instantly move aside, both females have a very uncomfortable look on their faces. It is only as miss Kitami breaks through to the knelt down girls that the many females disperse and dash away, the exception being Ichika. As Ichika notices the shadows of the wall of females suddenly move away and dissapear, the Japanese boy follows a brief glitch of curiosity and turns his head to the left and upwards. What meets Ichika's curious gaze, is non other than a very angered looking miss Kitami, her arms are folded and the said teacher is tapping her right foot.

Meanwhile in Kestrel's mind, an image of a darkened set of Israeli highland mountains comes to mind, the mass screaming of children, men and women echo throughout Kestrel's traumitised mind. One person suddenly comes to the child's turn, a young woman with a face full of distress, the woman is laying on the sandy ground, covered in blood from head to foot. In her arms a squaling baby is heard wrapped in a blood drenched shaul. The woman's long, light blue hair has multiple patches of blood, her face is full of utter distress. She holds a hand out in desperation to reach Kestrel. Amoungst the endless screaming of men, women and children... the woman wails in a distressed tone.. _"H..Help! Please... help me!.."_, then with her eyes widen, her scream changes to an unimaginable level of fear, distress and terror, the ear piercing shriek sends uncontrollable levels of fear through Kestrel's small body. Then, a large orange flash of a large fireballed explosion erupts engulfing the woman and child in orange flames. Then... the sounds rapidly begin to fade, the child's sight is met by a blinding white light, soon followed by the oncoming darkness of a person loosing conciousness.

"KESTREL!" - Ichika shouts in fear, having brought his attention back to his little traumitised friend. Ichika is only just in time to watch Kestrel's ocean blue eyes roll upwards, instantly followed by his eyes closing, as soon as Kestrel's eyes close, the child slumps out cold in Ichika's arms. Kestrel's pale face is covered in cold sweat and tears, Ichika's heart beats very rapidly, he rapidly places his head against Kestrel's small chest and to his relief hears the child's heart beat slowing down and then maintaining a normal, steady beat. As Ichika lets out a very large sigh of relief, his face is clear evidence that Kestrel hasn't simply just rolled over and died.

However miss Kitami pays no heed to what has happened, and simply leans forward with an outstretched arm and grasps Ichika's hair. The Japanese boy's eyes widen and he puts on a face of pain as he suddenly pulled backward and away, Kestrel slips out Ichika's arms. As Ichika is pulled backward, the mass group of IS schoolgirls look over at sight with wide eyed expressions, but none of them move or speak a word to the tomboy'ish teacher. Ichika however manages to get sense of his surroundings and looks upward at his attacker, Ichika's eyes frown to an angered expression and in a sudden protest of frustration, Ichika calls out "Let go of me Kitami! Kestrel's suffering!". Miss Kitami merely twitches an eye and as she kneels on the ground, she puts her face up into Ichika's and with either a smug or snide expression hisses the words "Okay, first of all... you will adress me as Kitami sensei! Secondly I didn't say you or the new kid could stop!". Ichika's temper begins to raise, and in an act of defense raises both hands and begins to wrestle miss Kitami's hands off his thick, black hair. Ichika snarls and with a tear of pain begining to form from Ichika's left eye, speaks in a slightly angered manner "I'm not stopping anything! Kestrel's suffering a turn, he needs to see the nurse and.."

"**RUBBISH!**" - Miss Kitami yells, her face up against Ichika's. As she tightens her grip on Ichika's head, the blue haired woman is unaware a figure has started to move towards her. With Ichika now managing to pry the tomboy'ish woman's hand of his head, Ichika can only send back an angered glare, that to his amazement... makes miss Kitami smile with a snide expression. "Oh, looks like your growing some balls eh!?". The teacher speaks in a confident tone, Ichika can only continue to speak in an act of protesting his innocence, after all... Ichika is a good hearted person and does not like the idea of resorting to violence. "Look Kitami sensei, Kestrel desperately needs the nurse, I'm telling you that if he.." "**ENOUGH!**" - Kitami sensei shouts out with a look of anger, the blue haired teacher pushes her face directly up to Ichika. Ichika can only look with surprised, and angered look, the Japanese boy is surprised by how cruel miss Kitami is being. "That little slacker is only acting! I've seen his kind acting like that before in order to get out of lessons!" The tomboy'ish woman speaks out in an angered state. From behind the many differant schoolgirls stand in amazement as Ichika begins to answer back to the teacher that nearly every IS schoolgirl had some form of hate towards. Houki, Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte cast amazed looks at each other and then over to the random differant females around them.

Each girl wants to do something, but fails to find the strength or motivation, it isn't untill Ichika suddenly roars in anger, that many IS schoolgirls begin to take a few steps forward, Ichika's angered shout echoes across the entire area, "LOOK AT HIM! GOD DAMMIT! LOOK AT HIM! DOES HE LOOK LIKE HE'S FAKING!?". Ichika points over to Kestrel's motionless body in hopes that the furious miss Kitami will turn her head and acknowledge that Kestrel is laying on the ground out cold. However all it seems to do is add more fuel to the fire as miss Kitami shreiks back at the top of her lungs "**YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I'LL MAKE THE PAIR OF YOU DASH AROUND THIS ACADEMY UNTILL YOU BOTH DROP FUCKING DEAD!**". Ichika's face takes full brunt of miss kitami's yell, beads of spit splatter onto Ichika's face.

From behind the many differant IS schoolgirls have walked further up to Ichika and miss Kitami, some continue to look at the pale and motionless Kestrel whom lays down on his side, his long black hair spreads across the ground in a beautiful manner. Some females look down with concerned faces, and thankfully, Laura and Cecilia are the ones that rush forward and instantly tend to the child, like caring nurses or mothers. { What ever you think is best to suit them! }. Cecilia grabs a hold of Kestrel and places his small head on her lap, the British blonde places a hand on the child's forehead to check his temperature, while Laura places her hand against Kestrel's neck to feel his pulse. Some IS schoolgirls scramble and gather around Kestrel, all wanting to know if the traumitised child is going to be alright. However the group that is slowly walking is stopped in their tracks by the sudden appearance of Chifuyu, Maya, Tatenashi and Yui rushing up towards Ichika and miss Kitami.

Amazingly, the senior members are just on time to surprise the blue haired teacher. The said tomboy'ish woman has only grasped the frontal top of Ichika's IS wear and has violently shook him, while aggressively hissing the words "If you utter one more word I'll paint this bastard academy with your blood!". Chifuyu easily overhears this and in an angered state, dashes forward, grasps miss Kitami by the back of her shirt, pulling her up of the ground. Taken by surprise miss Kitami releases Ichika and as she turns her head in alarm, she gets the worst shock of her life as she looks into the eyes of what looks like, a bloodthirsty Chifuyu!. The black ponytailed woman makes her anger and protective rage clear by putting her face up into miss Kitami's, and holding her by the collar of her shirt with tightly clenched fists. Chifuyu hisses in rage "NOBODY, hits my brother except me!".

As Chifuyu releases the now shocked and startled P.E teacher, letting her stumble backwards, very nearly falling over, Ichika blinks in surprise. Chifuyu is more or less, right on time and as he looks at his older sister in such an amazed look he catches Chifuyu look down fiercely at him, before casting a smug smirk over to him, making Ichika feel 'somewhat' invincible. Tatenashi wastes no time and joins the group gathering and tending to the out cold child, Yui is the worst in distress, as the woman looks down with the face of a mother, desperate to see her child open his eyes and smile again. Maya dashes over to stand directly beside Chifuyu, and together... both teachers look at the now terrified P.E teacher with looks of fury and rage.

Chifuyu, with her eyes of utter fury, looks at the P.E teacher and hisses **"MY OFFICE! FIVE SECONDS!"**. Miss Kitami begins to shake, her face goes pale with terror, Maya frowns with aggression but is unable to hide the fact that she herself is terrified of what Chifuyu could do in just a mere flash. As miss Kitami scrambles to her feet and hurridly walks past Chifuyu, Maya wastes no time and quickly follows, Chifuyu turns, and begins to follow. From where Ichika is sitting, he notices the crafty smiles from some of the schoolgirls that have a deep hatred for miss Kitami, however the girl's smiles are cut short as Chifuyu looks over at the idle standing females, all smiling in a smug and taunting manner at the blue haired teacher, no longer a bully girl, but reduced to a dog with its tail hit firmly between the legs. Chifuyu frowns and in an aggressive manner shouts out the words "What are you lot doing standing around!? Lessons aren't over! Back to work!". Many of the females squeal and jump for joy, many shout out lovey dovey phrases like "YES ORIMURA SENSEI!", "I'LL RUN TILL I DROP FOR YOU MISS ORIMURA!". Others however merely stand startled, then as quickly as it begins, the idle females rush over to continue their lessons.

Houki and Charlotte however follow Chifuyu, due to the black, ponytailed woman motioning with her hand for the two females to follow her. Ichika blinks, then... scrambles ot his feet and rushes over to the out cold Kestrel. Ichika does not look away from his little friend, as far as anyone else is concerned, Ichika is probably just as close to Kestrel as any of the mass numbers of girls that crowd around the out cold child. As Ichika looks down at Kestrel, he sighs, closes his eyes before looking at a knelt down Cecilia. Cecilia looks Ichika back in the face, her face is full of curiosity and startlement. "What the hell just happened?" Ichika whispers in frustration.

**\- Scene change/ IS students lounge/ 11:00am -**

In a dark, mysterious and head spinning void of blackness, the sounds of Japanese whispers echo. Then light suddenly enters the void, in the form of eyelids opening. Kestrel has regained his consciousness. The scar faced child suffers a terrible, splitting headace, even though the child attempts to sit up, he is held back down by a stronger force. However, Kestrel manages to place a hand to the left side of his head against the temple. The child half closes his eyes and lets out a stressed huff, then... as his head carefully rests on something soft, female faces appear.

The Israeli child blinks in surprise, but does not panic. Many of the now growing female faces have the looks of pity and concern, so at least Kestrel does not feel threatened. As the child looks upward he notices the loving face of Yui, the woman smiles in a warm loving manner, placing a hand at the top of the child's head. Kestrel removes his hand from his temple and rests easy though he continues to look around, regaining his bearings.

From a distance Ichika smiles in relief, Tatenashi stands with her back against the wall, arms folded, and smiling in an affectionate manner. Maya stands directly in front of Ichika and as she looks away from the mass female group, a warm and caring smile is on her face. "That kid is tough, you sould consider it a miracle that a good hearted child like him exsists!" Tatenashi speaks out in a tone of pride. Maya casts a smile to Tatenashi before looking at Ichika with a straight and calm face. Ichika looks back and puts on normal face of his own. "Okay Ichika... is that the full story?" Maya asks with a questioning tone.

Ichika makes a single, solemn nod and speaks back as a matter of fact "Yes Yamada sensei, everything from the start". Maya nods and after taking a brief sigh, the Green haired teacher looks down at the floor for a moment. As she looks back up at Ichika, the green haired teacher smiles warmly and speaks in a generous tone "Thank you, thats all I have to know, I'll see in you in lessons then?" - Maya speaks in her usual cheerful tone. Ichika smiles back and makes a respectful bow to his green haired teacher, Maya returns the bow and with a quick turn of her heals, walks away out of the student's lounge.

Ichika looks down and lets out a frustraited sigh, he is exhausted from the ordeal. Tatenashi does not speak any words to Ichika, but instead smiles in an affectionate manner to show her understanding. Ever since the incident Ichika has been instantly pulled forward for questioning by Maya, Ichika and the many other IS academy staff members. Its almost like a repeat of when the police and authorities interogated the said Japanese boy following the aftermath of his rescue from terrorists. Only this time, Ichika is more eager to answer questions and is only fearful for the wellfare of his ten year old Israeli friend.

Although Chifuyu had dragged a guilty miss Kitami to her office to face an uncertain punishment, Ichika could only feel utter levels of fear. The Japanese boy knew all to well that when ever Chifuyu was enraged, trouble would be an understatement of how much filth the guilty person had gotten themselves into. He dares not to ask or speak about whats happened today, and as a matter of fact, non of the girls are prepared to talk about it either. Cecilia is clear evidence of it, as she speaks to her personal maid about what night wear she wishes to wear for Charlotte's so called 'slumber party' tommorrow evening.

Chelsea herself instantly notices Cecilia's lack of activeness, but wisely chooses not to ask her what is wrong. Amoungst the group of IS females Laura can't stop thinking of what has a happened today. The sounds of the screaching miss Kitami, the desperate yet aggressive shouting Ichika, the angered expressions and worst of all, the cold and clamy feeling of the out cold Kestrel with a pale image of terror. Altough Laura is a disciplined female, she understands how far acts of cruelty goes, she herself has seen it many times over in Germany. Meanwhile... Kestrel begins to thrash around, wanting to stand up, only to be held down by Yui and the many other IS females. Kestrel has never been spoiled, and even the sudden surprise of being spoiled for the first time in his life... does NOT stop the child from wanting to stand and try to survive the world on his own. For Yui and the IS females that carefully try to keep the Israeli child held down, Kestrel's sudden desire of wanting to be released comes as no surprise. Its natural that a child that has suffered hell would rather choose the wild animal reaction and be free of being surpressed, but it only makes the task of keeping Kestrel calm all the more difficult and painful as the child begins to squirm and snarl.

Ichika and Tatenashi notice the child thrashing and instantly rush over. As Ichika and Tatenashi reach the group they hear Kestrel speaking in Israeli, the voice is full of desperation. Yui has a look of desperate pity, wanting to hold Kestrel back and prevent any further accidents or unpleasantness. Thankfully, as soon as Kestrel looks and notices Ichika's happy smiling face, the child instantly starts to calm down. The Israeli child's heart starts to calm to a normal tone, the child's fearful face changes to a calm and curious state, and finaly the nervous shaking child now starts to ease. Yui can only smile and look at Ichika with an extremely grateful face and speak in a grateful whisper "Thank you". Ichika can only hold up an hand and kindly speak the words "Don't worry about it, Kestrel's suffered plenty, so its the least I can do". Many IS schoolgirls instantly look at each other and smile.

Ichika's kindness will never cease to amaze the mass numbers of IS females. Tatenashi is the next to speak, her voice is full of curiosity "What has the nurse said?". Many IS females including Ichika instantly look at Yui and with curious expressions, blink in eager anticipation. Yui sighs, smiles and turns her head from left to right to speak to the many differant female faces. "Its okay, the nurse says that all we have to do is let Kestrel take it easy for a while, theres nothing serious happened to him... oh and Ichika..."

Ichika blinks, startled... he looks down at Yui with a curious yet nervous expression, but instantly eases as Yui smiles warmly at him. "The nurse wanted me to say to you... 'Well done, you did great out there'". Ichika instantly goes bright red under the eyes, and smiles. He looks down on the floor and places a hand at the back of his head, Ichika is speachless and the only thing that he can do is chuckle to himself. Making many IS schoolgirls instantly start clapping and smile with proud expressions. Laura, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin, Houki and Tatenashi all look over at Ichika with their arms folded, smiles on their faces and amazingly... all thinking the same thing... ( "If we have children, Ichika will make an excellent parent!" ). Ichika is obviously oblivious to what mischief the girls are thinking off, and in many ways, it can be considered a miracle that he can't mind read at a time like that!.

What many of the IS girls and Ichika does not know, is that in the IS cafateria, Clarissa and the three remaining schoolgirls look with proud expressions. One such German girl has the look of curiosity on her face as she looks at the mature Clarissa. "We aren't going to challenge that kid to another IS battle are we?". Clarissa shakes her head and in a calm voice speaks the words, "No, No... any more combat with the Israeli boy is no longer necessary. In the meantime all we can do maintain a good amount of observation on the boy, besides... Laura and Instructor Orimura's younger brother would not approve of any further combat with the child". What Clarissa speaks is only the partial truth, it is actually due to strict orders from Chifuyu that restricts the use of combat on Kestrel, but Clarissa does not feel it nessasary to inform her subbordinates of that just yet. Never the less, it still sounds very convincing. "Are we really planning on taking the child to Germany?" A german girl with short brunette hair asks.

Clarissa casts a look over to the German girl and with a authority like tone, speaks the words "That depends solely on what the child thinks aswell as what he is comfortable with. According to Chifuyu and the academy staff, the use of force is extremely prohibited". The German females can only cast serious looks over towards the IS student lounge and remain silent. The dead silence around the German females can not match the eager and pleasant sounds emitting from the student's lounge, as the Germans take one final look at the student's lounge, there is only one thought that runs through German girl's minds. ( "What for the love of god has that child experianced to make him the way he is!?" ).

_**Okay, that is chapter 29, I hope it was satisfying enough, but remember the main plot of this fanfic is showing not only human drama but the all too horrible truth of what can happen in this god awful world and how nasty the human nature can really be. Anyway... a lot more comfortable moments are coming up, and I appreatiate reviews, remember I still wish all you readers the best stick around for the next chapter.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	30. Chapter 30: Return to normality

_**Hello everybody, Its Black Falcon 01 again, a bit delayed this chapter I know but in the end I'm still living up to my word. Anyway... I don't have much to exlpain, that aswell as not wanting to bore you all with the usual red tape, so anyway... read and enjoy**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 30:

**\- IS academy Cafateria - 12:00 noon -**

It had been an hour since the scar faced, Israeli child known as 'Kestrel' had come round from his mental turn, and in the time that followed, half of the entire academy had gotten wind of what had happened to cause Kestrel's moment of distress. For many students the news was like a childhood wish come true, the P.E Teacher Miss Kitami never was the most loved of the academy staff and even if she was admired, then the students that admired her only admired her to a certain limit. Other students not so happily effected were mostly shocked out of humanitarian thought. Not a single person at the IS academy could think the IS staff were able to cause such a terrible blow to an innocent child. First it was Chifuyu, then a teacher named Rika, and now... the P.E teacher. The IS academy staff were being given a very, very bad image as a ressult and if any information got out into the open, the hopes of not having any scandal would be dassed.

Chifuyu herself was well aware of this fact and in a very wise move, was quick to get the word out that she was underway of choosing what the right course of punishment would be for the guilty miss Kitami. The last thing that a woman like Chifuyu wants is bad publicity, and with plenty of reliable witnesses, the chances of being able to salvage any good reputation will act as a very good escape goat. Ichika and the others by now had gone into the IS cafateria to get lunch, Ichika wastes no time in sitting beside Kestrel on his left, while Yui takes her usual spot beside Kestrel on his right. The group sits at a rectangular, long table, Ichika's back faces a large, white wall. For the many IS students, sitting at the same table as the 2 popular schoolboys, has become a daily obsession. For many of the students that followed Ichika, Kestrel and Yui, it had been a rush to get a seat at Ichika's table. For some, it was desperate race, for those that were not so fortunate, the next goal was getting a table near Ichika's.

Ichika being the oblivious one, fails to notice that he is one of the main subjects that girls go so wild over. However, even if he was aware of the females lovey dovey intentions towards him,  
it wouldn't appeal at a time like this, for such a good hearted and noble person like Ichika, the only thing that matters is the protection and wellfare of his small Israeli friend. Joining Ichika on his table is Tomoe, Laura, Charlotte and Rin, Cecilia and Houki were unfortuneate enough to be swarmed over by fans and ended up loosing out on seats at Ichika's table. Never the less it still gave Cecilia and Houki a good chance to get a lot of local gossip from their female school mates. This lunch break was differant in terms of food, Ichika had suggested eating something of western culture, Kestrel had done the same, but that was only because the cafateria staff was out of Ramen.

Despite being let down slightly, Kestrel's spirits had risen once he had tasted a nice ham and letuce sandwich. The thin white bread, thin ham and letuce seemed to create a sweet sensation in the child's mouth. What was even more good about this lunch break was the fact that the IS catering staff had gifted Ichika and Kestrel with an extra canned drink of what ever they fancied, when Ichika asked why, the only response he got was a warm, loving smile from the thin and curved IS lunch lady wearing her white chef attire. Her orange hair that was put bunned neatly in hair netting, seemed to make her face all the more kinder, as she explained that it was because the IS lunch staff wanted to do something nice for him and little Kestrel.

When Ichika was told he was nearly reduced to tears, it was a very emotional moment of being touched. Thankfuly he managed to hold any tears in and was able to lead Kestrel and Yui over to a random table to eat.

Now of course, Ichika was now caught between eating and making discussions with the many IS schoolgirls. Many IS schoolgirls had already attempted to speak to Kestrel, Charlotte and Laura being some of the questioning females, but when Yui translated their words to Kestrel... only silence came from the child. Kestrel just stayed focused on eating, the 1,000 yard stare on his pale, white face being evidence that he was in no condition to talk about what had happened today. Making awkward yet pleasant faces, Charlotte and Laura smile, look at each other and instead share conversation with the many differant IS schoolgirls.

For Charlotte at this very moment, the main concern on her mind was the amount of females that knew about her sleepover, that was sure to take place in the next 40 or so hours. Charlotte and Laura were well aware of the ever growing competiton for Ichika, and as such... was intent on keeping the number as low as possible. So far the only girls that new of the coming event were the Cecilia, Houki, Rin, Tatenashi and Tomoe. From where Ichika is sitting, the sight of Laura and Charlotte leaning close to each other and whispering something before looking over at some random females and speaking normaly with pleasant looks, is very suspicious.

However Ichika thinks nothing badly, after all Charlotte and Laura are 2 of his very best friends, so there should be nothing to worry about. "So... Laura, I'll be supplying the snacks and you'll be supplying the entertainment, right?" Charlotte whispers in a clear and hushed voice to the silver haired female sitting on her left. Laura and Charlotte share a very serious frown, yet their voices are calm despite being hushed. "That's correct! Alcott will be supplying our night wear, Rin will be supplying our drinks... and don't worry, I've chosen everything just correct on impressing Ichika!". Charlotte and Laura smile in a smug manner for a brief moment before sending crafty yet innocent looks over at Kestrel with half closed eyes. Ever since Kestrel arrived and gotten close to Ichika, Charlotte and Laura have discovered a slight opening in the battle for Ichika, the tactic being that if somehow, they can impress Ichika with parent skills... or if they can win Kestrel's trust, they may somehow win Ichika.

Then, they can face each other in a fair fight between women, and whom ever attracts Ichika first is the winner. Their devious planning is cut short as they are suddenly snapped back to reality by a familiar voice.

"What are you two so happy about?" - The purple haired Tomoe asks with a curious tone and innocent face. Both Charlotte and Laura nearly leap out of their skins in surprise, and look at Tomoe with surprised looks. Both females look at Tomoe with beads of sweat rolling down their temples, while smiling in an awkward yet innocent manner. Charlotte and Laura merely tilt their heads and hold up their hands with cheerful looks on their faces. "Oh nothing, nothing!" - Charlotte speaks in an evasive manner, Laura closes her single, solitary eye for a brief moment and nods her head.

As she opens her eye she speaks in a kind, un-charateristic manner "Ya'vol, Ya'vol... nothing important, just girl talk!". Tomoe can only blink and maitain a straight, questioning face while speaking in an accepting tone "Okaaay?... Its just for a moment you looked like those three". Tomoe speaks out while raising a hand and pointing with an index finger past the two females. As Charlotte and Laura turn their heads to the left, they are greeted with the sight of the three shotacons, Yuno, Konoe and Rie. All looking at little Kestrel with adoreing looks while eating. Laura and Charlotte sweatdrop, turn their heads to look at Tomoe and in nervous tones, speak the words "Aaah, thanks for bringing us back to reality". Tomoe can only send an awkward smile back to Laura and Charlotte before nervously chuckling. "Anytime" - Escapes Tomoe's lips. Meanwhile, Yui is having her fair share of questionings and girl talk, though Yui struggles between eating and discussion at first, she manages to get the hang of the situation, she finds that after finishing a short sentance, putting a mouthful of food into her mouth manages to get her through Lunch while dealing with any long drawn out conversations. All goes well untill the subject is changed by an Irish accented girl with long, brunette hair and an Irish flag on the ends of her uniform arm sleaves. The girl seems to stare into space and speak the words as if she is a famous novelist..

"The Kestrel hovering by day... And the little owl that call at night... Bid him be swift and keen as they... As keen of ear, as swift of sight".

Some schoolgirls look at the Irish girl with confused expressions and stare while putting portions of food in their mouth. The Irish girl quickly returns to reality and cheerfuly speaks in a warm and kind tone, "Oh sorry, just remembering a war poem from world war one, it had the word Kestrel in it, and I just thought it went well with our Kestrel". The Irish girl looks away and over at little Kestrel, whom by now is just finishing his last sandwich.

As the other girls look over, the irony sinks in and some smile kindly. Untill, Tomoe sends a hurt, and pained look over at Kestrel and speaks in a tone that matches her words perfectly, the combination makes many of the females including Ichika freeze, get a cold chill and look at Kestrel with concerned or pained expressions. "If you want an expression that matches Kestrel, this one I think you will all agree on... _**'This is a child, who's mind the dead has ravished! Memory fingers in his hair of murders! Multitudinous murders, he once witnessed!**_". Kestrel, confused, and with a 1,000 yard stare looks up at Tomoe with a curious facial image. His ocean blue eyes, glazed and full of multi emotions and unmatched trauma, makes Tomoe's statement sting all the more worse, a girl sat directly on her right shivers and cringes, even going so far as holding herself in reaction.

Yui can only turn her head to look down at Kestrel with a pale and nerved expression. Ichika gulps in fear, and soon... a long moment of silence passes. Tomoe turns her head, left to right to look at the many differant faces looking at her the nerved expressions. Thankfully it is a girl with long pink ponytail that speaks out in a nervous and chuckled manner "Heh... kid stuff! So anyway... ah... lets just continue from where we just left off". The girl's tone is full of happiness and innocence, and thankfully it makes all the others smile and instantly get back to their lunch and conversation. Kestrel, having finished lunch only blinks and looks over at Tomoe with slight head tilt, Tomoe can only smile sweetly, but at least she manages to convince the long haired child that he has nothing to worry about. For the rest of lunch time, Kestrel and Yui would be subjected to the on growing confusing sounds of the multipule rows of IS females.

**\- Scene change/ IS classroom - 13:30pm -**

Although Lunch time was remarkably pleasant, the first proper IS school lesson of the day started with good promise. For Ichika it was something to be happy about, in this particular class Houki, Rin and Kestrel would be joining Ichika in this class. For Ichika and the mass number of IS schoolgirls, registration would never be the same again, before little Kestrel appeared at the IS academy, whenever the teacher called out the students names, the reply would be 'Present', but because Kestrel only had a limited understanding of the Japanese lingo, Kestrel could only say one word that was deemed appropriate, The word being "Ken", the Israeli word meaning 'Yes'. Today's lessons were non other than Rin's speciality, so it would give the Chinese brunette a chance to stand out from amoungst the other students. Ichika and Houki would even go so far as to send over either envious looks or looks that went along the lines of 'Show off!'. Rin however only keeps getting a mass ego boost, making the Chinese girl smile and raise her nose in an act of pride. Many IS schoolgirls that could only be described as 'Funny' { Meaning lesbian! }, keep sending the Chinese girl loving looks, many IS schoolgirls even hold their hands together and to their chests in acts of loving pride or girlish excitement.

The classroom teacher has a long blonde hair that runs down towards her waist. Her uniform is similar to Chifuyu's office like wear, the classroom teacher's brown eyes seem to light up everytime Rin answers a question correctly. The Chinese girl only gets more ego boost as the teacher sends over impressed looks. Houki herself has answered some very hard questions of her own, and only one of those questions was only narrowly correct but the teacher still congratulated her for her attempt on the fifth question. Ichika however has a boiling feeling of illness in his stomach, his brain seeming to panic everytime the teacher walks past him or across his line of sight.

( "Oh god! Oh god! Please... don't ask me any questions, don't ask me any questions!" ) The Japanese boy desperatley thinks to himself. Ichika knows a fair amount of IS history, IS operation and IS management, but these lessons push his mind to the very limit of endurance, the only thing Ichika can ever do is look at the IS white board, listen to the teacher and brace himself for any brain boiling lectures or moments. For the moment, Ichika is doing very well in looking convincing in terms of listening and staying focused, but sometimes... that old trick can cause the opposite effect, as you've no doubt discovered yourself on some past occasion.

The teacher having noticed Ichika sitting up straight and looking interested in the class, smiles down at Ichika. Ichika suddenly feels his blood freeze up, fear striking every nerve in his body, the Japanese boy can only gulp and brace himself for the question that he knows is coming. "Orimura, you seem like you know the answer... why don't you answer this question for us?". Upon hearing the words and seeing the classroom teacher make eye contact with him, Ichika's face instantly goes pale. Houki, Rin and nearly every other student turns their heads and look over in Ichika's direction.

Ichika feels the girl's intense stares piercing his back and sending shivers up his spine, the only one that does not stare at Ichika's back is the long haired Kestrel, sitting away from Ichika 4 desks down on the left of the classroom. Ichika gulps, beads of cold sweat roll down his temple, the said Japanese boy turns his head slowly to the left and then to the right, every single girl he sees looks at Ichika with straight and neutral faces. Ichika then stands upward, his chest sticks out, the Japanese boy takes a deep breath and is about to open his mouth to speak when suddenly, to his relief, Rin's voice shatters the dead silence in the classroom. "Excuse me miss... but I would say Orimura does not know the answer to this question, why don't you let me answer the question?".

For a moment, the entire class looks away from Ichika and over at Rin, before once again looking over at Ichika. The Teacher does the same, before raising an eyebrow and asking in a curious tone "Is that true Orimura, you don't know the answer to this question?". Ichika lowers his head, the feeling of utter shame fills him. Houki places a hand to her forehead and shakes her head, its not that Houki is ashamed of Ichika, its the fact the whole stress of the lessons, the Japanese girl is also attempting to stay true to her word of laying off him. Ever since Ichika gave Houki a firm scolding and threatend to kill her if she attacked him or Kestrel, the Japanese girl has not done anything out of order since. Needless to say, Houki also feels a deep amount of pity for Ichika, so maybe as unpleasant as it was, Ichika's raising of hand to Houki may very well have gotten some even better results.

Ichika still standing, only shakes his head and slowly sits back down, the only sounds that fill the classroom are the girlish giggles of many differant IS schoolgirls. The teacher of the class only rolls her eyes and shakes her head in irritation, completley dissapointed in her sudden hopes for the most popular student in the IS academy. Rin herself has a look on her face but is mostly of pity, Rin being a lot more of a playful jokester at times can deeply understand Ichika's feelings and in a quick and friendly gesture, raises her hand and softly speaks the words "Please sensei, but why don't you let me answer this question?". The long blonde haired teacher rolls her eyes, sighs, turns her head from left to right to look at the entire class, untill... her eyes lock onto a very unaware student. Kestrel sits looking very, very bored and is doing nothing but flicking through his text book, seemingly checking up on any past work, or at least, is only taking interest in the numbers and text in his text book.

Putting a cheerful look on her face, the class teacher smiles, leans forward slightly, looks over towards Kestrel and with a friendly look, calmly speaks the words "What about you Kestrel? Do you know the answer to this question?". As the teacher finishes her sentance and straightens herself up, the entire class looks over at the scar faced Israeli boy. Ichika is amoungst the group that looks over at the confused child. Many girls put on affectionate faces and smile with kind and sympathetic looks, Kestrel on the other hand simply blinks and looks at the questioning lady that is only a few walking paces away from him. Kestrel simply looks down, and shakes his head, the look of saddness is on the child's face. For the students and the teacher, it is simply a moment of 'figures, should have expected that'. Then, with a simple yet eager turn of the head, the long haired teacher turns her head to look at Rin and says in a very normal tone "Very well, you may answer this question". Rin instantly smiles and replies with a calm and pleasant "Thank you". As Rin stands and begins to explain the answer to the classroom, a number of schoolgirls look over towards Kestrel and simply swallow any amusement. When ever Ichika makes a mistake it can be very attractive, if slightly humorous, but when little Kestrel is involved, it is a very differant story.

Many people know what its like to be laughed at, and its obvious that Kestrel has had that done to him in his time, so many students simply do not get any amusement from the moment. Not only that, but the fact that Kestrel has had a very unpleasant day, so many students simply do their best to be correct with the traumitised child and instead show their support of him. It does not take long for Rin to finish her explination and when she does, she understandably gets an immediate amount of praise from the classroom teacher, as this happens, Houki sits with a hand on the side of her face and casts a frown over to Rin, Rin amazingly catches the frown and simply shrugs her shoulders making herself look as innocent as possible.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

"Okay, thats it for today's lessons" - The blonde haired teacher calls out, each and every student immediatley stands and pauses at the teacher. Then, everyone makes a single and respectful bow, to say it had been a difficult lesson for Ichika and the others would be untrue, during the last 10 minutes Ichika was able to answer 5 questions correctly, earning him some praise in the forms of the multiple schoolgirls whispering with fangirl intentions. So at least Ichika was able to salvage some good ressults from the start of a bad school lesson, now however, all students were able to stand, stretch themselves and prepare for the next lessons. Kestrel was understandably not affected by everyone else's enthusiasim, the child still had difficulty in trying to keep up with the older and more mature students. However, that made the bond between him and Ichika all the more stronger, as Ichika had problems with most lessons on a very common basis. Houki was all to aware of this fact, but deep down, that was what she felt made Ichika, whom he is. Rin feels the same, as does many other schoolgirls, Ichika's lack of university level intelligence made him the well known and good hearted person that he is. This fact is well known to the outside world, that intelligent big shots are all sad bastards in some state that want to prove all others wrong and leave the less intelligent ones looking like weak and worthless filth, were as the less intelligent ones are less heard of due to past trouble and such.

As the students begin to leave the classroom, Rin sends a look over to Ichika and smiles, Ichika can only smile slightly back in return, and watch with envy as Rin follows a group of friends out of the classroom door. Then, as Ichika prepares to follow the leaving group of IS schoolgirls, Houki suddenly stops Ichika by standing directly in front of him with a normal look on her face. Ichika blinks and with a confused look on his face asks in a curious tone "Yes? Is something wrong?". Houki shakes her head, looks to the floor for a brief moment and sighs. As she looks up at Ichika she speaks in a calm voice, her eyes look directly into Ichika's. "Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to say to you, take it easy in the next lessons, and don't worry about Kestrel". Ichika smiles and casts a warm look back at his childhood friend, "Thanks Houki, I owe you a lot". Upon hearing Ichika speak those words, Houki looks down with a blush on her face.

She smiles sweetly and puts both arms behind her back. Attempting to hide her bashfullness, Houki instantly speaks in a way as if she is merely a simple friend, "Oh... Don't mention it... after all, everyone here looks out for each other don't they!?". Ichika smiles back and closes his eyes, as he opens them he braces himself for his next lessons, "Yeah, we sure do... anyway... I best get going, take care of Kestrel for me okay?". Houki stands up straight, directly on the mark and with an eager face, happily speaks the words "Oh don't worry Ichika, I'll see that nothing happens to him, you have my word!". Ichika makes a solemn nod, then... turns his head to look at the said Israeli child walking up to him, Ichika's warm and happy face eases Kestrel's nervous little heart, and although Kestrel does not have a clue on what Ichika is saying, the child knows that by the sound of his voice, everything will be alright. "Okay Kestrel, I best get going to my next class, I'll see you later okay?". Kestrel blinks, tilts his head and after a moment, lowers his head slowly down then back upwards. Showing his understanding and acknowledgement of Ichika's message. Ichika smiles one last time before turning and walking away, leaving Houki and little Kestrel standing roughly side by side in the classroom.

Kestrel looks down for a moment and does not make a whisper, but as he looks up, he sees a very friendly looking Houki. Her arm is extended as a gesture for Kestrel to take ahold of, but to her dismay, Kestrel only looks at her hand and simply rolls his ocean blue eyes around, utterly unsure of what to do. Houki then gets an idea, that hits her in the head in the form of a light bulb.

Houki simply motions with her hand, in an act of telling the Israeli child to follow her, which to her relief, is exactly what the child does. As Houki leads Kestrel out of the classroom and down a hallway cramped with walking and chattering schoolgirls, the Israeli youngster becomes startled by the mass numbers of walking females, but, amazingly it has a positive effect, as a girl stumbles and bumps into Kestrel, making the child jump in alarm and scramble forward towards Houki. Houki notices and at first, is alarmed, dreading a turn to begin, but... she becomes simply surprised when she sees Kestrel dash forward and instead grab ahold of her right hand. She feels the child tremble, which at first puts a sick feeling of guilt in her gut, but then... in an move that can be described as 'baby steps' slowly begins to move forward, Kestrel calmly follows behind his hand not breaking contact with Houki's for a single second, for Houki, the feeling is like butterflies in her stomach, and as she increases pace to a normal walk, she starts to get the feeling of utter joy as Kestrel comfortably follows on.

Though the scar faced child does not look up at Houki, Houki can feel the said child beginning to calm down, as the pair walk past the now thin growing lines of IS schoolgirls. Together the pair stay hand locked untill reaching their next classroom, and only then does Kestrel notice that he is only Houki's hand. The nervous Israeli boy can't belive it, however the sacred moment of Houki entering class looking like a good hearted girl is cut short as Kestrel notices Houki look down at him with a look that ressembles 'Whom or what are you', making the child yelp and taking his hand away from Houki. Houki is taken by utter surprise, but thankfuly she smiles when she notices Kestrel look at her with a curious look. ( "Well at least he doesn't see me as a monster, just a random stranger, and according to Tomoe, that is a very good sign!" ) - Houki thinks with triumph. Her smiling face is instantly noticed by Laura, whom has walked up behind Houki and in a curious manner asks "What are you so happy about!?". Houki stops, turns to look at Laura with her warm smiling image, and simply says... "Let's just say our little Israeli friend is now on the road to recovery thanks to yours truly!". Laura looks over her shoulder and notices a timid looking Kestrel walking into the room, holding his hand that had been in contact with Houki's hand, like some important object, but at least he has a very comfortable, if curious look on his face. As Laura looks away from Kestrel and towards Houki with a concerned face, the silver haired German asks a question that Houki knows is coming, "Has anything happened?". Houki looks at Laura in the face and in a calm and kind tone speaks the words "You'll understand if you establish some form of friendly connection with Kestrel". Laura only blinks in confusion as she watches the child head over to his desk, a whole bunch of random schoolgirls send the child flirting or friendly waves and small to large loving smiles.

_**Okay, that for now is chapter 30, please note... that the moment between Houki and Kestrel is based on a real life event, please don't take these moments for granted. Anyway, for those of you that have stuck around so far, thanks, keep doing that because the next chapter should come soon. Wishing all readers the best.**_

_**P.S, if any more chapters are delayed and all, that is mostly because I've either been busy with my pets or have been busy with house work. **_

_**OI! No sexisim! House hold tasks are not just for girls! , anyway... as I've said, wishing everyone the best, please go easy on me, remember this is my first fanfic.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	31. Chapter 31: Exam today

_**Okay, Black Falcon 01 is back again with another chapter, sorry about any delays and all, but still... everything is going well over here and all. You readers understand right?... Anyway, I won't bore you all with the introductions, so I'll just say... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 31:

**\- IS academy Ichika's bedroom/ 21:00pm -**

Ichika, dressed in pajamas flings himself down onto his bed with a face full of happiness, across from Ichika... the scar faced Israeli child, Kestrel lays down on his side, fetal positioned. The child's eyes are glazed and have a 1,000 yard stare. Ichika remains oblivious for the time being, he is exceptionaly happy tonight. Ever since he was told that Kestrel had held Houki's hand and walked with her to classes, Ichika felt a large amount of weight lift of his shoulders. According to the purple haired beauty Tomoe, it is a good sign that Kestrel has walked hand in hand, but at the same time, its not for certain that the child is on the road to recovery, never the less... if Ichika can find some form of comfort or reasurance in the progress made today, then he will happily look at today as a form of moral or peaceful victory.

However for his little friend Kestrel... tonight is anything but victorious or peaceful, since his IS victories and the fact that he was seen walking hand in hand with Houki, the mass fuss that the IS schoolgirls have made of him has caused his memories to roll and tumble, causing very unpleasant feelings and reactions to emerge. The IS schoolgirls that glomp Ichika and Kestrel don't mean any harmful intentions, and that the many IS females may think that fuss may help cause Kestrel to recover from his past with the feeling of being loved. Its a fact that Kestrel does not know what it's like to feel loved, and all IS students know this, but what most IS schoolgirls fail to realise... is that it was their gender that scared Kestrel, it was their gender that caused Kestrel to suffer P.T.S.D, it was THEIR gender that have commited acts of unimaginable evil on Kestrel... so as far as Kestrel is concered, the women and girls of earth wanted Kestrel hurt or murdered, and know they play protectors.

Kestrel has no trust for anything female, the exceptions being maybe Yui and Tomoe, but in regards to the other girls, Kestrel feels no trust or comfort towards or around any of the many IS females. So as unpleasant as it is, Kestrel thinks all females he meets are merely liars, and to make matters even more serious, Kestrel feels no fear when coming under attack, and instead has no problem in raising his fists and spilling blood, regardless of if his attackers are either male or female.

Ichika is aware of this factor, as is three quarters of all IS students, that Kestrel only reacts defensively, as long as he does not come under attack, the child is harmless. Amazingly, that fact has caused many IS schoolgirls to volunteer to aid the scar faced child if Ichika is busy, which can't be denied, as a very good intention. However deep down, each and every single schoolgirl was simply being themselves, lovey dovey or sweetly friendly. Ichika is the subject of love for many of the IS schoolgirls, and nothing like that ever changes, Ichika is always oblivious to the many IS females that want the Japanese boy for themselves, and in all likely hood, Ichika never will be aware of that factor. Now however, since Kestrel's appearance, many IS females have suddenly got a maternal or shotacon streak awoken in them, needless to say... Ichika is still the IS academy's favorite. The flames of boy on boy love fantasy, or simple goodhearted intentions, made by many of the IS females continue to rise to eleven, and its taking it out on Ichika and Kestrel. Ichika makes this clear by sighing in relief in feeling the softness of his bed contact his back, and the softness of his pillow contact his head. Ichika has had no shortage of marriage proposals and love confessions which has earned him a thump, kick or pinch from Houki, Charlotte, Cecilia, Rin and Laura. Kestrel attracts eyes, but are mostly just from females that want to impress Ichika, but there is the exception of Kestrel's loving Shotacons, Konoe, Yuno and Rie. Other IS females that come to comfort or build relations with Kestrel do have pure and genuine intentions, but they too follow the acts from the vast majority of IS females, which is playful fuss and glomping.

Anyhow... as Ichika lay on his back, a brief feeling of sickness hit him... it was exams before summer time, and they start tommorrow, and since Kestrel's arrival, Ichika's studies have been slightly compromised. Kestrel will have it easy because of his tender age and lack of time in the IS academy, Ichika's worries for tommorrow was on hold, deep down he knew that all he has to do is to do his best and hope that his studies have paid off. The ressults would be later delivered 48 hours or so after exams were completed, suddenly, as Ichika begins to fret, a sudden thought hits him in the head, causing him to smile. ( "That's why Charlotte is having a sleepover party, its to make early celebrations for getting through terms, and to raise confidence and morale" ) - Ichika thinks to himself with a warm and happy smile on his face. His feelings of happiness and confidence rise as he remains layed flat on his back looking at the ceiling of his bedroom. As Ichika begins to loose himself in thought, a small mutter makes him roll his head to the left, the sight of a sleeping Kestrel in the fetal position catches his sight. Ichika's mood changes to sympathy, but he still is able to maintain a confident amount of emotions in his system. The Japanese boy pulls himself up of his bed and wastes no time drawing Kestrel's bed sheets back and throwing them over the sleeping child. Kestrel has litteraly fretted himself to sleep, but at least the child will have a good night's rest. As horrible as it is, Ichika can't help but make a sympathetic smile and look down at the now snoozing youngster. ( "Sometimes I wish I was in his shoes, he's got it easy tommorrow, I'll be working my ass off in exams while he gets to take it easy, still... I think he needs and deserves a nice break every now and then" ) - Ichika thinks to himself.

Then, as Ichika is about hit the sack, a small and sudden knock at the door takes the black haired boy by surprise. Ichika instantly turns heel and calmly walks towards the door, expecting either Houki or Maya to be on the other end. Ichika has a small and pleasant smile on his face, his emotions makes him tingle in anxiety and excitement that someone he likes derely has come to visit him. Yet, Ichika felt nervous because whenever exams are on the doorstep, the last thing he wants to do is feel as though he is showing himself up infront of all his friends, the last time he had exams, ressulted in him getting a beating from Laura and Houki, and endless lectures from Rin, Cecilia and Charlotte, so the last thing Ichika wants to do is have bad ressults again. As Ichika slows to sudden halt in front of his bedroom door, he calmly places his hand on the shinning brass handle, grasps it tightly and prepares to pull down. Ichika freezes up and takes a deep breath, trying in an act of desperation to swallow any fear. Then, with what feels like a deep and hard fought amount of effort, pulls down on his bedroom door handle and pulls the door open, Ichika stares straight ahead, ready for any lecture that he may recive, but... to his surprise an unexpected figure appears before him.

"Ch..Chifuyu-nee!" - Ichika yelps in surprise, then... with the sudden sound of a hand wooshing down, a sharp and utterly painful smack strikes Ichika on the head, causing him to stumble back in pain, clutching the top of his head with both hands. As Ichika looks up with his eyes watering, he notices his older sister rubbing the side of her hand. The look of disaproval is on the woman's face, causing Ichika's blood to freeze in dread, when ever Chifuyu holds a serious look on her face, then its got to be something that either he or someone else has done to upset her. Only the suffering or painful begs for mercy from a guilty person would be able to quel Chifuyu's rage. "Wh..What are you doing down here?" - Ichika winches, his head still painfuly stinging and causing him to stand with slightly bended knees. Chifuyu rolls her eyes, and with a brief huff looks Ichika in the face and asks in a calm tone "May I come into your bedroom Orimura?". Ichika pauses, blinks in surprise, letting both arms drop to his sides, leaving his stinging head to scream in the open, still... the question Chifuyu asks causes Ichika to forget all about his screaming head. Ichika wastes no time and quickly stands to one side allowing his sister to enter, normally Ichika would have asked why Chifuyu wants to speak with him, but the blow he's just taken clearly tells him that Chifuyu is in no mood for questions.

"Thank you" - Chifuyu solemnly speaks while slowly and cooly walking into Ichika's bedroom, Ichika does not take his eyes of his elder sister, even as he closes his bedroom door and clicks it shut. Chifuyu walks over to the foot of Kestrel's bed and sends an ice cold glare down at the scar faced child, whom remains the fetal position, despite being asleep. Ichika notices Chifuyu's look towards Kestrel and begins to cautiously walk over to his older sister. As Ichika reaches the foot of his bed, Chifuyu looks down at the bed for a brief moment, relaxing her face. She sighs and with a look of seriousness, turns her head to look at her curious younger brother. Ichika instantly freezes still and with a wide eyed expression looks at his older sister whom looks at him like a hungry wolf, "Whats the matter?" - Ichika asks in a cautious manner. Chifuyu calmly turns her heel and walks forwards towards her brother, Ichika's heart beats faster, the Japanese boy's nerves fill with utter fear, beliving that an all out thrashing is coming. However, to his amazement, it doesn't, Chifuyu comes to a stop only a pace away from her brother before taking a seat at the foot of Ichika's bed.

"Ichika, can you sit down for a moment?" - Chifuyu asks in a questioning manner, her tone is surprisingly calm and collected. Ichika blinks, his heart beat calms down, and without a second thought, sits himself down just inches away from his big sister. "Okay, this won't take long, remember I wan't you alert and focused for tommorrow's exams" - Chifuyu speaks out in cold and serious manner. Ichika gulps and quickly sits up straight, Ichika slightly tenses up, his eyes and ears are litteraly pealed. Chifuyu then casts a look over at Kestrel, her face relaxes and as she looks over at Ichika, she begins to speak in a rational and calm tone. "Ichika... First of all I want to say, Good work, I proud of you.." - Chifuyu's lips turn up into a warm and loving smile, which for a woman like her, is only a very rare sight, including for her own younger brother. Ichika blinks and keeps his eyes fixed on his big sister as she sits with her legs crossed, and her arms folded.

Chifuyu continues by saying the words "..The way you've looked out for the child is just as good as any mother or father. However.." - Chifuyu's smile drops and returns to its normal frown, ".. I want you to not only focus on work, but maintain your observation of the kid and tackle any problems on your own for a while.." - Chifuyu then pauses, takes a breath, and as she lets out a sigh, the said woman continues in a tone of frustration "..and the reason why is because I'm expected in Israel, I've demanded a meeting with some of Israel's IS operatives that are somehow linked to our little Kestrel here". Ichika then blinks and jumps in surprise, the Japanese boy is well aware of the fact that Chifuyu makes regular trips overseas but its not the fact that Chifuyu is leaving the country to go to Israel, its the fact that she is meeting people that have links to Kestrel. "Israel's IS operative ministers? They have links towards Kestrel?" - Ichika asks in a confused, yet surprised tone. Chifuyu sends Ichika a stern look, but at least she speaks to her brother in respect. "Look Ichika, I'm not at liberty to answer any questions yet, I promise you that I will answer any sort of questions you have later, understand?".

"Y..Yes!" - Ichika speaks in a cautious manner, practacly startled by Chifuyu's stern remark. Chifuyu then returns to her relaxed face, and speaks in a calm motion "...Anyway... finaly, in regards to tomorrow, while your in exams, don't worry about Kestrel, Yui will be taking care of him. So... Stay focused tomorrow, and you'd better give me some good ressults on your tests tomorrow!". As Chifuyu finishes, a sarcastic and smug smile appears on her face, making Ichika gulp, tense up and sweatdrop. The said japanese boy smiles in an awkward manner as his big sister smiles at him. As Chifuyu relaxes herself, she tends to get lost, into Ichika's brown eyes. The said Japanese woman tends to loose herself in Ichika's eyes, untill... Ichika calls out in a curious manner "Chifuyu!". As Ichika speaks out, Chifuyu blushes blood red under the eyes and sits up straight. "Ah! Ah... Sorry Ichika, I was miles away!" Chifuyu quickly speaks out, ( "God Dammit, what the hell was wrong with me just then!" ) - Chifuyu angrily thinks to herself. As Chifuyu manages to recover from her brief loss of person, Ichika begins to make conversation with the sister he hardly gets any time to speak to. Needless to say, it helps bring Chifuyu back to her usual self, and it even gives Chifuyu a chance to rememeber what being a Human being is like. It is not untill 22:00pm that Ichika manages to get to bed, but at least he manages to aqquire some information concerning Kestrel and the IS academy situation. Although uncomfortable, Maya and Clarissa will be left in charge of the IS academy, though it causes a large amount of fear, sickness and dread to hit him in the gut, Ichika manages to get his head down for the night, the one thought running through his head is made in a very questioning manner ( "Did Chifuyu just congratulate me in an a pure and genuine manner!?" ).

**\- Scene change/ IS academy cafateria/ 08:00am -**

Despite the surprising news, Ichika was able to put last night's discussion with Chifuyu at the back of his head, all that mattered at the moment was using the final moments to get ready for the day's dreaded exams. Ichika normally ate a medium size meal for breakfast, but the gut wrenching fear and tenseness today forced him to eat nothing but toast. As Ichika munched away on his toast and looked at the surface of the table with wide eyes, nothing but the sounds of his jaws taking bites and eating away on the lightly coloured toast could be heard from him. As Ichika eats and swallows the sickening feeling of fear continues to linger in his gut, and is certainly not going to stop untill the day's exams are over. Across from multiple differant schoolgirls have the same looks on their faces. The only acceptions that are not looking full of fear is Cecilia, Houki, Rin, Charlotte and Laura, the five girls simply eat breakfast engaging in light conversation or local gossip.

Ichika does not cast looks at the five females, but he can hear them. Such envy fills Ichika's mind and stomach, the feeling of butterflies of fear do not stop making Ichika feel sick, but saying that... its always been that way for him. Studies never where his strong point, yet he is very intelligent for his age, but that still does not give him anymore confidence.

"Stop fidgeting Wife!" - The silver haired Laura speaks out with an irritated tone, the German girl is sat directly beside Ichika on his right, while Cecilia sits on his right side. The German girl looks at Ichika with a neutral frown, for Laura the sight of Ichika nervously stareing and fidgeting seems to be showing her up. Laura is afterall Ichika's 'Self proclaimed' wife, but even then... Ichika is not effected by Laura's sudden statement, but instead continues to look into nothingness, looking down at the grey table surface. Cecilia notices this and simply sits herself upright, her back is perfectly straightened, in a very lady like manner.

Cecilia's facial image however shows nothing but irritation, as she closes her eyes for a brief moment, raising her head and then looking at Ichika with an inquisitive stare. "Honestly Ichika, you wouldn't have been like this if you had just taken my advice and studied with me!". Ichika, despite being nervous, turns his head and looks at Cecilia with a surprised and straight face. As Ichika swallows a mouthful of toast, his face changes to curious and speaks in a equal manner that perfectly matches his facial expression. "Yeah... but, Laura and Rin said they were going to study with me, so what differance does it make anyway!?". Cecilia jumps back slightly, her pride is offended, as is Charlotte's and Houki's. Houki however makes her personal hurt known, by quickly standing, picking up her tray and walking way with the uneaten parts of her breakfast. The only thing anybody hears from the girl is a quickly spoken phrase, "I'm done!". Charlotte looks down with a dark and moody face, Ichika does not notice but is snapped from looking at a growling Cecilia when Charlotte stands, walks away with her tray to join Houki. Charlotte does not look at Ichika, but calmly speaks in a solemn tone "Ichika... stay focused on the exam". Ichika blinks and stares in silence as the French blonde walks away from his table. The said French girl has always loved Ichika, but just like the other four, has never been able to admit it, so when Ichika makes a seemingly innocent remark like he just has done, Charlotte and the other girls always take it the wrong way.

As Ichika blinks and in utter confusion, Cecilia folds her arms, and turns to look away from Ichika. As Ichika looks over again at Cecilia, he is clearly unable to read the situation. As Ichika looks with a confused look, Laura snaps Ichika's attention back by proudly speaking the words "Hmph! There is no comparison as to how well either I or any one else tutor you my wife, I after all AM the the very best and as such you will find my tutorings have been a blessing!". Beside Cecilia, Rin frowns at the German girl, the Chinese female has the urge to leap up and kill the German female for the remark, but thankfuly manages to keep her cool. As the Chinesse girl turns her head away and continues to force what ever breakfast remains down into her stomach, Cecilia begins a verbal and volitile confrontation with Laura, Ichika is instantly caught in the middle.

As this happens, across from Ichika, the blue haired Russian girl Tatenashi eats happily. The bouncy Russian female takes amusement from the sight playing before her eyes, just beside Tatenashi is the long sleeved Honne with her friends directly lined beside her. Honne however notices the sight playing before her, but being the cheerful female she is manages to amazingly leave Ichika and the others to their dispute. Directly beside Tatenashi on the opposite side, is non other than Tomoe. Tomoe merely looks at Ichika's dealing with his squabaling harem, with a raised eyebrow. The purple haired female is amazed and yet, shocked at the sight playing before her, and is unsure if either to burst out laughing or merely scoff.

As this is happening, Tatenashi snaps Tomoe back to reality by asking a question that Honne and the other females are dying to know. The question and subject being related to the Israeli child known as Kestrel, and what is happening with him today while the entire academy complement takes the painful task of dealing with exams. Tomoe swallows a mouthful of cereal and turns her head to look at Tatenashi, Honne and numberous other females, looking at the Tomoe with anticipated expressions. The many differant females that look at Tomoe with the looks of eager children never cease to amaze her, Tomoe pauses for a moment before blinking. As she straightens herself up, and sits up straight in a ladylike manner, she speaks in a straight and neutral tone "Kestrel? Oh, well... Yui is busy today so aparently the academy librarian says that she can watch him for a few hours, besides... Kestrel has never been to a library, or for that matter seen one before so I would think that he should get plenty of entertainment". As Tomoe finishes her statement, the purple haired female has the look of happiness on her face.

"Entertainment? But... Kestrel can't read Japanese, so how will he be able to read any books?" - The famous long sleeved Honne speaks out with a hand put in a positioned that matches her speaking as a matter of fact. The ressulting explination causes Tomoe to shift her eyes in an awkward manner and ends up with the said girl looking at the surface of the table, unable to speak. The irony smacks her in the face. Tatenashi smiles in an joking manner before returning to breakfast, Honne however looks at Tomoe with and awkward smile, unsure of what to say. Thankfuly one of the stareing girls manage to change the subject by asking a serious question in very innocent manner. "Is it really a good idea for the librarian to look after Kestrel? She really hasn't met Kestrel, nor has she been around Kestrel when he's lost his mind by seeing things that aren't there, so is it wise, to trust a person unfamiliar with children like Kestrel?". Tomoe blinks, and with a frustrated yet tired look on her face, closes her eyes for a moment and shakes her head. "Thats... what I said to Yamada sensei, but all she did was look me in the face, smiled and said 'Don't worry, I would trust the academy librarian with my life'". - Tomoe speaks in a stressed, and deflated tone.

Honne and a large number of IS females look at each other with looks of pity and not a single female makes a sound untill a girl with long, curly green hair leans forward to look at Tomoe with a small and opimistic smile. "Well, maybe the librarian can be given instructions as to what to do with little Kestrel in case of something horrible happening". Many IS schoolgirls make brief looks at the long haired female before looking over at Tomoe with questioning faces. Tomoe instantly understands the IS girls enthusiasim and acknowledges it with a warm and pleasant smile. The IS females notice Tomoe's smile but the look on her face says differantly to the smile, fortuneatley Tomoe lets this point become clear by looking at the line of stareing females and speaking in a kind and pleasant tone "Yeah, I would imagine the Librarian has already been given instructions and such, but there is a differance between words and actual experiance".

"Well... I don't think we should be fretting too much, after all, Yamada sensei has had her fair share of unpleasant experiances, so its not as if anyone was ready for Kestrel's condition anyway, so maybe we should at least give the Librarian a chance, with the information and experiance given to her by other teachers, maybe the Librarian will have a few surprises in store for us". - One girl with a large blue ponytail speaks out. As she finishes her explinations, the IS females turn to look at the said girl, then towards each other. The sounds of muttering escape the many differant IS girls. Tomoe can only look down at the table and rolls her eyes, a small sigh escapes the girl. Its true what the IS girl says, but in the end, the Librarian's lack of experiance may end up being a disaster waiting to happen if Kestrel suffers a turn. As Tomoe shifts her eyes to look at Ichika, whom is nervously sweating due to Laura and Cecilia being up in his face with blushed, and angered facial expressions, Tomoe can only look down and fret all the more. If anything was to happen to Kestrel, Ichika would never forgive the person whom was supervising the traumitised child.

As Tomoe looks away from Ichika's squabling secret self conceited girlfriends, Tomoe looks back at the IS female group. Tatenashi takes her final mouthful of food and swallows, the mornings breakfast being a perfect combination for the blue haired Russian girl. Tatenashi has a lot of top marks in her lessons and as such, has a lot of confidence. Never the less, she does not trail off the main subject, Tatenashi looks at Tomoe and smiles, placing her hands together. "You know what Tomoe... you worry a bit to much. If you worry to much your only just going to crack and go mad, take it from me, I know what its like to go sick with worry and fear, so I would do the wisest thing right now... and that is stop wetting yourself! Raise your head and for once have confidence in the staff here".

Tomoe looks the Russian girl in the eyes and with an eyebrow raised, and in a serious tone speaks the words "Thats what I was told when all this with Kestrel started, and what happens... first of all it was a teacher in a classroom about to belt the child for not being able to understand the way we speak, and just recently it was the P.E teacher... do you think the child needs another dose of brutality!?". As Tomoe finishes speaking, Tatenashi's smile drops and the said Russian female goes white in the face, sickness fills her gut. However Tatenashi quickly recovers by raising a hand with the index finger raised as a means of explaining something. The Russian female regains her smile as she quickly as she speaks clearly and confidently at the frowning purple female "Ah, yeah... but... with the greatest respect, we do take responsibility for our actions, after all Miss Kitami got a real earfull aswell as firm hand from Orimura sensei when she.."

"WHAT!" - A vast majority of the IS females, including Cecilia, Ichika, Rin and Laura call out, leaning forward to look intensely at the Russian girl whom gets a sweat drop on the side of her temple.

"Heh,heh... Ichika, have you and the others been secretly listening to us this whole time?" - Tomoe speaks out in a questioning tone with a pleasant but awkward face.

"Tell us, what happened to miss Kitami" - Cecilia speaks out in an eager voice, her face matches her questioning tone.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

It had taken thirty long minutes of explination, but never the less, Tatenashi was able to reveal the true details behind miss Kitami's punishment. The full tale makes many students look at each other with shocked or satisfied faces. The punishment that Chifuyu had given the P.E teacher seemed satisfying enough to the surprised students, but all the same... still struck fear into many hearts. Miss Kitami was a rarely loved individual, but still... no student wants to be subjected to a furious Chifuyu, even if they are completley innocent bystanders all together. What Tatenashi reveals makes many IS students look at each other with white faces. It turns out that Chifuyu was so enraged by the aggression made by miss Kitami, that during miss Kitami's time in Chifuyu's office, the woman subjected to nearly a full hour of loud belowing shouting, then to top it off was given a strict warning to never, under any surcumstances be allowed near any students unless a supervisor was present. The worst part of the punishment however, was a sharp and painful set of punches to the face, then a smashing over the arms and back with a bamboo katana. According to Tatenashi, Chifuyu made no attempt to restrain herself. Though maybe Chifuyu's rage was caused by miss Kitami not only targeting a vulnerable and traumitised child, but because miss Kitami also had a go at her little brother Ichika. Never the less, Tatenashi's ability of obtaining this knowlegde was due to her evesdropping or maybe because she had been spying on the moment with her IS hacking into CCTV.

Thankfuly, Tatenashi had agreed to erase any footage she obtained due to being found out by Chifuyu following the end of miss Kitami's punishment by a tired and still badly angered Chifuyu. In regards to miss kitami's future at the IS academy, it can be considered a miracle that Chifuyu did not throw the woman out altogther. Even as Tatenashi finishes her explinations, many of the girls, including Ichika look at each other with pale faces. Even Rin, whom as at the most a very brave girl, can only gulp. As Ichika's table goes silent, the sudden sound of Chifuyu shouting out causes Ichika and all the females at his table to jump in terror.

"OKAY YOU LOT! GET A MOVE ON! FIRST PHASE OF YOUR EXAMS STARTS IN TWENTY MINUTES!"

As Ichika turns and notices his older sister, standing straight and brandishing a long wooden Katana in one hand, the Japanese boy gets a terrible chill run up his spine. As he gulps, he notices many IS schoolgirls begin to rush to put away empty food trays or to hurridly finish of breakfast, Ichika looks over at Tatenashi, whom shifts her eyes from Chifuyu up towards Ichika and pulls a quick fearful face. Ichika shakes slightly, but thankfuly manages to keep his cool. One thing is for certain, Chifuyu maybe the Ice queen in most areas, but when faced with responsibilities the said woman is one of the best anyone can find. As Ichika looks back at his older sister, Laura's voice snaps him back to reality..

"Wife, come... we have exams now!"

"Oh! Yeah!" - Ichika replies in a nervous, yet neutral voice. As he watches Laura carry her empty tray away, followed close behind by Cecilia and Rin, Ichika takes a deep breath... the fears of the exams are thankfuly put at bay, which is most likely due to the conversation with Tatenashi. Ichika shakes off all frets for the time being and by accepting the fact that he has no other option, puts on a brave face with a serious frown. Chifuyu looks around the cafateria and as she slowly walks away, Ichika braces himself for whatever today may throw at him. Swallowing and large amount of nervous slobber, Ichika lets out a breath, and speaks in a very serious manner.

"Okay... this is it!"

_**Okay everyone, sorry if this chapter was boring but in the end, this fanfic has more peace than action, and like I've said before, It is my first. So anyway... stick around to see what happens in the next chapter. Thanks for keeping up with me so far, a lot more human drama may play out in the future so reader discretion is advised. Wishing all you readers and writers the best...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	32. Chapter 32: The Library incident

_**Hello again, Black Falcon 01 returns with another chapter of Taming Kestrel. This chapter is a bit delayed I know, but anyway... I'm staying true to my word. Also, as a fair warning this chapter has human drama playing and touch of horror, but don't worry... theres no blood and gore this time, so anyway... without further ado, please read and enjoy. Also, I may have made a mistake in describing Tomoe, she has dark blue hair not purple, GOD dammit! Sorry about that! Must have gotten mixed up somewhere along the story, just a minor mistake that anyone can make!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 32:

To say that one is never taken by surprise by seeing a library would be untrue, the fact proven by the scar-faced child known as Kestrel. For a child that has suffered a near unimaginable past,  
the sight of so many strange objects is a sight that is purely to behold. For Kestrel's escort, the green haired teacher known as Maya, the IS academy library is sight that never fails to make an impression. What strikes the traumitised little Kestrel so hard is the amount of silence, since his time at the IS academy, all the child has known is the sounds of girls chattering, or screaming in joy. Needless to say, the silence is very welcome to his small and fragile ears, the only sounds that can be heard is the footsteps that emit from Maya's shoes. Kestrel walks hand in hand with Maya, but the child's curiosity never stops. All the while the pair are walking through the many differant isles and rows of book shelves, the Israeli child turns head left to right stunned at the sight of such high book shelves and the many hundreds and thousands of differant coloured books. Many shelves are twice the height of Maya, so for such a child like Kestrel, the sight of the shelves are like the highest sky scrapers in one room. The book shelves are pained a light oak colour that makes the many differant books stand out perfectly, Kestrel does not take his beautiful ocean blue eyes off the sight of the rows of book shelves that pass by. Maya herself notices the child's fasination and as a ressult, a small and confident smile comes to her face the green haired teacher suddenly overcome with confidence that bringing Kestrel to the library was a good idea.

From a distance a woman with pitch black hair in a bun resembling Yui's hairstyle stands flicking through a large red book. The woman wears thin, black framed glasses, has a small pearled neck lace around her neck, she wears a tight black skirk resembling an office woman's skirt, with a revealing split up the right side of one leg, showing dark tanned stockings. The woman wears black high heeled shoes, a white long sleeved blouse and finaly a golden bracelet around the left wrist. The woman stands behind a large desk yet it fails to hide her beautiful curved body, the woman breaths in a very slow and steady pace, not a whisper escapes her mouth. Then, as the faint sound of footsteps echo throughout the library, the woman slowly lifts her head, her green eyes lock on to the sight of the popular Maya sensei, walking hand in hand with a long, black haired child. Kestrel has yet to see the tallish woman, as he continues to look around with a straight face, though Kestrel looks simply curious, the sound, sight and scent is pure alien to him, yet very much welcome. As Maya walks forward towards the tall female ahead of her, Maya sends over a warm and pleasant smile, the woman in glasses has a slight frown on her face, but her small cherry red lips turn up into a smile as she notices the green haired teacher walking forwards with Kestrel beside her. Then, taking Kestrel completley by surprise, the large woman snaps her red book shut and calmly proceedes to place it amoungst numberous stacks of other books on top of her large, oak coloured desk. Behind the woman is a pair of large black, swivel desk chairs, each chair seems to shine in the day light that beams through the large, white framed windows. The white walls of the library seem to make the atmosphere all the more relaxed. Yet, that isn't what little Kestrel feels as he turns his small head to look at the large, black haired woman in glasses. The large glasses lady seems to have a very sinister look on her face despite smiling at both him and Maya.

As Maya and Kestrel calmly walk forward, the tallish woman stands pleasantly behind her large oak desk and although she smiles, a smug look is on her face, which to Kestrel... is very unfriendly and very nerve wrecking, making Kestrel's small heart beat rapidly in a very anxious state. As Kestrel looks down and away from the tall woman, Maya raises her hand in a warm and friendly act. "Good morning Maya" - The said woman in glasses speaks out in a friendly, yet cool tone. Maya smiles warmly and with a brief close of the eyes replies in warm and pleasant tone "Good morning to you too, Mizuho".

As Maya comes to a stop in front of the Librarian's desk, the name plate of the tallish woman's name is presented in Japanese writing. 'Sanae Mizuho'. As Maya lowers her arm and looks Mizuho in the face with a pleasant look. Mizuho blinks and then, looking down at the nervous Israeli child trying to hide away behind Maya, speaks in a calm and collected tone "Is that the child that I've heard so much about?". Maya quickly glances down, and notices Kestrel nervously hiding behind her. As she blinks and returns her attention back to Mizuho, Maya smiles in a warm and loving manner "Yes, this is the child that everyone has been talking about, ahh... do try NOT to scare him, he's experianced a lot of suffering", the green haired teacher speaks in a friendly yet nervous voice, in an act to prevent Mizuho from feeling offended. Mizuho acknowledges Maya by smiling at her, but says nothing. Instead the tallish woman walks forward to the very edge of her desk, as she gets to the end of her desk, she leans forward, folds her arms and proceedes to stare down at little child with a menacing manner with a smile on her face. Kestrel then timidly looks up and instantly sees the dark and scary smile that Mizuho sending him, as his ocean blue eyes meet Mizuho's green eyes, Kestrel's blood seems to freeze up. However, his nerves are quickly calmed when Maya tightly squeezes his hand. Kestrel returns a squeeze of his own, making Maya smile down at the child with a warm and loving face.

"Oh don't worry Maya, you can depend on me" - Mizuho states in a very suspicious manner while standing back up straight with a smile on her face. Maya is taken by surprise and timidly takes a step back, causing Kestrel to blink in surprise. Maya puts on a nervous, yet friendly face and makes a timid smile. Kestrel however manages to get his nervous heart back under control and sure enough looks up at the tall female before him and slightly tilts his head to the left, looking at the suspicous looking woman with a straight face. "Okay... I've got a lot of work to help miss Orimura with, so... if its okay with you, I'll leave Kestrel with you okay?". Maya speaks out slightly quickly, wanting to leave Mizuho's sight. Though Maya feels like a murderer to leave little Kestrel with a slightly scary lady, Maya knows that Mizuho is very reliable and will NEVER do any thing to harm a person she cares about. "Sure, go right ahead Maya, I'll see you tonight okay?"  
Mizuho replies with an excited look on her face. Maya then turns her head to look down at Kestrel, Kestrel responds by looking up at Maya with a curious expression, but remains silent. Maya then proceedes to kneel down, with a warm and pleasant look on her face. As the green haired teacher puts her head down to Kestrel's face level, she places both hands on the scar-faced child's shoulders. Maya looks Kestrel in the eyes, and with a loving and warm look on her face, smiles warmly and speaks the words "Okay, I've got to leave for a few hours, just listen to what Mizuho says and everything will be okay, okay Kestrel?". All Kestrel can do is look at Maya with a heavily confused look and tilts his head slightly to the right. Maya smiles awkwardly and then stands up, as she straightens herself, she looks down at Kestrel and with a warm and pleasant face speaks calmly "Okay, I'll see you later". Kestrel's response is silence and a straight face, but at least the child understands what Maya is saying and acknowledges with a slow and timid bow. Maya lets out a sigh of relief, her spirits rise upon knowing that Kestrel understands what she is saying. As Maya shifts her attention from Kestrel towards Mizuho, the said Librarian puts on a warm and pleasant face and bows slightly.

As Maya turns and begins to walk away, Mizuho walks out from behind her desk and calmly and silently walks up behind Kestrel. As Maya walks out of sight and hearing range, Kestrel calmly turns his head and is surprised by seeing the lower half of the Librarian, although Kestrel does not flinch he does take a few steps backwards to get a better angle at looking at the woman before him. Amazingly the Librarian's face has changed from scary to that of an adoreing mother or worse, a shotacon! Kestrel can only tilt his little head to the left and watch as the librarian kneels to the floor and places both hands on the child's shoulders. "You... are... so... adoreable!" The librarian coes in a loving tone, like a mother being reunited with her long lost child. Although Kestrel has a scar on his face and numberous others on his body and back, it can't be denied that Kestrel is still a very nice looking child. The child's innocent look makes the child nearly a first class ticket for all young mothers or women with strong maternal instincts to go wild over.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

It had been 10 minutes but at last, Kestrel was sat down, but not at a library table. He sat in one of the large leather desk chairs behind the Librarian's desk, it had been a hard ten minutes of the librarian smothering the child with motherly hugs and affectionate spins round. For a woman like Mizuho, she has a reputation of being strict, but deep down she cares deeply for others.  
Thankfuly Mizuho is more human than most strict members of school or academy staff, and only ever shows it on rare occassions. Kestrel is definate acception, being cooped up in all girls schools and being around the same gender for so long, Mizuho had forgotten what a male human looks like, but its not just the happiness of meeting someone of the opposite sex, its also Mizuho's materal instincts that seem to have taken hold. However, knowing that Kestrel has suffered a nightmare'ish past and can suffer pass outs from traumatic episodes, the Librarian is quick to help Kestrel feel at home. Kestrel could very well be the perfect company that Mizuho has had in ages, so at least Mizuho will have someone to speak to, even if that person does not understand a word she is saying! It is not untill she notices Kestrel rolling his head and eyes around, and kicking his small feet up that she notices the child is at loss for what to do, and instantly gets to work at looking through a large book, in desperate attempts to look for books with hebrew words, and to her relief, an isle appears with books that are set in Israeli. As she smiles widely to herself, she turns her head around to look for the right isle, and it does not take long for the black haired woman to remember where the said isle is.

With butterflies in her stomach and excited emotions, the Librarian places her open book on her desk and quickly turns to Kestrel and notices a 1,000 yard stare in his eyes. Thankfuly the large woman knows what to do and as such, she excitedly walks up to Kestrel and carefuly reaches for his pale, white hand. Kestrel turns his head and looks up instantly upon feeling the librarian's soft hand come into contact with his own. Kestrel's traumitised ocean blue eyes meet with the loving look in the librarian's eyes, and thankfuly the sight helps quell Kestrel's nerves, but fails to quell the child's 1,000 yard stare. Understanding the suspiscion in the child, the librarian rubs the child's hand with both hands in a tender way, she then speaks in a calm voice "Lets go find you some books, come". Kestrel's eyes do not leave the Librarian's face, which in terms of being a male is very incredible as most males would prefer to look at the woman's slender and curved body, however... Kestrel has most likely had realy unimaginable treatment, so its very likely that he already knows what this woman would look like even if she wasn't wearing any clothes.  
As Kestrel carefuly pulls himself forward, slides off the chair and lands on his feet, his ocean blue eyes do not break contact with Mizuho's green eyes. Then, with Mizuho leading the way, her hips swaying in a very seductive manner, guides the child away from her desk, all the while this is happening, Kestrel looks down on the ground, with glazed and trauma stricken eyes. The child does not make even a whisper as he is guided away from the librarian desk and towards the many differant isles of books.

As Kestrel walks beside Mizuho, the child's curiosity gets the better of him and as a ressult, causes the child to look up and observe the massive rows of book shelves and multiple coloured books set in a very tidy manner among the shelves. After minutes of walking through differant isles of book trolleys, book isles and mahongy tables and chairs, the child suddenly feels Mizuho come to stop. The child looks up and looks into the face of a very friendly and kind Mizuho, the librarian motions with a hand for the child to look at the many differant books. As Kestrel turns his head to look at the many differant coloured books, the sight of hebrew writing is like a blessing for the troubled Israeli child. As Mizuho releases the child's hand, Kestrel lets his arm fall simply to his side, and then, with timidness running through him... takes a single step forward. Unfortuneatly, to Mizuho's surprise, the child stands and sends questioning looks towards her and back to the rows of books. The irony hits Mizuho in the face, causing her to sweatdrop. Kestrel clearly knows how to read, but because its only limited, Kestrel has become very confused and does not know what he should do or for that matter what would be the best thing to do in case like this. Kestrel is after all a ten year old child so big books with long scientific words is out of the question for a child whom only understands words that can be considered basic and sutible for a junior or primary school boy, even though the words are in Kestrel's native lingo.  
As Mizuho puts a finger to the side of her face and puts on a questioning yet playful face, the woman leans down slightly and speaks in careing tone "So... what would be a good book for a person like you?". Kestrel merely stands still confused as hell.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

After twenty long minutes, Kestrel was finaly back at the Librarian's desk with a book he could understand in his hands. To Mizuho's amazement, Kestrel has 2 large books, one book is filled with animals, where the other is about the ocean. To Mizuho's amazement, the child reads in very steady pace, even though there is a large amount of text to cover on certain pages, as Kestrel turns a page, Mizuho watches in utter happiness. The said woman feels as though she has just achieved a vital goal that nobody on earth has ever felt before. As the minutes pass, the woman is suddenly taken by surprised by a natural feeling in her lower bodily area, making the woman stand and sigh in frustration, as Mizuho stands and calmly walks over to Kestrel, the child looks up at Mizuho with a curious expression. Mizuho looks down with a warm and pleasant expression and speaks in a cheerful tone "Sorry Kestrel, but I need the bathroom, just wait here for me okay?". Kestrel blinks and stays silent. Mizuho makes a quick and pleasant bow and calmly walks away, Kestrel remains sat down. Kestrel's ocean blue eyes do not leave Mizuho as she walks around her desk and away to the left untill out of sight. As the room goes silent, Kestrel looks down at the book in his hands, however, as Kestrel turns the page... a picture of Israel appears, the image is of the sinai pennisula. The sight of the photographed image showing the desert like landscape and mountainous areas makes Kestrel open his eyes wide and gasp in surprise. Kestrel's heart seems to stop, and the child seems to loose the ability to breathe. In Kestrel's mind, a quick and sudden image showing the exact same image in his mind, but with him being there. The sounds of men and women screaming and calling for help fills his ears, but for just a brief moment.

In an act of desperation, Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes himself violently, and to the child's relief, the sounds of screaming comes to an end. However, the child's nightmare is far from over as he opens his eyes and gets a nasty surprise. In front of Kestrel, stands a long blonde haired female, the female is wearing black schoolgirl like uniform attire. The girl's black schoolgirl blouse does not fail to hide the female's curved and beautiful body. The girl's breasts seem to be close to bursting out of her blouse, the top two buttons clearly show the girls cleavage, the girl's skirt also shows plenty of flesh, the skirt is only comes to a stop just half way towards the knees. The girl's hips and sleender looking legs stand out amoungst the lower half of her body. However, it is not the body that Kestrel focuses on, it is the girl's face. The girl has brown eyes, a fierce and aggressive expression. Her cherry red lips are set in a frown as is her facial expression. Kestrel feels horrible chills run up his small and helpless spine, the child's ocean blue eyes widen in terror, and the child jumps back in utter shock in his chair. The female looks down at Kestrel with a very sinsiter look in her eyes, and speaks in sharp and unfriendly manner "Get up, you little faggot!". Kestrel begins to tremble, and with the pale look of terror on his face, sees himself standing up, and slowly walking around the Librarian's desk, the long, blonde haired female has a scimitar sword in a leather scabbard attatched to her waist on a thick black belt, that happily hugs the female's hips. Kestrel stares wide eyed and looks directly ahead of him, the feeling of the females eyes burning into his back does not leave him for a single second.

Kestrel's wide eyed stare does not stop as he calmly yet quickly walks away from the Librarian desk and towards the entrance and exit of the library, the blonde haired female, twice Kestrel's height walks confidently behind him, one hand tightly clutches onto the scimitar handle, still placed inside the leather scabbard, while the other hand is clutched tightly into a balled fist.  
Kestrel does not dare look back, but his heart is beating rapidly in terror, knowing that the evil hearted female is only inches away behind him. Kestrel's mind becomes numb, and the child's legs seem to move on their own, the child's arms, and body seem to be frozen while his lower half moves him to an uncertain location. Then, as Kestrel approaches the exit of the library, the outside has changed to match an unknown street in Israel, the doors of the library seem to open on their own, allowing Kestrel and the blonde female to walk outside and into the blazing heat of the Israeli atmosphere. Despite the feeling of the hot weather, Kestrel can't feel anything, his body is numb, yet he is still moving perfectly. As Kestrel and the blonde girl walk outside the academy library and down the long sandy street, a near lifetime passes as Kestrel walks forward, his eyes streaming tears of panic and terror. The child is wanting to turn and run, yet his body won't respond to his mind's commands. Then as Kestrel comes to the end of the street, a total of five more females dressed in black schoolgirl like attire, stand straight and fiercely in wait for Kestrel's appearance, as Kestrel turns a corner to his left, the sight of a large gray concrete building comes into view.

Kestrel's heart beats out of control, the child gets the feeling of control return to his body, but to the child's horror, the five females dressed in black schoolgirl uniform rush over and grab the child's arms. Kestrel does not hesitate, he begins to thrash around and struggle in an act of utter panic and distress. Though Kestrel begins to lash and try desperatley to escape the female's powerful vice like grips, it does the child no good, as the five young females drag Kestrel towards the large grey building. Kestrel's distress becomes utterly panic stricken and the child begins to shout and call for help. Kestrel's cheeks become drenched in tears of terror as the child tries to escape from the five females, the pitch black entrance of the large black entrance becomes ever closer. As Kestrel is dragged inside the gray building, the child litteraly wets himself as the sight of muscular looking women come into view, each female has scars on their backs, snide expressions on their faces, the sickening and foul stench of urine, cigarette smoke, human sweat and blood fills Kestrel's nose. Then, as Kestrel violently dragged down the cold, damp and darkened corridor, the muscular women move to one side and make an entrance for the child to be dragged down, what the child sees as the women move to one side, is the sight of a very disgusting, an obese woman with bright pink hair, utterly naked and grinning at Kestrel with a sinister face. Kestrel summons all his strength, closes his eyes and lets out an ear piercing scream in distress that could shatter a silent radius a mile wide.

As Kestrel thrashes around in utter panic, the feeling of the floor suddenly impacting the side of his body ends the turn. Kestrel is still in the library, but is laying on the floor cringing and wrything in utter distress and panic. The child's screaming does not cease, and the child dares not open his eyes in fear, thankfuly... Mizuho's voice suddenly shouts in utter concern "KESTREL!?". As the dark haired librarian rushes as fast as she can around her desk, the sight of Kestrel clutching himself tightly as possible with a terrified expression is what meets the Mizuho's eyes. Mizuho's heart beats in fear, yet she does not hesitate and instantly rushes over to the child's aid. It takes a full hour for her to calm the terror stricken Kestrel down, and when she does manage to calm Kestrel down, the child's eyes are wide eyed, his face is pale, a warm wet patch is between the child's legs at the front of the lower half of his IS uniform and the child's eyes are still streaming tears of fear. Mizuho dares not to let go of the child as she holds him tightly in a comforting embrace, as Kestrel shakes and trembles for hours, the said librarian sits perfectly on the floor with the shaking Kestrel in her arms, not a force on earth or heaven would be able to get Kestrel out of Mizuho's arms, that is untill Maya makes her appearance.

**\- Scene change, 18:00pm -**

"I see... well done Mizuho, I knew I could depend on you" - Maya speaks in a solemn tone, Mizuho only nods with her face full of pity. Yet she maintains a straight and stable conversation with Maya, whilst looking down at Kestrel, whom sits on the floor in the fetal position. The academy nurse, Yui and Ichika kneel or sit around the shaken youngster, Chifuyu is yet to be told about what has happened, but even so, Yui and the nurse have got everything completley under control. Kestrel has managed to explain what it was that caused him to suddenly suffer a turn, yet he remains silent as to what it was that he saw during his turn. As the nurse begins to check Kestrel for any wounds or abnormal side effects, Ichika looks at Yui with a deflated look, as Yui looks Ichika in the eyes, the Japanese boy sighs and shakes his head, "I had horrible feeling something like this would happen today". Yui rolls her eyes and shakes her head, as she turns to look at Kestrel, the shaken child in distress causes tears to fill Yui's eyes. Yui can't hold it any more, she leans forwards and instantly embraces the child in her arms. Ichika places a hand on top of Kestrel's long, shinning black hair and feels the vibrations of Kestrel's trembling run up his arm. Kestrel does not move or blink, but instead stares ahead with a 1,000 yard stare,  
the child clutches himself holding his knees as close as he can to his face. The bright red scar on his face seems to blaze angrily in the light of the library's over head lights.

"So did I Ichika, So... did... I" - Yui speaks out in a calm yet saddened tone. As Yui presses her face into the side of Kestrel's the child begins to calm down, Ichika notices this and crawls around Kestrel's right to look him in the face. As Ichika's brown eyes meet Kestrel's glazed ocean blue orbs, the child's trembling stops. Ichika then speaks in a calm and low voice "Kestrel...  
are you alright?". Kestrel responds by blinking, and releasing his grip on his body. Yui is then taken by surprise, yet she welcomes the moment as Kestrel's small arms wrap around her waist. Ichika lets out a sigh of relief, turns to look at the nurse, whom is kneeled down directly beside him, and together, both share a hallmark, happy moment. The nurse even goes so far as to send a warm and relieved look at Maya. Maya lets out a breath, smiles and turns to Mizuho. "Thank you for what you've done for today, We have a lot to thank you for" - Maya speaks in a calm and happy manner. Mizuho goes bright red under the eyes and rubs the back of her neck, slightly bashful yet proud of her own gallant act. Ichika even goes so far as to stand, smile and look Mizuho in the face and speak kindly "Thanks, Thanks for helping my little friend here sensei!". Mizuho's heart flutters, and she is forced to turn and look away, as she begins to breathe heavily, the librarian then smiles proudly and speaks in a clear voice "Well... it was the least I could do!".

It is not untill 19:00pm that Ichika and the others are ready to leave the library, and when they do, Yui asks a question that makes Ichika freeze up and nearly fall to the floor in surprise and shock. The question being related to if he was supposed to meet Charlotte after the day's lessons, Ichika smacks himself in the forehead in an act of sick irony. All Ichika replies is a very frustraited hiss of words "DAMMIT! I forgot!". Maya and the others merely look at Ichika with confused looks. Charlotte's bedroom party begins at 18:00pm and is to end at 22:00pm, so if the said Japanese boy wants to keep his promise, he'd better get his skates on! Ichika, quick to respond, looks at Yui with a curious look, and asks "Ahh... Yui... Is it okay if me and Kestrel head off to our room now?". Yui, Mizuho and the nurse look at each other with confused looks, but its Maya whom stands with a happy look on her face, she remains silent, but she closes her eyes and happily shakes her head in happy affection. One thought rushes through her head ( "Kids these days!" ).

_**Okay everyone, thats chapter 32, the next chapter should have Charlotte's sleep over party in it, so for those of you expecting some treats, definately stick around! So any way... for those of you whom like these chapters, bless you all... remember I'm wishing all you readers the best**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	33. Chapter 33: Slumber party

_**Hello again, Black Falcon 01 is back with another chapter, its taken me a while to write I know but never the less, I'm still staying true to my word and one thing is for sure, I am never going to abandon this fanfic. Anyway... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 33:

**\- IS academy/ bedroom corridor/ 19:00pm -**

Though Ichika was late in keeping his promise to the French blonde ponytailed Charlotte, the Japanese boy came prepared to entertain the French female and ofcourse god knows whom that may be with her tonight. Ichika carried in one hand a white plastic bag filled with treats for the girls, Ichika does not plan on staying over for the night, but saying that... when the girls are concerned, anything can happen. To be safe from causing any missunderstandings, both Ichika and the long haired Kestrel whore their IS uniforms to prevent any stray students from getting the idea that the 2 solitary boys in the academy were up to no good at this time of night. Though Ichika is very popular, as is the brand new Kestrel, the 2 boys are still in an all female world,  
Kestrel may be an acception due to him being only a kid, aswell as having PTSD. Never the less, the sight of 2 boys wandering the corridors wearing pajamas and carrying bags of snacks would definatley cause some levels of suspicouis thoughts. Even though Maya and Chifuyu were well aware of Charlotte's sleepover and the fact that Ichika and little Kestrel were going to be pulled into joining, the vast numbers of so many differant IS females, still remained unaware of what was happening tonight. Ichika and Kestrel walked at a steady pace, in both boys hands were 2 seperate bags, each bag in each hand, in one bag... snacks for Charlotte and whom ever was with the French blonde. In the other bag, concealed pajamas, drinks and ( just in case ) a first aid pack.

Ichika and Kestrel both remained settled, both boys walked down the brightly lit corridor with calm facial expressions and calm feelings. Ichika had a very friendly smile and pleasant face,  
while Kestrel just looked his usual confused and curious self. Kestrel walked close and directly behind Ichika, only looking straight ahead and not shifting his ocean blue eyes or turning his for a single second. Ichika walks forward with a slight look of nerve on his face, yet he feels perfectly calm and happy, it wont be the first time that he's seen Charlotte in her night wear, but never the less, Ichika has a good sense of modesty, even if he is a bit dense in some matters concerning sex appeal or lovey dovey moments. As Ichika and Kestrel's footsteps carefuly fill the corridor, nothing but silence is the reply untill the boys make it within 10ft of Charlotte's bedroom door. From behind the mahogany colored door, Ichika and Kestrel both come to a rapid and complete stop, as they both hear girlish chatter, soon followed by multiple volleys of female giggling. Ichika stumbles backwards in utter surprise for a moment, Kestrel only tilts his head and blinks wide eyed for a few seconds before looking up at Ichika with a confused look. Ichika amazingly suffers the irony of the moment and looks down at Kestrel with a straight and questioning face. "I don't know about you Kes, but I get a very unpleasant feeling right now!". A small gulp follows Ichika, a small nervous look on his face is set, but the nervous face is quickly shaken off as Ichika turns his head to look at Charlotte's door. From below Ichika, Kestrel watches as Ichika places a single white bag on the floor before raising his arm to knock on the brown mahogany door, however... before Ichika's hand manages to contact the door, a loud high pitched amount of laughter erupts from behind the door, the voice obviously making Ichika sweatdrop. Kestrel can only tilt his head but to the child, the voice's owner is obviously well known, the voice belongs to non other than Cecilia.

Ichika's heart beats a quickened pace and as a ressult the said Japanese boy looks down again at the scar-faced little Kestrel and in a amazed tone, with an awkward expression, smiles at the Israeli child and speaks the words "Y'know Kestrel... sometimes I wish I was like you, I mean... how could you feel so calm when there could be an army of over fifteen evil hens cackling and plotting trouble against us!?". Ichika chuckles the last part in order to attempt a small laugh or smile from the scar faced child. However, to Ichika's dismay all that comes from Kestrel is a small, timid "Hmm?" followed by a few blinks of the eyes, the child continues to look Ichika in the face with a confused look. Ichika sweatdrops { Yet again! }, turns his head back towards Charlotte's door and then, taking in a breath and putting on a brave face, raises his arm and proceedes to knock on Charlotte's door. As Ichika lets his arm fall by his side, he listens with intent. Instantly as his arm falls by his side, both Ichika and Kestrel hear a well known voice call out in a sweet and playful tone "OKAY! Coming!". The voice makes Ichika roll his eyes and sigh out in a deflated tone "Honne, I should have known!". Even though Ichika closes his eyes for a brief moment, he smiles and looks ahead of him, despite the fact that Ichika does not go out and around with any females apart from Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin and Laura, the sight of some of the academy's most friendly and kind hearted female inhabitants will ofcourse be more than welcome. Afterall, Ichika has always had some form of good relations with Honne and her friends.

Thirty seconds pass and then, as Ichika anticipated, the door handle clicks and lowers down, the door quickly opens, whom should be there to great Ichika... but Honne. What makes takes Ichika by surprise is the long sleeved, yet very surprising pajamas the girl is wearing. Honne's long sleeved pajamas have a large hood that covers the girl's head, Honne's pajamas are coloured and slightly shaped like the famous poke'mon trademark pocket monster, Pikachu. "YAY! the boys are here!" - Honne calls out with her eyes closed, along with a large open, beaming smile. The joy is clear evident and riddled all over Honne's voice. Honne then proceedes to jump up and down on both feet in utter girlish joy, making Ichika take 2 small steps backwards in an awkward and timid manner. As Honne finishes jumping up and down in utter joy, the said girl leans forward slightly, holding her hands up to her chest in gleeful happiness. Though the long sleeves of the girl's pajamas obsure her arms and hands, the part of the girl that Ichika focuses on is not her limbs, but the loving and warm brown eyes of rough haired brunette. Looking at Ichika with uncontained amounts of happiness. Then, as quickly as Honne appears, another girl with shorter brown hair and brown eyes appears. Honne turns her head to look at the said female with a happy and loving face and in a tone of pure excitedness looks the said girl in the eyes and speaks out the words "Look Kiyoka! Ichika's here!". However before Kiyoka has the chance to speak,  
another IS female appears from behind Honne, dressed in light blue short pajamas, the girl has dark blackish blue hair and blue eyes. "Yeah!... and little Kestrel's come too!". The girl that speaks is Shizune Takatsuki. { Just in case you readers don't know whom this girl is! }.

As Shizune looks at Kestrel with a loving face, the Israeli child only sends back a confused blink. Ichika on the other hand straightens himself up and smiles at the three females, but before Ichika gets the chance to reply, the well known voice of Laura Bodewig calls out from behind the three females at the entrance, "Well don't just leave my Wife out there, get him and the child inside!". As Laura's voice drifts out of the bedroom, Honne, Kiyoka and Shizune all send loving and happy looks at each other, at this point it is easy to see that Kiyoka is dressed in a red pajama top with a pink heart emblazoned on the front, while her pajama bottoms are grey with black stripes. Ichika gets to have a full eye full as Kiyoka rushes over to Ichika and grabs a hold of his right arm and quickly proceedes to pull him inside Charlotte's bedroom. Kestrel quickly follows, as the said Israeli child is pulled inside by both an excited Shizune and Honne.  
As Ichika and Kestrel are pulled into Charlotte's bedroom, the sound of a click, followed by the sound of a lock being closed is heard. However both Ichika and Kestrel fail to hear the sound as the sounds of female chatter and lovey dovey giggles fill the entire bedroom. The main bedroom light is off, and the only light that fills the room is a bright redish pink from a lava lamp and a blue glow from a surprisingly large holographic portable TV. To little Kestrel, a wonderful and heavenly smell continues to run up the child's small nostrills. The girls have been squirting perfume on each other, and the scent of the many differant fruits and flowers brings a small, warm and happy smile onto little Kestrel's timid face. However as the girls begin to stand and look Ichika and Kestrel in the face, the child's small smile slightly turns to only a tiny smile, yet... the warmth and happiness does not leave it for a single second. From Kestrel and Ichika's point of view the sight of the many differant females in their night wear causes both boys to blink in utter surprise.

In all, there is a total of 8 differant females in the room. Cecilia, Charlotte, Shizune, Honne, Kiyoka, Laura, Tatenashi and, to Ichika's surprise... Tomoe. Kestrel only looks at the five differant females ahead of him and Ichika, and merely looks at the females with a straight and curious face. Ichika's deep and dark brown eyes shift and run over the five differant females,  
the Japanese boy is litteraly taken away by the sight ahead of him, although Ichika is dense and not always much attention to a girl's sex appeal, the Japanese boy is litteraly stunned by the attractiveness and slender forms presented before him. Ichika goes slightly red under the eyes and around the nose and ears, it takes him all his will power to avoid stareing at the five beauties ahead of him. Thankfuly Ichika's kind heart and will power gains hold, but only after a few minutes of painful and slightly difficult effort in straining to roll his eyes upward and away from looking at cleavage and curved body of Tomoe. Tomoe wears a purple nightie, the neck opening shows the girl's shockingly impressive bust, when Tomoe is wearing her IS uniform the cleavage is un-noticable, but now... wearing her nightie, the girl's curves are clearly expossed. Its the same matter with Cecilia, Cecilia wears a light blue nightie and although Tomoe has the largest bust of all the girls in the room, Cecilia has clearly made the effort to try and attract Ichika's attention by expossing cleavage of her own. Tatenashi also wears a nightie, her colour is dark red, and of course, Tatenashi being the assertive female that she is, shows the fact that she is wearing no underwear underneath her nightie! To finaly finish the description of Tomoe, Cecilia and Tatenashi, the girls are all bare legged. The smooth and beautiful look of the females slender and curved bodies, arms and legs clearly would clearly make any average man instantly suffer a condition related to 'hot under the collar', dribble drip from the mouth or nose bleed faint. However, thankfuly, both Ichika and Kestrel are whats known as Celibate heroes, and tend to think with their brains, and not with their dicks! { Though... saying that... Kestrel is a definate exception because a child like Kestrel whom's suffered torture, has got to have suffered indecent assault. So it would be no surprise that Kestrel is not effected by the girl's sex appeal }.

Laura and Charlotte have animal pajamas, Laura's pajamas are those of a rabbit, Charlotte's pajamas are those of a cat, the animal hoods make both Charlotte and Laura look in many ways, very attractive. Laura being the first one to notice most things instantly points out a factor that nearly all but herself had overlooked, Ichika and Kestrel are still wearing IS uniform, yet this is a sleepover, so why are Ichika and Kestrel not wearing pajamas?. "Wife, may I ask why you aren't wearing any night wear? I do belive that Charlotte and I asked you to come here on the firm belief that you and the child will be joining us". As soon as Laura finishes her statement, every single girl looks at both Ichika and Kestrel. Ichika instantly lowers his head to look at himself. As Ichika blinks, he lifts his head up and smiles in a reasureing manner at the silver haired German female. Ichika speaks in friendly and cheerful tone, that perfectly matches his facial expression "Ah, yeah... well the thing is, Kestrel and I here didn't want to cause any missunderstandings and all, so we thought it best we come with our stuff in these bags". Ichika raises both arms, presenting the apparently full white plastic bags before the now interested gazes of the females. Charlotte looks with interest and blinks, a smile quickly forms on her lips as she notices the faint shape of folded pajamas in the plastic bags. As Ichika lowers his arms a curious look suddenly appears on his face, as he looks Charlotte in the face, he asks in a very curious tone "Hey, by the way Char... I thought Rin and Houki would be here, are they okay?". Laura takes the chance and speaks out just as Charlotte is on the verge of explaining the reason concerning both Rin and Houki's absence. "Houki and Rin were unable to appear tonight as they where needed by the staff". As Laura speaks, the silver haired German female looks up at the ceiling with an eye closed, though Laura sounds annoyed at Ichika's sudden interest in speaking about other girls, deep down the German girl is practacly yelling in utter delight and pure happiness. At least Laura has less love obsticles tonight, ironicaly... Charlotte feels the same, though she is room mates with Laura, the French blonde is hell bound on making sure Ichika is her love interest, just as much as the other girls are trying to do.

As Ichika prepares to ask about why Houki and Rin are absent, the blonde and stunning Cecilia instantly changes the subject by pointing at the bag in Ichika's right hand and speaking with a tone of utter joy, along with the look of utter happiness on her face. "Ah, I see you've brought us some snacks! How kind of you!". As Cecilia lowers her arm, the remaining females look at the pair of bags in Ichika's hands with looks of excitement, eyes sparkle anime style. Ichika instantly notices the looks and tenses up, he places an awkward expression on his face and looks down at Kestrel. The Israeli child does not notice Ichika's gaze, due to being interested in how strange the females before him are acting. Ichika sweatdrops and rolls his eyes in irony, ( "Yeah,  
sometimes I wish I was like you Kes, oblivious to such a situation like this must be a pure blessing" ).

**\- 12 minutes later -**

"EEEEeeeeekkk! Little Kestrel, you look so adoreable!" - The long sleeved Honne squeals in loving happiness, holding her hands to her collar. Tomoe cups her hands together and sends a very warm and loving look at Kestrel. Charlotte and Laura are on either side of Ichika and holding onto his arms, for Ichika the sick irony hits home, once again his arms are occupied by a female that tends to act weird most of the time. Tatenashi folds her arms and sends over a very proud and joyful look at the Israeli child, Kiyoka, Shizune and Cecilia are all knelt down on a single knee and smiling with happiness at the Israeli child. As for Kestrel himself, the said Israeli child is dressed in a short sleeve red pajama top, the red top is plain on the front, but has large white angel wings on the back, though the wings are obscured by Kestrel's long black hair, the very image seems to be a perfect match for the small child. Kestrel's pajama bottoms are light grey with small pockets. Kestrel walks bare foot when ever going to bed, but that itself does not matter, its to be expected. As Kestrel stands confused, looking at the many differant stares from the females, Ichika sends a very friendly smile down to Kestrel. The Israeli child's star of david pendant glistens and glems in the blue and redish pink mixed lighted room. As Kestrel timidly walks forward shifting his attention from girl to girl before looking back at Ichika, the sounds of 'Awws' and loving cooes fill the said child's ears. Kestrel's heart beats very calmly, the child is unsure of what to do or think. Ichika is dressed in his usual pajamas, and seem very appropriate for a guy like him, but still... Ichika shows his interest in little Kestrel's PJs. "You look real cool Kes, you must feel comfortable eh?" - Ichika speaks in a very kind, big brother like tone. Kestrel instantly turns his head and blinks before looking Ichika in the eyes, full of yet more confusion.

"Oh yeah! I bet he feels comfortable on the outside, but I bet he's dying to feel good on the inside also!" - The Russian blue haired Tatenashi speaks out with a bright and excited smile on her face. The Russian female raises an index finger as if shes explaining something, Charlotte shifts her attention from Ichika over to Tatenashi and looks at the said Russian female with a look of confusion, after a few seconds, a bright and warm smile erupts on the French blonde's face. "Yes, Ofcourse... this is a celebration party so lets not waste anymore time!". - Charlotte suddenly speaks in a happy and excited tone. Cecilia stands, places both hands on her hips and in a proud and happy manner speaks out "Yes ofcourse! Lets not mill around, its time we opened our treats and had some fun!". Shizune, Tomoe and Kiyoka all suddenly spring to their feet and raise an arm in a victorious pose, all 3 females quickly speak in a loving and calm tone "All right!". Laura secretly tightens her grip on Ichika's arm and with a loving smile, and comfortable face leans herself against his arm and with a brief closure of the eye thinks dreamily to herself ( "My wife and I in the same room at night, Perfect! Just as Clarissa instructed!" ).

As Shizune, Kiyoka and Honne rush over to the white bags to get first crack at the snacks, Cecilia calmly walks up to Tatenashi and with a calm look on her face asks in a eager, yet very, very inquisitive tone "So Tatenashi, what entertainment have you prepared for us tonight?". Tatenashi sticks out her chest, her figure stands out proudly in the blue and pink light, she places her hands on her hips and in a proud and smug manner, the Russian girl speaks in a very triumphant manner "Easily discovered, I've brought us the latest releases in some of the best nominated films of the year... like this for example". Tatenashi trails off whilst turning to the holographic TV projected from a small circular ringed object. As the Russian girl becomes a black, curved and attractive silhouette in the blue light, Charlotte rolls her head to look up at Ichika and with a loving and excited face quickly speaks the words, "Ichika, don't hesitate... you and Kestrel can help yourselves to anything!". Ichika sends a kind and pleasant look back down to Charlotte and replies happily "Sure, thanks Char!", and with that... Ichika breaks arm lock with both the French and German girl, stands and calmly walks over to the white bags, filled with sweets and drinks. Laura for a moment becomes deflated and sends over a look of saddness, due to the fact that Ichika has broken arm contact. However, Laura's expression soon changes to angered as she shoots Charlotte a very fierce look, Charlotte suddenly becomes aware of why Laura seems to be so angry and smiles awkwardly, sweats and shrugs her shoulders. As Ichika rummages through a plastic bag, ne notices a rectangular box, he smiles and then pulls the box from the bag. "Hey Kestrel, want to have some.. Kestrel?" - Ichika trails off from his friendly gesture, he notices that Kestrel is not in front of him anymore. Though Ichika is taken by surprise, he does not have to look very far, as he quickly notices Kestrel sat on the foot of Charlotte's large white bed with Tomoe. Tomoe has already helped herself to a simple bar of chocolate and is already begun to offer the Israeli child a bite. Kestrel pauses for a moment and looks Tomoe in the eyes with a very straight face, as Tomoe smiles in a very sympathetic manner, the dark blue haired female is quickly put at ease, as Kestrel timidly reaches for the chocolate bar. All the while this is happening, the girlish chatter and gossip has begun to fill the atmosphere. It can be considered amazing that Ichika and Kestrel can put up with the girlish atmosphere, laughter and chatter and maintain calm and steady minds.

Ichika smiles at exactly the same time as Tomoe as Kestrel timidly takes Tomoe's hand in his own, lifts the chocolate bar to his mouth and begins to nibble away. Tomoe smiles lovingly at the sight, her nerves calm and all that fills the dark blue haired girl's chest is warm fuzzy emotions. Ichika lets out a sigh of relief as Kestrel now begins to take small bites off the chocolate bar. Even though Kestrel does not eat the entire bar, the child does not refuse drinks of water or his favorite fizzy drink, coca cola. Kiyoka, Honne and Shizune are quick to join in a family moment with Tomoe and Kestrel, sure... Tomoe is a girl and all, but still... she's still unfamiliar with the most popular students of the IS academy, and as a ressult is quickly taken under may of the girl's wings. Most chatter Tomoe has had with the most popular students so far is just girly gossip, but now Tomoe has to suffer the naughty, yet innocent girlish desires and info exchange. Kestrel is thankfully saved by Cecilia, the british blonde takes Kestrel's hand and happily drags him towards the top half of Charlotte's bed, the British blonde raises her head and speaks as if she is preaching. "Honestly! Saying such indecent words when there are males in the room! Not only that one of those males is just a child, Have you all no shame!?". Though Cecilia means well, none of the girls seem to take any notice of what she is saying, which makes Cecilia pout in a surprisingly... very adoreable manner! Ichika is soon dragged towards some layed out futons by Charlotte and Laura.

As the females begin to start becoming self entertained by gossip, Cecilia takes the chance to lay backwards and stretch herself. The softness of Charlotte's bed is very welcome to the said British girl's back and head. Kestrel watches calmly as the British blonde stretches out before him, the sight of the slender beauty would make any male drool in excitement, but because little Kestrel is not like most males, any sex appeal seems to fly over the child's head. Suddenly... without any warning, Tatenashi calls out with an arm stretched in the air, "OKAY! Here it is everyone! Movie's up!". Upon hearing and seeing Tatenashi's act of excitement and pride, everyone turns to Tatenashi with open eyed expressions. Laura clings tightly to Ichika's arm and smiles confidently to herself, Charlotte does the same, both females cling tightly to Ichika and deep down, both females tremble and quiver with happiness and supressed desire! It would be much more prefered if each girl was watching a movie alone with Ichika, but in the end many have to accept the cruel fact, that sometimes some have to make do with what they can get. As the holographic TV suddenly enlarges to 6ft wide and a various amount of texts and copyright writing displays itself before the room's inhabitants, Tatenashi rushes over to Charlotte's bed, grabs a box of sweets, leaps forward and bounces on the bed, landing beside Kestrel and making the bed suddenly bounce.

Cecilia becomes heavily unimpressed and frowns at the Russian female before her, Tatenashi simply smiles in a smug manner and merely puts an arm around Kestrel, making the child suddenly tense up in surprise by the Russian girl's sudden movement, along with suddenly being pulled into a large, soft female. Ichika notices Kestrel being sandwiched by Tatenashi and Cecilia, and is about to offer if Kestrel would be more comfortable sitting beside him, but before the said Japanese boy gets his chance to offer, he is suddenly dragged over to Laura's bed by Charlotte and Laura. Laura and Charlotte are both hell bound on having Ichika closest to them, but in the pressance of other females, it is going to be a difficult task. The fact being proven as Charlotte and Laura both have faint red blushes under their eyes and looking away irritated from each other, yet both girls cling as tightly as possible to Ichika. For Ichika it is yet another moment of the girls being weird. As the movie's introduction begins to roll, Tomoe, Kiyoka, Honne and Shizune rush around to get into a good position for watching the movie now starting up before them. Honne sits happily and in an excited manner on a futon directly between Charlotte and Laura's bed, Kiyoka and Shizune grab a bag full of goodies and rush over to a layed out futon, laying paralel to the foot of Laura's bed. Ichika's heart settles, the Japanese boy calms down and instead attempts to get comfortable with the clinging females on both sides of his body. From what Ichika can see and feel, the 2 girls have painful yet soft vice like grips. ( "At least Kestrel is not having to experiance any unpleasantness" ) - Ichika thinks to himself with a slight, kind smile.

However, Ichika is slightly mistaken... what many men would consider heaven, is causing Kestrel some very unpleasant nerve movements. While the movie introductions are rolling, the said child is being smothered on both sides of the face by Tatenashi and Cecilia's soft and warm breasts. The smell of the girl's perfume makes the child's nerves calm, yet the feeling of being softly sandwiched causes the child's traumitised mind to remember a similar feeling. The feeling is very familiar, yet the child can't seem to put his finger on when this feeling last occured. The moment however is very short lived, as a sudden explosion sound causes Kestrel's wandering mind to snap back to reality. The movie on the large holographic TV looks absolutely stunning the 3D high definition makes the movie look utterly stunning. Every little scrap of detail on the movie picture stands out perfectly, its truly as if, the viewers are there in person and feels as if they are part of the action. Everyone but Tatenashi stares in amazement at the movie playing before them, Ichika, Laura and Charlotte cast over impressed looks at Tatenashi, the Russian girl instantly notices and begins to take pride in the moment, sticking her chest out and smiling in a wide smug manner. Ichika smiles away at Tatenashi with an impressed face, untill Laura sends up an angered frown at Ichika and tightens her grip, the ressulting feeling makes Ichika look down at the silver haired German girl.

As Ichika's eyes make contact with Laura's single solitary eye, the German girl points to the movie and motions with a shift of the head for Ichika to watch the movie. Though Ichika is heavily confused at Laura's actions, the Japanese boy rolls his eyes and shakes his head in a slightly frustraited manner. ( "I'll never understand women for as long as I live!" ) - Ichika thinks to himself in a very strained way.

**\- 58 minutes later -**

It had nearly been an hour, but Charlotte's sleep over party was going along with very good ressults. By now the group had switched places in some various areas, due to the fact that some of the rooms inhabitants having to go to the bathroom, or having to clean away any empty sweet boxes, wrappers or empty drink bottles and cans. Kestrel had remained perfectly still, his ocean blue eyes fixed on the large holographic TV before him. Though the movie looks very interesting to the child, the youngster does not have the faintest idea of what to think of it or for that matter become heavily drawn into it. Ichika and the others have no problems, when ever someone had finished doing something the individual's eyes would be fixed back on the movie playing on the large, blue, glowing screen. At this point Ichika now has Cecilia and Tatenashi either side of him, while Laura sits close by on a spread out futon between her own and Charlotte's bed.  
Kiyoka, Honne sit either side of Kestrel, while Charlotte lays on her front her face fixed firmly on the movie playing before her. Though Charlotte lays on her bed facing away from the three inhabitants sitting with their legs crossed, the French blonde feels not the slightest bit cramped. As the French blonde lays down, the soft comfort of the matress and covers soothe the French female as she watches the 3D movie before her. Tomoe sits just in front of Laura slowly drinking a canned lime and lemon drink, Shizune quietly and slowly eats sweets, yet her eyes do not leave the screen for a single second.

Honne stares in seeming trance, breathless and intently listening and watching the main characters play out the drama before her. Kiyoka on the other hand covers her eyes in an act of timid fear as the movie becomes tense. Shizune and Tomoe suddenly get the overwhelming urge to slowly shift closer towards each other, both females are become very, very nervous about what is happening in the movie, Cecilia shakes nervously... yet she maintains a brave and straight face, hell bent on fooling any ones sudden gaze, the British blonde has already been humiliated numberous times over since Kestrel's arrival, so its obvious that the British female is damned if she is going be humiliated again. Laura looks as though she is hardly effected, yet deep down... the German female is close to shaking and holding onto Ichika's arm and yelling in fear. Even though the German is a military hard ass, she is still a female with fears to certain things. Tatenashi on the other hand is simply stareing with wide eyes and the scenes before her change from action back to horror. Charlotte seems to have no shame in showing that she's scared and simply turns her head away and places a hand over her face. Occasionaly opening her fingers to look and see what is happening.

Kestrel is not surprisingly the only one that is NOT effected by what is happening, but if anything, the child is becoming bored by watching people run around, fight, kill and die while speaking in a lingo that he does not understand. Thankfuly, since the library incident, the child has been allowed to take a book to read, and as such, is set directly in front of the child. The book is related to the ocean, however... before Kestrel can lean forward and grab ahold of the large book before him, a sudden scene causes everyone to jump out of their skins and grab ahold of each other. Tomoe and Shizune jump back in fright nearly spilling and dropping drinks and snacks, Cecilia yelps in terror and wraps her arms and legs around Ichika like a terrified cat. Tatenashi simply wraps her arms around Ichika's right arm and clutches him tight, her heart beats out of control in utter fear. Ichika is also taken by surprise but is quickly calmed down by the sudden feeling of having two girls nearly strangle the living daylights out of him! Laura surprisingly manages to recover from her scare in less than 10 seconds but is left shaken a little by the sudden shock of the moment.

Charlotte scrambles in fright and throws herself up towards her bed, Kiyoka and Honne jump in terror and grab the closest thing to them, which is none other than the Israeli child Kestrel. The moment becomes even more awkward as Charlotte leaps on all 3 inhabitants, soon, Kestrel finds himself smothered by girls, yet again! However, the child gets a lucky break as he manages to get his head free from the trembling and suddenly nervously shocked females. As Kestrel blinks in utter confusion, he turns his small head to the right and notices Ichika weezing and gasping for air, his voice is groggy and gasped - "Cecilia... Cecilia let go... aahh... let go... AAhhh..". Although the moment is very, very uncomfortable for Ichika, Cecilia manages to regain some composure and finaly realise what she is doing. Ressulting in the British blonde suddenly releasing Ichika and stuttering, with a deep blush on her face. For Ichika, the feeling is like god has granted him a new lease on life as he takes down much needed gulps of fresh oxygen. Cecilia bright red under face looks away embarrassed, but thankfuly manages to regain her pride as she notices nobody was watching. The other girls manage to over come their shock and amazingly return to watching the movie ahead of them, the only exception being Kiyoka, whom appears to have taken a sudden liking to Kestrel's long, black shinning hair. Ichika sends the child a warm and loving smile, and then... to Ichika's joy... Kestrel returns a timid, yet very sweet little smile of his own.

Ichika and Kestrel share a brief friendly moment before both boys turn to their attention to the screen having being brought back to reality by the girls mutterings and exchange of denials that any of them was scared, Cecilia and Charlotte being the most denial. Ichika scoffs to himself for a moment, rolls his eyes and shakes his head, one thought runs through his mind ( "Sheeesh!  
Girls!" ).

_**Okay, everyone, that is chapter 33... please read and review, the recent suggestion that has just come up is the matter concerning pairings... I haven't gotten any pairings in mind at the moment, so suggestions would really be appreciated. I may include pairings, I may not... but never the less, reviewings will be welcomed and appreciated all the same. Okay... stick around for chapter 34, Charlotte's sleep over does not end here! Wishing all you readers the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	34. Chapter 34: Girl's challenge

_**Hello again readers! Black Falcon 01 has returned again with a new and fresh chapter, I have a very fair and acceptable excuse for being delayed this time, turns out my pet dog has been very sick for the past few days and at one point came close to being sent to sleep. However, she has recovering well and with any luck i'll get chapters through at a regular basis. On a side note, **__**for those of you whom have trouble reading large amounts of text, I'll put more spaces in as such. Please remember it is my fist fanfic, and can be confusing and troubling at times, any way without further ado... please read and enjoy**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 34:

It had been over an hour since the blue haired Russian girl Tatenashi had put on a movie on the large Holographic TV system, and by now the movie was nearing its end. Although Ichika and the gang had been switching and moving places with each other throughout the movie's play time, the attention of everyone's ears or eyes had not left the picture playing before them. Ichika sits with his legs crossed on Laura's bed, clinging tightly to his right arm is the british Blonde Cecilia, and on his left arm clings the French blonde Charlotte. The other females in the room sit as comfortably as possible, with the Silver haired German girl Laura sitting beside the long, black haired, Israeli child... Kestrel.

The dark blue haired ponytailed girl with a beautiful butterfly hairclip, knowns as Tomoe sits on the opposite side of Kestrel on his left. Tomoe's hand rests peacefuly on top of Kestrel's own, warm, soft, white skinned hand. Sitting side by side each other inbetween Laura and Charlotte's bed on a large white futon, are the girls Honne and Shizune. Sitting at the foot of Laura's bed is Kiyoka, and at the foot of Charlotte's bed sits the blue haired Tatenashi. The Russian blue haired beauty sits waiting for the movie to finish, even though the movie is over 90 minutes long, even if it finishes, it still won't be bed time. Watching a movie is only one of the main forms of entertainment for tonight, Tatenashi and the girls have plenty of very real entertainment for tonight.

Not only have the girls got movies in mind, they also have games, and... completley unknown to Ichika and Kestrel, some touchy feely, yet very... suggestive entertainment. The oblivious boys do not have to wait long, for when the movie credits begin to roll, Tatenashi happily springs to her feet and walks over to the holographic projector set on the floor before the group. The Russian girl wastes no time in typing away on the holographic computer screen and turning off the movie selections and switching to games selection. The remaining girls spring up, stretch and prepare for some real excitement. Charlotte and Cecilia release Ichika, spring off Laura's bed and send each other smug, challenging looks. Ichika notices this but can do nothing except close his eyes and put an awkward smile on his face, his nerves seem to rise at the sudden and very scary challenging auras both females send each other.

As the silver haired, black eye patched Laura stands to her feet after springing off Charlotte's bed and stretches herself in a very military styled manner, the German female has the look of utter dissatisfaction on her face, making Ichika suddenly feel uneasy and get a nervous chill up his spine. "Something wrong Laura?" - Ichika asks in a very cautious tone, the last time Laura had a dissatified look on her face, it lead towards Ichika feeling some very, very horrible pain. Mainly involving being chased around the academy with Laura in hot pursuit behind him in full deployed IS, lashing away at him with her electronic cables, as if they were the most lethal whips ever created.

As Laura turns her head to look at Ichika, the German girl's face changes from irritated to calm, which strikes as an utter relief to Ichika's rapid beating heart. The German girl sends a quick glance over to Tatenashi, frowns, and quickly looks back at Ichika. As the German girl speaks, she folds her arms and stands fiercely with her legs in the military 'At ease' position.

Laura's voice is full of irritation and a slight amount of strain "Hmmpphh! That movie was utterly rubbish!". Ichika practically lets out a large sigh of relief, the fact that he is not in trouble for some unknown reason, washes over the Japanese boy like warmest and most relaxing waters ever to exist.

Upon hearing Laura's statement, the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe looks over, and raises an eyebrow in confusion. Though Kestrel remains sat down, the child shows his boredom after letting out a loud, wide and clear yawn. The child's eyes are half closed, yet the ocean blue eyes of the scar faced boy are not the slightest bit tired. In the blue and pink light, the dark red, fierce looking scar on the child's face looks a lot calmer. Which for the dark blue haired Tomoe and the others, is not only a strange sight, but surprisingly very nice.

Every day when Kestrel is walking around, the blood red scar, still fresh with not a single stitch, always looks fire red and angry. Now in the light, the poor innocent child's scar looks surprisingly peaceful. Tomoe notices Kestrel's boredom and smiles with an awkward face and sweatdrop, as the dark blue haired female sits herself back down beside Kestrel, the said female mannages to defuse any plans of asking what Kestrel thought of the movie almost instantly.

"Heh,heh... I think Kestrel here has shown us what he thought of the movie" - Tomoe speaks out, letting out a kind yet nervous chuckle to end her sentance.

Ichika and the others all turn to look at Kestrel with straight faces, as they notice the child's bored face and half closed eyes, everyone litteraly sweatdrops and smiles. Everyone had been in such a rush to give out entertainment, they had forgotten that Kestrel could not understand the lingo that was being spoken, or for that matter understand what the movie was all about to start with. Suddenly... a terrrible thought comes to Charlotte's mind, making the French blonde suddenly gasp in sudden shock and place her hands to her mouth.

Ichika and the others notice the French female suddenly gasp out and rapidly turn their heads to find out what it is that has caused Charlotte to suddenly gasp in fear. However, to the gang's relief, the problem turns out to be virtualy nothing serious.

"I just remembered... that movie was rated fifteen or over, Kestrel is only ten, so... maybe our movies, games and entertainment for tonight would be considered inncorect for a kid like him to be viewing". - Charlotte speaks out, slowly lowering her hands from her mouth and looking at Kestrel with a concerned look.

"I wouldn't think so... the child has suffered a lot worse than what any of these fictional characters have ever endured, and besides... movies and games lack the pure realisim, so maybe the scenes hes been watching are simply nothing to him". - Tatenashi replies, her face with a straight and neutral look, while pulling out a game controller console ressembling the PFP from the anime 'World only god knows'. The Russian girl speaks as if it as a matter of fact, while locking her eyes onto the endless looking depths of Kestrel's ocean blue eyes.

As the gang look around at each other, Kiyoka and Shizune rush over towards Tatenashi to grab ahold of some game controllers. Both females are hopeful that Ichika will be playing the first game with them, even if Ichika is on the opposite team, the fact that the girls have played with Ichika would be like being hit with a winning lottery ticket.

What can't be denied is that since Ichika's popularity has grown, the many differant girls that have the hots for the Japanese boy are willing to go through fire and tempest just to earn a few loving hours of play time with him. As this is happening Ichika slowly turns his head left to right so that his eyes make contact the faces off all the females in the room, he speaks in a calm and optimistic tone "Well... I would say that Kestrel here isn't full of fear, he looks very comfortable, if he was feeling frightened or felt panicked during the movie, then wouldn't he have suffered a turn or shown he was suffering any reverse effects from watching the scenes?".

As the girls briefly look away from Ichika and over to the Israeli child, they notice that Ichika has hit the mark correctly, right on the head. Kestrel's face is calm and the only form of emotion is the child's usual curiousness. The child's eyes are fully opened and looking at the gang in full curiousness, the child seemingly unaware of the sudden feelings of concern that the group has suddenly started feeling. Tomoe manages to shake off her concern as she lovingly gets Kestrel's attention by slowly and carefuly reaching for his hand.

As Tomoe's hand makes contact with Kestrel's, the child does not panic or tense up, but instead slowly and calmly turns his head up to look the dark blue female in the eyes, the child's face holds unmatched looks of pure innocence. Tomoe smiles happily down at Kestrel, the child remains silent looking back blinking in confusion and making a very tiny head tilt to the left.

Honne is the next to speak, her voice is full of playfulness, her long sleeve pyjamas perfectly match the girl's cheery expression and tone. "Yeah! Ichika's right! Com'mon everyone! This is a party right, lets have fun okay!". As Honne finishes speaking in her cheery tone, Shizune and Kiyoka look at each other and smile warmly, Shizune soon wastes no time in calmly walking over to a bag, reaching down and pulling out a canned fizzy drink.

As Shizune speaks, the warm tone of the girl's happy nature seems to instantly drain the cold and terrible feelings of sudden dread and chills from the remaining inhabitants, based in the bright and attractive looking blue and pinkish lighted bedroom - "Yeah, lets forget it for now, com'mon... lets party!"

With that, the matter is dropped, however... as Honne, Kiyoka and Shizune rush over to grab Ichika's arms, all three females begging and asking Ichika to play with them, Charlotte lets out a sigh, a smile appears on her face. However, a sick and real gut churning worry still embeds itself in the French blonde's gut. Charlotte sends a concerned look over towards Kestrel, whom by now has his head pressed firmly against Tomoe's surprisingly large bosom.

The nightie the dark blue haired female wears seems to make the said females curved figure look all the more, very attractive and exciting. Though Charlotte frowns at the sight of the well endowned girl pressing the side of Kestrel's face and head, deeper and deeper into her soft, warm and bouncy chest, the French blonde rolls her eyes and brings a small smile to her face as she notices Kestrel's face is calm. The child seems only to look into nothingness, only occasionaly blinking, the child's nerves are calmed by the fruity and flowered smell of Tomoe's perfume.

( "Maybe, Ichika's right, If Kestrel was scared or anything... he would have shown it already. Besides... kids these days watch and play games they shouldn't anyway, so maybe I'm just being pesimistic" ) - Charlotte thinks to herself, shaking her head and smiling warmly at the pair sitting comfortably on her bed across from her.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

"GOD DAMMIT!" - Cecilia hisses, calmly placing her gaming console on her lap, before slamming both hand palms into her face. Just beside Cecilia on her left, sits Tatenashi turning her head and sending over a very smug look. The blue haired Russian girl's confidence has turned up to eleven, the reason for being is not due to personal pride or ego, it is because the Russian girl has challenged the girls to a challenge tonight. The challenge being on games, five games are in the girl's possession for tonight, a shooting game, a racing game, a brain training game, a war strategy game and a fighter game.

At first, when the gang had started playing games, everything turned out very innocent and relaxed, untill... Ichika and Charlotte started become very eager to beat each other on a fighter game. The challenge between the two young adults was at first very playful, but... Tatenashi had to get involved and cause trouble and mischief.

Tatenashi had made a bet, that the one whom wins the most levels on all five differant games, gets to share a bed with Ichika! So far Cecilia had the lead, but now she was over taken and officialy defeated on a fighter game. The british blonde's pride and emotions shattered like glass upon seeing her character get KO'ed, though Cecilia had put up a good challenge so far, she would still get her chance for a come back on the other five games.

As Cecilia walks away with a highly irritated frown on her face, Laura rushes forward with a serious, yet eager and confident look on her face. Despite being highly sophisticated and not one to get involved with childish challenges, Laura is always comfortably open around Ichika and proudly claims him as her wife.

So when a challenge to be beside Ichika for the entire night came up, Laura is one whom instantly takes the chance to prove that her so called 'wife' is destined and always rightfully entitled to sleep beside her come bed time.

As Laura and Tatenashi send each other serious glares and smirks for a few moments, then... as the computer voice on the holographic tv calls out 'FIGHT!', both females instantly snap their attention and face towards the holographic tv screen. Both females sit on the edge of Charlotte's bed, behind both girls, Honne, Kiyoka and Shizune sit or kneel, excitedly talking and raising their arms up as if celebrating victory, eagerly cheering on both challenging girls.

In the middle of it all, sits a very nervous and sick looking Ichika, his heart beats in terror as he feels the frightening aura's radiating of Charlotte, Laura, Cecilia and Tatenashi. Though Ichika had insisted that he will sleep beside Kestrel, the girls had seemed to take no notice of his plea and instead simply focus on beating each other in a fair battle to the end. Ichika was the big prize for tonight!

( "Those guys look like a bunch of little kids!" ) - Tomoe thinks to herself, looking at the gang and smiling timidly. Tomoe had played a few levels of game like shooting and racing, but when the challenge for Ichika began, the dark blue haired female did not want to become involved. Instead, Tomoe sat up against the head board of Laura's bed, snuggled tightly beside Kestrel.

The Israeli child has a look of utter calmness on his face as he is occasionaly pulled ever deeper into Tomoe's soft, snug, beautiful, warm, curved, perfume scented body. Kestrel remains silent as the grave and simply focuses on something. Though Tomoe has her right arm around him, the child looks deeply into a large, white, oceanic looking book.

The book cover has a large set of letters emblazoned in silver. Set below them is a picture of the earth's ocean with a silver triangle placed over the top. Thankfuly, the book's text is mostly in hebrew, so Kestrel at least Kestrel can read something for once.

Tomoe occasionaly sends down a loving look to Kestrel, before proceeding to lean her head down and rub the side of her face lovingly against the top of Kestrel's head. The child's long black hair, soft and shiny seems to be the perfect material and object that Tomoe can put her head against, and as much as she wants to keep her head against the child's head, she manages to force herself to pull her head away from the traumitised Israeli child.

As Tomoe lifts her head up and sends either an envious or impressed look at the girls competing for Ichika, the freshly beaten Cecilia ironicaly turns her head to the left and looks upwards. Since being beaten, the British blonde does not wish to be looked upon, but instead be left to stew and send malicious looks at the Russian female, known as Tatenashi.

Though she sits on a futon beside Charlotte's bed, the British blonde's frown dissapears upon looking at Tomoe's friendly and kind looking face. "You two look very cosy I must say" - Cecilia states in a very friendly manner. Tomoe acknowledges the British blonde by smiling back and blinking, from Tomoe's point of view the British blonde looks very uncomfortable, the sight of the said British female on her knees sends rivets of mental pain through Tomoe's own knees.

The reason for being is due to three reasons, firstly because the sight of Cecilia on her knees sends a horrible mental image of Kestrel in chains, wounded and in a slave camp of some sort, secondly because Tomoe has never liked or for that matter followed traditions of kneeling down on some odd surface, and finaly because the futon has not been her choice of bed for a quest.

Tomoe has always had back trouble, so as a ressult the said female can't turn her back on the British female. Besides, maybe a friendly face and kind person to speak to is just what Cecilia needs a time like this.

"Yeah, why don't you join us, it feels real nice up here" - Tomoe speaks as if its a matter of fact. The dark haired female ironicaly snuggles herself deeper into the traumitised ten year old child beside her. The warmth of Kestrel's small, soft body seems to be the perfect object for Tomoe to cling to.

Its a well known fact that women and girls feel soft and warm, but for a ten year old boy to feel exactly the same, despite being thin, small and traumitised, clinging to such an innocent looking youngster could become additictive to any woman or female. Cecilia looks over, closes her eyes and lifts her head up.

The British blonde seems to forget the sounds of the excited cheers and uproars from the others, mixed in with music and sound effects that flows and drifts from the large holographic tv. "Ah... well, if you insist, then... thank you!" - Cecilia speaks out in a very calm and happy manner.

As Cecilia walks over to Laura's bed, and proceedes to crawl over the soft covers, sheets and matress. The now happy British blonde happens to notice Kestrel reading, however as the British blonde is about to speak, she is suddenly brought to silence by looking intensely at the child's book. The British blonde narrows her eyes and looks with intent at the large white book in the child's hands. Kestrel's small hands seem to be unphased by the book's size, even as the child turns a page, not a single sound comes from the Israeli youngster ahead of her.

The book has an english title, which to the british blonde is a complete change instead of having to read Japanese all the time. "The.. Ber..muda Tri..angle, oh! The Bermuda Triangle!" - Cecilia speaks out, first with a slow confused tone, then with a sudden burst of happiness upon understanding what the silver title is saying in the low light.

"Oh, So he's interested in that sought of stuff" - Tomoe speaks in happiness, now blinking and looking down at the pages that the Israeli child looks comfortably upon. As Cecilia crawls up to the pair of occupants, the British blonde's troubles seem to melt away and instead cause the British blonde to be filled with utter curiosity and interest. What impresses Cecilia the most is the fact that Tomoe is absolutely correct about the comfort.

As the British blonde makes up to the the occupants and takes her spot beside Kestrel, the softness and warmth seems instantly gets to the british female. The British female pauses upon coming into contact with the Israeli youngster, then... with a slow and steady hand, lifts her arm, and places her hand on the said Israeli boy's head.

The softness of Kestrel's hair seems to soothe and relax the British blondes hand, a smile appears on Cecilia's face, the british blonde slowly and timidly shifts herself over to the child's side.

As Cecilia begins snuggle herself into the child's side, the British blonde cooes in amazed delight. "Ooh! I must say... this is lovely!". Tomoe smiles lovingly at the now curious child's face, blinking and rolling his eyes from left to right. Though Kestrel shifts his ocean blue eyes from side to side for a few moments, he quickly manages to regain his bearings and start to focus on the large book before him. Tomoe and Cecilia cast looks down at the many rows of text and to their surprise, notice that the text is all in Hebrew.

Cecilia puts on a straight face, both females forget the other girls cheers and uproars coming from the others across the room, instead the comfort of holding onto the Israeli younster is hitting home and making the two females become lost in a sea of luxuary.

"Oh! I've seen that ship before! Its.. its.. I forget its name" - Tomoe comments while leaning down slightly and looking at a black and white picture of a second world war T-2 class tanker.  
The picture of the ship does have its name emblazoned on the side of the hull, but because the letters are in english, Tomoe is lost in a sea of confusion, trying to remember the ship's name.

thankfully to Tomoe's relief, Cecilia, whom snuggles ever deeper into Kestrel, gives the answer. The British blonde points down and in a calm voice speaks the words "That, is the Marine Sulphur Queen". As Cecilia withdraws her index finger and hand, Tomoe places a hand to her forehead. The said female lets out a frustraited yet affectionate huff, "Ofcourse, Ofcourse! Thats the name I was looking for!".

As Cecilia casts a quick look at Tomoe, a sudden thought hits her, the thought suddenly makes the British blonde place an index finger to her bottom lip. "Hey... speaking of the bermuda triangle, that reminds me... I heard theres a rumor that IS have gone missing out there, aswell as ships and planes". Upon hearing Cecilia's statment, Tomoe sends an inqusitive look over to the British blonde, and freezes into a silent state.

Ironically Cecilia notices and sends back a confused look, a total of five minutes pass before Tomoe speaks in a calm and slightly nervous tone "Please... don't talk about things like that at a time like this, those sort of stories give me the shivers!". As Tomoe clings tighlty to Kestrel, the British blonde sends over a very awkward smile. Thankfuly both girls are brought out of the moment by a victorious cheer, coming directly from the silver haired German girl called Laura.

Both girls including Kestrel are taken completley by surprise and as a ressult shift their attention over to Ichika's group. What meets the females eyes, is the sight of Laura, holding her game control console high above her head in victory, the look of happiness and pride is spread all over the German girl's face.

"YES! Thats one step closer to sleeping beside my wife for tonight!" - Laura calls out with a bright and cheery facial expression.

Upon looking at the sight Cecilia angrily frowns and puffs up her cheeks, Tomoe puts on an awkward face and sweatdrops. Kestrel on the other hand simply looks and blinks in confusion at the sight, from what Kestrel can see, Ichika is now being heavily glomped by Honne, Kiyoka and Shizune.

The said Japanese male simply raises his arms in a type of 'Whaa!?" position, while smiling in an awkward manner. Though Ichika chuckles in a nervous manner, to show his fear and nervousness, the ressult only seems to make Cecilia get all the more angered. Kestrel tilts his small head upon making eye contact with the Japanese boy, Ichika responds by smiling at the Israeli child across from him.

( "Heh,Heh... At times like this I realy wish I was like you Kestrel, at least you don't have this problem!" ) - Ichika thinks in an effectionate, yet ironic manner. As Ichika turns his head away to look at Laura, he notices something that makes his blood go cold, and makes the hair stand up on the back of his neck, the tense tingles sends utter shivers up the Japanese boy's spine.

Laura looks Ichika in the face with a lustful, yet hungered face, a wicked grin is spread across the German girl's face. The ressulting image makes Ichika tense up and tremble, only one thought rushes through Ichika's mind. ( "Oh, man! This is not good!.. Not good!.. dear god, help me get through tonight in one piece!" ).

**\- 1 hour later -**

A full hour had passed since Tatenashi's challenge began, but now it was the finals. The final contestants with the highest victories where Laura and Honne, everything comes down to the last game. Since Laura won the last game, she was allowed to choose which game to play. The German female had vasts amounts of confidence rushing through her entire body, the fact being proven by a confident smirk on her face. By now everyone had gathered around and behind Laura and Honne, the only exceptions being Tomoe and Kestrel, whom both remain sat down on Laura's bed.

Despite not being part of the challenge, Tomoe smiles in an impressed state, while taking a chance to munch on some snacks. Ichika on the other hand has a desperate look of nerve on his face, the said Japanese boy is well aware of what can happen if one or the other wins tonights challenge.

If Laura wins, then Ichika will get foul reception from Cecilia and Charlotte, and god knows what mischief Laura will do to Ichika. Deep down he felt shivers from waking up and finding the said German female naked in his bed a few days ago. Though it wasn't realy the shock of a nude Laura that made Ichika tremble, it was the reception he got from the other girls.

However, if Honne wins the last game for tonight, then Ichika is going to get a partialy lucky break, though Ichika is comfortable sleeping beside Honne, god knows what Laura and the other girls are going to do as a ressult.

The moment intensifies as the sounds of music and sound effects single the final level to start. Ichika's heart seems to beat even faster, cold sweat begins to roll down the Japanese boy's temple. Ichika closes his eyes and shakes his head in utter fear, Ichika is trapped. On Ichika's left side, sits Kiyoka, on his right side sits Shizune, though both girls stare in excitement at the holographic TV with slightly open mouths.

Both girls are not going to let the Japanese boy three feet out of their sight or hearing range, behind Ichika sits a very fierce looking Cecilia. Scowling at the Japanese boy's back, still feeling sour that she lost her chance to sleep beside Ichika tonight. The British blonde's angered eyes burn painfuly into Ichika's back, the feeling sends utter shivers up Ichika's spine and causes the said male to tremble in terror.

Sat directly in front of Ichika, with an angered expression and folded arms is non other than Charlotte, her eyes are focused down. The French blonde remains sour about her defeat, but deep down remains hopeful that Honne wins tonight's final game.

Though Charlotte would rather have been the winner for tonight, the French blonde would rather Honne win tonight's challenge, to see Laura scoff and bask in an annoying glowing victory would surely send sickness to her gut. To Cecilia and Charlotte, not a breath can escapes their noses or mouths, the moment is very tense.

The only sounds that now fill the room are constant clicking of the girl's fingers and thumbs on the game controllers, the small and tiny munches from Tomoe, the sounds of music and sound effects from the game. The flashing from the Holographic TV lights the entire room up, the flashes and sounds from the game's gunfire only tends to make the final game get all the more tense. To say, that the moment is desperate could surely be called an understatement.

From Tomoe's point of view the sight is very entertaining, it is like watching a soap opera. Though Tomoe is not part of this challenge, the dark blue haired female is very excited at what tonights ressults will bring. Ironicaly Kestrel's little senses manage to get through to him and causes him to lift his small head up and away from the book in his small hands. Together...  
Tomoe and Kestrel, send looks over to Ichika.

They notice the Japanese male trembling in utter fear, they notice the colour has drained from his face. Deep down, both Tomoe and Kestrel have their own independent thoughts rushing through their minds.

( "Poor Orimura" ) - Tomoe thinks to herself with a pleasant yet sympathetic look on her face.

( "Uncanny!" ) - Kestrel thinks to himself with a small head tilt, his face is straight and calm, looking directly at Ichika.

_**Okay thats chapter 34, chapter 35 is underway. Whom do you readers think is going to win tonight's game? For those of you whom are sticking around, then thanks a lot, please read and review. Remember it always helps raise confidence and morale, wishing all you readers the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	35. Chapter 35: Girl's plot

_**Black Falcon dives out of the sun with a brand new chapter in its talons! Now... I won't bore you readers with the usual red tape crappy introductions, but instead will give you all the chance to simply read and enjoy... I'm hoping that these chapters are entertaining enough, so... anyway... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 35:

The sounds of gameplaying echo and fill every nook and cranny in the redish/pink, and blue lighted bedroom. It all comes down to this, the final game of the night between Laura and Honne, both said girls are hell bent on making sure they get the final victory that will secure the spot beside Ichika in bed tonight! So far Laura has performed the best and only has one final foe to defeat. The German girl is full of confidence and has a smug look on her face, Honne on the other hand has a simply cheerful look on her face. Neither female makes a sound, except for breathe very slowly and steady, both girls hearts are beating very rapidly with nerve and excitement.

The same can be said about everybody else except for Tomoe and Kestrel, whom instead focus on their alone time. Cecilia despite laying beside Kestrel and Tomoe, sits up straight and has the look of being tense. The British female is sick to her stomach watching Laura scoff and celebrate victory and is praying that Honne kicks Laura's ass in a final game round for tonight. Cecilia holds a very deep breath, her heart is beating rapidly. The sickening feeling of fear and excitement rolls and churns not only in Cecilia's stomach, but also in Charlotte's gut. Every other girl that surrounds and gaurds their love interest... the interest being Ichika... simply looks at the holographic TV with excited, happy and wide eyed expressions.

To Ichika, the moment is one of the worst he has ever experianced in his entire life. Every second that passes causes the Japanese male to suffer ever rushing levels of nausea and terror, the said Japanese male can feel the aurors radiating off every single female around him, and each and every single auror sends utter levels of fear and panic through Ichika's body, from head to toe. Ichika trembles, cold sweat runs down his temple like rain, the only sound that Ichika makes is a nervous gulp.

The images that flash and play before his brown eyes on the Holographic TV, along with the sound effects and clicks of the buttons of the girl's game controllers, do nothing to help ease the said males nerves, but instead cause Ichika to close his eyes and keep them shut, waiting for the end that he knows is coming. The only way to describe the moment for Ichika, is like being an innocent man awaiting a death sentance, verdict has passed but the execution is yet to come.

Though Ichika does not close his eyes tightly, he dares not to open them, every second of looking at the two challenging females infront of him, along with the flashes of movement from the game the girls are playing, brings the said male close to crying in stress.

Meanwhile with Cecilia, the moment is simply to much for her, she wants to move. Yet, the wonderful feeling of being beside the soft and warm flesh of the ten year old Israeli child beside her simply restrains her from moving. Thankfuly... Tomoe manages to defuse Cecilia's frustraited emotions by locking her eyes with the British blonde. The British blonde is brought to the realm of calmness after looking deeply into Tomoe's eyes.

The overwhelming kindess and friendly look in the dark blue haired beauties eyes seems to cause Cecilia's irritated rage to somehow melt away, the dark blue haired female simply smiles warmly at the British blonde and shakes her head calmly. Cecilia pauses, her angered scowl lifts and is replaced with the look of straight and curiosity.

The look that Tomoe gives Cecilia boarders on the words of 'Leave it', making the British blonde's frustration melt and be replaced with a certain level of calmness. As Tomoe smiles warmly at Cecilia, the British blonde looks down for a moment and closes her eyes calmly. A warm and friendly smile appears on the British blonde's face, then... as she opens her eyes, a feeling of utter relief courses through the British girl's body.

It is a warm and pleasant feeling that causes Cecilia to suddenly relax, the British blonde wastes no time in savoring the moment. Her muscles ease, and instead she simply relaxes herself on the soft comfortable bed beneath her slender body. As Cecilia lays down a surprised yet impressed though appears in her head, causing her to send an effectionate frown over towards Tomoe. ( "Most interesting... Tomoe seems to be just the right person to have around in a certain and tricky spot!" ) - The British blonde thinks to herself in an impressed tone.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

Finally after minutes of utter tense and fearful waiting, the moment had arrived, whom was the winner of tonight's challenge? Who was Ichika going to share a bed with tonight?... and most importantly... which girl will soon feel the wrath of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers?. Thankfuly Ichika didn't have much time to wait, as Honne leaps of the bed, her arms are raised highly above her head. An overwhelmed look of happiness is spread across her face, "YAY! I WIN, I WIN, I WIN, I WIN!" - The long sleeved girl shouts in a child like, girlish... if slightly over excited tone.

For Laura the moment is a terrible kick in the gut, the German girl lowers her head and stares at the floor in utter disbelief. The German girl's feelings are shattered, its as if she has just witnessed the pride of a military force suddenly get whipped out in an instant, just five minutes into battle.

Cecilia and Charlotte sit up straight and clap cheerfuly, envious that Honne has won the spot beside Ichika for tonight, and deep down are screaming and cheering happily that Laura does not get the last laugh for tonight. Since Laura appeared in the academy the challenge for Ichika's heart had become all the more difficult, so moments where a love rival is crushed is a moment to be savoured.

Cecilia has a smug and satisified smile on her face, Charlotte takes all her will power to stop from jumping up and down and cheering, while pointing at the deflated Laura and jeering and rubbing it in the silver haired girl's face.

Kiyoka, Shizune instantly start praising the victorious Honne in an innocent manner, but for Laura the defeat is all the more sour and painful to live up to. Laura is stricken by humiliation,  
and can do nothing but slowly stand and place her game controller down on the bed and walk away to the bed that Cecilia and Tomoe are based upon.

As Laura walks slightly slumped forward with a pure depressed aura radiating off her, Cecilia smirks and in a very cheerful manner, springs off the bed she lays upon and places a hand on the German girl's shoulder. The British blonde raises her head with an ego smile, her eyes are a mix of being shifty and crafty. "Oh, Hard luck, Hard luck! Don't be so down about it!". - Cecilia speaks in a happy and cheerful manner.

Laura does not look back up, but sends an angered frown up at Cecilia, the German girl even goes so far as to hiss something in German. Causing the British blonde to turn her head away in an upward manner, like a dog or cat raising their nose at some spoiled food, the smile on Cecilia does not leave for a single moment. For Ichika, the knowledge that at least he won't suffer the wrath of the girls is a like a blessing from heaven, but the painful fact remains that if something happens with Honne, he'll either suffer an ocean of pain from Laura and the others or he'll never hear the end of it. Deep down Ichika knows that he's in good hands that Honne won tonight's challenge, but at the same time... theres got to be a down side towards tonight's ressults.

One such reason is due to the girlish gossip that flies around the academy, if the mass hordes of girls learn that Ichika has slept beside a girl that is not his room mate, then the ressult will be either a large missunderstanding that the academy press will have a field day with, or... every girl in the academy that has Ichika on their minds will take every chance they get to try and get some alone time with the Japanese boy and turn it into a race to whom will become his rightful wife... or worse... his big sister Chifuyu will grab him by the collar and polverise him within an inch of his life for causing matters relating to rumored indecent acts with the female students.

Never the less the relief of escaping the grudge of Charlotte and Cecilia is like a large weight has been lifted off the Japanese boy's shoulders. Ichika dares not to show it, the last thing he wants to do is look releaved, if Laura is watching then he'll end up recieving vast amounts of pain inflicted by the German girl, not least as well as getting damnations to hell from Cecilia and Charlotte.

Ichika has learned to hide his emotions the hard way, one thing that Ichika has learned is not to show any happiness when a girl achieves any score points towards him. To show his dense innocence, Ichika merely gulps, looks over at the depressed Laura and puts on an awkward face. As Ichika turns his head to look at Cecilia, the Japanese male maintains his awkward face and simply shrugs his shoulders.

"Did you see that!? Honne just swooped down and BANG! Right in Laura's kisser!" - Kiyoka calls out in a happy and excited tone, whilst holding onto Shizune and Honne, jumping up and down like an excited and adoreing child. Shizune makes the moment even worse by grabbing hold of Honne's hands and looking the victorious girl in the eyes. "You won! You Won Honne! You did it!"  
Shizune calls out in a very happy and excited manner. Honne responds by springing up and down in a girlish and excited manner and replies with the words "I know! I Know! Did you see me!?  
I can't belive it! I get to sleep with Ichika tonight!".

As this is happening Laura angrily frowns and casts a murderous look over to Honne and the other girls, thankfuly she manages to contain her murderous rage and instead turns her back and chooses to crawl up the bed towards Tomoe and Kestrel. The German girl does not look nor speak to Tomoe and Kestrel upon reaching the pillows, Kestrel only blinks and looks in confusion at the German girl as she lays beside him with her back facing both him and the dark blue haired Tomoe. Tomoe can only sweatdrop and smile awkwardly, yet she does not dare speak to the said German girl due to feeling an uncontrolable amount of malice and rage radiating off the German girl.

Then, as if just in time, Charlotte appears behind Tomoe and places a hand on the said girl's shoulder. As Tomoe turns her head to look up at the friendly looking face of the French blonde,  
the sudden movement causes Kestrel to do the same, looking up at Charlotte with a confused and curious look. As both Tomoe and Kestrel lock eyes with the cheerful looking French blonde, the French female sends down a nervous yet friendly smile and shakes her head slowly. "Listen... Its best you two sit over on my bed instead, its best we leave Laura alone for a while" - Charlotte speaks in a calm and careful tone.

Tomoe and Kestrel ironicaly turn their heads at exactaly the same time to look at the German girl with straight faces, though Laura is still and silent, the mood radiating off the said German female is very, very bad. Tomoe smiles nervously and gently shakes Kestrel's shoulder, as Kestrel turns his small head up to look at Tomoe, the dark blue haired beauty does not waste any time and motions with her hand for the child to follow.

Kestrel remains silent, looks at Tomoe, then with a final glance, looks down at Laura with a cautious face. A few seconds pass, and sure enough little Kestrel moves his small body. However as little Kestrel leaps off the bed, ressulting in a happy and pleasant smile from Charlotte and Tomoe, a sudden voice from Laura causes all three to look at the German with surprised faces.

"Don't let Kestrel leave, he feels absolutely wonderful" - Laura speaks with a calm and surprisingly pleasant tone, though she does not turn to look at anyone, the sound of her voice is purely genuine enough to make Charlotte and Tomoe look at each other and sweatdrop. Kestrel on the other hand simply tilts his little head in confusion.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

"Are you quite finished now?" - Tatenashi speaks in an annoyed tone, though the blue haired Russian is smiling the look on her face and eyes does not match the tone. Indeed... it was only ten minutes since Honne won her challenge and humiliated Laura, but the victorious girl had not changed the subject, nor has Shizune and Kiyoka. It's hard enough just to look at Honne laying beside Ichika in the futon beside Laura and Charlotte's bed, and to hear Honne going on and on about her victory over Laura was realy rubbing it in all the other girl's faces. Tatenashi makes the point clear, which... although it shows the girls anger and irritation, it manages to fully rain on Honne's parade.

Honne instantly quietens off and looks at the twitching Russian girl with a nervous face, directly beside Honne, Ichika sits up straight and looks away in utter fear. Kiyoka and Shizune look at each other and simply pull nervous faces before continueing to look at the sat up Honne and Ichika. One thing is for sure, its a good thing that it was Charlotte whom helped come up with the idea of who was sleeping with who.

With Honne being the winner of tonight's challenge, she was sleeping beside Ichika. Charlotte would be sleeping beside Laura, in Laura's bed. Cecilia would be sleeping beside Tatenashi in Charlotte's bed. Shizune and Kiyoka would sleep in the futon at the foot of Laura's bed, and lastly Kestrel and Tomoe would sleep in the futon at the foot of Charlotte's bed.

Though Cecilia had offered to sleep beside Kestrel, the choice was made, Tomoe was by no-surprise... the one that was determined to sleep by Kestrel's side. The fact being because she was the female that had the best relations with Kestrel, the second fact being that she was not about to give up such a comfortable person to hug against during her slumber!

Though sleeping arangements had been made, it was still not lights out time. Thankfuly its Cecilia whom comes up with the idea to watch comedy for the last remaining amount of time for tonight, even though most gags won't be to everbodys tastes or understandings, its still a good idea made. Theres still plenty of treats and snacks around, so theres no sense in wasting any food. The point being made with Shizune and Kiyoka eating away on a single, beautiful and tasty looking chocolate bar each.

Laura, despite still feeling sour... quietly enjoys some fruit flavoured chews. Charlotte carefuly eats chocolates from a small red coloured bag, whilst Cecilia and Tatenashi have a bag containing tofee popcorn, both girls take independent and small handfuls every two or three minutes.

Even though there is only 1 comedy playing for tonight and only lasts half an hour, the room's inhabitants are all looking forward to seeing what happens. The comedy is Japanese so for Cecilia, Charlotte, Tatenashi and hopefuly Kestrel as well, it should be an experiance worth having. However... it is not just comedy that the girls have in mind, as Kiyoka is suddenly distracted from the Holographic TV by a lip stick. "Hey, I forgot where I put this!" - Kiyoka claims with a pleasant smile, Shizune instantly responds with a smile on her face.

"Reminds of me of when I was little, me and my friends used to have slumber parties all the time!" - Shizune speaks in a clear and pleasant tone.

"Realy!?... So did I!, Back then me and my friends used to go into my mother's bedroom and play with perfumes and make up!" - Kiyoka replies to Shizune with a warm and loving face, her tone is a perfect match.

As the girls begin to innocently and quietly talk to each other about their past, a sudden thought comes to Kiyoka's mind. Making the said female cease speaking and look upwards at the ceiling with bright and pleasant smile on her face. At first Shizune is lost and confused at what it is Kiyoka is thinking, but she does not have to wait long for an explination. As Kiyoka leans forward and begins to whisper something into Shizune's ear, the confused face on Shizune is soon lost and replaced by mischievous happiness.

As Kiyoka finishes whispering to Shizune, both girls smile with mischeivous looks at Ichika, then... over to Kestrel. As Kiyoka and Shizune send gazes over to Ichika and then over to Kestrel, the comedy on the holographic TV begins to roll. As the intro begins to play, Tatenashi just happens to notice the girl's gazes and sends a confused look to both females.

As Tatenashi looks with confusion at both females, she leans forward with her head lowered as if trying to figure out what it is the two girls are stareing at. A few seconds pass before Tatenashi is noticed stareing at Shizune. Kiyoka wastes no time and carefuly waves over Tatenashi with an eager and excited face. Normaly one would ask what is wrong, but in a case like this, Tatenashi responds in an instant by carefuly walking over to the two girls, trying not to trip, stumble or step on Ichika and Honne.

As Tatenashi makes it to both girls, the blue haired Russian girl wastes no time and kneels down to both Kiyoka and Shizune's level. "What?" - Tatenashi asks in a curious tone, her face matches the curiosity in her voice. Shizune with a smile on her face, places a hand on the Russian girl's shoulder and quickly asks a question in a silent and excited tone. "Would you like to join me and Kiyoka in having some fun with the boys?".

Upon hearing the question Tatenashi's lips turn into an excited smile, the Russian girl's face is full of eagerness and joy. The Russian girl's heart beats with joy, the nerves of excitement vibrate and rush through every last spot in Tatenashi's body. The Russian girl sends a quick glimpse over to Ichika, as she turns her head to eagerly look at Kiyoka a single question escapes her lips. "What do you have in mind?".

Kiyoka and Shizune carefuly shift themselves forward and motion their hands for the Russian female to sit down. Tatenashi, with her smile and feelings of utter excitement instantly responds and sits upon the soft futon covers, her face is bright and full of excitement at what her female friends have in mind for the love interests in the IS academy.

Upon sitting down Kiyoka puts a hand to the side of her face and speaks in a very low tone, louder than a whisper but softer than a loud outspoken voice. The sounds of humor and giddiness is clearly evident in Kiyoka's voice. "We were talking about what we used to do when we were younger, and we just happened to mention perfume and make up, so... we thought to ourselves, why not relive those times with our artistic skills now?"

Shizune holds up a small silver cylinder and states the words "We don't have to practice on ourselves, why not see how artistic we are on the boys!?"

Tatenashi pauses, before placing a hand to her mouth to try not and suddenly laugh out loud. As she turns her head to look at Ichika, the thought of seeing Ichika's hair done up in some random style, along with his appearance suddenly transformed to show his feminine side, sends utter levels of excited joy down Tatenashi's spine. As Tatenashi turns her head to look at the two girls, the Russian girl's face is full of excited joy. Her voice despite being hushed is clearly evident with barely contained levels of happiness, "Oohh! YEAH! Like it! I like the idea!".

Kiyoka and Shizune both reach over and together, all three girls begin to whisper what should be done with Ichika and Kestrel, getting up close and personal with the two boys in the academy is nearly every IS student's wish, and to have such an innocent excuse will be a perfect ticket to be up close to the two boys. Tatenashi suddenly breaks the huddle and sends an excited look over towards Charlotte and instantly motions with her hand for the French blonde to come over.

Charlotte blinks in confusion at first, but responds instantly to the Russian female's hand motion. As the French blonde calmly pulls herself of the warm, soft comfort of the bed beneath her thin, young body and begins to walk over... the excitement increases, Tatenashi, Kiyoka and Shizune begin to struggle to hold in their excited titters and giggles.

Just like Tatenashi, Charlotte is confused at first at what it is Tatenashi is wanting, but soon enough... she too will soon become excited at the idea now being plotted against Ichika and little Kestrel. One thing is for sure, not only is the last moments of tonight going to be entertaining, but also very, very exciting!

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Ten minutes pass by, and in the time that follows every single girl except for Tomoe has been told of the crafty plan that rolls and tumbles in both Kiyoka and Shizune's mind. Cecilia had her objections at first by huffing and saying the idea was 'Totaly childish!', but as soon as Charlotte and Honne got excited and started looking at Ichika and Kestrel with excited faces, the British blonde was drawn out of her objections by the moment.

Laura despite still smoldering because of her defeat to Honne, was thankfuly brought back to the realm of happiness due to the power of curiosity. The fact being that during her time in Germany, the silver haired female had never had any moments considered girly, so maybe this was a chance to experiance her gender for what god intended it to be, Feminine.

Ichika had become curious about what the girls were up to for a moment, but unfortuneatly... was dense and unwise enough to shake off the sickening feeling that trouble was approaching. Sure, its a true saying that girls just want to have fun, but tonight will be far from fun... as far as Ichika and Kestrel are be concerned. For now at least, all Ichika does is accept the fact that Honne is sleeping beside him tonight and try to get as much entertainment as possible from the comedy playing before him.

Though Ichika sends confused looks over to some of the females, he remains silent. As he turns his head from left to right, he notices each and every female has bright smile on the face. Honne is pressing herself too close to Ichika, almost as if she is trying to make sure nothing gets near him or worse... stop him from going anywhere.

Suspicious is just an understatement of what the atmosphere is now like in the room, and the only time Ichika's questions will be answered is when the comedy playing before the room's inhabitants comes to an end.

_**Okay, that's all I can think of for chapter 35, chapter 36 is underway and will mark the end of the sleepover, but even then... the story will not be over, please read and review... remember this is my first fanfic and that this is a peaceful story, so anyway... wishing all readers the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	36. Chapter 36: Girl's grab the boys!

_**Okay everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned, a bit delayed I know... but, you readers know the drill... heck! Maybe one day everyone will read these chapters again and find all these intros the funniest and most ridiculous thing that they have ever seen. You can laugh at me if you want, but it won't bother me in the least! Anyway... to cut a long introduction short, please read and enjoy Chapter 36.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 36:

In a blue and Redish pink coloured bedroom, with an atmosphere so thick it restrains a person from breathing, Ichika sits. The Japanese male sweats furious cold beads of sweat, the suspicious atmosphere is engulfing the Japanese male like a deep and endless ocean. It had been 10 minutes since the comedy had ended, though most gags were very amuseing, it was suspicious that none of the room's inhabitants had howled with laughter. Another thing Ichika has noticed was that all the females of the room had been casting him very creepy smiles, it was almost as if they were predatory animals, knowing that their prey was about to give itself up.

Ichika can relate to the feeling, his heart is beating faster than usual, and to make matters worse, Honne and every female in the room has gathered at Laura's bed. Ichika not only feels like a cornered animal, but like a lost child, surrounded by people with knifes and malicous looks. The utter helplessness of the situation makes Ichika want to jump and scream in terror at the top of his lungs, yet he can't find his voice, nor can he move, his body just won't move or respond to his mind's commands.

As Ichika gulps, he starts to tremble, each and every single timid shake brings Ichika close to tears of fear, its at times like this that Ichika can forever respect and understand how little Kestrel feels when he suffers his turns. Ichika turns his head slowly to the right to look and see what the girls are up to, and to his personal horror, notices the girls have gathered in a very tight huddle and are whispering to each other.

Every five or ten seconds one of the females lean or sit up straight to send a very carnivorous look with a very suspicious grin at the said Japanese male. Ichika also notices that at times the girls send very similar looks over to Kestrel, and as a ressult causes Ichika to turn his head rapidly to look at the Israeli child mere feet away from him.

Though Ichika attempts to rest his eyes on the Israeli youngster, a sudden and ironic realisation hits him in the face, Kestrel and Tomoe are on futon at the foot of Charlotte's bed, and as such are partialy obscured from view. Only Tomoe's smooth and slender legs are visable, directly beside Tomoe's limbs are Kestrel's legs.

Though the Israeli youngster's legs are pyjama covered the child's small bare feet can be seen. Then, after a few moments, Ichika watches silently as Tomoe's limbs move. The said female rolls carefuly over onto her right side, lifting up a knee and carefuly resting her thigh on Kestrel's small limbs. Not even a whisper is heard from either Tomoe or Kestrel, but its plainly clear that both individuals are happily comfortable.

Though Ichika feels happy that his small friend is comfortable, Ichika feels all the more abandoned. If Tomoe and Kestrel were directly in front of him and sent him a straight look, or any other confused look for that matter, Ichika would feel nothing but high levels of comfort, but as that is not a possibility, Ichika has no option but to slowly turn his head back to the right and take a nervous look at the girls that seem to be plotting something against him and Kestrel.

Ichika's face is a twist of nerve and caution, even as he looks at the females sitting above him on Laura's bed, the sounds of multipule female whispers and mischievous looks continue. After minutes of suspicious actions, the sounds of girlish whispering stops, causing Ichika's heart to speed up and his temple to become drenched in nervous sweat.

Ichika does not dare look up at the females, he remains very, very still. From an external point of view, Ichika looks like coloured ice, he clings to the belief that the best thing to do is to remain perfectly quiet and still. Even though remaining still and silent will provide no relief from the tention in the air, nor will it solve any problems, its the only form of action that Ichika can think of. After all... whom could think or do anything else in a case like this!

Though the Holographic TV continues to play out what ever form of TV show before the room's inhabitants, nobody takes the slightest bit of notice. The volume is at a moderate level, not loud enough to be heard from the next room, but loud enough to obscure some very quiet footsteps. Ichika has been so busy worrying, and Kestrel has been so busy reading his library book, that both boys have failed to notice Tatenashi slowly and casualy walk over from Laura's bed and towards the bathroom, the Russian female does not turn on the light. Anything to keep tonight's surprise a secret. Though Tatenashi is working in low light, she manages to find a dark grey leather bag, secretly filled with perfume, lipstick and eye linner.

As Tatenashi leaves the bathroom, she looks at the other girls, grins cheekily and winks, trying not to let out excited titters. Cecilia despite trying to look far more mature, fails to hold back a very girlish excited face, Charlotte holds both arms to her chest and shakes in excited joy. The French blonde has a very dazzeling smile on her face, Kiyoka on the other hand holds up a black plastic bag, filled with beauty products.

The look on Kiyoka's face resembles an excited child on christmas day. Shizune makes the famous OK sign with her hand, the tip of her index finger rests comfortably on the tip of her thumb, a wink comes from Shizune. Laura blinks with her single, solitary eye, the German female has nervous yet excited face. Never in her life has Laura explored her feminine side, well... not untill she demanded that Ichika is to be her husband.

Laura's feminine traits come only from Clarissa, and most of them are indecent and slight perverted. So maybe tonight Laura will get a chance to properly explore being what she was always ment to be... a girl. Anyhow... As Tatenashi sits back down upon Laura's bed, the girls slowly huddle tightly for one final briefing.

Tatenashi shifts her eyes from side to side, takes one final look at Ichika by kneeling on Laura's bed, a smile appears on the Russian girl's face as she notices that the Japanese male is looking at the holographic TV. As she lowers herself back down to the level of the other girls, the Russian girl smiles widely, excited is just an understatement of how the girl feels as she speaks to her female friends.

"Okay ladies, this is the plan... Laura, Charlotte, Cecilia and Shizune can take Ichika, Kiyoka and I will grab ahold of Kestrel". - Tatenashi speaks in an eager voice

"Hey! Wait a minute... it was me and Shizune who came up with this plan, so why not let us grab ahold of Ichika?" - Kiyoka replies in a voice filled with disapointment, the tone matches a very unsatisfied frown on her face.

"Not only that, but four of us on one male is a bad idea, if Tomoe objects to us using Kestrel, you'll need more help to hold Kestrel and Tomoe" - Shizune speaks as if its a matter of fact.

"Okay... okay then... So we'll do this then.." - Tatenashi speaks back in a calm and neutral voice, her face is a perfect match. As the blue haired Russian leans forward to change plans, the sounds of whispers once again fills the entire bedroom.

Across from the girls and just below them, Ichika sits trembling in fear, yet again. Deep inside the Japanese male, the urge to run away and scream for help is becoming all the more difficult to ressist. He's been in this position many times before and has developed a method of foreseeing very bad possibilities ahead of him, however... for some strange reason, Ichika can't shake off the possible explination that maybe he's just over reacting. Though Ichika feels horrible levels of fear and nerve, he still can't refuse giving the girls a benifit of a doubt.

After a few minutes, Ichika finds some bodily strength, but its only towards his arms. Ichika lets out a very frustraited sigh and places his face in his hand palms, he nervously shakes his head and huffs in stress. The Japanese male begins to pray and think desperatley in his head, ( "Oh god! Help me! I don't know how many times I've asked but please, help me, help me... for the love of god, HELP ME!" ).

As soon as Ichika finishes his desperate plea to the gods and heavens, the female whispers suddenly come to a sudden stop. Though it comes as some relief, it does not ease Ichika's nerves, and instead forces Ichika to keep his face in his hands. The darkness that his closed eyes provides, eases a fraction of stress and fear, the only thing Ichika can ask for now is for the girls to stop whispering and finish acting suspicious around him.

As Ichika begins to loose himself in his helpless and sudden daze of misery, he looses his sense of pressance, and then... without warning, the sudden realisation that the room is silent hits home. Ichika's nerves settle for a moment, and instead the only emotion that fills Ichika is curiosity. That said curiosity makes Ichika slowly lift his head, open his eyes and blink in surprise.

As Ichika lifts his head by just a fraction, he feels the burning sensation that eyes are fixed upon him. He does not hesitate, and lifts his head up to look directly ahead of him, and to his surprise, notices 3 pairs of legs before him. A single pair is bare, the other 2 pairs are pyjama covered. Ichika's heart beats quickly again, he lifts his head to look up and to his surprise is greeted by the sight of Kiyoka, Shizune and Cecilia. Looking down at Ichika with sinister, closed, yet very sweet smiles on their faces. What Ichika also notices is that the girls seem to have a set of bags in hand. All filled with strangely shaped looking objects.

Ichika blinks in confusion, and replaces his nervous face with a confused one. The said Japanese male does not make a sound, even as Kiyoka reaches into her bag and pulls out some eye liner.  
Finaly after minutes of intense stares being exchanged, Shizune kneels down, putting her face up close to Ichika's and speaking in a very sweet, yet very mischeivous voice "Hey Ichika, its not bed time yet, so lets play".

Ichika blinks and looks Shizune in the eyes, curiosity fills the Japanese boy, and can do nothing but reply in a neutral and confused tone "I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean". However,  
Ichika does not have to wait long for an answer, as Kiyoka kneels down, resting her knees on Ichika's futon, looking the Japanese male in the face and smiling sweetly. "Com'mon Ichika, You know what we mean... let us give you and Kestrel a brand new image". - Kiyoka speaks in a very diplomatic and girlish manner. However, Ichika still remains at loss, and instead just makes an awkward smile and blinks. He dares not to speak incase he says something that may upset the girls that seem to be fussing him.

However Cecilia suddenly kneels in front of Ichika, rests a bag full of make up and perfume on Ichika's lap and places hands on her hips. The British blonde smiles with half closed eyes at Ichika, her face looks smug and crafty. "What we are saying is... WE... are going to give you a full body and facial make over to pass the time, so be ready!" - Cecilia speaks in a very, smug and playful manner. Upon hearing and suddenly realising what Cecilia and the girls are going to do to him, Ichika suddenly puts on a nervous smile. Ichika can't breathe, nor can he speak,  
he is white in the face and close to crying in either embarrasment or nervousness.

While this is happening, Charlotte, Laura and Tatenashi have managed to surround Tomoe and Kestrel in a triangle like formation. For Tomoe, the way the girls are behaving is very, very strange ,although the three females have the looks of happiness and kindness, Tomoe can sense that the girls have some ulterior motives masked behind their friendly faces.

Though Tomoe is urged to ask a question that makes her heart beat in fear... she can't help but feel that not asking a question or doing anything at all, will do nothing but bring bad ressults non the less. The fact being made by the dark haired female putting on a very brave face and smiling kindly, but timidly.

"Yes?... What is it?" - Tomoe asks in a nervous, yet very pleasant tone. Her eyes roll from side to side, to look up at the pleasant smiling faces of Charlotte and Tatenashi. Beside the dark,  
blue haired beauty sits little Kestrel, the scar faced child has a straight and curious look on his small face. The child turns his head from side to side, looking at the faces of a pleasant smiling Tatenashi and Charlotte. Both girls waste no time and instantly get on their knees, looking the Israeli youngster in the face and smiling in a very loving manner.

Charlotte holds up a white bag, and in just a matter of seconds turns it upside down, the sounds of conditioners, lipsticks, perfume cans and god knows what is heard cluttering around the room. The sight takes both Tomoe and Kestrel by surprise, little Kestrel leans back slightly and blinks and the sight of the many differant bottles and cans. Tomoe however jumps in sudden and utter surprise, the said female suddenly gets an idea rise in her head.

Tomoe has a good idea of what the girls are planning, but deep down she can only hope that she's wrong. Even as the French blonde, known as Charlotte, speaks in a very warm and loving tone, Tomoe can do nothing but stare and remain silent with a utterly un-amused look on her face.

"Join us Tomoe, lets have some fun for once" - Charlotte speaks happily, with a hand palm facing the ceiling, speaking as if its a matter of fact. Tomoe stays quiet and raises an eyebrow in confusion, as she replies, Tomoe's voice is clearly layden with nerve and confusion "What do you mean? What's with all the beauty products?".

Tatenashi and Charlotte cast quick looks at each other with half closed eyes, frowns are upon their faces for a brief moment. Then, looking back at Tomoe with happy faces, both girls look and smile in a loving and careing manner. Tatenashi even goes so far as to reach out, and place a hand on Tomoe's left shoulder. As the Blue haired Russian speaks, the said females voice is clearly layed with comfort and happiness, Tatenashi looks Tomoe in the eyes and does not blink for a single second. "Tomoe... com'mon, join us in having a taste of what our childhood was once like... so... lets give give Kestrel a brand new image."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" - Tomoe asks with a slightly nervous voice, though her face has a pleasant smile.

"Lets give Kestrel a make over!" - Charlotte calls out with pleasant, excited and girly, girly tone. The French blonde's hands tremble with excitement, one thing is for sure, ever since the idea was started, the girls have realy gotten into the basic root of it, but saying that... if you ask a girl to do something that only the female gender is good at doing, then it will be no surprise that the girl will be so quick to show how artistic her gender is.

As Charlotte speaks, Tomoe closes her eyes for a brief moment, and shakes her head, an ironic huff escapes the blue haired female's lips. The dark blue haired beauty leans her head back, opens and rolls her eyes before blinking rapidly and lowering her head back to its natural postion. A smile appears on Tomoe's face, she knew this idea was coming but deep down she was holding onto to the benefit of a doubt.

Even as Tomoe opens her eyes, and looks pleasantly at Charlotte and Tatenashi, the said female no longer has a nervous feeling in her gut, but instead has the feeling of guilt. For all Tomoe knows, Charlotte, Tatenashi and Laura have gone all out like this with the best intentions, so it seems to be cruel to turn them down. Not only that, but Kestrel is a young boy, so what fun will a young boy with PTSD find in what ever crazy ideas the girls can come up with?

Tomoe lets out a nervous chuckle and raises her hands as if she is trying to calm things down, as she speaks her voice is layden with a cautious a approach, but to her dismay, is cut off by Laura bodewig.

"Heh,Heh... I don't know what brought this idea up, but... I don't think its such a good.."

"Nonsense!" - Laura speaks out in a proud and excited tone, cutting off Tomoe. The silver haired German has never experianced what its like being a natural female, so its obvious that regardless of what Tomoe says, she is damned if she is going to let any rational excuses stop her chances of being a girl tonight. The German female even makes it 100% clear that she not about to let anything stop her by placing a hand on the back of Tomoe's shoulder and kneeling directly behind the blue haired girl and the scar faced boy directly beside her.

As Laura speaks, a serious face appears, matched by a strict and serious tone, Laura even goes so far as to raise her head a fraction, her nose is raised in the air and her single solitary eye is closed. "Back in Germany I never once experianced this strange ritual of face decoration and sweet smelling products, I have never once had this chance of experiancing what you people call... 'Girlish moments', so if you think I'm going to let this chance slip by, then I'm afraid your badly mistaken!".

Tomoe shifts her eyes away from trying to look behind her and is drawn back to Tatenashi as the Russian girl speaks in a deep and sympathetic tone, trying to use Laura's excuse as a means of getting Tomoe to agree to what ever mischief that the girls have on for tonight. The way Tatenashi speaks seems at first to sound convincing, but deep down Tomoe is not fully convinced about what it is that Tatenashi is saying. "See Tomoe, Laura hasn't had much of a good life so go please... just this once, after all... this is a party that everyone is entitled to enjoy isn't it?".

Upon hearing Tatenashi's words, Tomoe lowers her arms and head, looks down upon the futon that she and the others either sit or kneel upon and goes silent for a few moments, however, the silence does not last long as Ichika begins to let out a volley of panic stricken yelps. Any words that escape Ichika's mouth go along the lines of, "HEY!", "Don't touch me there!", "NO!", "STOP IT!", "CUT IT OUT!". The only sounds that meet Ichika's pleas are the struggling sounds of Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka, whom can be seen standing up for a brief moment before flying forward to pin down the Japanse male.

Most of the sounds the girls are making are hisses and struggle stricken huffs, but every so often the sounds of titters and giggles can be heard amongst the frustraited sounds of Cecilia,  
Shizune or Kiyoka letting out commands in order to prevent Ichika from escapeing the girl's grips. Most words the girls are saying go along the lines of "Hold him still!", "Grab his legs!", "Stop thrashing around Ichika!", "Stop being such a wet blanket Ichika!", "I've got him!".

Thankfully Tomoe can't see what is happening, but by the sound of it, its clear as day that trouble is going on. The sounds of struggling and thrashing sends uncontrolable levels of fear and nerves up Tomoe's spine. It gets even more worse when she feels Laura's hand grip tighten even stronger on her shoulder, though Tomoe does not look back, she can't escape the burning gaze of the two girls infront of her. For a breif moment, Charlotte and Tatenashi have an anime style red eye gleem, which causes Tomoe to tense up and look at both females with a terrified face, the said female trembles and stutters.

Then, to her shock... Charlotte asks a question in a very warm, kind, yet very menacing tone. The French blonde tilts her head slowly, looking very, very menacing and evil "So... are you with us? Or are you not!?".

Tomoe moves without realisation and throws herself onto little Kestrel, the dark, blue haired beauty seems to act like a terrified cat clinging by its claws to a boulder or carpet. For little Kestrel, the moment is an utter surprise. The Israeli child blinks and rolls his eyes upwards to look at the nervous Japanese girl that has wrapped her arms and legs around him and squeezing herself tightly into him.

Though the shock of Tomoe grabbing ahold of him causes his little heart to leap in surprise, it thankfuly does not cause any further effects to bring on something like a mental turn. To be honest... the soft warmth of Tomoe's large bouncy breasts, soft and snug like body, slender arms and legs seem to help cusion the child.

Normaly this sort of thing would cause little Kestrel to suffer a turn, but thankfuly the perfume that Tomoe is wearing seems to help ease up any nervous emotions. One thing is for sure, its a good thing Kestrel never suffered any torture by the hands of women wearing such a beautiful smelling mix of fruits and flowers. However, Kestrel is not completely settled, and has a very rapid heart beat, though its small, its still enough to prove that the child is still nervous.

Laura, Charlotte and Tatenashi are also taken by surprise, but instead of taking any forceful approaches, simply send continuous looks at each other and sweatdrop.

\- Meanwhile -

With Ichika things have calmed down, much to Ichika's hated dismay. Cecilia has partialy summoned her Blue tears and is using her IS hands to pin Ichika's arms to the floor. Cecilia's smug and excited face seems to hover above Ichika's nervous and cold sweat stricken head. Cecilia's blonde curls dangle down and look like the most beautiful waterfall from Ichika's point of view, but that image is quickly over shadowed by the fact that the girls are going to do something to him, and what ever it is... it really isn't good!

To make matters worse, Kiyoka is laying on her front across Ichika's legs, using every amount of strength she has to restrain Ichika from moving. For Ichika, the moment is realy, realy bad... he trembles with fright, his temple is sweating. Every time he tries to reason with Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka, it seems to make matters worse.

The only response he gets is girlish giggling or at the least, girlish "Awws" or brief playful tickles from the girl's soft, thin and dainty fingers. Ichika's voice no longer has any calm and is now filled with desperation, nerve and firmness, he hopes that a firm and serious voice filled with demand may help the girl's mischevious antics cease.

"Stop it! I'll tell Chifuyu and Maya sensei! I'll call for help!, Let go of me!... You hear!? Let go of me right now!"

Though Ichika's voice is firm, his face is still filled with fright, and it seems all he is doing is adding more fuel to the fires. The fact being proven as Shizune straddles Ichika's body, her soft body is very soothing and welcome to Ichika's male body. Normaly most men would be excited in a very erotic manner, but in a case like this, Ichika is more pre-occupied on what fate has in store for him.

As he looks at Shizune, he notices her pull out a small beauty brush, specialy ment for make up purposes. Shizune smiles in a very excited manner and titters, she looks Cecilia in the face and sends over an excited face with an open smile.

Cecilia sends over a very excited face back in return and nods her head in a very excited manner. A phrase escapes her mouth, the voice is clearly full of excitedness and eagerness for what ever mischief is being brewed to go on untill exploding from over boil. - "Are you ready!?".

Shizune leans forward a little and places the brush beside Ichika's body. A few seconds pass as the said female begins to gather and place numberous differant beauty products beside Ichika's body. Ichika sweats all the more, his nerves are causing him to tremble and become close to crying and screaming. Its not that Ichika is scared of being around the girls, its because of his past experiance putting up with the girls shenanigans.

Experiance has told him that moments like these its best to get as much distance as possible, the reason for being is because when ever the girls have had certain types of innocent fun with him in the past, he ended up taking the heat or getting the worst form of punishment from Maya or worse his big sister Chifuyu, and the last thing that Ichika wants is to hear another lecture from Maya or Chifuyu along the lines of "Grow up" or "Act your age and be more responsible!".

Anyway... as Shizune finishes gathering the products she is wanting, the said girl sends over a very mischievous smile over to Cecilia and speaks in a very joy stricken tone "Yeah I'm ready, trust me... when tonight is over Ichika is going to stand out from amoungst the entire student board in the academy!".

To Ichika, the sound of that is realy, realy bad. What does Shizune mean by that remark?, and worse... what punishment is Ichika going to suffer from tomorrow!? All sorts of thoughts related to these questions rush through his mind, forcing him to thrash and writhe for a few seconds, yelping out in fear the exclamtion "Ay!".

{ Please note: That exclamtion sounds like the word 'Hay', but remove the letter H! The exclamation itself is an old type, but is still commonly used today when flabergasted with something! }.

For Ichika all attempts to struggle are in vain, its like he is a fly trapped in a spider's web. The only hope of escape is from the outside, but to his horror, nothing is coming. It doesn't help either as Cecilia leans her head forward to look down into Ichika's chocolate brown eyes and in a very kind and affectionate voice asks the question that she knows Ichika is going to refuse.

"Will you stay still and play with us!?"

Cecilia smiles in a smug like manner as Ichika violently shakes his head from left to right, the said Japanese male speaks in a very firm tone - "No! No! No!, this is ridiculous! Stop it before someone gets into trouble!".

As soon as Ichika finishes speaking, Cecilia casts a confident and smug look over to Shizune and with a quick roll of the eyes, set on a warm, playful and cheeky looking facial image, Cecilia speaks in a playful and mischeivous tone "I'm sorry to hear you say that!".

Then, before Ichika can react, Cecilia nods at Shizune. Shizune flings herself forward, putting her full body weight on Ichika's to prevent any thrashings. Ichika gasps in shock and closes his eyes as the beauty brush flutters over his face. The brushings last for over 2 minutes and when they finish, the rest Ichika gets is only a few seconds as he feels a cold and wet substance run over one of his eye lids.

Ichika clentches his teeth and firms up, he prays that the ordeal is going to end soon, and it only occurs when he feels nothing but wetness over both eye lids. After a few seconds of feeling a damp, wet object leave his eye lids, he wastes no time to open his eyes. His eyes flutter open and blink over and over.

From above Ichika's head Cecilia smiles, taking pride in looking down at Shizune's handy work. Shizune sits up straight, still straddling Ichika's body. The said female smiles and tilts her head to one side, feeling proud and pleased with herself.

"I must say Shizune, that is the most wonderful spread of eye shadow I have seen in my entire life!". - Cecilia speaks as if she is a beauty salon member, talking in a very buisness like manner.

Shizune responds by holding a hand out and acting excatly the same, the said female speaks in a very proud and well acted tone "I'm so happy you think so Darling, I think that colour is a very perfect match for our customer today!".

As both girls look down at Ichika and smile and take pride in the first phase of their so called 'spruce up' of Ichika, the Japanese male smirks, a sudden thought comes to mind. As far as Ichika is concerned, if the girls want to play hard ball, he's game. Ichika changes his tone from nervous to confident and speaks out in a very confident tone "You fools! Idiots! This stuff won't stay on me!".

As Ichika begins to cackle with confident laughter, Cecilia and Shizune cast down curious faces at the laughing Japanese male.

"I can simply wash all this stuff off in the shower tomorrow morning! HA!" - Ichika speaks in a tone that resembles victory. However... as Ichika finishes his statement, Cecilia and Shizune send looks of smugness towards each other, its clear that the girls are not finished yet! Cecilia makes it clear by looking down at Ichika's face and smirking. As soon as Ichika notices Cecilia's smug look, confusion rushes through his body, and is brought back to utter high levels of fear as Cecilia explains her plan to him.

"We are well aware of that, so... what we're going to do, is invite all the other girls over here to take photos of you, in fact we ourselves are going to take pictures of this tonight! We want to remember tonight as one of the finest in our lives!"

As soon as Cecilia finishes her explination, Ichika looks up into Cecilia's face. His heart beats rapidly, sickness fills his gut and summoning all breath in his body asks a question he dreads to ask. He shakes his head slowly from left to right, and with levels of fear on his face asks the a question that sounds like a dare. The Japanese male's voice has regained his nerve and all that fills his body utter levels of panic. - "You wouldn't!?"

Cecilia raises her brows and grins in a very devil like manner and speaks proudly, "Oh yeah!?". Ichika is suddenly frozen on the spot as Cecilia lifts her head to look upwards, the British blonde suddenly makes Ichika become close to tears as she suddenly calls out in a very loud, clear and joy filled voice "Tatenashi! Go tell the other girls that we're prepareing a surprise for them!".

As soon as Ichika hears Tatenashi's excited toned voice, followed by the rush of footsteps towards the bedroom door, Ichika feels utter levels of panic build up in his body. Terror is just an understatement to how he feels at the moment. Tatenashi's cheerful and excited voice is in some ways like a death sentance "Alright!, I'll go spread the word!".

As soon as Ichika hears the combination of the door handle suddenly thrust downwards, the door suddenly squeak open and close with the click. The Japanese male flings his head back, terror fills his body and vocal cords, and in an act of panic screams in a loud voice, one single word...

**"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

As Ichika shouts in terror, girlish giggling and howling laughter fill the entire room!

_**Okay everyone, that's chapter 36, I know I said this chapter would be the end of Charlotte's sleepover but... I quess it won't hurt to continue a bit longer! Chapter 37 is underway as we speak and should be filled with more comedy moments. Stick around okay! Wishing all you readers the best!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	37. Chapter 37: Fun or torture?

_**Okay everyone, Black Falcon 01 is back again with a fresh chapter. This chapter will give you a small but shocking idea of what kinds of torture our little Kes endured, but thankfuly there is a lot of warm and loving moments also. So anyway... without further ado... please read and enjoy.**_

_**Spell check for my fanfic is still on the blink regardless of what I do or try, so for any readers that are put off by my spelling errors, then please accept my most humble appologies.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter: 37

**\- IS academy, bedroom corridor -**

"So... What is it thats so important?" - A green, short haired teacher with glasses asks in a tone that is demanding answers in the kindest possible way. The questioning teacher being none other than Maya Yamada. The well known and loved teacher stands beside the black, ponytailed beauty known as Chifuyu, just in front of the two women stands the academy nurse. The academy nurse is flanked on both sides an identical pair of women wearing white nurses uniforms, the two women that flank the academy nurse both have long dark purple hair that runs half way down the backs. Both women are obviously assistant nurses, yet both purple haired beauties look like utter profesionals that can repair a broken bone and re-arange torn organs in a heart beat.

The women stand in the still and silent air of the IS bedroom corridors, the only sounds that echo and reverbriate around the corridor is the calm voices of the women, all of which look at each other with calm and straight expressions. Normaly a conversation that would be so important would be held in the confines of Chifuyu's office, but because of Charlotte's sleep over antic Chifuyu felt it nessacary to help Maya and other various academy staff members patrol the corridors to make sure no chaos takes place, and that the mischievous girls keep to their word!  
Even so, the nurse and her twin assistants had been walking restlessly around the entire academy looking for Chifuyu after finding that her office was empty, and even when the nurse and her assistant female beauties had found Chifuyu, the nurse was so insistant that Chifuyu stoped what ever she was doing and listen to what had to be said, - that Chifuyu's offer of moving to a more quiet and secluded room was instantly turned down.

Just now Maya had asked a question that was not only filled with curiosity, but demand. Upon hearing the green haired female's question, the academy nurse and her assistants breifly lower their heads, all let out sighs of frustraition mixed with sorrow, and look back up at both Maya and Chifuyu with serious faces. Chifuyu folds her arms and puts on a serious face, Maya on the other hand puts her hands together, but keeps her arms lowered so that her hands are directly below her waist. Maya's face has a look of panic and tensenes, the green haired teacher is realy anxious about what is wrong and what is to be said.

The nurse takes in a deep breath, and speaks out in a very clear voice, the said woman's voice is filled with nerve and utter concern. "Orimura, Yamada... you both know that here at the IS academy, we do physical exams?".

Chifuyu and Maya do not reply but lower their heads slowly and lift them, confirming the answer as a firm yes. The expressions on both Maya and Chifuyu does not leave for a single moment,  
but instead seem to intesify. The nurse notices this, but takes it as a positive reaction, after all... what the nurse has to say right now is so important, it can be described as an urgent priority one. The white coated female wastes no time, and continues slowly and clearly so that no words are jumbled or left out.

"Well... on the day our little Kestrel arrived in my office, me and my girls did a physical examination check on Kestrel, and we found not only a large number of scars on the youngster's body, but we also found what looked to us like... well... a rough and cruedly done form of circumcision on the child's genitalia, so for medical reasons we took a closer look and what we discovered was.." - The nurse explains, pausing at the last moment, lowering her head, closing her eyes and looking away for a brief moment.

Behind the nurse, the identical twin nurses look down with saddened expressions. Though hearing the word 'circumcision' causes Maya to blush and Chifuyu to blink in certain embarrasment, the feeling of bashfulness is suddenly changed to a feeling of utter concern at hearing the pained tone of the academy nurse and the look on her face.

"What?.. What's wrong, what's happened!?" - Maya asks, her tone filled with fear, concern and a slight twist of firmness. The green haired teacher in glasses does not blink, nor break eye contact from looking at the saddened face of the academy nurse and her assistant beauties behind her. Chifuyu maintains a serious frown and remains perfectly still and silent, though Chifuyu does not look effected from the academy nurse's tone and facial expression, deep down the ponytailed woman is a mass of swirling emotions, mostly boardering on fear and utter concern. As the nurse lifts her head and regains eye contact with Chifuyu, the pause that follows lasts a mere 30 seconds before the nurse continues her explinations.

As the nurse speaks in a low, clear and serious tone, the look on the nurse's face is very symapthetic yet serious at the same time. "To put in a more cleaner way... we took into account the facts surrounding Kestrel's past, including possible torture, so... we made a medical scan of the child's scars and genitalia, and what we've found is evidence that the child was circumcised while still awake!".

Upon hearing the solemn and pained explination escape from the nurse's mouth, Chifuyu serious frown instantly vanishes and is replaced by a surprised and shocked expression. Altough taken by surprise, Chifuyu's posture remains perfectly still, her arms are still folded and the woman's standing stance remains unchanged. Maya however takes the news very differantly, the green haired teacher stumbles backward slightly as if somebody has just pushed her. Maya's facial expression is one of utter terror and shock, her eyes widen, her colour drains from her face and body. A terrible feeling of gut rolling and churning sickness makes Maya come close to sending up a foul tasting portion of bile.

"O..Oh christ!.. Oh god!" - Maya speaks in a voice rocked with sickness, the said teacher places a hand to her mouth. She even goes so far as to place an arm over her stomach and suddenly bend her knees as if she is on the verge of collapse. Thankfuly Maya does not send up any sick or bile, but ends up with her back against the wall of the corridor. Only hard swallows and stomach churning groans rumble and moan from the green haired teacher.

Four long minutes pass before another word is spoken, the news has taken Chifuyu and Maya by surprise. Shocked is just an understatement of how the two mature women are feeling right now,  
the fact is proven by how long it takes for Chifuyu to reply to the sorrow stricken nurse. The nurse herself merely lowers her head, not knowing where to look. The assistant nurses flanking their superior, make timid steps forward. As the assistant nurses stop in front of Chifuyu, both women reach into their white coats, and pull out a single clipboard each.

The assistant nurses cast pained and sorrowful expressions at each other before looking ahead at Chifuyu and timidly handing over their clipboards, both nurses say nothing, not even a breath can be heard from the purple haired females, unsure of what to do or say in order to help cease the horrible sickness that fills not only themselves, but the two most powerful and loved women in the IS academy.

Chifuyu relaxes her posture and takes both clip boards from the assistant nurses, the strict face of Chifuyu seems to have melted away completley due to the shocking news and the reading of the medical scan reports before her eyes. Its a well known fact that Chifuyu is the ice queen, but its at times like this that Chifuyu shows she is not only a strict person with a lot of resposibilities, but also a human being. What the said ponytailed woman can not belive is the accuracy of these medical reports, ever since the IS was invented the world has rapidly expanded in terms of technological aid to not only electronic entertainment, but also medical and forensic analysis. These days most medical and forensic scans have a very, very detailed and accurate report to give, to make these analysis reports all the more shocking, is the fact that medical and forensic scans are at this very moment, one of the top 10 in technological advancements.

All medical scans these days display the past, present and future possibilities or definate factors of a persons illness or pyshical damage with only a 5% error margin. So when the nurse and her assistants say that its very likely that Kestrel has been tortured, and worse, been circumcised while awake and forced to endure the pain and terror, then it is in fact a 95% chance that Kestrel has indeed suffered these horrors.

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Chifuyu hands back the clipboards to the assistant nurses, looks away and after taking a making a quick and nervous gulp, asks a question that any right minded person would want answering at a time like this. "K..Kestrel, will he be alright? Is he in danger of suffering any infections, viruses or reverse effects?".

As Chifuyu makes eye contact with the nurse, the nurse can see the sickened look in Chifuyu's eyes. The nurse can understand what she is experiancing right now, the said woman feels exactaly the same way. Even as the nurse responds to Chifuyu's question, it is clear as day that the nurse is on the verge of vomiting, the very thought of seeing Kestrel screaming and crying, begging for help when he suffers his turns begins to replay in the nurse's head. "N..No, Kestrel is perfectly okay bodily wise and internaly wise but... in terms of mental wise, its obviously a very differant story".

Chifuyu reaches forward with her hand and places it on the nurses shoulder, the nurse lowers her head and speaks in a very guilty and saddened voice, its clear that the nurse is taking this even harder than what Chifuyu and Maya are. Thankfuly, Chifuyu is able to regain some composure and control, in a way that many can consider either lucky or by her experiance in life as a mature woman. Chifuyu speaks in a very calm voice, and adds a hint of authority, mixed in a tone set just correctly in raising the Nurse's spirits and help remove any pure sickness feelings.

"Thank you... as long as one of my students is going to pull through a painful ordeal then thats all I need to know, just keep this stuff confidential and do your best to support the kid if he ever comes by your office. Also... give him a message from me saying "Don't worry, just stay focused on academy work and don't speak a word of this to anyone except for me, you and Yui"".

Upon hearing Chifuyu's words the nurse lifts her head and straightens her posture, as does her assistants, however... before anybody can say anthing else, a sudden shout in fear brings the group of women out of their serious discussion. Though the loud shout is down the corridor, Chifuyu can tell who it belongs to. The shout also does some good for Maya, as the feeling of wonder and curiosity washes away the sickened feelings in her gut and chest. The green haired teacher straightens herself up, and places her arms comfortably by her side and asks in a very confused, yet wonderous tone "Is that Ichika?".

The nurse and her assistants waste no time and turn their heads to the right to look down the brightly lit corridor. As the group of women stand silent, they notice a blue haired figure rush out of an opened door bedroom and rush from door to door, knocking and trying to wake the corridor's inhabitants. Upon seeing the sight, Chifuyu puts on a very irritaed and angered frown,  
the office like woman rolls her eyes and sighs in a tone filled with irritation. "That freaking brother of mine!" - Chifuyu hisses in irritation.

As the women look at the sight before them, Chifuyu suddenly gets the urge to get everyone to move away from this area. It is a well known fact that women can multi-task, but in a case like this, its best to deal with one problem at a time. Chifuyu sticks out her chest and holds her strict facial image, the said office woman holds up a hand and speaks in a very, low and clear tone. "Alright everyone, lets take this somewhere else!".

"Huh?... but what about Ichika and what ever it is thats happening?" - Maya asks in a calm and straight voice.

"That can wait! Besides, we shouldn't even be here discussing confidential matters!" - Chifuyu responds as if its a matter of fact. As Chifuyu finishes her statement, Maya stands straight and frowns, a strict uncharacteristic nod comes from the teacher, which is passed immediately to the nurse and her assistants. The nurse would normaly flinch if she gets the type of look Maya has just sent over, but this time the flinch is avoided, for obvious reasons. As the nurse looks at Chifuyu, a moment of calm and rationality passes the two women. Serious and understanding looks are exchanged for a few seconds, then as if on cue the nurse sticks her chest forward a little and speaks in a tone of authority towards Chifuyu.

"Lets go to your office miss Orimura, it'll be safer to talk there"

Chifuyu instantly responds with a firm and single nod, and responds in her own authority like tone "Of course, step this way".

There are no other words spoken as the group of mature, concerned and beautiful women walk away down the brightly lit corridor and out of sight, leaving what ever mischief that Ichika and the gang are doing to run rampant for the time being.

**\- Meanwhile -**

It had been a mere few seconds since Tatenashi had ran out of Charlotte's bedroom to spread word of what mischief she and the some of the other girls were up to. The blue haired Russian girl had a large and excited grin on her face, showing her pearly white teeth. In order to wake as many girls as possible, the Russian girl bangs as hard and as fast as she possibly can on each and every bedroom door. Though Tatenashi spends only 10 seconds banging on one bedroom door before moving rushing over to the next, the said girl's methods for waking up the girls of the IS academy are very effective.

The fact being proven as door after door begins to open, showing a confused or very tired girl, rubbing eyes or yawning with a hand over the mouth. Though many girls stand in the mahogany painted doorways, and send confused and tired looks across to each other, many are already beginning to talk. The first girl to ask what the noise is all about is a Italian accented girl with long blonde hair, the said female wears pink pyjamas and has a red hair clip on the left side of her temple. "Mama-mia... what is that commotion!?" The Italian girl asks in a very tired voice with half closed eyes.

Thankfuly, the girl's question is answered almost instantly, as Tatenashi looks back to make sure people awakened and coming out of their bedrooms to acknowledge the Russian girl's existence. The Italian beauty looks across from her to make eye contact with an orange haired girl in a silver silked nightie, though both females pause for a brief moment, both turn their heads to the right upon hearing the sounds of banging and running around. What greets both girls sights is a very happy looking Tatenashi grinning and looking excited as hell, the Russian female does not waste any time and calls out in a loud and clear tone, so loud that its almost at the top of the Russian girl's lungs.

"QUICK! LOOK IT! Go to Charlotte's bedroom! Look at what Ichika is doing for us! Grab your cameras!"

The Italian girl blinks, looks across from her at the long curly orange haired female across from her and shrugs her shoulders. Though the Italian girl remains perfectly still, the Orange haired girl responds to what Tatenashi has just said, the said female looks the Italian girl in the eyes, then... after a brief pause walks out of her bedroom, and into the open door of the bedroom, just next door. The Italian girl makes one final rub of the eyes and fixes her eyes on the slightly ajar door on the opposite side of the corridor. She remains silent and stunned as many more girls either run or walk past her and into Charlotte's bedroom, all of the said females have eager or curious faces.

It takes a few minutes, but soon enough, the Orange haired girl manages to squeeze past the now growing line of girls outside Charlotte's bedroom and back towards her own bedroom. The Orange haired girl has a very happy and excited face, the sight makes the Italian girl blink in confusion, thankfuly... the orange haired girl casts a very excited look at the Italian girl and in a loud and clear voice shouts out in a tone that matches the description 'overjoyed'. "Grab a camera quick! Ichika is letting the girls give him a make over! He looks realy good!".

**\- 6 minutes later -**

Incredible is now just an understatement of the sight, by now nearly every single girl that has a room in the corridor now stands either inside or outside Charlotte's bedroom. Though most of the girls are standing around Charlotte's room are standing in an orderly fasion, most are struggling and shoving each other aside to get a good look at the sight before them. Since the said Russian girl known as Tatenashi had began running around spreading word of what mischief was being concocted, a combined total of over 30 to 40 girls had flocked over in a great horde to see what was being done to the popular and well loved Ichika.

From the outside of Charlotte's bedroom, constant white flashes erupt. Though the flashes pause on 5 to 10 second intervals, the sounds of girlish gossip, chatter and loving squeals are non stop. Umongst the loud racket, the sounds of Ichika's desperate and begging pleas are constant. Then without warning, a sudden female shriek causes all the girls that have gathered to suddenly move to one side, creating a path for a certain terrified Tomoe. The said dark blue haired girl suddenly dashes past the mass bunch of scantaly dressed girls looking pure white in the face,  
directly in tow behind Tomoe is non other than a curious and straight faced Kestrel. The dark blue haired female clutches tightly to Kestrel's small hand, Tomoe dares not to look back as she runs.

The long black haired Israeli child can only blink in surprise and confusion as Tomoe practacly drags him out of Charlotte's bedroom. Little Kestrel is finding it not only difficult to keep up with Tomoe's longer running strides, but also the need of understanding the situation. Though he is mature for his age, little Kestrel is still a bit to inncoent and naive to understand certain moments.

Altough many would expect heavy resistance to restrict Tomoe and Kestrel's escape, the moment takes everyone by surprise so sudden that a wave of paralasis strikes every single female that is to absorbed into photographing or trying to look at the restrained Ichika, whom is now being used as a plaything for the girlish mischief that is spreading like endless wildfire. Needless to say, the sudden shriek that Tomoe lets out causes everyone to jump back in alarm. Tomoe is thankfuly not a gulible girl, and whenever shes a moment to strike or make a vital move, she takes that chance. Tomoe's cleavage that bounces and jiggles, aswell as her beautiful crafted hips that sway as she runs, causes some waves of jealousy or envy from some of the girls.

We all know that boys will be boys, and girls will be girls... but even then, both genders are still envious to their own sex. Tomoe is well aware of this fact, as she dashes past the groups of gathered females, she notices the envious looks that some girls shoot over towards her. That moment can still be called a blessing in disquise as she and little Kestrel is given a clear run out of Charlotte's bedroom. As Tomoe and Kestrel exit the bedroom, Ichika's voice can clearly be heard shouting out in a form of happiness and relief "GO! KESTREL RUN! SAVE YOURSELF!". Nearly every single girl catches Ichika's shout and suddenly the feeling of idiocy hits home.

As Tomoe and Kestrel break past the last few groups of girls and dash away, hand in hand down the corridors, Laura and Charlotte suddenly skid out of their bedroom, both girls have handfulls of nail brushes, and beauty products. Laura wastes no time and in a loud and demanding voice shouts the words **"AFTER THEM! DON'T LET THAT BOY GET AWAY!".**

As soon as Laura shouts those words, Charlotte kneels forward slightly, a serious and irritated expression is on the French blonde's face. Then, in just a fraction of a second, dashes forward like an olympic runner. Directly beside the French blonde is a running Laura, whom also has a look of irritation. Both girls are hell bent on catching the dark blue haired female and long black haired boy that have just made them look like utter idiots in front of their friends. To make matters even more bizarre, a large quality of girls, each with differant styled pyjamas and coloured hair styles give chase also, causing the entire corridor to echo and nearly rumble. From a distance it sounds like an almighty stampede is on its way at over a hundred miles per hour.

To perfectly match the excited and smiling faces of the girls that give chase after Tomoe and Kestrel, the sounds of girlish or comforting phrases fill the hallway. One such girl with brown eyes and long black hair, dressed in an orange pyjama top and grey pyjama bottoms holds tightly onto a handled mirror in one hand, and some hair conditioner in the other hand. The said girl shouts in a loving and excited tone "Com'mon Tomoe, don't ruin our fun, join us!".

Another girl with green hair and twin china style buns, dressed in black pyjamas races after the panicked Tomoe and curious Kestrel, clutching tightly onto a silver coloured bag, the girl lovingly shouts the words "Let Kestrel play with us! We only want to be his friend!". One of the girls that stand out the most is the Orange haired girl dressed in the silver nightie that was the first to rush into Charlotte's bedroom 6 minutes earlier. The Orange haired female holds a hair brush in one hand, in the other hand is a small bottle containing perfume, jumbled in the same hand is a small cylinder. The Orange haired girl has a loving look on her face, and shouts out in a very playful manner "Wait Tomoe, let me show how our little Kestrel how wonderful it would be to have a new style!".

"Wait Tomoe! I have something here can help show off little Kestrel's gorgeous eyes!" - A French accented girl with long purple hair shouts out.

"I'll give ya' a new look for free if ya' let me give the kid a brand new image!" - An American accented girl with a long blonde hair shouts out.

**\- with Ichika -**

From inside Charlotte's bedroom the commotion can be heard as clear as day, deep down Ichika feels utterly humiliated that he is placed in this position, but since Kestrel has been given a good chance to escape any embarrassments. The very thought that Kestrel has escaped any bad luck causes a warm and pleasant smile to appear on Ichika's face. A near exhausted sigh escapes the said male's lips. Its plainly clear that Ichika is happy that Kestrel has escaped with Tomoe. "Go kid!" - Ichika sighs out, leaning his head back and closing his eyes for a brief moment. However the said male's moment of happiness is short lived.

Though Cecilia, Shizune, Kiyoka are disheartened by the fact that Kestrel has escaped, the feeling of confidence soon returns upon knowing that as many as 20 females are in hot pursuit of the fleeing pair. One such girl with long brunette hair that reaches just below the shoulders speaks in a frustraited tone "You let the adoreable one get away!".

"Yeah, but at least we've still got Ichika" - A girl with long black hair, a plain white pyjama top and dark blue pyjama bottoms replies. The girl's tone is full of happiness and pure excitement looking down at Ichika with a hungered expression.

Since the mass of females appeared in Charlotte's bedroom, its been a lot easier to restrain Ichika. The Japanese male has his hands bound above his head, his feet are bound by the ankles. Altough the girls have used clothing to bind Ichika, the ressult is still highly effective. However, even that is not enough to keep Ichika still. 3 girls with black hair sit firmly on the Japanese boy's legs, 2 girls sit firmly on Ichika's body. One girl has long brunette hair with curled ends, the said girl is wearing a light blue pyjama top and dark green pyjama bottoms. The girl not only takes pleasure on being in close contact with Ichika, but because she gets a good view of Ichika's face. Enabling her to be free to take Photographs with pure ease, the second girl that sits on Ichika's front is dressed in a blue and purple nightie and has long red hair.

For now Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka have been taking pride in just teasing Ichika, but now the taste is starting to sour. Normaly this moment would be seen as a blessing, but sadly for Ichika it isn't. As Cecilia makes all the girls suddenly spring with over excited and happy faces by saying words that Ichika would most definatley not want to hear at a time like this.

"Okay ladies, thats it for the starters, lets take it up a notch!" - Cecilia speaks in a very proud and happy tone, the British blonde stands straight, sticking her chest out forward slightly before placing both hands on her hips and taking pride in the aggreement and praise being given to her by not only Shizune and Kiyoka, but every other girl in the room. Ichika however lifts his head up and looks up at Cecilia and the girls in sudden fright. For Ichika the moment is going from bad to worse, the soft, warm and comfortable weight of the girls sitting on him is causing more and more fear and pressure to overwhelm him.

The Japanese male begins to tremble and sweat all the more, his heart beats rapidly, the sickening feeling of nerve is evident not only on Ichika's trembling body, but also on his face. Ichika is hoping that this torment will end soon, but to his horror it shows no signs of stopping. Ichika soon asks a question that he fears to ask, but he has no option. Upon hearing Cecilia speak in her prideful tone, the one question that anyone in Ichika's flesh suddenly escapes his nervous, dry, colour drained lips.

"What!?... Did she say take it up a notch!?, What does she mean!?... What are you doing Cecilia!?" - Ichika asks in a tone that demands an answer, but is still laced with fear.

The only response Ichika gets from the mischievous girls, is girlish laughter. Sadly... Ichika does not see it as laughter, he sees it as cackling! Deep down in the terror striken gut of Ichika,  
the knowledge that tonights ordeal is far from over rolls and tumbles inside. Ichika knows its only a matter of time before all his questions are answered, yet he knows that no matter what happens... he is not going to like what is going to happen, the fact being proven as more girls appear in Charlotte's bedroom, all of which snap away with their cameras or roll away with their video cameras. The flashes from the girl's cameras cause the Japanese male to close his eyes in distress and shake his head, its almost like he is a wild animal trying to hide its face from a hungry crowd wanting to get as many snap shots of an animal they have never seen before in their lives.

Ichika dares not to open his eyes, the flashes of the girls cameras are painful. The said Japanese male thinks painfuly to himself in distress ( "OH GOD! Help me!" ).

_**Okay... that is chapter 37, we are reaching the climax of Charlotte's sleepover and Chapter 38 is already underway. I hope these chapters are still causing laughs and smiles, one thing is for sure, these past chapters can only be described as the 'Longest night'. So anyway... I'm still wishing you readers the best. Keep reading and reviewing.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	38. Chapter 38: Girl's night

_**Hello again, Black Falcon 01 is back with yet another chapter, as you readers know... most chapters have been focused mostly on Charlotte's sleepover, please note that I wanted to get as much antics of comedy and drama in at the same time. That, and along with the fact that all guys want to be involved in a night filled with females. Well... some do, because there are some exceptions! Anyhow, this chapter is the climax of the sleepover, so all readers can get a good laugh at what mischievous fate lays in store for our heroic Ichika. So anyway, don't become burdened with the red tape introductions, and just read and enjoy.**_

_**P.S: Did you readers know that the youngest Soldier in world war one was a Yugoslavian boy named Momcilo Gavric aged only 8!?**_

_**\- You can read about that boy on the internet -**_

**Taming Kestrel Chapter 38:**

What can be said about the IS academy right now? Crazy is just an understatement of how insane the moment is in the IS academy right now. Charlotte has caused an uproar umongst nearly a full and total one quarter of nearly all girls in IS academy. Ichika is at this moment bound tightly, unable to move his arms and legs, although he is able to speak none of the girls that are in the bedroom with him seem to pay little or no attention to his pleas. Aswell as the mischief that an absent Charlotte has caused, the now popular Israeli child known as Kestrel is also became involved with the schoolgirl's antics.

Even though the IS schoolgirls have intended to get Kestrel involved in the same perdicament as Ichika, the hopes have been dashed as the long black haired youngster has escaped the girl's clutches with the dark blue haired beauty Tomoe. Even though Charlotte, Laura and a large quality of girls have given chase after the long black haired youngster, no joy has been acheived in catching the fleeing child and his loving well endowned female friend.

Despite that Kestrel is not caught and remains at large somewhere in the academy with a large quality of scantaly dressed schoolgirls on his tail, the fun with Ichika is nowhere near over. The fact being proven as the beautiful British blonde Cecilia along with the equaly beautiful girls Shizune and Kiyoka grab ahold of Ichika with some help of some equaly beautiful females, lift the Japanese male off the floor and carry him sideways under the arms out of Charlotte's bedroom and towards some unknown destination.

For Ichika, the moment is a real heart in the mouth. In the past half an hour, the Japanse male has had eye blue eye shadow painted on his eye lids, his finger nails varnished with a rose red paint. While pinned and restrained by the girls, Ichika has also fallen victim to having his toe nails painted and having girls snap away dozens of photographs of him, some video footage has been captured. For the girls present at this wild and crazy moment, it is litteraly the time of their lives.

Some girls that take photos are clearly girlish and giggly, many girls that are not armed with cameras simply clap and instead fuel the fires of chaos and mischief. Sure, the old song and saying is true, 'Girls just want to have fun', but in a case like this, the girls that are getting a lot of entertainment from Ichika are like a bunch of gored and hungered animals tearing a massive chunk of monster meat to pieces.

Many girls hop up and down, clapping wildly and squealing, most females at the IS academy like to pride themselves in being adult and mature, but deep down there is no escapeing the true fact that although many females here are young adults, most will never escape their feminie, bouncy and loving sides.

As Ichika is carried out of Charlotte's bedroom, the girls all have excited faces. Any females that are not holding onto the Japanese male are either in front or behind the 7 or so girls that clutch tightly onto Ichika and carry him sideways towards an uncertain destination.

Though Ichika is tightly bound, it does not stop him from shouting or struggling, even though his mouth is free to open and close, any words he shouts seems not to get out to Cecilia or any of the other girls. However, as Ichika is carried to god knows where, the said Japanese male leans his head to look up and ahead of him, he catches the sight of something that he could consider a miracle. A bedroom door opens, and in the door way stands a very tired and confused Houki.

Houki instantly looks to her side and down the corridor and sees a sight that makes her eyes widen and stare in surprise. For Ichika, the sight is like a saint from heaven, the said Japanese male thrashes and yells in distress at the top of his lungs. "No! HOUKI! HOUKI! Help me! Stop these crazy girls! Do something!".

As this is happening Cecilia and the girls that confidently carry Ichika down the corridor simply maintain smug or excited smiles and happy faces. Many of the girls that walk past the very confused Houki, have half closed eyes, portraying mischievous faces.

The sight and sound of what is happening caused the Japanese female to blink and remain silent, as Ichika is carried past the stunned and surprised Japanese female, the desperate and terrified Ichika lets out a very scared and desperate yell - **"NNOOOOOO!".**

Ichika tries everything in his strength to break the girls surprisingly powerful and strong grips, but everytime he feels like he is about to snap the girl's god like holds, he is sent back to square one as he feels the girls grips tighten and intensify. Its as if Ichika is a wild boar or unfortunate animal being squeezed and crushed by a giant Boa constrictor.

His heart is beating and now cold sweat streams down his face, any words the girls are saying seem to go through one ear and out the other, Ichika is so badly nerve stricken that he can't even understand sounds anymore, ironcaly, he the only rational feeling he can make out at a time like this is non other than understandment and respect.

Its at times like this that Ichika can definatley understand what Kestrel goes through whenever the child is suffering his turns. As Ichika rolls his eyes and tries to gain some rational feeling back in his system, he feels himself and his carriers make a sudden turn to the right and into a beautiful smelling bedroom, as he is carried into the brightly lit room, Ichika's ears catch the sounds of multipule girls voices. Some voices he knows, others he doesn't but now isn't the time to think of that, all that the Japanese male wants at a time like this is for the girl's mischief to come to an end.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Down a brightly lit corridor with rich brown mahogany painted doors alining both sides of a pure white wall, walks the childhood and five star popular friend of Ichika. The name of which you readers and fanfic lovers know all to well, - Houki.

Since she saw Ichika being carried sideways like some well earned trophy or furnising and off to some unknown location, the Japanese female has been not only curious but concern. Concerned as to what is happening to her childhood friend but also because of what could happen on a night like this. The curiousness is due as to what has caused such a sight and as to how important the occasion is. Despite the fact that the Japanese female had tried to ask other girls as to what is that is going on, the only thing that she was able to get out of any of the asked females is two differant answers. One being the famous "I don't know" and the other answer being the more confusing "Ichika is being given a make over!".

Everything is very, very confusing for the said Japanese girl, in the past half hour or so the Japanese girl has been hearing sounds of running, shouting, door banging and laughter, and if any person is to say that isn't suspicous then that person needs to get their head examined!

Needless to say, the Japanese girl was doing nothing but following the sounds of girlish laughter and shouting, every so often the Japanese girl would hear Ichika's voice shouting out in a very desperate manner. Though Houki dosen't need to realy look for Ichika's location, as a large number of girls standing and shoving each other around give away the location. Though the gathering is very chaotic, most girls that have gathered waste no time and allow space for Houki to pass and look at what is happening.

At times like this the said Japanese girl is happy that she is so heavily idolised. Many girls that see Houki smile widely and bow, soon timidly walking backwards and letting out loving giggles or fangirl like motions of love towards the Japanese female.

Houki does acknowledge the girls that move aside by smiling warmly and bowing back in return, but her calm and happy facial image is cut short when she suddenly hears Ichika's desperate voice shouting out in a near damnation towards the females that have carried him off into some random girl's bedroom. Houki and so many other females stand straight and blink with pure straight faces upon hearing Ichika shout in a voice that is panic layden and desperate.

**"You won't get away with it you hear!?"**

Houki blinks and remains silent, she frowns for a brief moment, listening intently at what is happening amounst the barricade of pyjama dressed females that blocks Houki's path into an unknown female's bedroom. Houki listens intently, she is litteraly all ears and hell bent on trying to find out what is happening a mere few feet away from her. The sound of Ichika's fearful voice comes again.

**"You won't get away with it!"**

From outside Houki stands straight, at loss for words. The said female turns her head left to right, trying to see if any of the schoolgirls have any proper answers as to what is happening. In an ironic wist of fate, the beauties to her left and right are also doing the same, the hammer of irony hits Houki in the face. Clearly most girls haven't a clue what is happening either, except for those whom are in the bedroom, that is clearly blocked and barred. The cramped space is also starting form up again as more and more females are gathering, all with curious and straight faces, wanting to know what is happening before them.

**\- Meanwhile -**

Inside the bedroom Ichika's situation is personaly desperate, the Japanese male is heavily restrained to a large matress bed. The main form of restraint is leather belts, cloths, towels and any other form of makeshift rope. The bed covers are pulled up and over the Japanese male, the only form of his body expossed to the open is his head. Though Ichika's body can't be seen, the shape of his thin body can be seen under the pure, white sheets that drape over the frightened Japanese male.

Ichika is layed flat on his back, his head rests on a single seperate pillow. As the Japanese male turns and rolls his head from side to side, the said male uses every last ounce of strength in his body in a vain but valiant attempt to free himself. With exhaustion beginning to fill his body from head to foot, Ichika has no option at this point but to rely on his mouth and pray that words will do something to quel the girl's mischief. As Ichika rolls his head from left to right, the Japanese male's vision does not fail in catching the sight of many differant female faces smiling and grinning at him.

The Japanese male is surrounded, he feels as if he is like a large dead animal, about to be pounced on by a pack of starving Wolves. Many girls continue to chatter, point, snap or film away as all this is happening. Some are chattering, some are whispering, many words can't be picked up by the scarred Ichika's ears. Any words the girls are speaking seem to go in one ear and out of the other. The girls that carried Ichika into the bedroom are now gathered in a corner, Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka being the ring leaders, all of which send the occasional point at Ichika, smile and titter in anticipation.

Then, to Ichika's utter surprise, a sight occurs that makes him sweat beads, his heart seems to stop, his breathing stops. The girls in the room lower their cameras and take as many steps back as possible. Allowing some form of space to appear for the tittering Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka. Four other females that helped carry Ichika into the bedroom stand confident with cheeky looking smiles, their chests are puffed forward, showing the pride and confidence. Ichika whom turns his head to the left, feels his blood freeze up, a terrible chill runs up his spine, he feels like he is on the verge of death. Swallowing a wet, slimy gulp, Ichika closes his eyes tight and shakes his head violently, he wants to wake up and be back in his bedroom, but as we all know... all that is in vain.

Ichika takes in a deep breath, his hearing returns, and in loud, clear and deep voice speaks out in fear stricken tone "What are you girls doing!?, I want to know what you girls are planning! Answer me!".

Although Ichika is speaking in a very desperate and serious tone, none of the words he speaks seem to be getting through to Cecilia, Kiyoka and the other females. The four females that helped carry Ichika into the bedroom are the first to arrive and surround the Japanese male. Two of the females have long black hair that goes reaches the back of the shoulders, one has long brunette hair that runs slightly longer below the shoulders, the fourth and final girl has long blonde hair that runs past the shoulders and towards the waist, with a thick blonde bun at the top of the head, a glistening hair clip with a pink cat is set on top of the hair clip.

Each of the four females look down at Ichika with half closed eyes and devious smiles, the smiles that the girls are firing him send ice cold chills throughout Ichika's body, the said Japanese male's nerves react instantly as if a bolt of lightning has struck him from head to foot.

Ichika's eyes widen, the sounds of girlish chatter and giggling stops, silence fills the entire bedroom. The only sounds being the sounds of clicks and electronic flashes from cameras and a few girlish titters. Then footsteps are heard approaching Ichika, the footsteps belong to non other than the popular and well loved Shizune, Kiyoka and Cecilia.

Ichika rolls his head from left to right, he wants to scream at the top of his lungs, tear open his restraints and run like hell to safety, but nothing is working in his favor. Ichika can do nothing except close his eyes and hope that when he opens them, everything will be gone.

As he shuts his eyes in desperation, the sounds of bags russtling and the clutter of objects on the bed makes Ichika's heart beat all the more rapidly. As Ichika opens his eyes, he finds Cecilia,  
Shizune, Kiyoka and the four remaining females are hovering over the Japanese male. Not a blink comes from the females, a moment passes as Ichika turns his head to look at the four girls on his right, then back to the left to look at Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka.

The females do not say a word, but instead look at Ichika with smug and confident faces. Ichika blinks rapidly for a few seconds and summons as much air and strength in his system to speak clearly yet again, this time Ichika speaks in feared, yet calm tone, he hopes that some rational and calmness may help the girls suddenly have a change of heart.

"Alright girls you've had you're fun, I'll make a bargin with you... Let me go, and I'll say nothing about whats happened here tonight... thats fair isn't it!?"

Though Ichika has a pleasant but nervous smile upon speaking, nerves and fear continue to lace his voice. To make matters worse, it seems all his words have done has just added more fuel to the fire, the fact being proven as Cecilia and the girls all turn their heads away from Ichika and look at each other with their smug smiles. To Ichika this is very, very bad news and causes the said Japanese male to speak yet again in a fear stricken tone.

"Answer me! D'you hear!? ANSWER ME!"

Cecilia blinks, looks the two black haired females in the face across from her and gives a single, confindent nod. The two black haired girls then lean forward and begin to rumage through a large collection of bottles, brushes and make up. The sight causes Ichika to blink... gulp, and speak rapidly again in a very fearful manner.

"What are you doing!?".

There is no response from Cecilia or the other girls, instead all that happens. The black haired girls that arm themselves with make up, calmly walk over to Ichika, making the Japanese male yelp in fear. The Brunette female arms herself with face brushes and a large, black hairbrush, and calmly joins the black haired females that stand directly beside the Japanese male's head. Ichika does not hesitiate and instead speaks in a calm tone, still hopeful that the girls will use the power of rational thought and end their mischeivous antics for tonight.

"Alright... you've had your fun... let me go!... Answer me!" - Ichika calls out in a nerve stricken manner, practacly yelping in fear at the last two words of his sentance.

As Shizune and Kiyoka unscrew the tops off some bottles with warm and excited smiles, Ichika yelps out again, hopeing that the girls will finaly stop their antics and release Ichika from this terrible form of torture.

**"DO YOU HEAR!? ANSWER ME!"** \- Ichika nearly screams in terror.

The girls still do not respond, and instead begin to gather around the presented Japanese male. The smells of perfume, hair wash, body soap and conditioner fill the Japanese male's nose, the sounds of tittering and girlish excitement fill his ears. Many of the girls that make the mass hordes in the crowded bedroom lower their cameras and prepare to savor a pure well remembered moment, each and every girl has a slightly open mouth, smiling and stareing in joy at the sight.

Many of the girls that are here in the bedroom have never experianced such a moment, many have never thought such a moment would even be possible. For Ichika the moment is the worst nightmare he has ever experianced and the ressults will be the same either way he looks at it... come morning time, he will be the talk of the entire academy, his humiliation will last for months and he'll never hear the end of it from Chifuyu and the other teachers.

"NO! You wouldn't dare!" - Ichika speaks in a tone that is not only laced with fear, but is also a tone that has a hint of challenge.

Sadly, as much and as common as it is to use that phrase, it is one of the oldest tricks or phrases in the book, and modern psychology always gives the reverse effect, forcing the guilty members to go ahead and do what ever it is they want to do against the victim, and that is exactaly what Cecilia and the girls do.

The fact being proven as each and every female lifts up a single product each in either a single, or both hands. As the girls stand firm and straight, confidently showing their slender figures, Ichika speaks again in a nervous, yet calmer tone... "Okay, now... lets just... lets be reasonable about this!".

Although Ichika stutters slightly during his desperate plea, his words finaly seem to have some effect on the females that look down upon him as if he's a fresh baked cake. To Ichika's happy and overjoyed relief, the girls cease looking down at him and instead cast neutral looks at each other. Ichika instantly sees his chance, and chooses to continue speaking normaly, obviously panicking is doing him no justice.

"Alright girls, common... you've had you're little joke, we've all had a bit of fun, now let me go and we'll forget about the whole thing, okay?" - Ichika speaks in calm, rational tone, a warm and traditionaly friendly smile is on his scarred face. His heart seems to ease up and his sweat slows down as he looks up to see a very happy faced Cecilia lean down to look deeply into Ichika's eyes.

The British blonde seems very happy, so its wise in a case like this to go along and be as diplomatic as possible with her, even though Cecilia's happy face is not much of a promise to Ichika, it is definatley better than nothing. As Cecilia looks down and smiles lovingly into Ichika's eyes, the British blonde asks a question in a warm, pleasant and cheerful tone.

"So you'll stop screaming, lay still and let us have the funnest night in our lives will you?"

As Ichika hears Cecilia's demands, the Japanese male's mouth reacts without him thinking, and causes him to reply a message that causes Cecilia and the other girls to frown. - "I didn't say that, I said I would forget about what you've all done tonight".

As Ichika finishes speaking, the reality hits him in the face like an American baseball bat. The frowning Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka straighten themselves up and send inquisitive looks over to the four females on Ichika's right and remain silent. Ichika's nerves intensify back to their panicked state and cause him to gulp yet again.

He rolls his head to the right and sees the four females on his right suddenly smirk, close their eyes and shake their heads. Ichika begins to tremble badly and looses his ability to speak, the said Japanese male now regrets challenging Cecilia and the girls to go along with their mischief. ( "If only I had kept my mouth shut back in Char's room!" ) - Ichika thinks stressfuly to himself.

Casting smug and confident looks to each other once again, Cecilia, Shizune and Kiyoka turn their heads to look at the mass numbers of girls in the bedroom, silence seems to hold in the air for a near eternity before Kiyoka puts on the most cheerful and sweet voice she can muster, "I think we should go along and give Ichika his make over, what do say ladies!?".

Upon hearing Kiyoka's question, nearly every girl in the room bursts into an ear piercing uproar of cheers, some girls jump up and down, other girls wave their arms above their heads. Other's raise their arms in a slightly upward position before swinging them back and forth with index fingers pointed in Ichika's direction. One such girl with long green hair closes her eyes and has a beeming smile on her face, the said female chirps in a very happy manner "Give Orimura a make over!".

Another girl with Orange pigtails and with a thick Mexican accent points forward at Ichika and speaks in an over excited tone "Make him over, FIX' HIM! FIX' HIM!".

As the Mexican girl begins her chants whilst pointing at Ichika, another girl joins the chant, then... another and another untill the entire bedroom and corridors can be heard uttering just two words, perfectly sycranised with the sudden sounds of supporting claps. "FIX' HIM!, FIX' HIM!, FIX' HIM!, FIX' HIM!".

For Ichika, the nightmare has reached its highest point, all colour has drained from his face and now Cecilia, Shizune, Kiyoka and the remaining for females look down with eager faces. Ichika sees the hands raise holding beauty products.

Ichika closes his eyes tightly and lets out his final and desperate screams for the night **"CHIFUYU GET ME OUT OF HERE! NOOO! AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!".**

**\- Elsewhere -**

Despite that the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe and the long black haired youngster known as Kestrel had taken a flying flee to freedom and had ran here, there and god knows where and back, the pair had by some stroke of miracle managed to shake off the mass dozens of females whom where in hot pursuit.

The pair's safe haven was non other than Tomoe's own bedroom itself, which for the moment was inhabited by just Tomoe herself, so at least the chances of any more chaos tonight has been significantly reduced. Needless to say, both Tomoe is completely exhausted, her heart is on the verge of thumping completely out of her chest.

Her legs are screaming in agony and her lungs are utterly spent of air. Gasping and breathing deeply, the said dark blue haired beauty inhales deeply, gathering as much life air as possible. Tomoe places herself firmly against the door, even though she has locked the door behind her, the said female is not about to move herself from the mahogany coloured door. The said female is in the depth of belief that somehow placeing herself as a barricade or door block, will reinforce the door against any sudden attempts of forced entry by the mass dozens of girls that can still be heard charging around and shouting in the corridor, mere inches outside and away from the trouble stricken pair.

From outside Tomoe can hear a slightly tired, yet irritated Charlotte's voice suddenly speak the words - "Did you see where they went?".

"Good work Dunois, you let them escape!" - Laura's angered and disapointed voice is heard reply.

"ME!? You're the one whom caused us to loose track of them!" - Charlotte's voice replies in a very angered state, as Tomoe listens intently at the sounds of activity outside her bedroom door, the voice of a well known and welcomed voice suddenly over laps both Charlotte and Laura's angered tones, the voice belongs to the blue haired Russian Tatenashi. - "Oh shut up you two and keep looking, com'mon... they've got to be around here some place!".

Tomoe freezes, as she hears the sounds of walking, she blinks only occasionaly and dares not to breathe or make a whisper. Tomoe prays to the gods that her heart will just shut up, its beating that hard that she is terrifiyed that someone will hear it. Her muscles tense up, and she closes her eyes for a brief moment, for a time period of over 12 minutes Tomoe remains perfectly still, not moving an inch.

Every so often she looks down and to see what Kestrel is doing, and to her relief is found just sitting on the floor calmly with his legs crossed. The child looks deep into Tomoe's eyes and tilts his head slightly to the left. Then, as quickly as it begins, the sounds fade away, leaving nothing but silence outside.

To Tomoe, relief partialy washes over her, but deep down she knows she may not be out of trouble yet. Standing straight, she looks down at the bedroom door handle, the gold gleems and sines in the bedroom light. Then, with a slow and steady hand, the dark blue haired female reaches over and grabs ahold of the handle. Her heart is still, and not a breath escapes the female's nose or mouth.

Kestrel blinks and watches silently, curious as to what is going to happen, the child watches as Tomoe slowly pulls down on the handle untill it wont go down any further. The child even hears the beautiful female ahead of him gulp nervously, the look of panic is on her face. The sounds of slight metaling clicking and squeaking escape from the door handle, making Tomoe shiver slightly, then as quick as a flash... the dark blue haired female suddenly leaps backwards slightly, opens the bedroom door at near lightning speed and in just a fraction of a second flings her entire body forward to look out and see what is behind the door.

Tomoe rapidly turns her head from left to right as she looks down the hallway, the look of relief and happiness spreads on her face, there is nobody outside. Closing her eyes and turning round and slowly closing the door, Tomoe gently places her body against the mahogany coloured door, smiling and letting out a large sigh in relief. To Tomoe the silence and absence of other people is at this very moment the most wonderful moment in her entire life.

Looking down, grinning, closing her eyes and shaking her head for a moment, Tomoe wearily reaches for the lock and clicks it shut. With her door locked, Tomoe now feels incredibaly safe and secure.

Now however, there is a problem that she has all but forgotten... Kestrel is in her room and looking around with a look of utter confusion and nerve. Tomoe sweat drops, closes her eyes and puts on a very awkward smile. The said female places both hands behind her back, and looks down at the Israeli youngster and smiles nervously.

"Heh,heh... sorry about this" - Tomoe speaks in a very sympathetic tone, causing Kestrel to blink for a moment and let out a very tiny and timid "Huh?".

Amazingly, despite the awkwardness of the situation, the dark blue haired female is not nervous or panicked about having a boy in her bedroom, even if it is a small and timid one. Moments pass and soon enough Tomoe finds herself walking calmly over to her bed. The dark blue haired female's bed is large and has purple sheets and pure white pillows. Tomoe's bedroom looks a little like Cecilia's bedroom, watch the anime or read the manga if you want to know what it looks like .

Although silence fills the entire bedroom and hardly anything happens, Tomoe knows that its been very hard on the body and mind tonight and the only thing she wants to do is get her head down for the remainder of tonight, anything concerning getting Kestrel ready for tommorrow's lesson can wait, all that Tomoe wants to do now is just lay down on the softness of her bed and fall asleep.

Even as Tomoe walks calmly over to her bed, swaying her hips and walking in a very feminine manner, the scar faced child that watches her casualy walk over to her bed is still utterly confused at what has happened tonight, everything happened so fast that the child did not get the chance to react or even assess what was happening, but at least whats happened tonight hasn't caused any bad or reverse effects on the traumitised child's already tortured mind.

Placing a hand to her mouth to cover a wide and exhausted yawn, Tomoe slowly and calmly leans forward, pealing back the covers on her bed and wasting no time in scrambling into the soft comfort that she is desperately in need of. Exhaustion catches up with Tomoe almost instantly as her head makes contact with the heavenly softness of her pillow.

However, the said girl is not exhausted enough yet... Kestrel blinks and tilts his head as Tomoe motions with her hand for the child to come over, normaly Kestrel would instantly hesitate if a strange girl was to call or wave him over, but for some reason, the child's nerves are calm... both Kestrel and Tomoe's eyes lock to each other.

The long black haired and troubled Kestrel, with his red scar still emblazoned strongly on his face looks deeply into Tomoe's eyes and for a brief moment sees and feels an emotion that the child has almost never felt before, comfort.

Taking a tiny baby step forward before pausing for a few seconds, Kestrel's ocean blue eyes do not break contact with Tomoe's own eyes. The said girl slowly leans up, using an elbow to help position herself up and with a loving and eager face, motions and mimicks with her hand as if she is trying to get a nervous puppy, kitten, dog or cat to come over to her. Tomoe smiles lovingly at the straight faced youngster and lowers her head forward slowly, before raising it back up.

Kestrel looks down for a moment, then... raising his small head back up begins to calmly walk forward to the Japanese female ahead of him. As Kestrel approaches Tomoe's bed, the said female reaches out with an extended arm, the hand palm is open. Kestrel looks at the hand for a moment, then looks back at Tomoe. Nearly ten minutes pass, and to Tomoe's relief, little Kestrel's hand slowly moves forward and makes contact with Tomoe's.

The Japanese female is overwhelmed with emotions as she lifts the long, black haired child into her bed and pulls back the covers over him. As Tomoe places an arm loving over the child and pulls Kestrel into a deep and loving embrace, the softness and warmth of the Israeli child makes Tomoe smile lovingly. Its like a replay of the snuggness she got when she was in Charlotte's bedroom mere hours earlier, only this time, the comfort is a lot more wonderful.

For little Kestrel the warmth of Tomoe and the bed combined causes the child's nerves to soothe, the beautfil smell of Tomoe's perfume and softness of her body causes Kestrel to smile in a slightly sad way. Thankfuly, Tomoe is aware that Kestrel could be suffering emotional problems at a time like this and places a soft thigh over the child, entwining her limbs with his own and snuggling herself deeply into the traumitised youngster.

Thankfuly a light switch is just above Tomoe's headboard, as Tomoe reaches up and flicks the switch to turn off the lights, she embraces Kestrel ever more deeply. The said female is not about to let go of Kestrel, not even for a single second. As darkness falls over the couple embracing each other lovingly in a large purple bed, the wonderful sense of improvement and love fills the air, it looks like little Kestrel has just made a big improvement in his long journey to recovering from his torture.

It is a well known fact that if a person can earn a wild animals trust to such an extent that the said wild animal is comfortable in sleeping on or beside the said person, then something realy, realy wonderful has bonded them... but... never the less... the road is still going to be painful and long drawn out, as Kestrel has a 1,000 yard stare with half closed eyes before falling asleep and a single, emotional filled, pain filled tear rolls down the side of his face.

Even though Kestrel is filled with emotions, a small and timid smile forms on his face as Tomoe snuggles herself ever deeply into him, both inhabitants of the bed successfuly get the most peaceful and happy slumber that they have had in years.

_**Okay, thats chapter 38, it took me longer than usual to finish but I'm staying true to my word and making these chapters come through as regular as I possibaly can, Chapter 39 is underway as we speak, so untill then, stick around fellow fanfic lovers and stay cool. Wishing all you readers the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	39. Chapter 39: Morning after

_**Hello again, Black Falcon 01 returns again from the sky with yet another fresh chapter, I hope that you readers have found Charlotte's sleepover arc very amusing and entertaining, remember to keep reading reviewing as you all go along this fic, remember I aim to please readers and if anyone has any requests feel free to speak out. So anyway, enough with the introductions, read and enjoy!**_

_**P.S: Sorry about the delay, I've been busy not only with my animals and housework but only just recently on June 27th went to an armed forces day, Had a great time! Sorry about that readers but I had to blow off some steam.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 39:

**\- IS academy teacher's lounge, 11:00am -**

In the IS academy, the well known an undoubtably world famous Ichika Orimura stands, arms plasted firmly at his sides, the Japanese male shakes nervously and has a face that looks like it is about to burst into tears. Since Charlotte and the other girls went into a frenzy with their crazy antics, Ichika has many problems on his shoulders, each and every one anchors itself on to him like a massive two ton medalion. Dark bags are under the Japanese male's eyes, he hasn't slept, which is just number one of his problems.

The list of Ichika's problems are as follows, he hasn't slept, he's been painted on, being forced into drag, photographed, filmed and nearly traumitised by the out of control actions of the IS academy females. Then, to make his problems ever more worse, after the Japanese male was released from the girls' clutches, the Japanese male had stay up nearly all night in the shower washing off make up, nail varnish - ie: the lot! Ressulting in using a large amount of water and causing the said boy to suffer the punishment in having the hot water for the shower in his bedroom cut off altogether.

Then... after that amount of trouble had passed, the Japanese male had then suffered the torture of going to class not only exhausted but suffering a large amount of whispers, points of fingers titters and girlish squeals directed from nearly every single girl and over towards him. The Japanese male's troubles have not ended there though, during classes before mid-class break the said male has fallen asleep twice during class, ressulting in suffering the painful blows of books to the back of the head and startlement of sudden object slams on whatever desk he sits at, giving him a terrible shock and being seen as a moron.

Normaly Ichika would hold his head low and stay silent, too badly humiliated to do anything at times like this, but his lack of sleep prevented him from feeling any other emotions. So the said male couldn't care less at what is happening in his current state. Now though, the main climax of his problems has occured, but it was only to be expected. Since the girls had worked on Ichika and taken photos and videos of him, word has spread faster than the speed of light, but amazingly... the staff working at the academy have caught wind and discovered the source remarkably fast.

Upon seeing the videos and photos on a siezed girl's ipod like object, Chifuyu is so badly angered and irritated so much now that heat of the woman's rage could melt the entire ice shelf of Antartica. One thing is for sure, Ichika no longer feels the slightest bit of exhaustion now that his older sister has unleashed her wrath, so maybe a bit of discipline may help the said male and his troubles for this morning. The fact being proven due to Ichika standing stiff, chest out and eyes wide open, looking like coloured ice. What ever colour still remains on Ichika's face drains away as Chifuyu pulls out a 3D holographic projector, places the siezed ipod like object into a small slot before pressing a series of buttons.

The sounds of fingers on buttons click away, Ichika finaly remembers what it's like to tremble, a massive feeling of terror, dread and sickness hits him hard as a holographic image of him appears. The image is six feet wide, by six feet tall, every last pixel is high definition and shows the state that Ichika was in after the girls fun on him had come to an end.

Ichika gulps and shakes in fear, the memory of it is traumatic enough, he does not need reminding of it. The image shows Ichika with dark blueish purple eye shadow, a long black haired wig is set on his head, cherry red lipstick is painted on his lips. Despite having layers of make up put on him, the Japanese male looks like the spiting image of a surprisingly large girl, the face is perfect for the image.

In the image Ichika is standing, arms tied tightly beind his back to a bedpost, the look on his face in the picture looks as if he has just being indecently assaulted, he is dressed in long, black dress, the said Japanese male has his head lowerd, it is clear that when the image was taken he was trying to evade the camera from getting a good shot of his face.

For a moment, Ichika does look like a very attractive female, but never the less, his face is still very recognisable, and the adam's apple in the throat clearly gives away the fact that Ichika is male.

Chifuyu frowns, makes eye contact with Ichika, and stares the said male in the eyes, the very sight of Chifuyu's angered gaze makes Ichika's legs nearly turn to jelly and makes him shiver and shake in utter panic. A moment passes before Chifuyu takes in a deep breath, points a finger at the holographic image with an outstretched arm in movement resembling lightning speed. Chifuyu does not yell, but her voice is low and angered, she speaks in a fierce and angered tone.

"ICHIKA! What the hell is this!? You look ridiculous!".

Ichika's response is instant, yet his voice is laced with nerve "Chi..Er, Orimura Sensei, It wasn't my idea it was the girls! They all got involved before I had a chance to react and before I knew it I was.."

"I know it was the girls! What I wan't to know is why you allowed something like this to happen in the first place!?" - Chifuyu suddenly speaks in a stern voice, cutting off the Japanese male and his explinations, Chifuyu does not blink, her ice cold 'Bitch Glare' is fixed firmly on Ichika, the said female looks like a hungry lioness ready to pounce on its cornered and terrified prey.

Ichika takes this very badly and ends up close to getting very bad chills, the said male knew this was going to happen, its just the experiance that he can't get used to... and now, he has the trouble of trying to explain why the mischievous girls was able to get the better of him and cause a near massive scandal so easily.

Stuttering and tripping over his own words Ichika can't speak properly, his eyes are fixed in perfect contact with Chifuyu's furious gaze. Even as he stutters, Chifuyu's facial expression does not change or shift in the least, causing Ichika to close his eyes, tense up and look down in defeat. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" - Ichika practacly yells in terror, the stress and frustration puts Ichika on the verge of crying in a frustrated breakdown. Chifuyu only rolls her eyes and sighs, her arms are folded and the way she is standing beside a desk looks like she was expecting Ichika to act this way.

As she sighs in irritatation, Ichika suddenly remembers something, something that makes his eyes open suddenly and look at his older sister in the face yet again. Though Ichika speaks in a hopeful manner, the look on his face remains laced with panic and nerve.

"P..Please, If I may say... those girls were targeting Kestrel aswell, so at least I was able to prevent any deeper trouble by enabling him to escape!" - Ichika speaks in clear and calm manner, he didn't want to use little Kestrel as a tool to get out of trouble, but he has to do or say something that may bring some good ressults, in fact a bit of truth may help demonise the females of the IS academy and put Ichika in the spot light as the innocent person for once.

Though it is very unlikely that Chifuyu won't belive or pay any attention to Ichika's excuse, the Japanese male is stunned when his big sister suddenly looks him in the face with a surprised facail image, the said woman proceedes to speak in a surprisingly calm tone. "Kestrel?... The girls were planning on involving him? Was it against his will?".

Ichika is taken by surprise by the calmness of Chifuyu's voice and facial image, this is very unexpected, normaly Chifuyu would go into a very serious orbital level of irritation and lecture Ichika ever more about the principal of the matter and condemn him for using what she calls 'Childish' tactics for trying to change the subject, but since Kestrel came to the IS academy...  
lets just say that when ever the traumitised child is involved it is an entirely differant matter. The fact being proven as Chifuyu looks her younger brother in the face, frowns in surprisingly calm way and speaking in a low, yet very calm tone - "You were saying".

Ichika straightens himself up, casts back a serious frown, and prepares to explain himself. One thing is for sure, since Kestrel arrived at the IS academy Ichika's luck seems to have risen,  
the only down side of that matter is the fond hope that the said lucky streak continues at the IS academy, because whenever any mischievous girls are involved, Ichika will need all the luck he can get!

**\- Scene change/ IS academy classroom -**

To say that Kestrel and Tomoe had a hard and restless night would be slightly untrue, despite having to take refuge in Tomoe's bedroom, having to sleep beside the dark haired beauty and being cut off from his clothing left behind in Charlotte's bedroom... both little Kestrel and Tomoe were both bright and breezy, even since the mornings lessons.

Which that in itself is very, very impressive despite the antics and chaos that the pair endured last night. Although little Kestrel had escaped the mischief that the girls had concocted last night, the said Israeli child was still having to deal with the seemingly endless obsticles that spring up during IS lessons.

Obsticles that include the lanquage barrier, the lovey dovey stares from the shotacons, the petting on the head by any female teachers or worse, the vengeful stares from the German woman Clarissa and her german girl visitors. Amazingly... the angered scowls and loving gazes from the females had no effect on the child, obviously the child is used to the feeling and sight, so its no surprise that the child is so comfortable. The only real problem is the lingo barrier that causes Kestrel to feel as though he's listening to nothing but gibberish tounge tying nonsense.

Since this mornig Kestrel had a very big scene change, having to sneak back to Ichika's bedroom to get spare clothing before dashing back to Tomoe's bedroom to shower and get ready for this morning's lessons. Never the less... the child's first lessons this morning have been surprisingly realy good, despite only spending a few minutes with the traumitised and troubled Ichika, the child was surprisingly able to deal with facing IS teachers and students completley unprotected... but... saying that... the child has obiviously had worse, so its in all likely hood no real surprise that the child can deal with being on his own.

Now however, Kestrel and the beautiful Tomoe had no time to worry about trival matters, it was the first lesson in ages that both he and the dark blue haired beauty shared. Regardless of what ever glances that the occasional nosy student would send over, both Tomoe and Kestrel were managing with lessons realy well. Kestrel this time had the unfortunate unluckyness to sit at the third row of desks at the front of the classroom on the right, Tomoe was sitting on the fifth row down the middle of the classroom.

Despite not understanding half of what was being said, most of the female students wasn't realy focused on class either, one thing was fixed on nearly every single girl's mind, Summer break.  
It had been a mere 24 hours since final exams, so all that lay ahead of all students at the IS academy was the final handfuls of lessons before each and every student was able put every last ounce of school mounted stress at the back of their minds.

Summer weather had already made its appearance, the intense brightness of the sun magnified the heat that was easily penetrating the IS classroom's walls and windows. There were no curtains to shield the students, nor where there any fans to help cool of the expossed students so for those sat directly beside the windows, the full brunt of the heat and brightness of the sun was being delt. The fact being made due to a vast number of girls having closed a single eye turned their heads slightly in an attempt to escape the brightness of the sun.

All the while this brightness of the morning increases, so does the heat. For the students on the left side of the classroom, the satisfaction of escaping the heat and brightness was clearly evident on each and every girl's face.

For Kestrel and the girls on the right side of this classroom, the chance of escapeing heat and brightness is utterly zero. At first, its just the brightness that causes heavy discomfort, but as time passes, the heat combined with the blinding brightness of the mighty glowing sun in the clear blue sky becomes more and more difficult to put up with. Students that sit directly down the middle of the classroom may escape the bright glow of the sun, but the warmth still manages to make it over towards the sat down ihabitants.

Although the heat is not considered blazing or overwhelmig, the brightness and warmth can still be considered uncomfortable. It is late June, and yet the weather is already like it would normaly be in July or August, so god knows how the students will be like when the hottest of the months appear. The homeroom teacher herself despite trying to set an example, is also effected by the surprisingly powerful warmth.

The teacher in this lesson wears a office black skirt, office white blouse, black high heels and gold watch on the right wrist. The teacher has black hair with a side headed pony tail and emerald green eyes. The said teacher looks a lot like Jun Nagase from anime "World only god knows", Normaly this teacher wears an office like top with checkered patterns but is soon forced to take it off, a look of awkwardness is on her face.

Many students sweatdrop and smile awkwardly as the young beauty folds up her office top and places it on her desk, the said teacher smiles in a slight form of affection and closes her eyes for a brief moment. The said teacher attempts to fan herself with a hand, small beads of sweat is seen on the side of her temple. Many IS students that are taking the full brunt of the sunlight can only smirk at the teacher, maybe a bit of self suffering would make the IS academy staff understand what the students have to endure.

"Hot miss?" - An Irish accented girl with a long Orange braid asks.

"Heh, Heh... I'm quite surprised, I heard it was to be overcast this morning and yet its quite unbearably warm". - The said teacher replies in a friendly and calm voice.

"Doesn't seem to bother the child" - An Indian girl with a long black braid, small looped gold ear rings and small red spot between the eyes comments.

Upon hearing the Indian girl's comments, every single female breaks contact with their work or the teacher and instead shoot over curious looks. To every single female's amazement, Kestrel is sitting looking very comfortable, his ocean blue eyes focus solely on what ever paperwork is being presented before him. The heat seems to have no effect at all on the long, black haired child. Even though the heat is not considered unbareable for an adult, it is assumed to be unbareable for a child, yet... Kestrel is completely unaffected, there is no shade or fans to help dowse the heat on the entire right and middle rows so it is a real eye opener.

As the girls stare in an envious or impressed manner at the child, Tomoe mentions a fact that seemingly acts like a smack in the face to nearly every single female aswell as the teacher herself. Tomoe's voice is very calm, pleasant and laced with a hint of awkwardness, the said female smiles in a very sweet and lady like manner as she speaks the facts "Well, Kestrel did come from Israel's hottest deserts and such, so I guess heat like this is nothing to him".

"Heh, figures!" - An American girl with long brunette hair comments with a smug grin on her face, looking at the child with half closed eyes.

"Miss Yoshitomo, how is it that little Kes here is able to put up with the sun while we're sweating our jugs off!" - A British girl with long black hair comments while fidgeting with her IS uniform, trying in vain to cool herself off.

Though the said girl's comment causes multiple titters and giggles, the kind and friendly looking Miss Yoshitomo manages to quickly regain control of the class by holding up her arms and motioning with her arms as a means of quietening down the tittering females. "Okay, Okay ladies... settle down, settle down... remember this is our last week of lessons so lets do everything we can to get as much work done as possible okay?".

Just then, a certain voice suddenly erupts over some speakers the sound comes from outside in the halls, the voice belongs to non other than Chifuyu Orimura, the woman's voice despite being in an electronic tone over the speakers is clearly laced with anger. "Alcott Cecilia, Dunois Charlotte, Bodewig Laura... report to the headmistress office immediately!".

From inside the classroom nearly every person snaps their attention from Miss Yoshitomo and looks towards the closed classroom door. Noticing the chance, miss Yoshimoto places her left hand on her hip and raises the other hand with an index finger as if she is explaining something, the said woman puts on a straight face and makes her tone absolutely perfect as a way of getting her message and point across. "See everybody... miss Orimura is in a very bad mood this morning, so its best we work our very best to avoid trouble. You ladies are some of the finest in this country and yet little Kestrel, a ten year old boy is doing more work and effort, lets make ourselves the perfect role models for him okay?".

Miss Yoshimoto has a very warm and loving smile on her face as she finishes her statement, the statement that the woman makes causes every last girl to turn their heads or look behind or ahead of them and notice that the child seems to be buired in what looks like a very difficult mass of mind washing turbulent work.

The child blinks every so often, not a whisper comes from the child. The only sounds that come from the child is the sounds of his pencil on the texted and presented sheets of paper set at the child's desk.

Tomoe smiles warmly at Kestrel and instantly gets back to studying, some students follow suit and get back to cracking on with their school work, however some others stare flabergasted. Miss Yoshitomo looks at the long haired Israeli child and begins to remember how strict the staff meeting was when instructions concerning little Kestrel was announced.

The whole matter caused a a large amount of nerve wrecking throughout the woman, it made matters worse when news came through concerning the P.E teacher incident. The whole lot caused miss Yoshitomo to become a near mass of nerves, what could she do if the child suffered a turn? What does she say to the child to help him understand?

Miss Yoshitomo had been eager to get today's lessons with little Kestrel over with as soon as possible, but now... its a differant matter, for a child that is traumitised and full of P.T.S.D,  
little Kestrel has been surprisingly pleasant. He's focused on Miss Yoshitomo's hands, the work she has presented before him and has remained relatively silent.

Its a very differant, yet much welcomed scenario to the one that the said teacher had imagined. Even though the child has not stood and answered any questions, the said youngster has managed to keep up in a very surprising manner.

In most lessons Kestrel has never managed to keep up in the least, but with the work sheets being presented in hebrew the child has managed to keep pace. It is hoped that the child will be able to learn Japanese soon enough so that interpreter Yui Sakurada's work is not burdened and over extended, but deep down Yui is hopeful that the child wount reach his goals of Japanese lingo in a hurry, the child seems to have grown on the said woman.

Finaly after taking a step forward, miss Yoshitomo begins to walk up and down the rows of desks with a look of pride on her face, the woman walks calmly placing one foot slightly in front of the other as she walks, she places both hands behind her back and eases herself. The feeling of relief and pleasantness is like a real elixer of happiness and rejoicement to the said teacher, her heart is leaping with happiness, even as she walks beside the rows of desks, many students that glance, notice the smiling face on the woman.

Miss Yoshitomo is still a new teacher and has only been in the IS academy for two months, so she is still becoming experianced with matters and such. As the woman lets her mind wander, she becomes unaware of making numberous circuits around the classroom. Though she thinks of nothing, the said woman makes numberous circuits around the classroom untill the ringing of the lunch time bell snaps her out of her happy trance.

**\- 45 minutes later -**

Upon the loud and silent shattering ringing of the bell, every student stands, unable to sit down and stand the morning heat a moment longer. Miss Yoshitomo is all to aware of this and chooses not to force the students to stay and hear any lectures or messages, but instead smiles kindly and calls out in a very loving and calm voice "Don't forget you're belongings, thankyou!".

As miss Yoshitomo is calling to the students, something is happening with Kestrel. The child was unprepared for the alarm due to being to heavily focused on his work and is utterly shocked out of his living flesh. The child is wide eyed, a 1,000 yard stare is upon his face and to make matters worse, the bell has triggered a turn and is causing the said child to tremble out of control and begin to cry silently.

Most students are in such a hurry to escape the blazing heat of the sun, that the clattering, rushing and happy sounding chirps in differant tounged langauges cause the traumitised child's turn to intensify heavily. Fortuneatly Tomoe chooses to stay behind and notices that Kestrel is frozen and stareing into nothingness, even as the last numbers of students proceede to rush past the girl, the instinct in the dark, blue haired female remains unchanged. Sickness and fear fills Tomoe's gut, one thought runs through her mind as she gazes in panic at the traumitised child, the mental voice is fearful whisper ( "Oh no" ).

Miss Yoshitomo, oblivious as to what is happening, smiles warmly and relaxes easily watching the last of the students leave the classroom, the said woman is calm and full of joy, she looks like a loving parent watching her children play outside the garden. However, her happiness is cut short as Tomoe lets out a very fearful and desperate sounding "KESTREL!".

The shout causes miss Yoshitomo to instantly drop her smile and snap her vision to look in the direction from which it came. What she sees is a sight that causes her heart to stop, her blood seems to freeze up and every hair on her body stands up in sudden shock. The woman gets a terrible feeling of sickness strike her in the gut as she sees Tomoe carefuly pull little Kestrel out of his seat and proceeds to calmly sit him down on the cold, blue marble tiled floor. Miss Yoshitomo despite being inexperianced with this sort of thing, aswell as hopeing it wouldn't happen in the first place, dashes forward the sound of her high heels clicking away on the cold solid floor cause Tomoe to look up from her knelt down position.

"Shizuka! Go get the nurse, I'll see to this!" - Miss Yoshitomo speaks out in a very clear and rapid tone.

As the said teacher lets herself fall to her knees, Tomoe pauses and looks in confusion at the young teacher mere inches away from her. The teacher has the look of a mother that is looking down at her child laying motionless seconds after being hit by some large van or car. Tomoe can't breathe, yet she manages to ask in a confused tone "Yoshimoto sensei maybe I should look after.."

"NO!" - Miss Yoshimoto yelps back in return, her voice is filled with fear and desperation, the look on her face is clearly distressed, tears are starting to form in the woman's emerald green eyes. Tomoe is about to reply but is once again cut off by a desperate sounding miss Yoshimoto "No, no, no, no, no!... You are faster than me, you best get the nurse, let me see to him".

Miss Yoshimoto's voice is filled with an emotion, her voice seems to be cracking with sorrow and frustrated grief. Tears are starting to roll down the woman's face, which comes as a big surprise to Tomoe, whom can only blink in startlement. From Tomoe's point of view, miss Yoshimoto is clearly looking distressed and is getting more and more worse, and the trembling and silent crying Kestrel is causing the fires of chaos to burn all the more out of control. Suddenly, Tomoe feels a sharp jerk that causes her to blink and sharply look at Kestrel.

The terrified, pale faced, trembling and silent crying child with a 1,000 yard stare is snatched away from Tomoe and is soon held in the arms of very serious looking miss Yoshitomo. The look on the woman's face is now a very angered and serious frown. Although tears roll down both Kestrel and Miss Yoshimoto's face, Tomoe remains still. Miss Yoshimoto has the look of a cornered mother animal, ready to fight to the death to protect its infant. As miss Yoshitomo speaks, the woman's voice is layden with disress - "Shizuka go get the nurse now!"

Tomoe is completley taken by surprise and stares at both the distressed miss Yoshimoto and the terror striken Kestrel craddeled warmly, tightly, and defensively in the distressed teacher's arms.  
Tomoe looks intently at miss Yoshitomo and notices a glazed look that matches Kestrel's 1,000 yard stare.

"Miss Yoshitomo?" - Tomoe asks in a very confused and curious tone, one thing that Tomoe never fails to notice... is the look of someone that has suffered a very traumatic past, however, Tomoe's wonders are cut short when miss Yoshitomo sends a very sorrow filled and desperate look and speaks one final time, this time making Tomoe stand and run towards the door.

"Shizuka Tomoe, get the nurse, PLEASE! NOW!" - Miss Yoshimoto replies, first very calmly an in a sorrow filled voice before finaly shouting out the last words in a version matching a very desperate plea for help, as if someone's life desperately depended on it.

Tomoe's heart leaps in shock, the girl puts all thoughts to the back of her head and springs to her feet, the girl then proceedes to dash to the door, as Tomoe reaches the classroom door, the said girl takes one short and desperate look back at the pair and to her surprise notices that Miss Yoshimoto is sitting with her legs crossed, Kestrel is sat on her lap trying to make a fetal position while miss Yoshimoto has one arm wrapped tightly round the child's right side, the hand resting on the side of the child's temple, while the other arm moves up and down, the hand is carefuly and lovingly strokeing the trembling child's head.

Tomoe snaps her gaze away from the pair and rushes as fast her legs will carry her in the direction of the nurse's office, any students that witness Tomoe rushing away from the classroom simply look with surprised faces, leaving the sounds of muttering and confused glances from as many as eight differant females in the corridor.

As Tomoe rushes away, letting the door close and click behind her, Miss Yoshimoto tightens her grip on Kestrel, the woman nussels Kestrel's face, the wettness of both the Israeli yongster's face makes contact with the teacher's own tear stricken face. With loving instincts in motion, powered by a rapid beating heart, miss Yoshimoto suddenly plants a loving and tender kiss on the side of the child's forehead. The said woman then becomes even more intense, by gently rocking backwards and forwards the woman then proceedes to speak in soft, emotional filled low tone, each one has the tone of a worrying mother comforting its dying or badly wounded child. "There, There... I'm here, don't you worry... I'm not going anywhere...".

Then, closing her eyes and squeezing more tightly onto the shaking Israeli child, Miss Yoshimoto speaks in a very kind, warm and loving tone "... I won't let it happen again! Big sister won't let it happen again!".

_**Okay that's chapter 39, Chapter 40 is coming soon, stick around for the next chapter and find out what Miss Yoshitomo means when she said "BIG SISTER", anyway... I'll get chapter 40 out as soon as I can, It shouldn't take to long, unless anything unexpected happens. Anyway... wishing all you readers the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	40. Chapter 40: Hot day, Hot temper

_**Hello again everyone, Black Falcon has returned with yet another chapter, for those of you whom stick around then bless all of your hearts and may each and everyone of you suddenly get struck by good fortune which makes you either rich, famous or even both... or at least have some good fortune that makes you all happy in some odd shape or form, trust me... I pray for it all the time! **__**Anyway... enough with the red tape introductions, and please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 40

A void of utter darkness begins to slowly brighten, soon revealing a blazing hot desert, the POV viewer turns around, trying to get bearings or try to figure out why they are here. Despite the sun being fierce and over 100 degrees, the POV viewer is not the slightest bit effected by the intense heat. The only sounds that fill the POV viewers ears is nothing but the occasional blast of wind that howls and rushes past.

Then, the view changes revealing the POV viewer to be the long black haired, scar faced child, Kestrel. The long black hair on the child blows and flutters elegently in the wind, the look of fear and panic is on the child's face. The Israeli youngster turns himself around, shifting his head left to right trying to find out where he his, though the child feels as though he's been here before, the child has the sickening feeling of fear and panic smoldering in his gut.

As the long haired youngster stands still for a moment and looks at the vast sea of sand and rock, a bone crushing sound causes the child's heart to freeze, the child swiftly turns his body and head to the left to look behind him, there is nothing there. As the child straightens himself up, blinks and looks around, his ocean blue eyes resting on a darkish brown mountain of rock in the distance, another sound echoes through the air, reaching the child's ears and causing him to swivel himself round to the right. Yet again, nothing but desert meets the child's eyes.

The child looks down at his feet and sees the whiteness of his IS sneaks, trousers and uniform body. Not a spec of dust clings to the child's IS uniform which adds to the abnormality of the situation. Looking back up the child is greeted with a sight that causes the child's eyes to widen, 10 feet away is a pitch black tree, black razor sharp iron bolts stick out from the tree trunk and branches, though the tree is only medium size, what causes the child's eyes to widen in terror and the colour to drain from his face is what is resting against the pitch blackness of the tree bark. Against the tree trunk and along the branches is numberous men, women and children. Each and every one is scewered against the iron spikes, pure dark red blood gushes from the puncher wounds, ears and mouth of each and every person.

The dark red blood forms a big red circle around the entire tree 100 meters wide in 360 degree radius, completley encircling the tree. Each and every man, woman and child have mutiliated bodies, heads or limbs. Some of the victims eyes are open showing cold, empty death stares, where as others have their eyes closed. Kestrel's limbs loose all feeling and cause the child to stumble backwards in terror. Then, before the child knows what happens, the back of his legs hit something that causes him to fall backwards, as the child lands directly on his back, dust and sand blow into the air adding terrifiying reality to the situation.

Scrambling like a startled animal back to his feet, little Kestrel looks down to see what it is he has tripped over and to his terror sees mutilated corpse, the skeletons bones are beginning to show due to the exposure of not being buried, little Kestrel's eyes begin to stream tears as he sees a horned viper slither out of the torn open corpses chest, its little black forked tounge rapidly sticks out tasting the air. Following the snake's appearance 5 scorpions crawl out from what ever remains of the skeleton's remains.

Everything becomes to much for little Kestrel, the child's eyes are streaming with tears of terror, he can't take it anymore and in a fit of terror turns his tail and begins to dash away as fast as his little legs can carry him. Stamina means nothing in a case like this and before little Kestrel knows it, he looses track of how far he has ran. The child's heart beats out of control, his eyes continue to stream tears and nothing but the woosh of wind that fills the child's ears. After what seems like an eternity of running, the child is finaly stopped by the shout of a name, its his name. Freezing in his tracks, the child comes to a rapid stop. Looking around, turning his head and trying to locate the source of the shouting.

The sound of a familiar woman's voice is heard again echoing across the blazing hot, and empty abiss of the sinai desert. "KESTREL!"

The said child ceases his movement and instead slowly turns his head to look up at the clear, blue empty sky. As the woman's shout is heard for the final time, a massive white flash causes the child to close his eyes in agony. Everything goes black, and all feeling in his body is gone, the rapid heartbeat in the child slows down and gradualy fades, slowly becoming calm and peaceful.

**\- Back to reality -**

Moments pass with the child feeling nothing but stillness and relaxment, though the child does not have any feeling at first, the feeling of gravity and the faint sounds of female voices begin to grow untill every single sound is heard perfectly, realisim returns and slowly... with an exhausted head, eyes and body, little Kestrel slowly opens his eyes, reavealing the blurred images of the academy nurse, Yui, Miss Yoshitomo and the purple haired assistant twin nurses. Each and every single female looks down at the child with pained expressions, the worst affected of which is miss Yoshitomo.

Slowly and tiredly blinking a few times, the child's vision returns to a near perfect state, almost instantly the child's hearing returns. As the child blinks he can see the academy nurse has a very calm face as does her assistants. The face on Miss Yoshitomo is full of fear and distress, Yui's face is fearful yet a lot calmer that of Miss Yoshitomo. With half closed eyes, twitching hands and fingers, a low exhausted and painful groan comes from the child, almost instantly... the child slowly begins to move.

The faces of Miss Yoshitomo, Yui, The nurse and her assistants lift and show nothing but happiness, smiles appear on their faces, yet the past traces of distress still remain. For the women, the description of relief is merely an understatement, Yui and Miss Yoshimoto are perfect examples of how relieved and over joyed the females are. Little Kestrel wastes no time in trying to sit up, the child is eager to feel the solid ground underfoot, that... and along fact that the cold marble tilled floor does not make a very comfortable surface to lay back on.

The twin assistant nurses jump slightly, their hearts leap for a brief second as they see little Kestrel begin lift himself up off the cold marbled surface, both nurses despite being knelt over the child snap their arms away from a nearby red cross medical box and despite moving quickly, both women carefuly place their hands on the child's chest. Both women blush upon seeing the very innocent and curious look on Kestrel's face. The child's eyes are half open and tiredness is plastered all over his face, yet its as clear as day that the child is wanting to stand and move around again. However, as we all know, the first thing to do in first aid is never move the victim unless you realy need to.

Miss Yoshimoto springs forward and places her left hand on the child's forehead, while her hand carefuly grabs ahold of the child's right hand. As Miss Yoshimoto looks deeply into the traumitised child's eyes, Yui carefuly reaches over and wipes some loose tears from the child's face. As Kestrel lets out a sigh and relaxes himself, Miss Yoshimoto smiles lovingly, a single emotion filled tear rolls down the side of her face. The said woman however soon feels a hand carefuly rest itself on her right shoulder, causing Miss Yoshimoto to suddenly turn her head and look at non other than Yui with a surprised and confused face.

"Don't worry, I know, I know" - Yui explains in a calm and loving tone, a small smile is placed on the woman's face.

"You lost your little bro when you was just kid didn't you?" - One of the assistant nurses asks in a tone that is symapathetic yet it sounds as if its a matter of fact.

Upon hearing the assistant nurse, Miss Yoshitomo snaps her vision away from Yui and looks at the assistant nurse with a shocked and surprised face.

"How do you know that!?" - Miss Yoshimoto asks in a slightly startled tone, the woman's blood tends to freeze and mulituple emotions begin to swirl inside her troubled mind and body. Never the less, the woman is keen to know about how another person knows about one of her most deep and unspoken secrets. Thankfuly, the assistant nurse smiles warmly and holds both hands up in a form of reasurance, the assistant nurse chooses to speak in a very low and careful tone as to show that she is supportive of Miss Yoshimoto's feelings. In a tone of softness, perfectly laced with the highest form of kindness, the assistant nurse speaks the words "You were rocking Kestrel backwards and forwards and muttering the words, "Big sister is here, I'll never let you go again"".

Going slightly red under the eyes, Miss Yoshitomo's face changes to sorrow filled, however any grief or saddness is averted thanks to Yui, the said woman places her hand back on Miss Yoshitomo's shoulder and smiles warmly. The ressulting act of kindess makes Miss Yoshitomo smile again let out a very painfilled sniffle, the said woman closes her eyes and in a frustraited sigh speaks the words, "I'll explain later, for now... lets just focus on little Kestrel, he had very nasty shock earlier".

"My sentiments exactly..." - The academy nurse speaks in a very calm tone filled with authority, the ressulting effect of the nurse's words causes everyone to look down at the Israeli child and get back at the matter of making sure the youngest student in the IS academy is in good condition... pyshical wise that is.

After pausing for a few seconds the academy nurse smiles kindly calmly puts away certain medical instruments back into the white medical box, the red cross seems to shine with pride the light.

As the nurse closes then proceedes to close the box carefuly the assistant nurses begin to place finger tips on Kestrel's forehead and neck, both women have very loving faces, their smiles are perfect matches to show the humanitarian side of the human race.

"Okay, you can move now... but move slowly okay, you may be suffering side effects" - The nurse explains smiling kindly whilst grabbing the medical kit handle and standing slowly. As Yui looks little Kestrel in the face and repeats the nurses message in Israeli, Miss Yoshimoto has the face of a loving mother, the teacher is holding back the urge of leaping forward and smothering the child with parental affection. This restrained feeling is held ever deeper while Yui and the assistant nurses begin to lift themselves to their feet and hold out their hands, palms open and with outstretched arms, offering the child some aid in getting to his feet.

Kestrel's star of David pendant makes a quick gleem in the beautiful and bright sunlight that shines in a powerful manner through the classroom windows. Little Kestrel's eyes still remain half closed and tiredness seems to remain in the child. Kestrel looks jelly legged, his feet are apart and his limbs seem to shake as if they are on fragile supports. Thankfuly, the long haired,  
scar faced child manages to get some feeling back in his limbs after a few minutes. The child slumps forward at first, blinking in a tired manner but quickly manages to stand straight again in a matter of minutes. All the time this is happening, the child's left hand is held lovingly by one of the assistant nurses.

Letting out a wide yawn and rubbing his ocean blue eyes, Kestrel gets all feeling of his body back. As the child leans back, lifts his right arm above his head and proceedes to stretch, a pure blissful feeling runs through his body. As the child finishes stretching, the child almost instantly proceedes to shake himself like a dog, the child shakes himself while standing upright, the look of his hair and pendent look very elegant moving around daintly in the air. The shaking lasts for five seconds and as the child finishes his shaking to awakenment, miss Yoshitomo stands up and places her hands together infront of her waist, smiling lovingly at the long haired Israeli child with half closed eyes.

As the assistant nurse releases Kestrel's hand, Yui calmly walks foward and lifts a hand as an offering for the child to take ahold of, though little Kestrel pauses for 3 seconds, the child responds by looking Yui in the face and tilting his head slightly to the left, a second or so later the child calmly lifts his own arm up and places his small soft hand into Yui's soft and tender palm. Yui smiles warmly and lets her fingers entwine with Kestrel's, the child remains perfectly silent and does not make a whisper. Moments pass before the academy nurse smiles at the pair, takes her red cross kit in both hands before speaking in a very cheerful and friendly tone "Okay, take it easy you two, me and my girls are going to get lunch, I'll see you again okay?".

Bowing slightly in a very ladylike manner, closing her eyes for a brief moment the office like lady replies in her usual friendly tone "Okay, thankyou, we better be getting something to eat aswell". Since Kestrel suffered his turn, not only himself, but the nurses, Yui and Miss Yoshimoto had the unfortuneate bad luck in missing their usual lunch breaks, so now that the crisis is past, its the ladies' top priority to get a well earned lunch as soon as possible. The academy nurse is well aware of this fact and sends back a very understanding smile before turning and walking away towards the door with her assistant nurses directly behind. As the 3 females in white medical uniform walk towards the door, a very curious looking Kestrel keeps his eyes fixed on all three females, the child blinks in confusion as the two assistant nurses send him a pair of sweet loving smiles before walking out of the door and out of sight.

Yui pauses, blinks and turns her head to look down at the Israeli child, the said woman with a very happy and pleasant facial image gently squeeses young Kestrel's hand causing the scar faced boy to look up at the office like woman with a face of wonder.

Miss Yoshimoto watches in silence, the young teacher has an empty mind, though she performed well under the curcumstances, the moment with Kestrel's turn has caused some very sad and painful memories to occur. Thankfuly, as the young teacher stares at the ground with a lowered head, and sorrow filled frown on her face, Yui calls out the teacher's first name, snapping the said female back to reality. - "Kaede!".

Kaede Yoshitomo blinks in surprise, her gaze at the floor breaks and the teacher looks up at Yui with a startled image. Her nerves calm almost instantly when she sees Yui looking happily into her face with a very grateful image.

"Thank you... thank you for helping little Kestrel here" - Yui speaks in a very loving and soft voice, making Kaede Yoshimoto blush slightly and smile proudly to herself. The young teacher is for the first time in ages flattered and proud of herself, and in all likely hood, little Kestrel is once again to be thanked for positive emotions.

Chuckling innocently to herself, Kaede places both hands behind her back, and one foot behind the other. The young teacher blinks, proud but bashful. Smiling to herself, Kaede stutters in a very low and innocent tone "W..Well, I.. I couldn't just leave the child to suffer... hee, hee!".

Closing her eyes and shaking her head for a brief moment, Yui lifts her free arm and opens her hand as an offering. Though Kaede's face is briefly filled with confusion, the teacher is soon given the hint as to what Yui is trying to say or tell her.

"Please... join us for lunch, its the least we can do in return" - Yui speaks in a very grateful and kind tone, causing Kaede to stand firm and smile back in return, a small sweatdrop appears on the side of her temple. Deep down Kaede would rather just be left alone and try to recover from today's events at her own pace, but a small voice inside her is telling her to swallow her fear and doubts and simply go along with Yui's invitation. The look in Yui's eyes matches that of utter determination, a person not wanting to take no for an answer.

With her heart calming down and her emotions reaching calm and natural levels, Kaede blinks, rolls her eyes for a moment and timidly places her hand in Yui's own. Amazingly, the contact with Yui's hand causes the teacher's nerves and emotions to drop and reach a very warm and relaxed level. The atmosphere around Yui has grown very welcoming and warm, the feeling is washing over Kaede like and ocean of happiness. The wonderful feeling intensifies when Yui beams a very friendly and loving smile at Kaede, making the teacher let out a very tense breath and smiling warmly back in return.

With a friendly and pleasant chuckle Kaede looks Yui deep in the eyes and speaks in a tone that is a perfect combination of happiness, warmth and kindess "Sure, lead the way".

**\- Scene change/ IS cafateria 12:22pm -**

Although being late for lunch, Kestrel, Yui and Kaede are still able to take seats in the cafateria, regardless of being late a large amount of people were still present in the cafateria, a line towards the food counters was perfect evidence that lunch wasn't going to end any time soon, which comes as a great amount of relief to Yui, Kaede and the long haired Kestrel. As the trio walk into the academy the sounds of chatter, laughter and a pleasant atmosphere fills the air. Coming as a big morale raiser to the still slightly stunned Kaede, since Kestrel suffered his turn the young teacher has forgotten what a pleasant atmosphere sounds like.

A smile appears on Kaede's face, the sight is always awe inspiring to her, normaly Kaede eats lunch in the staff rooms, so eating in the cafateria should be a pleasant change for the young and beautiful woman. The smell of food and fresh drinks is very much welcome to the woman's nasils, causing the woman to close her eyes and inhale the air deeply, the smell of something very, very tasty fills the woman's nostrils, even as Kaede lets out a breath the woman's eyes are half closed for a moment, water forms in her mouth and a hungered growl comes from the woman's stomach.

Then, as the woman begins to loose herself in the pleasant atmosphere, Yui looks down at the scar faced child Kestrel and says some words in Israeli. After a few moments a warm and loving smile forms on the woman's face, followed by a friendly motion of a hand for little Kestrel to be free to join the line. As Yui releases Kestrel's hand from her own, the woman smiles warmly speaking a few more words in Israeli as the child calmly and casualy walks over to the line to grab a pure red food tray and join the line of multi-national females. Each and every single female in the line gossips away in differant tounges, smile and chuckle away like a fully fledged community.

As the Israeli youngster walks away, Yui turns to Kaede and with a kind and pleasant smile on her face, speaks the words "Please, Join me... the food they serve here is utterly lush!". Kaede instantly responds with a pleasant smile of her own and motions with her hand for Yui to lead the way. Yui pauses for a moment and with the motioning of a hand, speaks in a very friendly manner "Please, this way".

Kaede, her smile filled with happiness and comfort calmly walks forward and then after a matter of seconds walks over to the line of IS schoolgirls side by side each other. Both women begin to gossip away pleasantly. Occasionaly looking at each other and smiling with pure and kind faces to acknowledge the other's exsistance.

While this is happening a very hungry Ichika stands in the line of peckish IS females with the Chinesse brunette Rin standing directly on his right looking up at a large rectangular screen, trying to choose what to eat for lunch, so far Ichika and Rin have a cartoned drink on their food trays, but with so many differant offers on today its almost impossible for the pair to choose what to eat. Its always been like this at the IS academy, when summer break is on the door step, the students get a lot of treats for their hard work and exams, the IS staff also gets a fair amount of goodies to get their mouths stuck into also, but for people whom have very sensitive or various taste buds, its hard to choose what to have, everything so tasty that its nearly utterly impossible to chose what to have.

With a raised eyebrow and an inquisitive look, Rin looks up at the rectangular screen and shakes her head. Ichika currently looks at a set of plated foods behind a plastic window in an arched shape. His attention is instantly shifted over to Rin when the Chinesse brunette asks a question that is nearly impossible for the Japanese male to answer. "So what do you want to eat?" -  
Rin asks in a very curious tone.

Following Rin and the girls forward ahead of her a few steps every two or three minutes, Ichika looks directly at Rin and in a equaly curious tone replies "I have no idea... but... I think that looks very interesting". - Ichika states in a tone changing into an interested state whilst pointing slighting at a described dish above on the rectangular screen.

Following Ichika's finger the Chinesse brunette pauses for a moment before speaking the following words in a questioning tone, "The fish and potato pie?".

"Yeah, it sounds real tasty and it makes a change from what I normaly have, so whats the worst that could happen?". - Ichika replies in a very happy and confident tone.

Acknowledgeing Ichika's answer with a very friendly smile of her own, Rin remains silent for a few minutes whilst following the girls ahead of her towards the counters where the catering staff are working. As Rin stops moving the Chinesse brunette holds an arm up as if she is shrugging, but speaks in cheerful manner, "Yeah, well... I'm going to try that Italian stuff, it looks tasty enough so I guess it should be safe to eat".

"Hey!" - An Italian accented girl with shoulder height brunette hair speaks in an offended tone just in front of Rin, causing the Chinesse girl to sweatdrop and grin awkwardly.

As Ichika and Rin approach the serving counters a group of girlish loving squeals cause the pair and numberous other girls to turn their heads to one side and lean backward slightly in order to see what the commotion is all about, and to Ichika's relief notices his long haired Israeli friend being fussed by his three shotacon admirers Yuno, Konoe and Rie. The sight causes Ichika and Rin to look at each other and sweatdrop. The Chinesse brunette then looks Ichika in the face and with an affectionate chuckle looks Ichika in the eyes and mutters the words "Some things never change!".

Ichika can only chuckle and take one final glance at the Israeli child whom is being smothered by soft breasts, arms, faces and bodies.

**\- 4 minutes later -**

Though it had only been four minutes, it had felt like a lifetime of waiting for the Chinesse brunette Rin and the black haired Ichika. Four long and boreing minutes had utterly caused a lot of unease for the eager and hungry Ichika and Rin. Upon reaching the serving counters Ichika and Rin both have the looks of overjoyment, the fact of happiness is made clear when Rin looks one of the catering ladies in the face and in a very happy tone quickly and clearly speaks the words "I'll have the Lasagna please".

The catering lady dressed in the traditional white coat and white hat responds by smiling warmly, giving a quick bow and speaking the words "Ofcourse, please wait by the end of the counter". Rin bows slightly in return and replies with a very kind and happy "Thankyou".

Almost directly at the same time as the catering lady replies to Rin's order, Ichika smiles in a friendly manner, looks the second catering lady in the face and speaks the words "Yeah, and I'll have the fish and potato pie". However, Ichika's order is responded to almost instantly as the second catering lady bends down for a breif second and pulls out a fresh out of the oven slice of pie. The colour of the pie is pure white, and although the sound of the dish sounds very appetising the look of it reminds Ichika of some form of building clay, or even rubber or some other form of building material.

Suddenly speachless Ichika's smile drops and a nervous feeling of sickness fills his stomach as the fresh slice of pie is placed upon Ichika's food tray. Ichika does not get the chance to ask the question of what type of fish it is, and instead is pushed forward by the excited and hungry eager IS schoolgirls.

For Ichika bad fortune hits hard and causes nothing but sick envy upon seeing the exquisite looking dish that Rin is more than happy to accept from the catering staff. Thankfuly, Ichika's hopes rise upon getting some very tasty side orders and seasonings to choose from. While all this is happening the sounds of happy gossip and laughter in many differant tounges continue to fill the air mixing with the wonderful smells of cooked meat, vegatables, soups and various other savories.

Taking a chance to get some useful answers to some very curious questions, Rin takes a quick glance at Ichika whilst gathering eating utensils and condements. Since this morning, Rin has noticed Ichika acting in a very frustraited and angered manner upon being approached by certain girls. So far Rin herself is the girl that he seems to be speaking and responding to in a very happy and pleasant manner, but everytime a certain girl rushes up to Ichika the Japanese male scowls in an angered manner and walks away not responding to anybody's voice. He hasn't even looked at Laura, Cecilia and Charlotte, and to make matters even more strange the said male has been avoiding everybody but Rin today.

Deep down Rin is hopeful that Ichika has given all her love rivals the cold shoulder, her heart flutters and leaps in excitement every time she thinks of the possibility that Ichika is on the verge of confessing some form of love to her. However, despite the hopeful inetentions, the Chinesse brunette needs to hear answers directly from the horse's mouth. The description of hopeful and excited does not do the Chinesse girl any justice as she asks a question that she is struggling to speak out in a very casual manner.

"So Ichika, whats the deal with you and the others? From what I've seen today you haven't even said a word or acknowledged Cecilia, Charlotte or.."

"STOP!" - Ichika suddenly speaks out in a low, clear and firm voice cutting Rin off.

Startled and taken by surprise the Chinesse brunette very nearly drops her knife and fork, the sounds of clattering on her food tray and plate is perfect evidence that Ichika has taken the said Chinesse brunette by surprise. As Rin turns her head to look at the Japanese male all she sees on the said boy's face is nothing but a very angered frown. The said male has a very angered and seriously infuriated face. Rin can't help but stare, she hasn't seen anything like this on the said Japanese male.

"Ichika? What's the matter with you?" - Rin asks with an eyebrow raised, her face is full of curiousness. For Ichika explosive temper and rage roars and churns through his head, heart and body, he has never felt this level of anger in years. Yet, his reasons for feeling this badly angered are perfectly justified... in the past 24 hours Ichika has been humiliated, toyed with and been made to look like a fool in the eyes of not only his big sister but nearly every last student in the entire IS academy.

The people mainly responsible where non-other than Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura and Tatenashi. A few others were involved in the sadisitic and some what cruel treatment of Ichika last night and this morning, but the main four that call themselves friends to the said boy have realy hurt him this time. Not only with the stunt that they played with last night but along with the fact that they planned on involving Kestrel in some very nasty 'if slightly innocent' antics and suffering last night.

Now when ever the names Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura are mentioned the said Japanese male fills with nothing but fury, its not only because of what the girls did to him last night, its also the fact that they targeted Kestrel. Some can consider it a miracle that Kestrel evaded trouble last night, because if Kestrel was dragged around and played with like Ichika, god only knows what could have happened. If Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura are the mature, good hearted and responsible young adults that they claim they are then they have a very foul way of showing it.

Chifuyu had promised Ichika that she would speak to the girls and give them a firm hand as punishment, but that isn't enough to quel Ichika's temper. As Ichika replies to Rin the feeling of pure and uncontrolable anger spreads through the Japanese male. The look on his face is more than furious, and his voice is very demonic and enraged.

"DON'T.. MENTION.. THOSE.. BITCHES.. TO ME!" - Ichika hisses in an angered snarl, the sound of a furious growl escapes him.

For Rin the sight is breath taking, she has never seen Ichika like this before in all her life. Even as Ichika walks away in a stormy manner, the Chinesse brunette with pigtails is wide eyed,  
a feeling of nerve spreads throughout her body. The Chinese female is more than relieved that Ichika's quarrel is not with her, because in Ichika's present state, the said male could skin all three females alive and urinate on their bodies and not feel the slightest bit of pity or guilt.

Standing flabbergasted, Rin can hardly speak, but thankfuly one such girl says a bunch of words that the said female can more than agree on.

"My god... did you see the look on Ichika's face?" - A girl with green eyes and long light blue hair speaks in a stunned voice.

"Somebody must have upset him, I just hope that they can run, because by the look Ichika's face he could kill em!" - A girl with short black hair comments in agreement.

Upon hearing the two girls, Rin frowns, a feeling of disgustment fills her gut and one thought suddenly comes to mind ( "If its because of that slumber party crap, I'll kill each and every one of those hussies for upsetting Ichika!" ).

A second or so after vowing vengence on the girls that treated Ichika in a very foul manner last night, Rin rushes away, hot on the heels of a very distraut Ichika.

_**Okay, thats chapter 40, stick around for the next chapter and keep reading and reviewing. For those of you whom like strong chapters then the next should make you cheer,... that is... hopefuly they will make you cheer, anyway... I'm wishing all you readers the best and if any of you write fanfics of your own... then may positive reviews always befall you. Stay cool everyone!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	41. Chapter 41: Lunch time flag

_**Hello to everyone yet again, Black Falcon has returned with yet another, brand new chapter, in this new chapter I'm going to make our little Israeli's shotacon lovers Yuno, Rie and Konoe a lot more like main characters, that along with the fact that this chapter and maybe a few others will be quite strong due to the fact that Ichika seems to be bearing a grudge against most of the IS academy girls. So lets see how the girls will react with Ichika ignoring their pressance, please... note... the strong chapters begin with the coming of the next chapter after this one, **__**this chapter is just a preparation introduction, sorry if that causes dissapointment, you can curse and damn me to hell all you want, if it makes you readers feel better.**_

_**Chapter delayed I know, all the usual crappy details, you readers all know the drill... sorry for the inconveinance... Anyhow... thats it for introductions, so please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 41

**\- IS academy Cafateria -**

Sitting down at a round grey table completley alone with a red tray with plates of food, Ichika allows his nerves to calm. Since this morning all he's had is nothing but embarrassment and utter humilation, to make matters worse, the said Japanese male has had an ear full off his big sister and headmistress Chifuyu. Everywhere he's gone all he's seen is fingers pointing and IS academy newspapers showing him in a very messy state. Ichika is a nice guy, make no mistake about it... but... even a nice guy has his limits, and he knows all to well whom is to blame for all this upset and anger. The ones to blame are non other but his classmates whom claim to be his friends, and that factor causes Ichika's rage to boil and become highly unstable. Chifuyu has already promised Ichika that she would give Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura and even Tatenashi a firm hand, but for the angered Japanese male, words aren't enough.

He wants to see some punishment, or is given the satisfaction of being the one whom punishes the sadistic bitches for the hellish treatment that he's been put through. He has ingnored or told some girls to either "Piss off!" or "Get lost!" and acted very aggressively to anyone that has approached him or said any snide comments, and it has helped quel some of his anger, but it still isn't enough. Thankfuly... Rin the Chinese beauty, was not part of anything last night nor has she taken any amusement about Ichika's unfortuneate perdicament, so therefore Ichika has nothing against the Chinese brunette.

In fact, Ichika has been a lot kinder and treated the Chinese female a lot warmer and kinder than usual, all to the girlish overjoyment and happiness of Rin herself! Deep down Rin knows that her chances of being officaly made as Ichika's sweetheart has risen drasticaly. Even as the Chinese girl takes a seat directly beside the Japanese male, a happy and confident smile is plastered on the Chinese girl's face. The said brunette girl's heart flutters and leaps deep within her chest, excited at the idea or fantasy that Ichika is about to ask her to be his girl or even his wife. Thankfuly, the Chinese girl is able to contain her girlish happiness and swallow her happy fantasy and focus on reality.

For now, the only thing that matters to Ichika and Rin is lunch. At times like this a change of thought is needed to help quell any unpleasant feelings or thoughts, even though its impossible to run from problems forever, the few minutes that can be salvaged before confronting the girls responsible for Ichika's misery is more than needed at a time like this. Ichika is hopeful that the confrontation against Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte comes soon, and many can understand the feeling. Waiting for an unpleasant or uncertain future to appear is like being a prisoner awaiting a very nasty and painful execution, and the minutes that pass by are the worst torture. Just like anybody else, all Ichika wants to do is get everything out of the way as soon as possible.

As Ichika frets or stews with an angered frown, Rin manages to defuse any negative emotions by asking Ichika a question that would be considered perfectly normal to ask at a time like this. "Is the pie any good?" - Rin asks with an eye brow raised and a pleasant smile placed on her face.

Swallowing his first mouthful of his food, Ichika pulls and sickened face, but... after a moment, a curious look replaces the look of disgust and then... taking another mouthful of his fish and potato pie, the said Japanese male's face changes to a surprised and impressed look. Swallowing his second mouthful of food, the Japanese male pauses, lowers his silver fork and with a small smile on his face, turns his head to look at Rin and replies in a very pleasant tone "Very good actually!".

Upon hearing Ichika's answer, the Chinese brunette responds with a very happy and pleasant look of her own. Knowing that she has queled any unpleasant feelings inside her love interest, the said Chinese girl quickly speaks the words "Yeah? Well... I guess mine can't taste bad either".

Ichika smiles with a very friendly expression and can do nothing but watch as rin slices a moderate portion of her lunch, places it onto her silver fork and places the food in her mouth. A moment passes with Ichika stareing in wonder, Rin however has a very straight face and seems to be stareing into nothingness, even though she munches and swallows the mouthful, the Chinese female does not have a satisfied look on her face. Instead all there is on the Chinesse girl is a very neutral yet non disgusted look.

"Ah... I take it, the lasange isn't very good?" - Ichika speaks with a cautious, yet symapthetic tone, the look on his face is friendly yet slightly awkward.

Rin acknowledges Ichika's question by simply shaking her head slowly from left to right, her eyes are still open and stareing ahead into god knows what. "No..." - Rin replies in a calm yet very comfortable tone. Ichika remains silent and dares not say a thing, at times like this the said Japanese male likes to let his friends speak their minds and not comment on anything untill the right moment. "...I wouldn't say its totaly bad, but I wouldn't have it again though", Rin continues in a calm and rational manner, the said Chinese girl rolls her eyes upwards and left to right while she speaks.

As Rin swallows her portion of food. Ichika chuckles nervously, briefly places a hand on the back of his head, yet another awkward moment befalls Ichika and his friends. "Well... um... Would you like some of this pie?" Ichika asks in a calm and friendly manner.

Normaly Rin would refuse such a kind offer, but that only applies to other girls, when Ichika is involved... the offer is utterly priceless. Rin is not a stalker girl or a Yandere, but to be offered even a small piece of anything at all from Ichika, is something that the Chinese beauty can never refuse.

The fact is proven as Rin's face lights up, a pure and excited smile forms on the said girl's face. Although Rin still denies any affection towards Ichika when in the presence of other girls,  
she never fails to show it when nobody else is around. Ichika can only blink in surprise and slightly jump as Rin simply drops her fork onto her food tray, the clattering sound does not cause the Chinese girl to break her visual focus on Ichika. "Can I!?" - Rin nearly yelps in an excited and girlish manner.

Ichika's smile drops for a moment, his face suddenly gets the look of being stunned by Rin's sudden happy outburst. Deep down in Ichika's mind, a dense yet very innocent thought runs through his mind ( "I guess Rin must really like fish, or has been really badly effected by the lasanga" ).

After a brief pause, the black haired Japanese male smiles, sets his silver fork down on his plate and proceedes to gently slide his food tray over to the Chinese brunette. Even though Ichika is relatively hungry and desperate to swallow any sour feelings, the said Japanese male's mind and feelings are put at ease when Rin suddenly speaks out something that he would have normaly heard during his childhood from maybe some random childhood friend.

"Thanks Ichika, hey... why don't we go halves on it!?" - Rin suddenly exclaims in a happy and excited manner, causing Ichika to blink and stare forward in a very stunned yet pleasant manner.

Ichika smiles in a friendly manner, still slightly surprised at Rin's sudden happy outburst. However, before the pair can begin enjoying lunch a familiar German accented female voice causes both memebers to look over and across the grey, round table.

"Are you going to eat that?"

What greets Ichika and Rin is non other than the famous eye patched German woman in dark blue hair, Clarissa Harfouch. Upon seeing the German female Ichika's surprised face lifts to a very pleasant and welcoming image. Rin on the other hand has a very irritated and frustraited frown, despite being asked a question, neither Ichika or Rin get the chance to reply to the German woman's question.

"You know in some places it is a crime to waste such good food" - Clarissa continues with a suspicous yet pleasant grin, causing both Ichika and Rin to suddenly feel some realy horrible chills.

Behind Clarissa stands 4 more German females, each and every one has an eye patch over one eye and is smiling at Ichika in a very suspicious manner. The looks on the German girl's faces is relatively friendly, but the auror that is in the air around the German females is very nerve twitching. Unsure of what to say Ichika grins in a slightly nervous fasion before holding up both hands as if he's trying to show submission. Rin however responds with a very serious if slightly angered response.

"Do you mind!? Some of us are trying to eat lunch over here!" - Rin comments with a serious frown on her face, causing the German girls to turn their heads to look at each other for a brief moment. Clarissa stands straight with her chest sticking out, the German woman folds her arms and simply remains silent with an amused smirk before replying the words "You say us, but all I see is one meal about to be shared between yourself and Instructor Orimura's younger brother".

Blinking, Rin suddenly looks at Ichika before turning her attention to the meal that Ichika had started to eat a few minutes earlier. Clarissa's reality check caues the Chinese girl to blush under the eyes and over the nose, a bashful face is soon painted on Rin's face. Ichika however lowers his arms and has a simple confused and surprised look, his gaze does not leave Clarissa or her German girls for a single moment, which comes as some relief to Rin. If Ichika had looked at Rin the said Chinese girl would not have known which way to look, the Chinese girl bashful and desperate to hide her girlish embarrasment balls her fists and practacly yells in an irritated manner at the German woman and her girls.

"Wh..Wh..Whats it to you anyway!? Ichika was only offering me some of his pie because this Italian crap very nearly poisioned me!". - Rin speaks in a sharp, angered surprisingly calm tone,  
causing Clarissa to close her single solitary eye and shake her head in an amused and affectionate way.

After a few seconds, Clarissa and the German girls blink, stand possed with arms folded before looking at the pair with amused and affectionate if slightly smug faces. "Ah, Don't be so gaurded or snappy, me and my girls were only trying to be friendly".

"Maybe the two love birds would like to be left alone!" - An eye patched German girl with long, curly orange hair comments in a near jokeful tone, causing both Ichika and Rin to go bashful.  
Though Ichika is stunned and unsure what to do or say, Rin wastes no time in pulling her chair back, standing to her feet and in a fit of embarrassed anger points a finger with an outstrected arm towards the cafateria exit and entrance, the other hand is clutched tightly in a balled fist placed firmly away from her side.

"G..G..GET OUT! THATS IT! GET OUT!" - Rin stutters in an angered fit, a bright red and slightly heavily embarrased face is plastered firmly on the Chinese girl's face. All the while this is happening Ichika does nothing except stare flabbergasted.

Letting out a smug or affectionate titter, Clarissa turns her head slightly to the left, mimicks with her hand for her girls to follow whilst keeping an half closed eye on Rin and saying in a mocking tone. "Okkaaayyy... we was only trying to be friendly!".

As Clarissa and the tittering and smiling German girls walk away with their arms folded, Rin's nerves begin to calm as does the reddness on her face. The outstretched arm falls limp to she her sides as the said Chinese girl relaxes herself. Joining Rin in observing the German females walking away is non other than Ichika, the Japanese male has a concerned look on his face.  
Clarissa and the german girls don't seem to mean any harm, but it can't be denied that the auror that radiates off the said females is very suspicous, if not nerve wrecking.

As Ichika speaks the sound of concern is clearly laced in his voice "Do you ever get the idea that those girls are up to something?".

Ichika's question comes as some heavy relief to Rin, her nerves calm and the normality returns. Acknowledgeing Ichika's question the Chinese brunette wastes no time in sitting down and ending the last traces of the tense atmosphere with a very friendly smile and calm titter. "I shouldn't think so, with Orimura and Yamada sensei around those German floosies won't try anything funny, and even if they did they would be sent back to Berlin so fast they wouldn't feel the boot being sent up their asses!".

Grinning and letting out a friendly titter of his own, Ichika rubs the back of his head before blinking and turning his attention back to his fish and potato pie. "We'd better eat it before it gets cold".

Giggling timidly with yet another but faint blush, Rin closes her eyes for a few seconds and places her hands together as if she is praying. "Yeah, lets do".

Ichika smiles kindly and picks up his silver fork in one hand, and lifts it as a gesture to start eating. Rin quickly pulls out her own and shows it Ichika as a way of acknowledgeing his offer.  
Almost instantly, Ichika places his fork into the greyish white delacacy, Rin follows a second after Ichika. For Ichika the tasty substance seems to wash away the bitter taste of discomfort, Rin's impression of Ichika's meal is one not of disgust but also not one of impressment. Ichika's fish and potato pie is a lot better than the Lasange, but once again, Rin wouldn't dare order it again if it was her meal.

As Ichika and Rin begin to enjoy eating, they are unaware that they are being watched by one of the last people that they can trust in the IS academy at a time like this. Newspaper club president Mayuzumi Kaoruko. The girl's glasses seem to glisten in the light, a very crafty smile is on her face, so far Kaoruko has made quite a large scoop on Ichika and gotten some very good and personal ressults from her and friends efforts in newpaper publishing. One thing is for sure, scandal follows the girl everywhere, but saying that... that is what newspapers are for aren't they?!.

"Well, Well, Well... What do we have here!?" - Kaoruko exclaims with a slightly open smile on an excited face before lifting the camera up to her eyes and beginning to snap away without end.

"Are you seeing what I see?" - A girl with long black hair and green eyes asks in an excited manner whilst occasionaly looking down at a notepad and writing down a various series of words.

Though Kaoruko and the girl with the notepad have happy and pleasant expressions, one such girl with a long red pony tail and brown eyes holds a very angered scowl. Breathing deeply through her nose due to the fact that the said girl has puffed her cheeks and is holding her breath, when she does speak, the words that escape the girl's lips are filled with irritation and anger a frustraited huff is heard escape the girl as she begins to talk "Realy of all the nerve! I asked Ichika to eat with me only yesterday, it was my treat and I was going to treat him to some very wonderful five star food... yet he turns me down and is perfectly happy in eating with that Chinese hussy with pigtails!".

As the red ponytailed girl finishes speaking, a girl directly on the left with short black hair that reaches just above the shoulders speaks in an equaly offended tone, "So did I a week or so ago day before Kestrel came here, and he turned me down so he could eat with those cows that treat him like some personal pet!".

"I for one envy her!" - A smaller girl with blue eyes and blonde pigtails exclaims, holding the front of her collar with tightly clutched hands, stareing at the pair with dreamy eyes.

For five long minutes Rin and Ichika share the meal that was intentionaly made for one, unbeknownst that a few tables away behind the lens of a large flashing camera, is non other than members of the newspaper club, some have envious expressions were as others have fangirl expressions. Even as the girls armed with cameras and notepads make a sneaky and quick escape, Ichika and Rin remain oblivious that some of the worst form of vultures are prepareing to make a meal of them. Vultures that cause some of the worst upset and misery the world has ever seen... "Journalists!".

Whilst being observed, some very welcome people arrive at Ichika and Rin's table, much to the happiness and welcome of Ichika and Rin themselves. Ichika's face lights up and his spirits raise to an absolute high level. The fact is made 100% clear as he looks at the visitors that have currently arrived to his table, even as he speaks, relief is clearly heard vibrating and echoing in his tone "Hey there Kestrel, come take a seat".

For Rin, the appearance of company is a bit of a disapointment, but because of Kestrel's medical handicap aswell as the fact the child's escorts are non other than his shotacon lovers, Rin's disheartened emotions soon lift back to a normal and welcome. The Chinese girl smiles warmly, looks at the friendly and careing faces of Yuno, Rie and Konoe and slightly lowers her head and top half of her body forward to make shift and welcoming bow.

Instantly bowing and smiling back all three females holding food trays speak one phrase at directly the same time, ironicaly speaking in exactaly the same tone and manner "Please excuse us!".

Ichika would normaly expect little Kestrel to eat Ramen at lunch time, but to his amazement has simple sandwiches. What they are utterly unknown to Ichika and Rin, for the moment anyway. As little Kestrel takes his seat just across from Ichika, so that both boys are directly paralel to each other, the females that follow little Kestrel anywhere he goes waste no time in making a rapid scramble to take their seats either beside the Israeli youngster or to get as close to the youngster as possible.

Ichika and Rin smile with straight faces but sweatdrop at the sight, Ichika can only feel pity for traumitised Israeli youngster as the shotacons Yuno, Rie and Konoe sit and press themselves as deep as they possibaly can into the soft, warm Israeli youngster.

What Ichika and Rin also feel at the moment is not just an awkward 'Oh boy' moment, but also a feeling of wonder. Since this morning, heat temperatures are realy high and is still causing some very unpleasant amounts of unrest to the entire student body in the academy. Many students that normaly sit in the cafateria are not present, which is obviously no surprise because of the seering heat that easily fills the cafateria and is magnified by the large glass windows set in large, thick, white frames.

For those that are in the cafateria clearly show signs of discomfort and are soon forced to carry their food trays and eat whilst sitting on the floor in a shaded area or in the student lounge where it is a lot cooler. So for Yuno, Rie and Konoe to comfortably sit so close to Kestrel in the open light and heat, can only be considered something to be impressed by. Never the less, every 10 or 12 seconds all three females attempt to fan themselves by using their hands. Ichika and Rin have it lucky because they are sitting in a shaded area, but the hot air around them clearly reminds them that others are not so fortuneate, which causes some realy deep levels of pity to run through both Ichika and Rin.

Breaking the short and brief silence, the blue ponytailed beauty Yuno, looks over to Ichika and in a friendly tone speaks the words "Oh, don't mind us, please continue with what ever it was you're doing".

Chuckling in an awkward manner, Ichika lifts his fork to his mouth before finaly returning to eat the last parts of his fish and potato pie. Rin pauses for a moment longer but soon rejoins Ichika, every now and then sending over curious glances towards Kestrel and his three self proclaimed lovers.

At first nothing but utter silence follows, the only sounds that come from little Kestrel is the crunching of lettuce that emit from the youngster's closed mouth. Though both Ichika and Rin look at each other and down to the food tray to make sure that they are going to fork the pie and not each other, both members send the vast majority of their focus over towards little Kestrel and his three shotacons. Ironically Yuno, Rie and Konoe do the same, only breaking eye contact from Ichika and Rin so that they can look down at their food in order to take the next mouth full.

Getting chills is just an understatement of how strange and slightly creepy the atmosphere is at the moment, to have more than one person, or anything alive stareing at you without making a whisper is clearly nerve wrecking, however... to Ichika and Rin's relief the ice is broken when the short Orange haired beauty Rie, smiles in a very friendly manner at both Ichika and Rin and speaks in calm and collected tone "Something wrong?".

Ichika and Rin ironicaly jump out of their flesh and instantly respond by rapidly shaking their heads at directly the same time. "N..No! Nothing's wrong at all!" - Rin stutters whilst shaking her head.

"Oh... heh,heh... thats a relief" - Rie chuckles back in a slightly nervous tone.

"Its just... we thought we were causing you some trouble" - The long black haired Konoe puts in while leaning forward slightly and looking at both Ichika and Rin with a very kind face.

Sending back a nervous chuckle of his own, Ichika lifts a hand up as a form of reasurance and with an equaly friendly face and vocal tone speaks the words "Oh no, realy theres no trouble at all, don't you guys feel uncomfortable with us around, feel free to talk if thats what you want".

Casting comfortable faces and smiles to each other, Yuno, Rie and Konoe soon look Ichika and Rin in the face once again before smiling warmly and with kindess and care in their voices reply at the same time, one word... "Thank you".

Relieved that an uncomfortable situation is instantly cleared up, Ichika and Rin let out some deeply held in breaths. The feeling of relief is like a shringe full of life and adrenaline,  
being injected and is now flowing rapidly through the body. Taking the chance to brighten up the atmosphere Rin looks at the long haired Konoe and with a tone of friendliness asks the question that she knows is plainly obvious "Aren't you girls hot?".

"Heh,Heh... sort of" - Rie replies in a calm and normal tone before taking another mouthful of lunch.

"Nothing to worry about though, we have only a small lunch like our Kestrel today, so we shan't be here for very long" - Yuno states with a pleasant smile on her face, her eyes become slightly dreamy when mentioning Kestrel.

Rin blinks and takes a close look at the four red food trays that lay paralel to her and Ichika and notices that the blue ponytailed female speaks the truth. Kestrel's self proclaimed lovers have mere small portions of traditional Japanese lunch material and a soft drink. Clearly causing Rin to raise an eyebrow and smile awkwardly, the said Chinese brunette thinks to herself in a straight, low and serious tone ( "They say I'm a stalker around Ichika when in fact they should look at these craddle robbers who follow a traumitised ten year old boy!" ).

As Rin thinks these words, a question suddenly springs upward causing Ichika to pause and look at Kestrel's three females with a straight face. Its a question that Ichika was hopeing to avoid today, but deep down maybe it was to be expected that said question was going to be spoken sooner or later.

"I would have expected you to have been sitting with a crowd here today Orimura, where's Alcott, Dunois and Bodewig?" - Konoe asks in a pleasant tone, matched by a kind and friendly face. The long black haired beauty is clearly oblivious to the fact that Ichika is on a short fuse concerning his so called friends, which... for all we know... could be called 'Ex-friends' at some point in the future.

As soon as Konoe finishes asking Ichika that one single question, the Japanese male's face lowers into a very upset and angered frown. Rin casts a very concerned look over to Ichika and remains silent with a deeply touched and sympathetic facial look.

Instantly catching the mood drop, Konoe's smile lowers. The long black haired beauty is suddenly regreting asking a question that maybe was none of her buisness. Thankfuly, Ichika replies after a few seconds of pause with his head lowered.

"Oh... yeah... them" - Ichika speaks in a low and solemn tone, the look on his face is a mix of rage and scorned emotions, the Japanese male has to take in a breath to avoid becoming overly angered or emotional concerning the group of girls that practacaly abused him last night. His fists clentch around the silver fork that glems in the bright sun light that fills the entire cafateria.

"I don't realy want to know them anymore to be honest with you" - Ichika speaks out in a low, clear and solemn tone, a frustraited huff escapes his mouth causing Rin to close her eyes, shake her head and sigh. Yuno, Rie and Konoe break their focus from Ichika and Rin and begin to look at each other yet again with concerned and surprised faces. Wonder and pure curiosity fill all three of the oblivious females.

Rie, Yuno and Konoe are clearly and obviously in love with little Kestrel, and ofcourse have no difficulty in showing it... but the three girls never fail to notice anything out of the normal in the IS academy. In fact, since Ichika first arrived at the IS academy the top representatives and students normaly kill to have Ichika sit with them, and the competition for that matter is heavily increased when ever the most popular and famous students are involved.

What is also a fact, is that it always looks like Ichika is on friendly terms with Laura, Cecilia, Charlotte and Houki, so for the Japanese male to not sit with them, and seems to have a very nasty amount of anger being directed towards them, it is clearly an eye opening moment and sure to become a realy large amount of gossip before anybody knows it.

Disbelief is clearly evident in the three females that sit with Kestrel, even as Yuno speaks... the tone that comes from the girl clearly gives away the hint that the girl cannot belive what she has just heard.

"Realy? What's happened?"

Konoe and Rie lean forward slightly, all three of Kestrel's self proclaimed lovers are literaly all ears, and remain silent. None of the girls blink or make a whisper as Ichika leans back, making eye contact with Kestrel and his three shotacons once again before taking a breath... sighing and speaking in a low and serious tone. The frown that is on the male's face is clear evidence that what ever has happened has realy hurt Ichika, and has caused some anger to boil in Rin.

Its not common to see or hear Ichika like this so when Ichika prepares to speak, Rin holds a sympathetic look on her face and places a hand in a very careing manner on Ichika's shoulder,  
while the three females across from him all look ahead with intrested and curious faces, not a single female blinks or whispers as Ichika begins to speak in a calm and strangely cold manner.

"Okay... I'll tell you girl's whats happened but you better swear on you're mother's names that you aren't going take what I say for granted or even take light from it".

Tense air fills the area around Ichika's table, all three females lower their heads slowly at exactly the same time, before raising them again to make perfect eye contact with the Japanese male that holds the look of barely contained fury across from them.

As Ichika begins to talk, his tone does not change from pained and cold. Whilst less than 70 yards away, standing with guilty or nervous faces, or even a mix of both stands none other than Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura... all three females look at the back of Ichika, with nervous expressions. Not a single one of the trio dares to move or speak, is it possible they can feel his wrath burning or is it because of the firm hand they have just gotten of Chifuyu? Never the less... one thing is for sure... Trouble is coming for the girls in the IS academy!

_**Okay... thats it for now, chapter 42 is underway as we speak... on a quick note I want to appologise for any disheartenment if anyone was expecting some shouting, swearing or tears, but don't worry, you'll get them in the next chapter! You have my word on that, and as you readers know all to well... I AM a man of my word and when I make a promise... I KEEP it. If anyone has any requests for this fanfic please feel free to speak out, its the least I can do to compensate for any inconvieniance. Anyway, continue to read and review, for those of you readers that are fanfic writers also, may your own fics get positive reviews and my our words cross each other's computer or laptop screens!**_

_**Stay cool everyone, wishing you readers the best!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	42. Chapter 42: Incoming Exam ressults

_**Hello Readers! Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, before you all begin reading, I just want to let you all know that some chapters my be a bit more delayed because I go to an art group session on Mondays, but don't worry... I am staying true to my word and am doing everything I can to make sure these chapters come through on a daily basis. On a second note, a guest asked me if any of our little Kestrel's tormentors will be brought to justice... well, rest assured! The evil bitches and whores WILL suffer for the evil that they have conducted on an purely innocent child. So you will all get satisfaction of watching the bitches suffer at some point, in the mean time... just wait it out, remember some things are worth waiting for...**_

_**Anyway, thats all I have to say for the introductions, read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 42:

**\- IS academy hallway, outside the cafateria -**

Standing with arms folded and a fierce scowl on her face is non other than Chifuyu Orimura, her eyes have a very nasty 'Bitch Glare' about them, the reason for being can be down to a lot of things. Since this morning Chifuyu has had to put up with a lot on antics and embarrassment due to her student's horse play, first of all the problems start with Ichika being made to look a fool in the academy newspapers, secondly all the embarrasment this time is down to the antics of Ichika's 'So called' friends, thirdly... Chifuyu has had to give Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura and just recently Tatenashi a firm hand...

Yeah... littearly a firm hand!

fourthly, Chifuyu has had to set up a search group to remove all recently printed academy newspapers, which has cost her vital working hours and time and now, finally... the newspaper club is starting to cause more trouble, but... this time Chifuyu has had a helpful hand, mainly in the form of Clarissa Harfouch and her German girls.

While Chifuyu stands laying in wait for the girls of the newspaper club to make their exit, Maya stands whith her hands clutching firmly onto a clipboard leveled and held firmly to her chest,  
the look of utter nerve and fear is on the green haired teacher's face. Since this morning Maya has very nearly ended up hiding behind doors and various other inanimate objects trying to block out the sounds of a furious Chifuyu's shouting and having to turn her head away to escape the sight of a very violent Chifuyu disciplining her students.

In terms of Discipline Chifuyu has used the methods that a parent would do to their child, but in a very adult and stricter manner. Maya can't even blink, her nerves are on turbo charge, the green haired teacher in glasses gulps and prepares herself for any further unpleasant sounds and images. If what she saw and heard in Chifuyu's office wasn't enough, the green haired teacher has to brace herself for more unpleasant sounds and sights.

Clarissa for one stands with her hands behind her back, a very comfortable look is on her face. Clarissa has always been a military hard woman, so in terms of discipline Clarissa has made and experianced even worse than what Chifuyu has done.

What it was Chifuyu has done to discipline the guilty girls isn't realy considered brutality, depending on whom you are and what you think that is!, but in the end, the fact remains that some lessons are best learned the hard way. First of all Chifuyu had Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura and Tatenashi lined up standing only a few feet apart from each other in a perfectly straight line,  
shouted nearly at the top of her lungs at the girls with her face nearly all the way upto each and every girl whilst walking up and down the line of the terrified females. Chifuyu had used the psychological lecture trick which seems like an old tactic, but it still worked non the less.

Just shouting at the top of her lungs had left all four females violently shaking and pale in the face. Charlotte for one looked like she was on the verge of crying, Cecilia amazingly was the only one whom did seem to shed a tear, but mostly out of guilt than in fear. Tatenashi and Laura remained silent and still like coloured Ice, the only signs of life was the vast amounts of cold sweat that rolled down their temples followed by violent and rapid heartbeats.

Secondly, Chifuyu had each and every girl walk over to her desk, place their hands on the edges of the desk... then tricked them to look over the desk to look for some dropped papers before slamming a very powerful slap into each and every girl's rears. Each girl earned themselves five to ten slaps, the sounds of the girls terror and painfilled yelps and screams seemed to not even cause any concern in the mighty Chifuyu.

Finaly, Chifuyu had denied the girl's lunch breaks and given them extra working hours for the last 2 days of IS lessons before summer break.

Amazingly, the punishment had caused some discomfort for Chifuyu aswell, she had struck the girls so hard that her hand ached and was slightly red, but thats nothing compared to the pain that the girls themselves had experianced. Never the less, Chifuyu's punishment of troublesome girls was nowhere near completed, which obviously added more irritated rage and anger to the tired and slightly drained Chifuyu.

Then, almost exploding upon seeing the four newspaper club females make a rapid escape from the cafateria and away from the three women stareing at their backs, Chifuyu's eyes instantly hold a vast quality of fire and highly volitile rage, Maya full of nerves asks a very nervous question in a tone that perfectly matches sympathy and fear "You aren't going to do anything to rash are you Orimura?"

Casting a very aggressive scowl back towards the green haired teacher Chifuyu speaks in her normal strict and cold tone "Do you think I enjoy hitting my students?"

Before Maya can reply Clarissa turns her head to left to face the anxious green haired teacher and speaks in a tone as if it is clearly a matter of fact. "The students here forced instructor Orimura's younger brother into a situation against his will, and then tried to target the mentaly injured Kestrel, don't you think this is a case of "the punishment that fits the crime!?"".

Maya blinks and lowers her head, the green haired teacher can't reply, instead all she can do is let out a very frustraited and emotional battled sigh. Maya clearly wishes she can do something to help in this situation, the green haired teacher can understand having fun and maybe the girls were probably not trying to cause distress and trouble, but she can't speak against the fact that the troublesome horse play has caused emotional distress and very nearly exploited a vulnerable child.

Shaking her head slowly, Maya lets out another sigh before raising her head to look at both Clarissa and Chifuyu with a straight and concerned face. As the green haired teacher speaks the said woman's voice is clearly low and solemn filled - "Okay... just... this time... take a merciful approach this time".

Chifuyu's angered scowl lifts to a small smile, once again, Maya's kind heart will always get the better of her, and maybe it will be a blessing in disguise. Chifuyu's angered and cruel auror goes with the job of responsibility, but deep down the said woman only wants whats best for her students. Chifuyu never says or shows it, but deep down the woman is proud of her students and in many cases looks at her girls like the perfect role models for the younger and less matured student body, so for horse play like this to be played... it is a realy respect shattering moment.

Chifuyu can also understand the saddness, embarrassment and anger in Ichika directed towards the girls that humilated him last night, but theres only a certain amount that Chifuyu can do without causing outside scandal at teacher brutality. What ever satisfaction Ichika wants will have to be done by his own hand from here on out.

Another fact in the matter is that Chifuyu has had to put up with a lot of stress and show up from her students in the past 24 hours, and only now does it look like everything is nearly back under control as it should be, so the said woman is obviously not in the mood or for that matter about to allow another dose of show up, espessialy not from the girls in the news paper club.

"Okay... don't worry about it Maya, I won't batter seven bells out of them like I did to Alcott, Dunois, Bodewig and the Russkie girl, I'll use a more peaceful method okay?" - Chifuyu speaks in a calm, strict yet surprisingly jokeful and friendly manner. Causing Maya's heart to slow down, and cause a large amount of relaxment to occur in the green haired teacher.

Clarissa can only smile in a smug manner, close her single functioning eye and shake her head in an affectionate manner. Any further words are not nessasary, even as Maya, Clarissa and the mighty Chifuyu calmly walk away in the direction that newspaper club have gone, one thought runs through the black ponytailed woman's head in a very deep sympathetic and parental like tone ( "Belive me Maya, this hurts me more than it does them!" ).

**\- Scene Change, IS academy classroom, 16:20pm -**

To say that Ichika has had nothing but a day of utter misery and anger would be untrue, despite the emotional mix of fury and hate against a vast majority of the IS academy girls that have hurt and upset him, the Japanese male has had a very successful last day of IS lessons. Though at first the day has been very difficult, what with the tiredness, anger and summer heat... but never the less the last day of IS lessons have been very successful, only one final day remains and that is mostly just a day to review progress and to recieve scores from exams, after that... Ichika is free to go home and enjoy a much needed summer break. Ever since June Ichika has been dying to get out of the IS academy, put his feet up and take it easy for a while.

Though Ichika has managed to blow off some steam on weekends with Kestrel's arrival, the black haired Japanese male is well aware that a weekend is nothing compared to a summer break, as you readers yourselves have no doubt experianced and understand .

The well known and loved green haired beauty Maya Yamada has already noticed the look of excitement in many of the student's eyes, and as such smiles in a very kind and pleasant manner as she closes her books and prepares to stack them on the teachers desk. Many students look up and stare with intensity at the green haired teacher as the sounds of cardboard tapping echoes across the still and silent classroom. Not a sound escapes any of the students, many are so excited that lessons are finaly at an end that they are close to jumping through the ceiling in utter happiness, however... its not just the end of lessons that many students are excited at, the summer heat is intense, the entire classroom is like an oven and many students are sweating heavily.

Most students can't bear the heat and are constantly fidgeting and shifting their bodies, legs and arms around trying to cool off. Ichika notices this, as a girl with long orange hair sat ahead of him pulls open her collar and attempts to fan herself with a hand. Smiling in an awkward manner, Ichika glances left to right and notices that many students have irritaed and angered expressions, other girls have the look of people whom are dying of thirst in the desert. Mouths slightly open, eyes half open and the only signs of life are the near rainfall of sweat that rolls down the side of the faces, foreheads and temples.

Whilst turning his head Ichika catches the face of Cecilia, causing the said Japanese male to suddenly and slightly jump in surprise. His heart seems to jump in a startled manner for only a few seconds before finaly returning to a calm state. Ichika blinks twice allowing the face of Cecilia to come into focus through the haze of summer heat that fills the entire classroom.

The British Blonde's face is fixed firmly on Ichika, the said girl does not blink nor twitch. Cecilia looks as guilty as hell, her eyes are full of multipule emotions, even as Ichika's deep brown eyes make contact with Cecilia's eyes, the British blonde does not know which way to look. Ichika and Cecilia's eyes remain in contact for at least 10 seconds before Ichika's emotions turn into a mix of fury. A furious scowl appears on Ichika's face which makes Cecilia lower her head, it makes matters worse for Cecilia as Ichika turns his head away, not looking at the British blonde for a single second longer.

Cecilia on the other hand is an emotional wreck, unlike Ichika's feelings of furry and rage, Cecilia feels utterly foul and miserable. The British blonde has been yelled at, humiliated in front of her friends and treated like a common criminal, and for a girl as proud as Cecilia, that experiance is utterly un-thinkable. Cecilia does want to break bread with Ichika, but the look on his face tells her that there is a certain 98% possibility, that the ship she is looking for has sunk, and that makes the sting she is feeling all the more worse and painful.

The same can be said for Charlotte, sitting just beside Ichika on the right the French blonde hasn't taken her sorrow and guilt stricken eyes of Ichika since the final day's lessons began.  
She hasn't looked at her text book nor has she bothered writting anything down, all the French blonde wants is for Ichika to look at her and smile, saying every thing will be alright and that she is forgiven.

Charlotte's sorrow and guilty filled eyes look pleading and desperate, like she has just lost her one true love through her own selfish infidelity. The French blonde's heart is heavy and is acheing badly. Every so often a pain filled tear rolls down the side of her face, guilt isn't an easy feeling to overcome.

Anyone whom has experianced such heavy guilt can understand where Cecilia and Charlotte are coming from. At first Charlotte's saddness was due to being shown up, terrified and slapped on the backside by Chifuyu, but now... the stinging of a slapped ass is the last thing on Charlotte's mind, the pain of sitting down has eased only to be replaced with the pain of being ignored by Ichika. The only girl that Ichika has acknowledged so far is Rin and a few random females, though Cecilia and Charlotte are feeling like thrown away lovers and guilty criminals Houki is also feeling bad emotions.

Houki's emotions is a mix of guilt and fear. The guilt isn't because she took part in the girl's horse play last night, it was because of her lack of performance in doing anything to prevent last nights ressults from happening.

Another fact in the matter is the horrible truth that a few days ago Houki crossed the line with Ichika when she tried to lift a hand against Kestrel and felt the sting of being beaten back, presented and proved... in a way... as an evil villian. Houki had promised tearfully that she would change and treat Ichika more like a human being, and to have let him down so fast is like a delliberate insult and break of that promise.

All the girls around Ichika love him dearly, but when they go to far they have to suffer a just deserved punishment, but something like this is surely to much. Once again, the long haired and traumitised Israeli youngster by the name of Kestrel is to happily thank for Ichika's rights being acknowledged, and any pro-female activity is met as if it is a criminal act. Many girls that helped take part in last night's antics have dared not to speak or approach Kestrel or Ichika, many have looked and held their heads low in utter shame.

Its not just the feeling of guilt towards Ichika, but the now rubbed in fact that the girls had targeted Kestrel, a child with PTSD and utterly vulnerable. That factor is like a thousand razor bladed knives being driven through Charlotte's heart, causing ever more guilty tears to roll out of control down her face and to look away and down at her desk. The summer heat does not even seem to bother the girl in her moment of saddness.

Meanwhile, Ichika beginning to sweat and whipe the top of his forehead with the back of his left hand becomes more and more curious as to how his little Israeli friend is doing, every last girl that Ichika looks at is clearly suffering in the sunlight and heavy heat, so surely it must be effecting Kestrel. Taking a quick glance at Maya to make sure she isn't looking, Ichika is relived to see that Maya is just finishing at clearing some books and neatly packing them on the top of the wooden carved desk. Taking the chance Ichika turns his body and his head to the right to look down the rows of sweating and heat striken girls.

What Ichika sees causes envy and impressment to rise and churn through Ichika, forming into a kind and cheerful smile. Little Kestrel is sat calmly and neatly, the child looks as if he is enjoying the heat. How little Kestrel can manage with such a bright and blazing hot sun may never be known, but deep down the answer is always the same.

( "Heh,heh... I've got to hand it to Kes, I don't know how he does it... heh!... figures... he came from Israel, and travelled across deserts, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised... but still...") - Ichika thinks happily to himself, smiling at the Israeli youngster whom does nothing but blink and tilt his head to the right in confusion.

As Ichika begins to loose himself in his thoughts, a cheerful and kind voice belonging to non other than Maya causes Ichika to suddenly jump in slight alarm and turn his attention back to the green haired teacher whom greets his attention with a smile. Though Maya does not call out in a loud or angered tone nor does she show any facial expression of anger, the way she proceedes to speak to Ichika is a clear indication that the green haired teacher wants Ichika to remain focused, even though lessons have finished, Maya clearly hasn't finished speaking, thankfuly the said teacher has it in her head that Ichika's reasons for loosing track are either due to excitement or is worried about little Kestrel, sitting innocently at the back of the class with an open text book and confused facial expression.

Smiling in a neutral manner, Maya makes pierceing eye contact with Ichika and in a friendly yet inquisitive tone asks "Something wrong Orimura?"

Ichika's eyes widen, his heart flips in slight fear, the said Japanese male has already been in trouble for trailing off school work three times this week, and one of those times was down to stareing at Kestrel, so its understandable that Ichika is fearful of looking not only like a fool in front of a child that he is trying to be a perfect role model to, but also towards the seemingly dutyful goal to impress his older sister and show her that he is not some candy ass weakling or brainless imbecile.

Ichika does not even dare take a glance at any of the students that have slightly amussed looks on their faces, all he does is sit up stright, gives a thumbs up before pointing his thumb over his back towards Kestrel and speaking in a very clear, friendly and innocent manner "No... Nothing's wrong, I was just worried about little Kes being in this heat thats all".

As soon as Ichika speaks those words, he suddenly feels like a complete idiot, the Japanese male feels as though he has just used the oldest tricks in the book to fool one of the most wise people on earth. However... to Ichika's utter amazement, his excuse works perfect with spectacular ressults. The large class of schoolgirls, many sweating and suffering in the summer heat instantly glance over to the Israeli youngster and smile kindly. Maya herself expresses her amazement, brushing a fresh amount of clamy sweat from her brow.

"Oh... yes... don't worry, lessons are over now, so... theres nothing to worry about" - Maya speaks in a friendly manner, blinking and suddenly feeling inferor to how the long haired Israeli youngster is handling the seering heat. Upon Maya's mentioning of the end of lessons, many of the student faces light up and become overwhelmed with happiness and utter relief, finaly a chance to escape this blazing heat. However, because Maya hasn't dismissed the class, nobody dares to move yet... which is just as well as Maya stands perfectly straight, chest out, head held high and the look of a perfectly pleasant and friendly face is plastered on Maya's face.

"Okay everyone, before you all leave I just want to remind you that tomorrow's test ressults and closing ceremony will be held at exactaly six o'clock in the morning, after that Orimura sensei wants you all to gather everything and anything that belongs to you and clear out your rooms for the cleaners. Once you've all got your test ressults, simply hand them over to our academy receptionists along with your student ID papers. After that... our celebration party will be held outside on the P.E grounds, there will be a number of activities and a large amount of people present so all of you whom are helping with preparation and clean up please report to academy staff and teachers immediately after handing over your test ressults to the academy receptionists" - Maya explains with a calm and pleasant voice, a cheerful smile causes excitement to churn and bubble inside each and every girl.

The fact is proven when Maya bows pleasantly and speaks the words "Okay everyone, well done for this year's lessons, have a very nice summer break... Its been an honor and a privalige to be your teacher this year, dismissed".

Almost immediately, every student stands to their feet and bows back in return, the look of scheer happiness is on everybodies face. In fact, the emtion and description happy does not even come even close to fully describing everybodies feelings, one girl with long purple hair and green eyes proceedes to clap softly while looking at the suddenly surprised face of Maya Yamada a warm and loving smile is on the girl's face.

Soon enough every other student joins in, every so often a praiseful phrase is sent towards the green haired teacher in glasses. The amount of respect and praise that Maya Yamada recieves causes the said woman to blush and look away slightly, a small smile is on her warm yet very bashful face. For over three minutes Maya recieves applause, and praises along the lines of

"Thank you Yamada sensei", "Be our teacher again in Autumn!", "Will you join us at the party tonight?", "Will you dance with us Yamada sensei?!"

Standing with his arms by his sides Ichika smiles proudly, his nerves are at ease, comfort and joy fills every nook and crany in his body. For just a brief moment Ichika turns round to look behind him at the long haired Israeli youngster known as Kestrel, as Ichika makes eye contact with the ten year old scar faced boy, a terrible thought causes his smile to drop. Fear and worry replace happiness ( "My GOD! Kestrel doesn't have a place to go! Me and the others have places to go to, but were's Kestrel gonna stay!?". - Ichika thinks in a worried and fearful tone.

Looking the Israeli child in the eyes, Ichika suddenly frowns, a smile forms on his face... even when Kestrel, standing and looking confused tilts his head and blinks, Ichika holds a firm and determined solution in his mind ( "If he hasn't got any were to go, he's coming home with me! I'm not going to stand by and watch this kind be taken in by strangers that may cause him to have a turn... I've got to speak to Chifuyu-nee" ).

Unbeknownst to Ichika, Charlotte and Cecilia with their heads slightly lowered, do not take their eyes off Ichika for a single second, the only thought that runs through the girl's minds is a simple thought ( "I have to speak to Ichika, I've got to tell him that I'm sorry for what I did to him!" ).

**\- 6 minutes later, IS academy hallway -**

Entering the cool and blisful atmosphere of shade, Ichika lets out a sigh of relief. The scorch of heat on his body, face and hair is instantly soothed. For Ichika it feels as if he has just jumped into the coolest swimming pool set at just the right temperature. Many others can say and feel the same, since sitting in an open classroom being swamped in nothing but massive levels of ultraviolet and heavy summer heat, many students are just too happy to leave the hot and stuffy atmosphere of their classroom.

Many students are simply overwhelmed with joy and excitement, so heavily overwhelmed that many simply rush away to their dormitories gossiping, chattering wildly or simply just over excited at getting out of the heat. However, there are still a fair number of students that don't waste the chance of getting up close to both Ichika and little Kestrel, causing both boys to suddenly gain the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Ichika can only raise his brows and tense up slightly as the many differant, beautiful female faces move up towards his own, each and every girl has a happy yet hopeful look on their face.  
Three guesses why?!... Tomorrow is the academy closing party, and as such there is usualy a big disco to celebrate, so whom will Ichika dance with!? Or for that matter, which girl will become the lucky one and get some affection from the Japanese male!?.

Chuckling nervously Ichika gets a terrible ironic feeling hit him hard, ( "Heh,Heh... I realy should have seen this coming!?" ) - Ichika thinks in an friendly yet awkward tone, the small smile on his face is a perfect match for his troubled feelings, and the barrage of questions the girls are firing him are realy not helping.

Kestrel isn't fairing any better, the Israeli child could very well be the girl's get out of jail card. If the girls wasn't going to get any entertainment from Ichika, then they could surely get more popularity with friends or family being in close contact with the youngest, second known male IS pilot on earth. Even though many girls kneel down so that their faces are in perfect enlinment with Kestrel's face level, the scar faced boy can't shake off the feeling that a lot of un-nerve auror is in the air.

As the sounds of girlish chatter, gossip and walking footsteps fill the hallway, Cecilia and Charlotte send over very sorrowful looks at each other. Both girls have had it realy hard today,  
punishment from Chifuyu in very painful manner, and now a large amount of hatred from Ichika is being directed to both girls. Its true that the girls have brought this upon themselves, but it isn't enough to cause both girls to accept that all is lost, with any luck both girls can appologise to Ichika and if god is on their side will take them back with open arms.

Cecilia is confident enough, yet very terrified of what the ressults will be like when she tries to ask for Ichika's forgiveness, its true that Cecilia and the girls were only having some fun, but this time they realy hurt Ichika, emotionaly and mentaly. They've recived nothing but ice cold glares and stares full of malice and rage from him all day when ever they walked close to him, and its becoming absolute murder.

"I think we should appologise now while we still have time" - Cecilia speaks in mournful and solemn tone

Charlotte looks down and with a guilty face shakes her head slowly, "No, theres to many people here... we should wait untill Ichika is alone, or at least alone with Kestrel, then we should appologise to him" - The French blonde speaks in a very low and solemn tone.

Looking back at Ichika and Kestrel, Cecilia notices both boys are struggling to fight their way through the now growing groups of IS schoolgirls. Charlotte is right, speaking now would cause nothing but more outrage or at the most simply put on a scene that is not nessasary infront of their classmates. Cecilia casts a final look at Charlotte and nods her head slowly... then, with a tone of defeat and fear, the British blonde speaks to the French blonde - "Okay, lets go get Laura and Tatenashi, they will want to know what we are planning to do to in terms making up with Ichika".

Charlotte does not reply but simply motions with her hand for Cecilia to follow, not a whisper escapes both girl's lips as both blonde females, guilty as hell... walk away down the hallway,  
both girls have a pure determined thought on their minds, marked by a sorrowful yet determined frown ( "I will make things up with Ichika!" ).

_**Okay, thats it for chapter 42, chapter 43 should have the very first confrontation between Ichika and his for the moment nearly ex-friends... I'm Not exaggerating this time, get ready for some vulgar words and tears, I promised strong chapters and they are here, remember to read and review... for all you readers that continue to PM or simply message me, thanks a lot, remember I'm wishing you all the best!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	43. Chapter 43: A grudge against the girls

_**Black Falcon returns once again with a fresh out of the oven chapter, as I once explained some chapters are a bit more delayed but again... as I've said many, many times before, I am trying to get these chapters posted on a daily basis. Also this chapter is a bit strong, emotional wise and such... you all get the picture!?, provided you have been following me for so long, anyway enough with the introductions, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 43:

**\- IS academy hallway 18:00pm -**

Smiling with a satisified look on his face, Ichika confidently walks beside his smaller and traumitised Israeli friend. It had been just five minutes since dinner time ended, and despite the heat and mass groups of fussing and nagging girls, Ichika has had a very satisfiying meal to end the day. A very nice and traditional Japanese meal washed down with a differant veraity of drinks has left Ichika feeling like a cat that has just got the cream.

Kestrel on the other hand had eaten next to nothing, dinner time for the child had been very stressful, first of all the child didn't get the chance to pick anything to eat due to being dragged around by the mass numbers of girls insisting that Kestrel tries to eat what ever it is they were eating.

The first ressult went very badly with Kestrel spitting out any mouthfuls, obviously hateing the tastes of what ever it was that was being placed in his mouth. If Kestrel did manage to eat anything then obviously the child was being placed in a difficult spot in becomeing distressed at being nearly force fed, causing the child to very nearly suffer a turn or activiating his flight of fight skills, much to the angered outrage from Ichika.

Secondly, the child, unable to bear being pulled around and having god knows what being pushed into his mouth, had pushed some girls down and knocked over food trays in a desperate flee to escape from the cafateria. Despite making a mess and running away in terror and emotional stress, the child was eventualy brought back under control by non other than Yui, Chifuyu and Maya.

Thankfuly neither Ichika or Kestrel was held to blame and despite Ichika's worries, the said male was more than happy knowing that the child was going to be under Yui's supervision for the time being, however the pain of failure remained in the air because Kestrel had refused to eat anything, the 1,000 yard stare on his face was clear evidence that the child was going to not eat anything at all or to die trying in making sure not a single mouthful went down his throat.

Now, satisfied that he has managed to get a good feed up and that Kestrel's emotions have now calmed down, Ichika walks with his head high. The reason for being is not just because Kestrel is now a calm and collected child, but because after the chaos in the cafateria had ended, he had managed to speak to Chifuyu about where Kestrel is supposed go during summer break and to his joy was informed that the child would be staying with Tomoe.

Normaly Ichika would be on edge knowing that a student would be looking after Kestrel, but in this case it is an acception because of where it is Kestrel is staying, its not just in his home town, but... its also on his home street!

Tomoe Shizuka has turned out to be a neighbour on Ichika's home street, and Yui lives non other than next door to Tomoe. To Ichika, happiness is just an understatement, this means that if Ichika wants to speak to Kestrel then all he has to do is walk 5 houses down his street and he'll get to meet Kestrel.

Chifuyu had smirked in a very smug manner upon seeing the happiness on her younger brother's face. Although Kestrel has been informed, the said child has been to badly effected by the evening's antics to properly focus, however relief and happiness will clearly be evident in the traumitised youngster's heart when he calms down and discovers everything for himself.

( "Thats one obsticle out of the way, all that's left is get something into Kes' stomach" ) - Ichika thinks happily to himself, casting a look down at the long haired Israeli child. Ichika's face is full of relief as he notices that the child's glazed 1,000 yard stare has just about subsided, meaning that the youngster is just about back to perfect physical order.

However... Ichika's troubles are far from over tonight. As Ichika heads towards his bedroom, with Kestrel in perfect formation on his right, he notices a person that causes a very angered and irritated frown to appear on his face. Standing in the middle of the hallway, head low with pained expression, with hands fidgeting at the bottom of her academy uniform stands non other than the long british blonde Cecilia.

Ichika blinks with an angered scowl, turns his head to look down at Kestrel, before bending forward slightly and carefuly taking the youngster's hand. Kestrel merely looks up at Ichika with a confused look on his face with a slight head tilt to follow. Ichika lets out a sigh, relaxes his face and smiles kindly at the scar faced Israeli child beside him.

The Japanese male proceedes to speak in a very kind and pleasant manner, like a careing big brother reasuring his younger sister that every thing is going to be okay. "Don't worry Kes you aren't in trouble, I don't think Cecilia is going to try anything funny, if she does... you just leave her to me okay!".

Ichika closes one eye in a macho wink giving Kestrel the thumbs up. The scar faced Israeli child looks in a very unsure manner at Ichika but acknowledges him by blinking, tilting his small head and giving a confused thumbs up back in return. Causing Ichika's face to return to its normal cheerful self, smiling as Kestrel lowers his arm back to his side and proceeding to look ahead of him, Ichika looks ahead, and does nothing but match Kestrel's calm walking pace.

( "Well... here we go" ) - Ichika thinks to himself in a tone expecting trouble to occur.

As Ichika and Kestrel walk side by side together up to the British blonde, Cecilia lifts her head and places a slightly serious frown on her face, opening her arms as if she is barring the way down the corridor, the British blonde is hell bent on making sure Ichika does make it past her without exchanging words with her first. A slight yet powerful dose of sickened fear rolls inside Cecilia, the British blonde trembles slightly, praying to herself that Ichika is not going to push her to the floor and walk by.

Though Ichika is not that type of person, the look on his face clearly shows that the Japanese male is willing to go to near extreme methods to show his misery, thankfuly, as Ichika makes it within five feet of the British blonde, both he and little Kestrel's walking begins to slow down, untill coming to a complete halt 2 feet away from Cecilia.

Ichika with anger and hate swelling inside him looks into Cecilia's serious yet fearful frown with eyes of an angered lion, and Cecilia feels every last ounce of anger causing nearly every hair on her body to stand in fright.

"Move aside Alcott!" - Ichika speaks in a deep, low and angered tone, causing Cecilia to shake and feel sickness.

"N..No... I'm not moving aside untill we speak" - Cecilia sutters in a fearful yet seriously defiant tone. Causing Ichika to huff in irritation, the Japanese male has had a feeling that Cecilia would say something like that. Rolling his eyes, letting out a breath and looking upwards for a brief moment, Ichika looks into Cecilia's eyes.

Anger and rage boils in an unstable manner inside Ichika, he hasn't felt like this in years and although he feels the power to do anything he wants to the girl that was the main drive of his humiliation and misery last night, a coolant source is causing him to not act in an irrational manner, once again little Kestrel is to be thanked for lucky stars to appear, this time for the guilty Cecilia.

"All right then, make it fast because I want to get Kestrel something to eat" - Ichika speaks in a low, clear and angered manner.

Fearful that Ichika is going to push her to the ground and walk away, Cecilia slowly lowers her arms to her sides, relief causes her to sigh, making it feel like one of the many great weights have been lifted off her chest, before having that feeling replaced almost instantly by another weight. Taking a moment to compose herself, Cecilia looks into the angered face of Ichika and gets the sickening feeling of history repeating itself. The last person thats looked at her in such a fierce and violent manner was Chifuyu and the look Ichika is giving her is litteraly and obviously uncanny to the situation.

"I..Ichika, I.. I want to say that, a..about last night, I didn't intend for anything serious to happen... s..so... I.. I.." - Cecilia stutters in a low and guilty tone, unable to find the correct words, Cecilia has always been conceited and full of pride, so appologising is not a very good skill and even if she is going to appologise, then it has to be in terms of extreme and vital surcumstances.

"No, No, No, No!" - Ichika suddenly speaks in a very cold, angered and violent manner cutting off Cecilia and making her suddenly get a sickening feeling of intense fear and guilt, a cold chill runs up her spine, the feeling of jelly suddenly starts to form in Cecilia's legs.

"Don't use innocent excuses... You knew all to well what you were doing last night, you even went so far as to spread word and have everybody gather and bring cameras, you knew all to well what the ressult would be last night, if you realy didn't mean for anything serious to happen then you wouldn't have gone through with what you did in the first place!" - Ichika speaks in a very aggressive, cold and sharp manner causing Cecilia to loose her voice for a brief moment.

Cecilia takes a step backwards, her eyes do not leave Ichika's for a single moment. Though Cecilia blinks in a fearful manner, Ichika does not even bat an eyelid, he simply stares Cecilia down like a hungry and ferocious lion eyeing up a large chunk of horse meat, ready to pounce and tear it apart in a seconds notice.

Cecilia can't speak, its as if her explinations have just been fully derailed. Even as Ichika continues to scowl and speak in an angered tone, Cecilia's nerves do not cease for a single moment. "Do NOT, make excusess! You, Dunois, Bodewig and various other bitches treated me like filth and like a mere used tissue last night!" - Ichika speaks virtualy spitting at the word 'Bitches'.

Fear is an understatement at how Cecilia is feeling, what also shocks Cecilia is Ichika's use of vulgar words. Nobody except for Rin so far, has heard Ichika curse... even if it is a mild and very minor curse, it is still a shock to hear such a nice guy like Ichika curse in such an angered manner, another shock is that Ichika is directing the word 'Bitches' directly towards Cecilia and numberous other girls also.

"I..I..Ichika!?... I.. I.." - Cecilia stutters with shocked expression, unable to find any words or explinations. Her heart seems to have stopped, her lungs can't take in any air, its as if Cecilia's guilt and shock has caused a complete shut down in her very body.

"Look Cecilia... I'm not going to shout, nor am I going to curse... one reason is because I'm with Kestrel, second reason is because I'm not in the mood to speak to you... so I'll say this only once, so listen well.." - Ichika speaks in calm yet angered manner, causing Cecilia to tense up and gulp. Her mouth is slightly open and the look of stricken guilt and fear is painted all over Cecilia's face, even as Cecilia blinks, Ichika does not take his fierce lion like glare of the British blonde.

"I don't want to look or speak to you unless its for important reasons, you can consider it a miracle that I'm not going to smash your head open for allowing those sadistic cows for targeting Kestrel!" - Ichika speaks in slightly fast and angered hiss, causing Cecilia to stare in disbelief at hearing Ichika's words.

"Targeting me... oh, I should've known that you sad cows were going to target me... but to have targeted a traumitised child like Kestrel!" - Ichika speaks in an angered manner, smiling and rolling his eyes slightly at the beginning of his sentance before looking directly into the guilty eyes of Cecilia with a furious glare.

A moment passes with Ichika looking furiously into Cecilia's eyes and slowly shaking his head, giving Cecilia a chance to speak, but to his expectation, Cecilia is unable to find any words to speak out. The only thing the British blonde does is look into Ichika's furious glare and tremble out of control, her mouth is open slightly and only stutters escape her lips, her heart is starting to become heavy and full of mixed emotions.

"Last night I got a good idea of what horrors Kestrel went through, maybe not as serious but from what I saw last night... you and the girls were no better than the sick bitches that tortured Kestrel. You can also say that all my respect and admiration for you and the others have utterly been destroyed... so I don't want to see you go anywhere near little Kestrel even if it is for a single second." - Ichika speaks in solemn tone, his voice has no hint of sympathy for Cecilia's feelings.

Just hearing the words that Ichika is saying is like Cecilia's worst nightmare come true, the British blonde can't belive a word Ichika is saying. Deep down Cecilia truly ment no pain or saddness to befall Ichika, she considered all she was doing last night just a harmless joke filled with amusement. Now, the British Blonde is clearly wishing she didn't go through with that so called joke.

Cecilia truly loves Ichika, and to hear him say these words of anger and damnation to her and warning her to stay away from him and Kestrel is giving the Cecilia the feeling of pure sickness and terror filled dread. Every thing she did last night showing the negative points has just become clear on a shocking tidal wave.

Cecilia feels like she is girl that has just been found out cheating on the person she loves by non other than her love interest itself. Even as Ichika proceedes to look down to little Kestrel smile and speak the words "Com'mon Kes, lets get you some dinner okay?". Cecilia feels nothing but sickened fright, terrified at the prospect that she has just lost the only man that she has ever truly loved in her life.

"Okay, thats all I have to say to you tonight... good evening" - Ichika speaks in a calm and surprisingly rational manner, beginning to slowly and calmly walk past the stunned and guilty British blonde, however... Cecilia is nowhere near finished speaking, with her emotions raising to the surface and with slight tearful crack in her voice.

Cecilia turns to look at the back of Ichika, and in a tone of near desperation speaks in loud and clear tone "No! I..Ichika... don't say that! I realy didn't mean for this happen, I just thought everyone was going to let it go by morning, if I had known this was going to happen I wouldn't have gone through with what I did!".

Ichika freezes in his tracks, before sharply turning round to look at Cecilia with pure and angered expression, his voice is a rageful his "That doesn't change the fact that you allowed Kestrel to be targeted!".

Casting a brief and sorrow filled look down, Cecilia's guilty and remorseful eyes, on the verge of bursting into tears meet the confused and vulnerable stare of little Kestrel's ocean blue eyes. For Cecilia it is too much, her heart is full of whine and saddness, she briefly looks down, tightly closing her eyes. Trying desperately not to cry, but the weight of the situation is becoming to much. It takes nearly all of Cecilia's will power to raise her head and look at the scowling Ichika with her eyes filled with pain.

"N.. None of us meant any harm, we... we only thought that.." - Cecilia begins to speak in a sorrow cracked voice, her eyes are filling with tears. The British blonde has never felt so sad or foul with herself in years. It makes matters worse when Ichika proceedes to speak in pure angered hiss.

"All I know is that you and the others acted in the worst, childish and unfortunate manner... and now as far as I can see, I can't trust you, Charlotte, Laura or even Tatensahi not only with me but with Kestrel also... so heed my words when I say... Don't come an inch near me, Don't speak a word to me and Don't for one second think of attacking me just get your own selfish desires, because if you do... I'm going to make you wish.. **THAT YOUR MOTHER HAD A HEADACHE THE NIGHT YOU WAS CONCIEVED!**" - Ichika roars in an angered manner at the top of his lungs, after speaking in a calm and aggressive hiss.

Swiftly and aggressively turning his head away from Cecilia, Ichika looks down and casts a warm and kind look at the curious and stunned Kestrel. "Its alright Kes, you aren't in any trouble, lets get you some food okay?".

Kestrel, blinking and tilting his head in a very curious manner, looks Ichika in the eyes and simply lets out a very tiny, timid and curious "Hm?".

Watching silent and full of tears, Cecilia looses all feeling in her legs and in one desperate act, speaks in a voice cracked and filled with grief. Tears roll down Cecilia's face, guilt and pain weigh heavily on Cecilia's heart.

"I'm sorry Ichika" - Cecilia speaks in a low and grief stricken voice, desperate to get Ichika to belive that all the words she speaks is the truth, but having put herself in this position the British blonde is in no position to take any serious or drastic action. Even if Cecilia did have the strength to use force to make Ichika belive her words, her heart and emotions would not allow it.

Tears fall like a rainstorm down Cecilia's face, sobs begin to be heard. Ichika sighs, his face has a brief look of sympathy, though Ichika does turn his head not show it. ( "Sorry Cecilia,  
but you've brought this on yourself" ). - Ichika thinks to himself, he feels bad at acting this way, but his wounded pride and shattered respect for Cecilia is simply to heavy to ignore.

Walking away calmly and not looking back, Ichika and Kestrel take every ounce of available strength to not look back at see what Cecilia is doing. Cecilia has taken Ichika's words very, very badly, the British blonde looses all strength and falls to her knees.

As Ichika and Kestrel walk away, Cecilia crys out of control on the floor, tears roll and rain off the girl's face and lands on the floor. The British blonde supports the top half of her body up off the floor as she cries in an utter and heavy grief stricken manner. The sounds of low yet deep clenched sobs clearly give Ichika the message that Cecilia has taken the hint, but deep down Ichika is not convinced that Cecilia is truly sorry for what she's done.

Even as Ichika reaches his bedroom door, the Japanese male still holds a very angered scowl on his face, yet deep down he feels slightly guilty at having to be so nasty and violent. Ichika is a very good hearted person at heart, and is not the violent and cruel kind, but the pain he has suffered has done the terrible job of driving him to such lengths. What makes matters worse is that Cecilia is only one out of many others that he has to hurt in order punish them for the pain that they have delt him.

Thankfuly, Ichika's emotions quickly subside and calm down, a smile forms on his face as his small Israeli friend slowly and calmly walks into his bedroom. Once again... Kestrel is to thank to positive moments. Letting out his final sigh for the evening, Ichika's face returns to a happy, peaceful state, his nerves calm and the said Japanese male takes in the much welcome air of his bedroom.

Seconds after shutting his door and hearing the metalic click behind him, Ichika leans back on his door and tilts his head back and allows his muscles to relax. Then, smiling kindly, Ichika looks over to Kestrel's bed and finds that the long black haired child is sitting comfortably with his legs crossed.

Reading his big white book, the silver text reading the Bermuda Triangle gleams in the evening light. ( "Maya must have returned that book, I'll have to thank her later" ) - Ichika thinks happily to himself whilst glancing at the large white book that Kestrel holds with pure white skinned, small and dainty looking hands.

After five minutes, Ichika straitens himself, the much needed pause is like a burst of life rushing through his stressed and acheing body. Then... taking a quick stretch to relieve any restless muscles, Ichika puts on his most pleasant and calm face and calmly walks forward towards his draws. The Japanese male intent on giving little Kestrel something to ease any hunger that may roll inside Kestrel's small stomach.

What Ichika can be sure off, is that for the moment, he can have a well deserved and needed restful evening, without anymore girl troubles... for now anyway!

**\- Scene change, Charlotte's bedroom -**

With a heart full of pain, misery and sorrow, the ponytailed French Blonde litteraly lets herself fall onto the soft and welcoming bed covers of her bed. Ever since this morning after earning herself a very painful and stinging smacked ass, aswell as being shouted at, having fingers wagged at and being made to feel like a common criminal, the French blonde has never felt so such a vast amount of misery in all her life.

What makes the sting of her punishment even worse is the fact that Ichika is no longer looking or speaking to her. Deep down Charlotte truly didn't mean to cause any trouble or heart ache towards the boy she loves more than the world itself, but the fact remains that the way she behaved was realy unbefitting for a girl her age.

Saddness is clearly evident on Charlotte's face, even as she rests her head on her pillow, lays down on her front and buries the side of her head into the softness of her pillow, the sounds and sights of what happened last night replay in her head.

A tear rolls down the side of her face as she remembers looking deepily into little Kestrel's eyes, the child was vulnerable, defensless and completley oblivious as to what she was planning on doing to him. Even though Kestrel was able to escape the girl's mischief, there would have been a very high possibility that the girls would have used Kestrel for sadistic joy in their taking of photographs and filming.

Every now and then Charlotte trembles, and lets out a chocked whimper, guilt is realy a terrible thing to feel. The only thing that plays in the French blonde's head is Chifuyu's serious scolding, the words that the ponytailed woman said to Charlotte this morning was 100% correct. 'The way she behaved was no better than the evil hussies that have tortured and done god knows what to little Kestrel'.

The painful reality of remembering that she was one of the pain perpatraitors that took part in the chase, hell bent on getting her hands on the Israeli child and all likely hood showing the child up in front of the entire academy is like being reminded of a murder of a best friend. Which is exactaly how Charlotte feels, the French blonde feels like a knife that's just stabbed a disabled or emotionaly vulnerable friend or child, straight in the back.

For five long minutes Charlotte whimpers and trembles like a traumitised or guilt striken youngster before a thought begins to form in her head, ironicaly its a thought that every last guilty person thinks at times like this.

( "What have I done!, Why did I go along with that foolish idea?!" ) - Charlotte thinks mournfuly to herself, warm tears continue to roll down her cheeks, the French blonde knows deep down that earning Ichika's forgivness is going to be nearly impossible after what's happened, but... maybe... just maybe... if she can make peace with little Kestrel, then mabye the road to a well needed amount of good ressults, which may even earn Ichika's forgiveness may just be possible.

As little Kestrel's face continues to appear in the French blonde's mind, the sudden feeling of determination suddenly takes hold, causing Charlotte to lift herself up slighty and place a slight determined look on her sorrow stricken face.

As Charlotte sniffles and wipes some loose tears away from her red and swollen eyes, one thought suddenly comes to mind ( "I've got to see little Kestrel, I've got to put things right" ).

However at that exact moment, the French blonde is suddenly brought out of her sorrow and into the realm of curiosity as her bedroom door clicks and opens slowly. What Charlotte sees next utterly blows away all forms of sorrow and saddness. As a very familiar female with long silver hair and an eye patch slowly walks into the bedroom slightly slumped forward, pale and white with a very clear pressance that the soul has been blown out of her body.

"Laura?" - Charlotte asks in sorrowful moan with a large hint of curiosity. The French blonde's red and sorrow swollen eyes glisten with un-cried tears, yet Charlotte does not blink as she watches the silver haired German girl walk slowly with a emotional blown out face.

The German girl does not respond to Charlotte, and remains silent. Not a breath seems to escape the German girl as she walks slowly, slumped forward with a face full of sickend misery. Even as Laura proceedes to sit on the edge on the edge of her bed, facing Charlotte's direction... not a whisper is heard from Laura.

"Laura?... Are you alright?" - Charlotte asks again, wiping away the last remnants of tears from her face, and beginning to replace all her current misery with concern.

A moment passes, and again... no response comes from the still Laura. The German girl looks like either coloured Ice or even a perfectly carved statue. A spitting image of life, but not a single pulse of life shows itself.

As Charlotte sits up straight and makes a large sniffle, even though Charlotte has only just managed to regain control over her emotions, a lot of grief and sorrow remains. Deep down Charlotte has a hunch of what is wrong with Laura, but dares not to ask unless it causes a massive emotional outburst that causes another rainstorm of tears to fall from the French blonde's face.

"Laura? What's wrong?" - Charlotte asks in low and saddened moan.

This time, a low and silent whisper is heard come from Laura. Too low to be clearly heard, but it forces Charlotte to sit up straight, move her body and lets her bare, smooth and very feminine legs hang over the side of her bed. As Charlotte places her hands on her lap, the French blonde blinks, the slight red swolleness is perfect evidence that the girl has been crying her eyes out a few moments ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that... what did you just say?" - Charlotte asks in a curious manner, keeping her eyes fixed on the German girl, not blinking for a single second.

Laura remains silent for a few moments before muttering the same words again, Charlotte can only raise an eye brow and look in an awkward manner. Laura is still speaking to low for the French female to hear.

Knowing that its impossible to solve anything out like this, Charlotte stands elegantly to her feet and walks calmly over to Laura. As Charlotte proceedes to sit by her friend's side, the French female lowers and moves her head close over to Laura's face, and for the final time asks Laura what it was she just said, thankfuly... Laura gets the image of what Charlotte is doing and why she is sitting so close and finaly shows sighns of life by rolling her one single eye to the left, turns her head slightly in the same direction and speaks in a slightly clearer tone.

"You were saying?" - Charlotte asks.

"My wife hates me!" - Laura replies back, her tone is filled with misery and shattered emotions. Laura is a perfect image of how miserable Charlotte is feeling.

For Charlotte, there are no words that can be found and the only thing that the French blonde can offer her love rival and surprisingly close friend is a comforting hug. As the French and German girl embrace, comforting each other, both girls have the same thought running through their heads, the sorrow striken expressions on the girl's faces does not do justice for the sounds of determination in their mind's voices.

( "First chance I get tomorrow I'm going to do all it takes to earn Ichika's forgiveness!" )

_**Okay everyone, thats chapter 43, chapter 44 is already being made as we speak or read! Whatever's more preferable to you readers! XD! . Please continue to read and review, in return I'm still wishing all you readers the best with your own fanfics. Anyway... Untill the next chapter...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	44. Chapter 44: Closing assembly

_**Hello again everybody, Black Falcon 01 has returned to the nest with a fresh chapter, as you are all aware, it is summer time now, July 2015. Take it easy you guys and gals, 3 soldiers over here in Britain died whilst training back in 2013 because of the intense heat. So keep cool friends! Anyway... enough with the friendly introductions, please... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 44:

**\- IS academy hall 7:57am -**

Standing perfectly and rigidly to military attention the blue haired, eye patched Clarissa Harfouch stands proudly. Chest out, rear in, chin up and her face not showing the slightest emotion accept for discipline. Standing directly to her left is a line of German females mimicking the exact same disciplined posture that Clarissa is making. The German girls stand with their hands by their sides, not twitching or showing any signs of life for a single moment.

As the German females stand, they are observed by non other than an entire hall full of nearly 100 students. Clarissa and her military German girls stand on a large black stage at the end of a pure white walled hall. The floor of the hall is laminet wood and the roof is a pure blue colour with 3 large chandeliers in perfect enlinment. One chandelier hangs on the far end of the hall, parallel to that is a Chandelier directly at the end of the other side of the hall. In the middle of the hall is the largest chandelier, maybe big enough to fill half of an entire classroom. The crystal droplets gleam and glisten in the sunlight that shines and radiates through the thin rectangular windows that run around the entire length of the hall just mere feet away from the roof.

Ever since 6:00am this morning a total of near 100 students had gathered in the massive white hall in order to prepare for the final day of being in the IS academy before the offical start of summer vaction. Fortuneatley today is more of a leaving day so any students that have dreaded work or clear up have a nice break for once. Standing perfectly still and in a presentable manner,  
Ichika stands with his brown eyes fixed upon the black stage, a white speaker's box with a microphone is currently being used by Maya Yamada. The green haired teacher is currently standing in a very offical manner, a warm and pleasant look is on her face as she reads out various words and instructions on a large set of white papers set before her on a flat black reading area.

Clarissa and her girls stand directly behind Maya not flinching or blinking for a single second. Chifuyu stands across and away from the stage, waiting behind a set of large blue curtains that could run the entire length of the stage if drawn fully across. Chifuyu's face is straight and serious as usual, her arms are folded and not even a breath is heard escape her lips.

For many of the students today is a day of celebration, all these students need is just 2 hours of final scholar debreifing and then each and every girl will be allowed to partake in any of the academy leaving activities. Many students had awoken at around 5:00am in eager excitement in utter wonder and excitement at what today will bring, especially when the possibility that some last and much welcome school memories can be made with a certain black haired Ichika Orimura.

This fact is made evident as only a few students have faces with focused expressions, many girls pay only half attention to the cheerful green haired teacher in glasses that speaks happily through a large black microphone upon the black stage before her.

Many students cast flirting and excited glances over towards Ichika. A smile is upon each and every girl's face that casts looks over towards the Japanese male that stands densely still looking and paying very close attention to whatever words the well known and loved Maya Yamada speaks. There is so many activites happening today, and everybody { Except for little Kestrel } knows it, after test ressults are handed in and all belongings are gathered and placed in representive gathering areas, the partying at the academy starts.

The entire academy is going to be like some massive festival... stalls, games, races, karaoke, dancing, the works! There are also a vareity of promised surprises for many students at the IS academy, but for the moment... the painful obsticle of burdensome final review has to be overcome and then... the fun really starts. Happiness is just an understatment of how many of the girls at the academy are feeling, well... some are anyway.

The exceptions are non other than the demoralised Laura, Charlotte, Cecilia and Houki whom stand in differant lines away from each other and away from Ichika. Each and every single one of Ichika's self proclaimed girlfriends had attempted to stand next to Ichika in line today, however... all attempts had been in vain, as Ichika still felt and even now feels sour towards each and every girl. The Japanese male had simply turned his back, placed a very un-characteristic scowl on his face and walked away not even bothering to look back or even make conversation.

Each girl has, and even now is taking Ichika's hatred towards them very, very badly... Charlotte and Laura have taken it the worst, Charlotte has kept her head low and has very nearly burst into tears three times already, the fact is proved by a mournful frown on her face.

Laura looks like a zombie, pale in the face, staring into space and not holding an ounce of life in her. So far the only signs of life that Laura has shown has been just been the same spoken phrase muttered over and over again in a miserable, heart broken tone if someone asks her what the problem is. The behavoir from some of the most popular girls in the academy has not for one second gone un-noticed, as Kestrel's shotacons Rie, Yuno and Konoe stand enlined with each other just two rows behind the line that a deflated Laura stands umongst. Even though Laura is not in visible range, nearly every girl knows of Laura's pressance, the miserable auror is radiating in a very powerful manner.

Leaning slightly to one side, speaking as quietly as possible whilst looking at her friend, the short orange haired beauty known as Rie Sakai speaks in low tone filled with wonder and sympathy.  
"That poor Laura, she's in a terrible state".

Instantly acknowledging Rie's comment the blue pony tailed Yuno, casts a quick look at Rie before slowly and cautiously shifting herself over to the left to make proper conversation with Rie,  
desperate to not be found out by Maya whom stands on stage fourteen rows ahead of them slightly on the right. Yuno takes one final glance up at the proud and offical looking Maya before looking her orange haired friend in the face and replying in a low, yet normal neautral tone.

"I know, everybody's talking about her, I don't think even that Harfouch woman has ever seen her like this... still... I guess its because of those stupid photographs of Orimura-kun in drag.  
I hear that Orimura's realy angry with her and dosen't want to speak to her anymore" - Yuno speaks out while looking Rie directly in the eyes.

Almost instantly after making that remark, both girls are suddenly look to their left when the long, black haired Konoe speaks in a slightly annoyed yet calm manner - "If you ask me I guess she had it coming, after all... according to Orimura-kun, she tried to get Kestrel in drag aswell, force him to do things against his will and from what I've been told, could have treated him no better than what the sick bastards did back in our little Kestrel's past".

Upon making that comment, all three girls make brief looks over towards the backs of some girls, remaining perfectly silent for a moment before finaly looking and exchanging looks towards each other yet again.

"Still... she does look sort of, realy sorry for what she's done" - Rie comments with an eyebrow raised, her tone is still full of sympathy, yet at the same time mixed with slight and very real volitile amounts of anger in her voice, due to being reminded that Laura and the other girl's out of control antics targeted the vulnerable Kestrel the night before.

Standing straight and placing a calm and collected face on her features, Yuno blinks before taking a breath, looking over to her two counter part friends and speaking in a low and careful tone "I'd say she is... Its more or less just Ichika that she's bothered with, in fact... this morning when we waiting for the hall to open.."

Yuno pauses for a second, allowing Rie and Konoe to look at her with interested expressions, both girls intent on knowing everything that their counter part knows. Blinking again, Yuno then proceedes to do an impression of Laura this morning, arms hung limp by her sides, head low, with a very miserable expression on the face. Yuno also begins to do a mimicking walk on the spot that was excatly the same as Laura this morning. Yuno's impression of Laura's walk this morning shows a very lifeless auror, the way Laura walked this morning was like a stumbling and lifeless zombie.

Rie and Konoe blink, glance at each other before pulling shocked faces at each other. As the two girls look back at the blue ponytailed Yuno, the girls are virtualy all ears and their eyes are wide, both girls are hell bent on seeing and hearing more of what Laura was like this morning. Thankfuly, both girls do not have to wait long, as Yuno quickly continues by normaly saying the words. "She was walking like this, looking at the floor... not blinking... paceing back and fore, back and fore in front of the hall this morning... she looked like she was about to pace a trench into the ground".

Yuno then ceases her impression of Laura walking and looking miserable, looks at her friends and speaks in a very calm and slightly concerned voice "I even tried to speak to her... I said to her.. "Laura, for god's sake get something to drink or something, you're only going to make yourself worse"".

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Yuno then shrugs her arms as if confused, looks Rie and Konoe in the faces and continues to speak, this time in a tone that matches the explination of a person speaking as a pure matter of fact - "She didn't take any notice, all she did was walk like that, muttering the words.."

At this exact moment, Yuno opens her eyes wide, puts on the look of a heavily depressed and emotionaly crippled person on her face and makes the best saddened and emotional striken impression of Laura's voice that anyone can hope to hear. - "..My wife hates me! My wife hates me! My wife hates me!".

As Yuno finishes her impression, the blue ponytailed girl straightens her stood up posture and shrugs her shoulders. The said girl shakes her head in emphany and simply speaks in a tone of pure flatness "I've never seen anything like it".

Casting amazed faces at each other Rie and Konoe are unable to speak or find any words on the matter concerning Laura. The German girl has always been a figure of power and strength, so to see her the way she is now and to have heard and seen such a well performed impression of her is litteraly a shattering moment. Many would have to see Laura for themselves in order to belive the way she is now. Many have expected Laura's love or bridal claim on Ichika as nothing but an empty exaggeration, but secretly deep down it can't be denied that the silver haired German girl has developed some realy intense feelings for the Japanese male. Now... to have been hated so intensely by the boy she loves and to have been made to look and feel like a terrorist or criminal against humanity by Chifuyu, is like a massive combination of heart shattering blows and emotions. If the shock alone is this bad, then how bad will Laura be in the future?

Rie rolls her eyes and lets out a breath, disbelief is something that everybody is feeling after seeing and hearing Laura in a depressed manner. Even Konoe is at loss for words, the subject on Laura closes as Konoe stands straight and pleasantly, blinks and mutters as clear but as quietly as possible "Well... if you ask me... Charlotte hasn't faired any better...".

Yuno and Rie look intently to the right as Konoe shakes her head, puts on a deep sympathetic face and in a low tone full of pity proceedes to speak whilst pointing at the floor and waving her hand and arm back and fore as if drawing a line in the air. - "Charlotte has taken Ichika's sudden burst of hate just as badly, this morning when I was coming to wake you two up I saw her paceing circuits around the entrance of the academy, using the entrance and exit as a checkpoint. Thirty four times I counted... In and out, In and out!"

Konoe then folds her arms, shakes her head, lets out a breath, looks Yuno and Rie in the face with a deep look of pity and neutrality whilst speaking the words - "I even saw her walk across the main road just outside the academy everytime she made a curcuit, she nearly got knocked over twice!".

As soon as Konoe speaks those words, shock hits the flabbergasted Yuno and Rie, it is just a matter of seconds before little Kestrel's shotacons begin to make whispered gossip, not stopping untill the end of the hall closing ceremony.

**\- Outside the hall entrance -**

Standing facing each other the beautiful Tomoe and Yui look each other in the eyes, only blinking on certain occasions. Despite the fact that being in the hall is part of the closing ceramony, something that both females consider even more important keeps them both out of the festivities for the time being, that important being is the P.T.S.D suffering youngster called Kestrel. Since waking up both females have been wanting to settle matters concerning how to take care of the youngster, how to ensure that the child is kept in safe hands and more importantly how to even communicate with the child.

Smiling kindly the dark blue haired beauty with her butterfly hair clip glistening in the morning sunlight, looks Yui deep into the eyes and in a warm and pleasant voice, matching her kind and careing face, speaks the words "This is the best I can do for now though, I know I can't match you and your Israeli speach, but... this is all I can imagine for now".

As Tomoe speaks she hands over a pair of small, square, white books. As Yui, dressed in her office like dress takes the books, a warm and loving smile appears on her face. The said woman feels warm and pleasant upon looking down at the 3 differant books that Tomoe has just presented. The books resemble those that a little child or toddler would be given in order to start learning first phrases in english, or in this case... Japanese.

"No, no... there's no trouble at all, actually I don't know why I didn't think of this stuff myself, I've been trying to get Kestrel to speak our tounge on an academy level, and the only ressults I get are mostly just seeing him become tounge tied. So I think this Idea will help him go a long way" - Yui speaks happily with a very kind expression on her face, causing Tomoe to blush and look down in a happy but bashful manner.

Tomoe is unablem to find her voice, the dark blue haired beauty hardly gets good comments or compliments, and since Kestrel's arrival the girl has been given a nice amount of praise. Even as Tomoe speaks, it is clear that the girl is trying to not become or feel ostentatious. After all... Ostentatious is NOT befitting of such a kind and good hearted girl. Thankfuly, as Tomoe is handed back the three white books she found this morning, the girl speaks in a very calm and normal manner - "Thanks for saying so miss Sakurada, its just..."

At this moment Tomoe smiles and places a bashful face on her features, a small blush appears under eyes and over the bridge of her nose. The girl looks down on the ground and turns her head to the right to look at the academy wall for a few seconds before summoning her will power to look at Yui with a happy but slightly bashful expression. "... When ever Kes is involved, I want to do my best to help him".

Tomoe's voice is full of eagerness and excitedness. The said girl's words cause Yui look proud, not just because Tomoe is clever and kind, but because the girl is doing so much to help the traumitised youngster, giving up her valuable relax and rest time in order to help the youngster whilst Yui is pre-occupied with working hours. Not only that, but during summer vacation it is a very good assumption that a lot of laughs and good times will occur. Kestrel maybe a child, but is a very clever and mature one for his age, the youngster does not ask for anything and keeps himself to himself. So it is clear as crystal that the child should be very easy to take care of.

"No thanks needed Shizuka, after all I'm doing my part too" - Yui replies to Tomoe in friendly and cheerful tone, not breaking eye contact for a single moment. Untill... a familiar voice causes Yui and Tomoe to blink in surprise and turn their heads to one side, looking directly in the same direction, to clap eyes on a very welcome and much loved person.

"Whats that about doing parts?"

Smiling with welcome and loving faces, Tomoe is the first to speak, her tone becomes a perfect level of excitement and joy, even as Tomoe makes a very ladylike and respectful bow, the smile never leaves Tomoe's face - "Miss Yoshitomo, good morning!"

Yui's heart strangely leaps in utter joy a very pleasant and warm expression appears on her face as she too joins in the greating of the the much welcome teacher - "Kaede? I thought you would be in the hall this morning, is everything okay?".

The young and beautiful teacher known as Kaede does not immediately respond and instead proceedes to bow firstly before replying in a very pleasant tone that is a perfect match for her facial expression. As Kaede straightens herself up and exchanges nods with a very happy looking and pleasant standing Tomoe, the said teacher begins to respond to Tomoe's greeting "Good morning to you too Shizuka Tomoe...".

As Kaede turns her attention to Yui the said teacher wastes no time in replying to Yui's question, "No theres nothing wrong this morning Yui, I was just held up in gathering some things before we leave the academy tonight".

Yui exchanges a very kind smile with Kaede before replying back in her usual neautral soft tone "Of course, Of course... how foolish of me to forget, I guess I've been working so much that I've forgotten that some of us get tied down with having to gather belongings in the morning".

Smiling with a playful smirk on her face, Kaede sees the chance to have some personal yet sarcastic fun with the office woman, as Kaede replies the said woman's tone is a mix of playful joy and sarcastic playfulness - "I'll take that as an insult, but only a friendly one!"

Upon hearing Kaede's reply, Yui blinks slightly... the woman is at loss for words for a brief second, however... Yui quickly manages to regain her composure and replies with her own sarcastic comment with a playful smile of her own - "Ha,Ha... you know it!".

Exchanging chuckles both women look each other happily in the face for a moment before Kaede, with her hands placed very daintly in front of her smiles kindly and asks a question in a tone matching curiosity and happiness. "I hope I wasn't interupting anything?".

Yui responds instantly by closing her eyes, smiling and shaking her head and speaking back in an equaly happy and friendly tone "Oh no, not at all... me and miss Shizuka have just gained, shall we say equal rights to look after Kestrel, so we were just discussing on how best we should take care of him".

"Really?! I didn't know anything about this, does Orimura sensei know and is everything okay with Kestrel?" - Kaede replies with a slighty surprised yet impressed face.

At this moment Yui puffs her chest out a slight amount and lets the feeling of pride hit home. Normaly Yui does not have much to celebrate about so in a case like this its worth having some valiant moment of pride over. As Yui proceedes to speak, the woman's tone is a mix of calmness and kindess "Rest assured, Rest assured, Orimura sensei has given us permission and yes... every last detail has been explained to little Kestrel, and he's perfectly happy with whats been suggested".

"We even saw him smile aswell!" - Tomoe puts in with a tone of pride. Causing Kaede to smile equaly in return, for the young teacher the first impression of Kestrel was a tormented and very troubled child, so to suddenly hear that the child has smiled and felt comfortable around the girls in the academy, then its truly a moment worth wishing to have been present at.

"Really, he smiled?" - Kaede asks in a tone filled with joy. The said young teacher suddenly becoming interested in the news, however... Tomoe's tone changes to that of a person whom is trying to explain things in a soft and careful manner.

"Actually, it was a sort of small smile and he did close his eyes and turn his head away..." - Tomoe explains in a awkward tone, but a smile is still plastered on her face, making a perfect indication that everything is okay, and although Tomoe does pause for a moment, the girl soon continues with a very happy and friendly tone.

"...But he was comfortable with the idea and he did thank us, so everything should be perfectly fine".

Opening her mouth in happiness for a moment, Kaede gasps and proceedes to clasp her hands together. The young teacher showing a perfect and well balanced amount of joy and relief - "Oh... wonderful, wonderful... as long as little Kestrel is in good hands thats all that matters" - Kaede cooes in delight, the young teacher fighting the urge to litteraly jump up and down in happiness and scream with delight.

Yui and Tomoe exchange equaly happy looks and do nothing but blink. Unable to speak as both females are sharing the wonder of the moment, it is not untill the sudden and unfortunate sounds of coughing over some loudspeekers cause the trio to look over towards the open hall doors. Yui and Tomoe sweat drop yet again, and it isn't long untill Yui giggles in a very feminine manner and with a very pleasant motion of the arm followed by a soft kind voice makes a suggestion that Tomoe instantly responds to in a very welcome and positive manner "Look ahh... why don't you let me explain things to miss Yoshitomo, you... err... better get to the hall assembly okay?".

As the two women begin to become aqquainted, Tomoe quickly bows in respect and with an eager face bids both women good day before rushing towards the entrance of the hall. However, before the dark, blue ponytailed beauty gets the chance to enter the large building, filled with the echoeing sounds of Maya Yamada's voice emitting from various differant loud speakers, a poster on the open door of the hall catches Tomoe's attention.

Upon the green coloured paper is a various collection of party messages, drawn music notes, ballons and confetti. Obviously the academy disco and year closing ceremony party is going to host dancing in the hall tonight. Tomoe blinks, her mind wanders... the girl scans the poster from top to bottom. The memory of seeing a large collection of IS schoolgirls carrying various boxes and decorations plays and replays over and over again in the girl's mind.

The facial images, excitedness and gossip replays in Tomoe's mind, some girls clearly claimed that they would take the chance of inviting Ichika to tonight's festivities. Kestrel was not mentioned, but that was to be expected because although there is the exception of Kestrel's shotacons, everybody still fusses the most over Ichika and as such leaves Kestrel out, romance wise that is. One thought rushes into Tomoe's mind, a small red flush rushes up her neck and across her face under the eyes. The thought of dancing, singing, drinking and laughing causes a strange and unforeseen thought to appear in Tomoe's mind. ( "I wonder... maybe... if Kestrel is lonely... Well... It wouldn't hurt, would it?... and its not like I'm trying to exploit him" ).

Suddenly smiling to herself, Tomoe places a foot behind the other in a very girlish way, the girl also places both hands behind her back and happily thinks to herself - ( "Of course!, I can also invite those three girls that follow him around, so at least I can prove that I'm not trying anything funny on him, and besides... I do know how to help Kestrel if he suffers a turn and such, so if Ichika is pre-occupied then I'm always available..." ).

Tomoe takes a breath before turning and heading off into the hallway, the girl does not think of anything else, now isn't the time... all that matters now is to get the closing ceremony over with and then... the fun will realy start.

**\- 1 hour later -**

To say that Tomoe had missed a good majority of the IS academy's final debreifings would be untrue, despite missing half of Maya Yamada's speachings, and Chifuyu's preeching, Tomoe hadn't missed anything important, after all today was a simple day of closure. All that matters today is the well fare and entertainment of the students, even as the dark blue haired girl exited the massive white coloured hall amoungst the chattering and gossiping amount of girls, only relief was evident in the girl's body, but that dosen't mean surprises are over with.

As Tomoe walks out of the hall either side of a group of gossiping girls, the dark blue haired beauty is surprised to see the German woman Clarissa and her girls walking and exchanging a good amount of social interaction towards many of the IS students. Normaly at any important gatherings military hard asses like Clarissa and her girls would normaly perform leaving military drill or being doing some odd form of work to aid in preparing for tonight's festivities, but no... Clarissa and her girls are once again being smothered or glomped over by the lovey, dovey or over excited IS schoolgirls that inhabit the IS academy.

Just the sight alone causes Tomoe to sweat drop, the said girl can only smile slightly and remain silent. How Clarissa and her girls can find the strength or the time to put up with any of the fangirl antics will probably never be known.

Then, suddenly breaking her attention away from Clarissa and the girls, Tomoe lifts her head up and smiles warmly, the dark, blue haired beauty has plenty of reason to be happy. Even as Tomoe follows the near army of IS schoolgirls towards the main buildings, feeling the soothing morning breeze ease off the heat of the morning sun on her white, soft skin one thought rushes through her mind, the girl sighs and sticks her chest out with pride as she walks. ( "Everything will be alright, I know it... I just know it!" ).

Just the memory of seeing little Kestrel's face light up with excitedness and happiness, whilst trying to hide the emotion bashfully causes Tomoe to blush under the eyes. Her heart flutters and the girl shakes her head affectionatly. The only time Tomoe's smile drops is when she notices Charlotte rush past her hot on the heels of Ichika whom walks calmly and normaly a few metres ahead of her.

( "Now... all thats left is for Ichika to make up with the others!" ) - Tomoe thinks to herself holding an awkward look on her face, the girl is completley unsure of what to make of the situation, one thing is for certain... in the next 12 hours, things are really going to spice up at the IS academy!

_**Okay... I know nothing much has happened in this chapter, but rest assured it is just a preparation chapter for the ones coming and belive me when I say, the following chapters are being made to help us all remember those swinging and wonderful years of school discos, partying and celebration. Now I know that we all have differant tastes and such, so take it easy on me if the following partying and vacational chapters are not all up to your liking, anyway... continue to read and review... Untill the next chapter... still wishing everyone the best...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	45. Chapter 45: A dance tonight?

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a much better chapter than the last one, this one should be better, at least that is my hope. Anyway... enough with all the red tape intros, **__**just read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 45:

**\- IS academy classroom corridors/ 11:00am -**

Walking down a blue floored corridor with white walls on the left and crystal clear windows that stand out in pure white frames on the right that seem to stand out in the magnificance of the morning daylight, Ichika can't help but smile in an impressed state at how well the IS schoolgirls are working. Even though many girls are busy carrying boxes and cosplay uniforms set neatly on clothing racks, it is plainly clear that every single IS female is hell bent on making tonight a pure night to remember.

Despite bearing a grudge against most IS schoolgirls after their antics humiliated him in such a terrible manner, Ichika had hopped to come face to face with someone he knows upon receiving a brown envelope upon which inside has his ressults from his exams and reports of how well he's performed during the school year.

Unable to find Rin or Houki, Ichika has now set off on a journey to look for Kestrel. The last time Ichika saw him, the child was still in a deep slumber in bed this morning. Since Kestrel has only been at the IS academy for just one month or so, the child didn't need to attend the hall ceremony. Though Kestrel's absence caused Ichika to feel relieved at first, the feeling now is that of withdrawral symptoms.

Since Ichika now trusts just a hand full of people at the academy, he is a bit desperate to find his small and troubled Israeli friend and at least find some levels of happiness. Maybe being around Kestrel will help in case Ichika gets a shock saying his ressults are worse than what he could ever expect. If that is the case then Kestrel will surely be an anti-depresent in case of negative ressults. Thankfuly, at that point... Ichika just happens to glance to the left to look into a large open classroom filled with as many as twelve girls, each and every female seems to be working to the tips of the fingers placing purple covers and sheets over some white, round tables.

Ichika smiles with impressment upon seeing a pair of IS schoolgirls hanging up a set of large green curtains across the classroom, but what causes him to smile and fill to the brim with happiness the most, is non other than the pig tailed Chinese brunette Rin.

Wasting no time, Ichika suddenly stops to a halt, changes foot direction and walks into the classroom. Though Ichika is forced to stand to one side and look directly into the eyes of a pair of IS schoolgirls carrying a long rectangular box, Ichika's pleasant emotions do not change. As Ichika moves to one side to allow the schoolgirl duo to carry out the long rectangular he earns a pair of flirtous winks.

The first girl that carries the front of the box stands with her front facing forward, her arms are beind her with her hands shaped like hooks in order to carry the long, light brown coloured box. The girl has long blonde pigtails and as she sends a flirtous wink towards Ichika, the said girl speaks in her best and seductive tone. The girl's spanish accent does not hinder her invitation towards the brown eyed, black haired Ichika. "Orimura, dance with me tonight, okay amigo!".

Ichika can only blink and smile awkwardly, normal guys would be excited as hell, but as well are all aware, Ichika is far to much of a celibate hero, as well as a little dense in order to understand were the girl is getting at, which is probably for the best in a case like this.

As the first girl walks away, the girl at the rear of the card board box with long black hair and green eyes simply winks and pretends to kiss the Japanese male. Not saying a word as she walks by.

Bowing with respect whilst keeping his eyes fixed on both girls untill they walk out of the door way, turn to the right and walk out of sight down the hallway, Ichika's smile returns to it's normal cheerful manner. The Japanese male can't help but get the feeling that he has just evaded some really mischeivous intentions, and to say that its thanks to what happened during Char's slumber party would be only half correct. Never the less the Japanese male quickly shakes off the girl's offers, his negative feelings and instantly regains his focus on getting towards the goal of speaking to Rin.

Upon lifting and turning his head, Ichika sees a sight that makes his smile become wide, relief and joy overwhelms every inch and ounce of his body. Standing just mere inches away and helping in unloading a large cardboard box filled with cosplay dresses, table cloths and curtains is non other than little Kestrel. The long black haired youngster, with his blood red scar blazing on the side of his face in the morning sun clearly holds the look of confusion on his small face, obviously unaware of what all the boxes, decorations and strange clothes are for.

Ichika gets a sharp burst of life rush through his body, causing him to very nearly sprint up to his brunette friend. Even though some IS schoolgirls are busy with moving objects and placing decorations, some immediately stop what they are doing and begin to whisper to each other, each and every girl holds a very pleasant and happy look on their face. Thankfuly Ichika does not notice the many differant gazes upon him as he casualy walks up towards his Chinese friend with brown pigtails.

"Rin! Kestrel!" - Ichika calls out in a very warm and happy tone, the Japanese male very and cleary happy to see the pair and wastes no time in showing it.

Upon seeing Ichika, Rin instantly breaks into a warm and excited smile. Kestrel merely drops what he his holding and looks up at Ichika with a small and timid smile, the Israeli youngster blinks a few times but it is clear as day that a large amount of welcome and warmth is being contained in the youngster's ocean blue eyes.

Standing straight and proceeding to great Ichika's welcome like manner with the same equal amount of pleasantry and respect, Rin beams a very happy and pleasant smile back towards Ichika.

"Morning Ichika, I didn't see you at the hall were you held up or something?" - Rin asks in a playful yet inquisitive tone, placeing her hands on her hips and turning her beaming smile into a very cheeky and sneakish like grin.

Ichika chuckles slightly, closes his eyes and replies in a kind but very evasive tone "Ah...yeah... sorry about that, the receptionists took their time in handing me my test ressults".

As Ichika explains, he proceedes to hold up a large brown envelope, still sealed, clearly showing Rin that the Japanese male has not yet taken a look at his test ressult papers. As a ressult Rin's face drops to show a very confused and concerned look. Normaly Ichika and every other student would have opened up their test ressults to either show off their performance or to exchange congratulations with each other, so for Ichika to have not done so is almost like making it look like his performance has been very, very bad, and as such his ressults will be the same.

Thankfuly little Kestrel can't say anything or be spoken of either, the Israeli youngster is still new and is still learning how to speak Japanese. So its only to be expected that the small and traumitised youngster does not have any ressults to have handed out or even have to show. Kestrel makes that fact clear by simply tilting his head to the right a slight amount, blinks a few times and lets out a very tiny and timid "Hm?".

"You haven't opened your evelope..." - Rin speaks out whilst pointing a finger at the sealed brown envelope and holding a very straight and concerned look on her face. Ichika responds to Rin by looking down for a brief moment at the envelope with a straight and unphased face, but as he lifts his head back up he notices that Rin holds a frown on her face, her hands are placed tightly on her hips. Causing Ichika to jump in startle surprise for a moment, even as Rin leans forward slightly and looks Ichika deeply in the eyes with a irritated looking scowl, Ichika can't help but lean back slightly and hold up both arms if surrendering to a gunman, the brown envelope in his left hand is secured by non-other than his thumb, pressing the brown paper to the palm of his hand.

"You haven't opened your test ressults because you've performed badly have you!?" - Rin asks in a low and inquisitive, an eyebrow is raised on her face. The combination of Rin's facial expression and low strict tone causes Ichika to tense up slightly, deep down Ichika is praying that he hasn't performed badly at all, the Japanese male has had very stressful months since the beginning of the year, way before Kestrel's arrival at the academy.

Any pent up stress and such has eased off since Kestrel arrived, so If Ichika has performed badly or lower than usual, then surely he must have salvaged something thanks to his little Israeli friend's arrival.

"N..No Ofcourse not, I just wanted to be there when you opened your ressults, so I figured that you would want to be there when I opened mine aswell" - Ichika explains in a calm and rational voice, lowering his arms and easing up on his tense posture, as he does this his heart beat settles down, the Japanese male's nerves calm down to a perfect state.

Upon hearing Ichika's explination, Rin blinks, eases the strict look on her face and proceedes to stand easy. A smile appears on her face, and her tone changes to that of a person whom has just been proved wrong and takes it lightly - "Oh?... Ah... Yeah, so you did! How stupid of me!".

As Rin proceedes to titter in a very girlish manner a faint blush can be seen suddenly appear across her features. Ever since Charlotte's slumber party, Rin has moved up way ahead of the other girls in the constant bickering over Ichika's love and attention, and as such it is a common tactic to take every chance that can be taken in order to get the prize.

However, Rin's lease is cut short as she, Ichika and Kestrel are soon drawn to turn their heads towards the direction of the classroom door as a very familiar and missed voice is suddenly heard breaking the pleasant moment. - "Why what have you done?"

Upon hearing the voice, Ichika's happiness reaches eleven. Knowing and hearing the voice so often gives Ichika the answer of whom it is even before he even places his eyesight on the owner of the voice. To Rin however, the owner of the voice is unfortuneatley not very welcome, and as a ressult causes Rin's smile to drop and her happy emotions to become replaced with irritation and her facial look to be replaced with a very angered facial scowl.

As Ichika turns his body slightly to the right, aswell as turning his head a fair comfortable amout in order to look at the bearer of the pleasant yet slightly nervous voice, one thought rushes through his mind ( "This is great, more friendly faces in one spot!" ).

The smiling but nervous looking face of Houki appears, causing Ichika to very nearly speak in an overjoyed tone. "Houki, where have you been, I haven't seen you since this morning?".

Houki responds with a surprised face, the Japanese female blinks in surprise and very nearly falls back in shock. The Japanese female had been expecting Ichika to scowl and shout at her for not helping him when he was in distress during Charlotte's slumber party, so for him to great her with such warmth and happiness is very unexpected. Butterflies dance and swirl ever more around the Japanese girl's stomach, surprise completley overwhelms the girl. Her eyes are wide open, her mouth is only slightly open and whats more... she is unable to find her voice.

Smiling in a very friendly manner Ichika continues to look at his childhood friend, innocently or to heavily dense to notice the moment. Even as he proceedes to speak, the only form of change in Ichika's tone is a pleasant amount of concern for his childhood friend. - "Well?... Is everything okay? Its just, I was expecting to see you when our test ressults were being handed over,  
was anything the matter?".

Blinking for a moment, Houki is stunned with surprise, but... thankfuly the girl with a leaping heart manages to regain her composure and smile back in an equaly pleasant manner. The said girl folds her arms, swallows her fear and sticks out her chest. Suddenly getting the feeling of being able to take on the world, instead of feeling anxious around the boy she secretly loves with all her heart.

Houki closes her eyes and shakes her head, despite turning over a new leaf since Kestrel's arrival, Houki is still nowhere near to being much of a liar. Never the less, Houki's excuse still sounds very convincing to both Ichika and the now scowling Rin. - "Oh yeah, sorry about about that... I was just held up, had to help some of the teachers with moving some of the boxes and such!".

Ichika's smile does not drop, which comes as some great relief to Houki. The last thing the Japanese female wants is to let Ichika know that she was trying to avoid him because of what had happened during the antics of Charlotte's slumber party. Even though Ichika has no grudge against Houki, it still wouldn't do any good if Houki says something that reminds him of what occured on that chaotic night.

"Okay?... So, how did you get on? How are your scores?" - Ichika asks, much to Houki's relief, not bringing up the subject of Ichika's recent escipade with the girl's monkey buisness. Ironicaly, its a question that Houki was wanting Ichika to ask.

Houki simply nods, smiles warmly and with steady and calm movements, rests her arms for a brief moment... then... lifts a hand up towards her collar and with a very slender motion of the hands reaches down her front. Causing Ichika to blink with amazement, Rin to frown with anger at Ichika's watching of the sudden yet innocent erotic tease moment and Kestrel to simply blink and tilt the body and head slightly to the left at exactaly the same time.

It takes a mere few seconds, but Houki pulls out a neatly folded sheet of A4 paper from out of her front. Opens the paper, turns it round and with that, presents her report to the three pairs of eyes watching with intent.

Rin and Ichika's eyes widen with amazement, writen in red numbers set in a sketched round circle stands Houki's scores - "97%". Just beside Houki's scores is a comment written in pure red letters "Excelent work!".

Ichika holds a pure, open and happy smile on his face, Houki never ceases to amaze him. Its at moments like this that Ichika is proud to be the childhood friend of Houki, Rin on the other hand holds a frown on her face and looks away, envy is something that the Chinese girl is not very good at holding. Fortuneatly this does not go un-noticed as Ichika turns his head to attract his Isreali friends attention over to the paper that Houki proudly holds in one hand. A faint blush is on the girl's face, and nothing but joy and happiness fills her gut.

To be praised by Ichika is like being given over one hundred million in pure gold, and although Houki isn't the type to boast, the girl sticks out her chest and allows an ego to form. Rin however holds a very sick amount of anger, but... that emotion soon fills with confidence as she takes a second look at Houki's score points. The Chinese girl isn't defeated yet, BUT... she uses what can only be described as "Female Deviousness" in order to make Houki think that she has won an even greater victory over Rin.

Hidding a smirk, and casting a very devious wink at Kestrel, which the Israeli child merely acknowledges with a very confused face and innocent head tilt... Rin places a balled fist to her mouth and lets out a fake cough before proceeding to speak in a very well acted irritated tone. "*Cough* - Well... n..not so bad I suppose... well... I guess everyone has to have luck every now and then!".

Ichika can only chuckle nervously, grin awkwardly and close his eyes... feeling the well acted hostile temper from the Chinese brunette. Ichika even goes so far as to place a very jittery yet comforting hand on Rin's shoulder and proceede to rub her shoulder carefuly, completley unaware of what Rin is up to.

Houki half closes her eyes and smirks in triumph, acting like the cat that has got the cream, or... as a woman that has a much better body than her love rival. However, Houki is now unaware that she has just fallen into Rin's trap! Even as Houki proceedes to place her open folded paper on a nearby table the girl feels invincible and as a ressult it dosen't take long for the other working and curious girls to begin swooning and squealing at the sight before them.

It takes only five minutes for all attention to be diverted to Houki, BUT... it gives Rin the chance to take everyone, including Ichika by surprise. What Rin has up her sleeve will no doubt knock everybody's heads off their shoulders. It takes Rin all her will power to not smile and to keep her excitement to herself, after all... it wouldn't be a surprise if Rin wasn't acting as well as she is now, would it?

As Rin takes her own neatly folded A4 paper out of the inside of her IS uniform pocket, the Chinese Brunette maintains the look of a defeated person, head low with a miserable frown. Causing Houki to smile and feel like she has triumphed over her love rival.

"Don't feel so bad Rin!" - Houki speaks in a very confident voice. A smug smile is on her face and the many differant IS schoolgirls of god-knows what nationalities simply cast looks of either mockery or pity to Rin. However, this is the signal for Rin to make her move and unveil what it is she has up her sleeve.

"Germany came second in the first world war!, they did alright!" - Houki speaks in a final confident tone, with half closed triumphant looking eyes directed at Rin.

Rin acknowledges Houki's remark with a smug smile, half closed eyes of her own and leans forward slightly with a hand on her hip. Rin's defeated tone instantly changes to triumph, and with a quick point of an index finger from the hand holding the folded piece of paper. Rin speaks the words - "GOOD... then, you'll enjoy being number two!..".

Then, standing straight, a hand still on the hip and letting the folded piece of A4 open before the many differant eyes ahead of her, Rin lets out a very cheerful and triumphant "TA-DUM!".

What happens next strikes hard like an atomic bomb. Everybody's eyes Except for Kestrel's widen in amazement.

"WOAH!" - Ichika exclaims with wide open eyes, a smile wide open, utterly flabbergasted at the sight. Houki's smile drops, her blood freezes... it is an unbeliveable sight and the sting is more than the dark haired Japanese girl can take.

In pure red numbers set in a circle stands a very proud looking "100%", and just below those numbers are the words "Magnificent, Astouding!". The mass IS schoolgirls that surround Houki point, scream and gawk in utter amazement. Some girls have proud expressions and point with index fingers, were as others simply jump up and down in girlish joy screaming and chearing. As Ichika begins to praise Rin, Houki becomes frozen on the spot like coloured ice. Her pride is shattered, and the only words that can be heard escape her lips is a stunned and amazed "Well... **** me!".

Thankfuly only three British IS schoolgirls hear Houki's remark, and after a few head shakes, look at each other with disgusted looks.

"You know... you really shouldn't talk like that in front of kid" - One of the british girls with a long Orange braid and blue eyes states in a parental like tone whilst mimicking with her hand for Houki to look at the face of a very curious and confused Kestrel.

Houki does not respond, instead she simply slumps her head and arms forward and looks down on the floor, anime style! Utterly deflated and feeling the sickening taste of defeat. However the British girl's comment lasts for a mere few seconds as she herself proves to be no better, as her face changes to joyful and as does her tone, and she speaks in a very comedic taste.

"OOhh, she is a clever F***** though isn't she!"

**\- Scene change/ IS academy hall -**

Since the end of the closing speaches in the IS academy hall, Clarissa, her German girls... aswell as a large amount of help from various other IS females have been busy prepareing the massive hall for tonight's festivities. At the moment, there has to be a total of 86 females moving and shifting boxes. Each and every single female gossips and exchanges looks of pure and uncontained excitement.

The only acception of movement activity is a very pale, deflated and demoralised Laura Bodewig sitting slumped forward on the large, black stage which had been occupied by Maya Yamada less than an hour earlier.

Ever since this morning Laura had been stareing into nothingness, not responding when ever someone spoke to her and moving like a zombie when ever having to walk somewhere, and to make matters even more unpleasant, Clarissa and her girls had not failed to notice. For the eye patched German females whom are used to seeing such a powerful and tough Laura, suddenly reduced to nothing but that of an object even lower than her own shadow, the reality is not only unbeliveable but also unspeakable.

However, the dark blue haired Clarissa with her black eye patch standing out perfectly against her pure white skin, is already aware of what is wrong. Since Clarissa and her German girls,  
pay very close attention to student gossip, the problem with Laura is clear almost instantly.

As Clarissa takes a quick glance to her girls, as serious frown is upon her face, irritation swells in her gut. Her girls have stopped working again are instead wasting time in looking over with concerned faces at the miserable silver haired female known as Laura. This is for the third time in a row in a space of just 20 minutes, and to be frank, the military German hard ass is damned if she is going to tolerate her girls being slack.

Clarissa sticks out her chest, glares at her girls that stand idle around a large pyramid stack of cardboard boxes and proceedes to shout virtualy at the top of her lungs "WHAT ARE YOU GIRLS DOING STANDING AROUND!".

Jumping and stumbling in sudden shock, each and every one of Clarissa's girls never see it coming, one girl with short red hair whom is standing on a stool yelps in fear, looses her footing and falls down on her side, the cardboard box she is holding crashes on top of her head, spilling a vast quality of party decorations over her head and shoulders. Another girl with a greenish blue ponytail jumps so badly that she drops a large stack of counter weights that lands straight onto her right foot!

Tears of pain fill the girl's single unpatched eye. the girl puffs up her cheeks as she leans down to grasp her stinging foot. Others simply jump out of their flesh, and instantly turn their heads to the left to meet the eyes of their scowling leader. Not a breath escapes any of the girl's lips, as they simply begin to recover from the sudden shock of their leader's angered tone.  
Some girls however do manage to react instantly, click their heels, stick out their chests and stand to a very firm military attention.

"I DIDN'T GIVE THE ORDER TO STAND AROUND! BACK TO WORK! SNAP ON IT! SNAP ON IT!" - Clarissa calls out in a very strict and authority like tone, giving a very firm clap of the hands to signal her girls to get back to work.

Each and every single female does not hestite and instanty returns to aiding with the preparations for tonight's party. Ironicaly, any girls that were taken by surprise by Clarissa's sudden angered outburst get back to doing the same thing, doing nothing but whisper or giggle at what has just happened. In fact, a girl with long blonde hair with a small Canadian flag on the sleeve of her arm simply shakes her head, rolls her eyes and mutters the words "If that's what the German army is like then its no wonder they lost both world wars!".

A girl with long purple hair with a rose bud hair clip on the right side of her head, and with a small American flag on the ends of both her IS uniform sleeves simply responds with the words "More like the circus army if you ask me!".

Thankfuly Clarissa does not hear the comments, the only comments that keep filling her ears are those of many differant girlish tones. A Russian accented girl can be heard happily and very confidently speaking the words - "There going to play the latest hits from Russia, America, Japan and even France tonight".

"Yeah I know, me and some of the lassies are going to be fixing the lights and operating some of the electrics" - A scottish accented girl is heard reply.

"Orimura Sensei has said we can wear what ever we want tonight" - An American accented girl is heard coo in a near cowgirlish tone.

"Yeah its going to be like, Totaly sweet... I'm going to put on my best dress" - Another American girl is heard reply clearly overjoyed.

"Trying to attract Ichika Orimura no doubt!" - A spanish accented girl is heard comment.

"I'm going to take a photo of me and Kestrel tonight" - A Polish accented girl is heard exclaim in a happy and pleasant tone.

"Don't tell me you're trying to get into the kid's pants aswell!" - A Mexican girl is heard ask in a near mocking tone.

As all this is overheard, Clarissa casts a very concerned look over towards her captain. The dark blue haired woman with her eye patch places both hands behind her back, and within a pure second's notice proceedes to walk forward in a calm yet military like stroll.

Whilst heading over to the silver haired female, Clarissa holds a vast amount of confidence inside her. Even though Clarissa is a hard core military female, the woman still has resposibilities and as such, has to keep up those responsibilities by counciling her girls.

So far Clarissa hasn't had any faults or failures in keeping her girls under mental relief, so there should be no problem in counciling Laura over a matter concerning Orimura's younger if slightly dense brother. After all... its also a good opertunity to have a bit of 'Girl to Girl' talk, or 'Woman to Woman' talk... what ever sounds better to you readers! .

Meanwhile, Laura does nothing but hold her head down. The silver haired girl is clearly to miserable to even look around, it can't be denied that Laura made a clear... if slightly serious demand that Ichika is to be her husband, and its also true that many could say it was down to certain surcumstances, but since the German girl has spent so much time around Ichika... it is a very fair assumption that Ichika has once again captured another girl's heart, Even if it was un-intentional.

Misery, depression and deathly sorrow curns and rolls around the German girl's stomach, yet not a single tear rolls off her face. Her hearing is limited and her vision is blurry, however it does not make her blind and deaf.

As Clarissa comes to a stop infront of Laura mere inches away, the strict looking military hard ass woman stands at military ease and looks down in a strict manner with her single, solitary eye. Clarissa's heart beat is steady, as is her breathing. Its very difficult to accept seeing Laura like this, and although Clarissa knows deep down this is a problem that can't simply be solved with words, the dark blue haired woman is not about to give up on aiding her captain and closest ever friend.

"Captain Laura Bodewig" - Clarissa speaks in a very clear and strict manner, although her voice is strict and cold, it has a slight touch of concern.

A moment passes, with Laura not making a twitch, the silver haired German female, with her black eye patch obscured by the cascaded hair that hangs over her shoulders, remains absolutely and totaly silent. Sitting motionless, not responding to Clarissa's hail.

"Captain Laura Bodewig, respond to me now!" - Clarissa speaks out in a very mixed military and parental like tone. Clarissa's face does not drop its strictness as she inhales and takes in a large and very well needed breath.

This time, Laura responds... but very, very slowly. The silver haired German girl slowly, just like a zombiefied dead girl turns her head to the left, letting out a very loud, weezed breath.  
As soon as Laura finishes turning her head, the girl continues in her zombie like manner to lift her head up, untill her depressed and misery stricken face comes into eye contact with the dark blue haired Clarissa.

For the Clarissa, the shock is like taking an atomic bomb at point blank range. Laura's silver hair is draped slightly over her eye in a slightly messy manner. Her mouth is slightly open and down in a very miserable manner, the colour on the German girl's face is gone.

The very sight alone sends a near 20,000 volt strong shock throughout Clarissa's body, making the blue haired woman stumble backwards slightly. However, the woman manages to regain her balance and in a very amazing form of self control, manages to prevent herself from forgetting the matter at hand.

Normaly a person would forget their reasons for summoning Laura, turn their tail and run feeling shocked and sick at the sight, but thankfuly... Clarissa proves to be more than a true friend in a case like this and although her gut is struck hard with sickness and fear at the sight, the woman manages to summon nearly every ounce of will power and strength, look down at Laura and speak in her strict and serious manner.

"C..Captain Bodewig, I appologise for doing this... but I here by order you to stand up and straighten yourself out!" - Clarissa begins, first stuttering before managing to regain control of her tone.

Normaly Laura would normaly stare and mutter her constant, for the moment only phrase 'My wife hates me', but strangely enough... Clarissa's words have somehow caused a differant reaction.

Laura blinks with her single eye and gets the look of life begin to return to her body. The girl breathes in slowly and deeply... before letting out a very deep exhaled breath. From Laura's point of view, Clarissa is clearly visable but is a blurred image.

Deep down in the ice fortress of negative emotions, a single spark of warmth clearly vibrates and spreads throughout the German girl's body. Causing the girl's mind to get a brief flash of rationality hit home.

For Clarissa, the sight is clear enough to signal that Laura has responded to Clarissa's voice and demand, however it is painfuly clear that demands are not going to get Laura out of her cage of depression. Thankfuly, Clarissa has an ace up her sleeve, making the phrase "Don't underestimate the efficency of the German army" come into effect, but... some could just say it is the obvious fact that Ichika is at the bottom of the problem, that causes Clarissa's ace to be so effective.

Placing a very suspicious if slightly smug and sinister smile on her face, Clarissa looks Laura in the eye and in a very confident and proud tone speaks the words "You know... If you are truly sorry for hurting instructor Orimura's younger brother... you could get a chance to earn his forgiveness with magnificent ressults... You might even win his affections and heart at once at the same time!".

Almost instantly Laura's body begins to twitch, first her shoulders... then her fingers and finaly her cheek. The colour returns to her face, and although Laura's voice is clearly laced with fear and panic, it is clearly evident that hope and joy are mixed in with her deflated tone.

"I can?" - Laura whispers in a low, but very clear tone, causing Clarissa to grin victoriously.

Deep down, happiness and joy leap and jump inside the German woman. Though Clarissa is relieved that Laura is responding to people's voices again, her thoughts clearly show that there her plan to cheer Laura up is merely just a long shot. Emotional and personal problems are a very difficult thing to deal with if your a military woman like Clarissa. - ( "I can't promise her anything, but doing nothing would surely be worse than giving her uncertain hope... anyway... me and my girls would be lost without her, she is our Captain after all!" ).

As Clarissa proceedes to sit down beside Laura and begins to speak in a careing manner, the black cloud of misery that hangs over Laura seems to fade away, allowing the heat of the morning sun to warm up the mood. Once again a true fact has been proved... that no matter whom you are... help will always be found at the IS academy, especialy when a night of party and festivity is on the doorstep!

_**Okay, chapter 45 is complete, Chapter 46 is on the way so stick around, keep sending over those reviews. I know that a large challenge for me to put in a good night of festivity is now in order but I have confidence that I can do it! The girl's challenge of earning Ichika's forgiveness is for the time being a hard challenge so strong chapters are still ahead. For those of you whom like strong chapters then I guess you'll get plenty of happiness. Anyway... In the meantime I'm building up ideas for the IS academy closing ceremonial party, so don't worry those of you readers that like stories of celebration and festivity. I also intend to add more odd comedy moments aswell here and there, so I hope you liked the comedy moment with Rin, Houki and the cursing schoolgirls. Okay... till Chapter 46, stay cool you readers, I wish you all the best**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	46. Chapter 46: Hot as hell

_**Hello again readers! Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, for those of you whom have sent positive reviews then thanks alot. Remember it is very much appretiated, it keeps the confidence and morale up. Anyway... I won't burden you with the red tape intros, just sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 46:

**\- IS academy PE and althletic track ground/ 11:30pm** **-**

Despite having to miss breakfast this morning due to the closing ceremony in the IS halls, all students are given some merciful compensation by the IS staff. Since 07:00am this morning, the IS catering staff have paired up with a very eager and willing group of IS students making and preparing food stalls and tents. For many students at the IS academy, its days like this that allow everybody to eat out with friends and with IS staff members. So far things have gone very smoothly and swimmingly, with a total of 14 differant food tents and stalls being set up, ready to serve a vast quality of IS students with lunch.

Success clearly fills the air, many IS schoolgirls have rushed outside with excited faces. Since having to skip breakfast and snacks this morning, hunger clearly rolls and churns in nearly every single IS schoolgirl's stomach. The only acceptions that have been allowed to eat are the girls that have assisted with IS staff and those that have set up stalls and a large black stage on one side of the althletic track.

Fortuneatley, in some ironic comedy taste, one of the first girls that have been allowed to eat meat products have had a nasty taste of bad luck hit hard. The said girl has thin framed glasses, light blue hair and a very irritated facial look. The girl ressembles Tatenashi, and has already made her appearance and identity well known to the entire student body at the IS academy. The girl is non other than Tatenashi's sister... Kanzashi Sarashiki.

Normaly Kanzashi would be seen inside the academy typing away on a laptop, accessing and reading various data on student IS, or at least... sitting by herself reading a book with a very quiet and refined look on her face, but since all students are expected to assist with today's festivities Kanazashi has been working her fingers to the bone with helping other IS schoolgirls decorate the academy, making everything look as festive as possible. Never the less, the following week has been very difficult for the girl and has caused a very nasty amount of irritation and anger to boil inside.

The first reason being due to being unable to access Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix' IS and read about any aqquired data, which is normaly what a girl like her naturaly does at heart, showing how highly intelligent and refined she is, and to have her speciality taken away from her because of such a mysterious and accurate IS, piloted by such a mysterious, yet fragile looking 10 year old boy from Israel, is like pouring salt into an already badly stinging wound.

Thankfuly, Kanzashi has nothing against Kestrel, the blue haired Russian girl in glasses is mature and old enough to know that Kestrel is innocent in these matters, but... its also because of how well the long black haired child has performed in IS that has caused Kanzashi to feel so fond and positive of the scar faced youngster.

The second main reason for her negative emotions is because of the heavy summer heat that is getting up the girl's nose and causing vast and uncontrolable amounts of irritation to boil and smolder in her head and gut. Kanzashi is obviously a girl that comes from a pure cold and snow storm tossed enviroment, so to deal with such hot weather is nearly unbearable for the girl.  
One thing is for sure, if Kanzashi was a snow woman or Yuki-onna, then she would be dead by now, and for those who don't have the best of relations with summer heat, then they can clearly understand where the girl is coming from.

The third reason for her angered expression and stressed out emotions, is amazingly her sister... Tatenashi. Since Charlotte's slumber party antics, hearing that her sister took part in targeting the PTSD tormented Kestrel and humiliating Ichika in a surprisingly childish manner, causing the younger brother of the mighty Chifuyu Orimura to bear a heated and hated grudge,  
nearly all respect that Kanzashi has held for Tatenashi has been lost.

Finaly and recently, the final problem with the girl is surprisingly embarassing. Kanzashi had spent nearly ten minutes in a line, awaiting to get a hot dog from a BBQ run by a pair of catering Staff members and four IS schoolgirls, endured ten hellish minutes of red hot, blazing mid-day summer temperatures and less than twelve seconds after getting her first main course of food for the day, remining in visual site by as many as fifty of her schoolmates, along with having to bend down to pick up a shining and discovered silver coin, the Russian was taken utterly by surprise when a massive black Raven had made a swift diving swoop towards her, snatching the sausage from out of her hot dog and landing on a nearby silver chair.

Amazingly, the Raven hasn't attempted to get airbourne again, but has instead hopped and ran away from the angry faced Russian girl. For Kanzashi, the humiliation of being showed up by a crafty and heartless animal is hard enough, but to be taunted by the said animal is another. All this has caused a chain reaction that started in minutes and ended in seconds in order to concoct, and after just two minutes of the incident taking place, the angered Russian girl had swallowed her hunger and is hell bent on ringing the life out of the neck of the large, black Raven that seems to be enjoying being chased around on the ground, past and over stalls and passed many differant wide eyed IS schoolgirls by the irritated Russian girl.

Though the Raven does not fly away into the sky, it proves to be a difficult challenge to keep up with, simply hopping and making short flights away with a large sausage in its beak, looking somewhat like a dog with a bone in its mouth. The heaviest amount of stares and attention that Kanzashi and the taunting Raven recive are when the pair dash across the field that would normaly be used for P.E classes.

The Raven makes a short flying dash through the monkey bars lowest to the ground, before landing and hopping away forward. Kanzashi, still holding her irritated facial expression comes to a sudden halt, looks down in a very angered manner down at her taunting enemy and with a tone of pure anger and irritation suddenly shouts out the words "Someone... help... please! That BIRD... stole my hot dog!".

As Kanzashi shouts, pants and gasps make breaks in her phrase. Even though Kanzashi is a fit girl, it is taking a lot of wind out of her just to keep up with the black feathered foe that seems to be getting some sadistic joy in watching her try to catch up.

Almost instantly, the perched Raven makes a break for it, making a rapid escape from the monkey bars and dashing away, beating its wings as heavily as possible in order to get some altitude and speed. The feathers of the pitch black and sinister looking Raven, still holding the hot dog sausage in its beak, seem to shine with utter magnficence in the sunlight for a brief moment as Kanzashi scrambles over and under the bars of the monkey bar cage and maintaining pursuit of her insulting foe with feathers, ignoreing the stares from any IS schoolgirls that watch the sight.

However, what Kanzashi is unable to ignore, is scorching hot metal of the monkey bars that are left out in the open for the summer sun to heat up and intensify in the clear, blue sky.  
The Russian haired girl yelps in pain every time her soft, and delicate female hands have to grasp ahold of the red hot metal, causing a lot more anger and rage to boil and appear inside her heart and gut.

As Kanzashi makes it out of the monkey bar cage, the Russian girl has tears of pain in her eyes. Even as she looks down, fear and dread roll in her stomach, her eyes widen in shock upon seeing the slightly red sun burnt marks of where the bars contacted her hands on her stinging palms. To make matters worse, the Raven still hasn't gotten airbourne and the turns of its head left to right, followed by its sudden twist of body to show a slightly stuck out chest makes it look like the animal is laughing to itself about what Kanzashi is just experianced.

Snarling with rage, Kanzashi leans her head back, sticks out her chest, closes her eyes, balls her hands into fists, ignoreing the sore pain of the scorched palms. The Russian girl stands with her legs slightly appart, her arms are appart from her sides, hands balled into tightly clutched fists. The girl proceedes to shriek at the top of her lungs in a terrifying fit of anger. However it is clear that stress and pain are evident in Kanzashi's voice as she lets out a very angered shout -** "I AM WAY FRUSTRAITED!".**

Almost instantly after screaming in rage, Kanzashi bends her knees forward, summons all her strength and dashes forward after the Raven that seems to be suddenly scarred at the sight of the blue Russian girl that is hell bent on ripping the bird apart.

**\- Over at the Gymnasium buildings -**

Inhaleing the air, filled with the sweet smells of food, Ichika smiles happily to himself. As he exhales in a very satisfied sigh, Ichika can't help but feel that today has been an utter and complete triumph. First of all he gets to meet Rin, Kestrel and Houki in the same classroom instead of having to do the exhausting task of walking around trying to find each individual. Secondly Ichika's test ressult scores have turned out to be a very satisfying 90%, which by IS standards is very acceptable and way above that what Ichika was expecting.

Thirdly, since being allowed to leave decorating for the moment, Ichika and the others had met up with the dark, blue haired beauty which everyone has grown to love and see as a type of IS Celebrity - Tomoe Shizuka.

Tomoe clearly being equaly happy in meeting up with Ichika and the others with good test ressults. Since the beginning of the school year, Tomoe has performed far better than she normaly would have done during any other school year, Tomoe has scored a very nice 90% just like Ichika. Though the test ressults are simply an ounce of her happiness, what realy makes Tomoe smile on a daily basis, is being in contact with the long haired, scar faced Kestrel.

Upon meeting Kestrel, Tomoe had held the child in a very loving and warm embrace for a few seconds with a very happy and pleasant facial expression. Now, at this very moment, the pair walk hand in hand. Since Rin and Houki currently occupy Ichika's arms, the Japanese male was unable to walk beside his small and troubled friend, but that does not cause his happy and slightly proud facial expression to drop. Deep down in his mind, Ichika can only think of impressing his strict and ice cold big sister.

Even if it is only a little bit of credit, some form of praise would be the perfect congratulation gift for the Japanese male. Its not a case of being a sis-con, its mostly out of a wishful act of proving that all the labour and struggle his sister has done for him has not been in vain. After all... Chifuyu has been there for Ichika the most since his mother and father are not around, so the least Ichika can do is show her that he is grateful for what she has done.

But... for the moment, Ichika swallows all these wishes and hopes and instead focuses on the matter of getting some much needed lunch. Since missing breakfast, climbing flights of stairs and worrying about his test ressults, the Japanese male has been very, very peckish. Houki, Rin and Tomoe feel the same, the only acception is Kestrel.

How the child can manage only eating small amounts and run around, train in IS, sleep and climb flights of stairs never ceases to amaze Ichika or the others. It is a good assumption that it is down to his experiances in torture and in a dark and unspeakable past life that may answer that question, but now isn't the time to bring that possibility to mind. What matters the most is celebrating great ressults, just like the many thousands of IS schoolgirls that have done nothing but smile, laugh and exchange greetings with Ichika and the others.

"Looks like were becoming ever more popular eh Ichika?!" - Rin exclaims in a proud and excited tone, clinging tightly to the Japanese male's arm, hell bent on not letting go.

Ichika casts a quick look down at the clingy Chinese brunette and blinks in a confused manner. As Ichika speaks, its perfectly clear that the Japanese male does not know if he should make heads or tails of the situation. After all, lovey dovey stuff is not his fortay.

"Well?... If you say so?" - Ichika replies to the Chinese girl whom is out of this world happy about being the one whom has suddenly gained the most spotlight and attention from the boy she loves with all her heart.

Houki whom tightly clings to Ichika's other arm, simply looks away with a scowl of how Ichika has shifted his attention over to Rin. Deep down Houki cares for Ichika, but has never had the balls to speak up or out about it, and since Ichika has raised his hand against her about the said girl's spurts of violence, Houki dares not to say or do anything unless she does something that Ichika will clearly make her regret.

Thankfuly, Houki seems to be more rational and careful since Ichika gave her a very nasty and serious warning about her raising her hand against him, which is yet again thanks to Kestrel...  
but never the less, Houki still gets the old habits feeling. Its true that males shouldn't have to raise their hands against girls, but at the same time... males should NOT let girls attack them or even get away with un-lawful assault either. The three things that humanity holds these days is "Peace, freedom and equality", so as such everyone should be treated the same... and Houki knows it... which seems to have some positive ressults in her behaviour. A guilty face and a sorrowful lowering of the head is perfect confirmation that Houki knows not to try anything that can be considered a breach of human rights.

As Houki begins to lose herself in a daze of self-misery a sudden female voice causes everyone to suddenly shift their focus over towards the athletic field in surprise. The voice belonging to non-other than Tomoe. The dark, blue pony tailed girl has a very confused yet amazed look on her face. She points with her index finger over towards the direction of the athletic field and track. The intense heat of the day seems to vanish as the group is now all awash with confusion and surprise.

"Hey, isn't that the sister of that Tatenashi girl?" - Tomoe asks in a curious tone.

Blinking in surprise Houki forgets everything that was playing on her mind and stares in curiosity over towards the sight of Kanzasi, whom appears to be chasing a large Raven unable to take to the sky for some strange reason. Nobody is able to find their voice for Houki at this moment, and even now... the response is one of bewilderment.

"Yes, it is... its Kanzashi" - Houki speaks in a bewildered tone.

Rin raises an eye brow and puts on a look of a person being inquisitive, yet her emotions are made clear by the curious yet flabergasted tone - "But what's she doing? Why's she chasing birds?".

As the Raven dashes past, making a new, short, low level fly past, the hot dog that was once in a finger bun can be clearly seen in the bird's beak. Looking somewhat adoreable, just like a little dog running with a bone in its mouth. Kanzashi dashes past looking furious with a clenched teeth snarl, hell bent on tearing her small and insulting foe wing from wing.

Little Kestrel with his ocean blue eyes and small face filled with confusion, keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the pair, his head slowly turns in perfect sync as the pair dash past. The scar faced youngster only shows signs of life with a few curious blinks as Kanzashi shouts in an angered manner, every last word directed towards the Raven that somehow seems to have the ability to get away and keep its distance from the vengeful Russian female.

"GET BACK HERE! YOU LITTLE!" - Kanzashi shouts, making a skid to the left, very nearly falling over onto her side, causing dust to fly.

The Russian girl picks herself up stumbling, her breasts and skirt flutter and jiggle as the Russian girl gives hot pursuit chase after the Raven, as the pair dash away towards the student stands resembling the stands used in a football stadium, the Russian girl hisses. Its very rare to see Kanzashi like this, the girl is very silent and refined, she can be strict at times but looking blood drunken... never!

As the pair dash away towards the stands, Ichika, Kestrel and the girls exchange confused looks to each other. A silent moment passes as the group stands in the red hot summer heat, seemingly unphased for the moment. Then, with a slightly excited smile followed by a faint blush, Houki releases her grip from Ichika's hand and instead proceedes to tightly clutch onto the black haired boy's hand. As Ichika makes eye contact with Houki, the feeling of excitement radiates off Houki like nuclear radiation, the Japanese girl's pearly white teeth help magnify the excitement in the girl's face.

"Well, lets not stand around, lets go see whats happening!" - Houki exclaims in an un-characteristic happy tone. Causing Rin to blink in surprise, Kestrel to tilt his head in innocent confusion and for Ichika and Tomoe to smile back in happiness.

Ichika breaks eye contact with Houki to take a quick look down at his small Israeli friend and with comforting smile, eagerly speaks the words... "Com'mon Kes, lets go see whats happening!".  
The Israeli child with his blood red scar blazing in pride in the sunlight, simply blinks, remaining silent as the grave, but clearly seems to get the idea.

Within a matter of seconds, Ichika is dragged along by a cheerful looking Houki, an excited Rin keeping perfect pace directly beside the Japanese male. Tomoe and Kestrel remain hand in hand,  
dashing after the three slightly ahead and to the right of them. Each and every single person keeps their gaze and vision fixed firmly on the distant Russian girl and leading Raven.

**\- 20 seconds later -**

Despite it being just twenty seconds after dashing past Ichika and Kestrel, Kanzashi has covered a lot of ground, and yet the Russian girl and her enemy Raven still show no signs of slowing down or stopping. Ironicaly, by now some IS schoolgirls that have been watching and following events have begun to speak out. The most recent speaker now is a Greek girl with long yet slightly curled brunette hair. The Greek female speaks in a very friendly, yet nervous broken accented tone "Calm down miss Kanzashi, you know your only encouraging the animal!".

Though the Greek girl speaks in a careful manner, it does no good as Kanzashi remains in hot pursuit of the Raven. For a further twenty minutes Kanzashi jumps, runs and crawls over various obsticles, untill... finaly, with one furious and desperate act, Kanzashi leaps forward, just grabbing the tail feathers of the Raven and pulling it down to the ground. Both the Russian girl and the Raven land on their fronts, the Hot dog sausage in the Raven's beak drops and lands on the ground. The Black feathered bird caws and screeches in angry or panicked protest as Kanzashi lifts her face out of the grass and looks the animal in the face with a look of triumph and anger.

Sadly, Kanzashi's triumph does not last even ten seconds as the Raven moves at lightning speed, using its razor sharp beak to jab and cut Kanzashi's hand. The sharp stinging pain causes the blue haired Russian girl, with her glasses messily slumped to one side, to yelp in agony.

Tears of pain fill the Russian girl's face as her grip releases. The Raven is not daft, and wastes no time in making a rapid hop forward, picking up the sausage off the ground and after a series of violent, strong wing beats, gets airbourne. Kanzashi quickly discovers what has happened, the blue haired Russian girl's face changes from pain struck to irritated once again. The small cuts that bleed pure red blood only makes the sting of embarrassing defeat all the more difficult to accept.

Kanzashi hisses through clenched teeth like a furious animal, the Russian girl blinks, straightens her glasses and dusts herself off with her unscratched hand. Holding out the slightly cut hand like a dog holding up a paw. Blood drops drip off the Russian girl's hand and onto the athletic field grass, slow but very nasty looking drops confirm that Kanzashi's hand has been badly slashed by the Raven.

As Kanzashi stands up straight and snarls at the fading shiloute of the flying away Raven, not a whisper escapes her mouth. However, in some large or moderate form of relief, the irritation quickly subsides as a cheerful sounding Ichika calls out to the Russian girl. - "KANZASHI!".

Blinking in surprise and holding her wounded hand tenderly in the other, Kanzashi's face changes from irritated to relieved, at last a face that she was wanting to see for once! The Russian girl smiles kindly and stands waiting for the group of friendly faces to make it to her location.

"Heh, Heh, hello everyone" - Kanzashi speaks in a very friendly tone, somewhat relieved that Houki and Rin are around, therefore sparing Kanzashi an awkward moment with the most popular male pilot the world has ever known. Romantic feelings would be a mistake, Kanzashi does have romantic feelings from time to time, but in terms of being around boys, its simply just a case of being unable to know what to say, or the problem is simply because she is to heavily buried in her studies.

As Ichika and the others finaly make it up to the Russian girl, the mood becomes instantly pleasant, that is untill Houki notices that Kanzashi is holding a wounded hand carefuly in the palm of an unscathed hand, but in truth, Kanzashi knew that was coming.

Pointing with a very concerned face, Houki can't take her hands of the very nasty, yet small cuts that maim the Russian female's left hand. Almost instantly everybody's face changes to concerened. Ichika and Rin blink in surprise and look the Russian girl in the face, being blown away by how calm and collected the Russian girl is... but saying that... the Russians are well known for their strengths, so maybe its no surprise that Kanzashi is so calm and comfortable.

"Whats happened to your hand?" - Rin asks in a very concerned tone, walking forward and up to the Russian girl with her arms and hands extended like a careing parent about to tend to a painfuly injured child.

Kanzashi closes her eyes, giggles in a very girlish manner, tilts her head to the left and sweatdrops slightly. Causing Tomoe and Kestrel to cast curious looks at each other. As Kanzashi opens her eyes to make eye contact with the concerned Ichika, Houki and Rin. The Russian girl speaks in a very pleasant, yet awkwardly and slightly embarrassed tone. - "Well... lets just say I payed the inevitable price for picking a fight with a raven!".

Blinking a few times Houki and Rin cast looks towards each other before smiling kindly. Houki wastes no time and almost instantly rushes up to the blue haired female, carefuly reaching out in order to take a proper look at the extent of the injuries inflicted. Though the cuts are narrow, they are nasty enough to cause the sides and knuckles of Kanzashi's left hand to gush and run red. Maybe not serious to be considered a greivous injury, but still nasty enough to be considered possible to gain an infection.

"Com'mon, lets get you to the nurses office" - Rin speaks out almost instantly and in a demanding tone of concern.

Kanzashi can only titter, roll her eyes and reply in a very soft and pleasant tone. "Ah, thanks but... I don't have to go there you know!".

"What are you saying!" - Houki suddenly speaks in a very shocked tone, causing Kanzashi to jump slightly. As Kanzashi blinks and looks into Houki's stern looking eyes, the said girl remains silent as Houki proceedes to put her hands on her hips and speak as if she is giving a serious lecture to some school kids that seem to be slacking off during lessons.

"If you don't get those cuts treated they could become septic, and the last thing I want to see is one of my friends becoming sick when a party is on for tonight" - As Houki finishes speaking Kanzashi holds up her non wounded right hand, and then... in a raised tone, with a bright smile on her face, proceedes to speak whilst pointing slightly over towards her left at something.

"No... what I ment was, I don't have to go to the nurses office to get treatment... there... is... a... medical post... over... there!".

Blinking in surprise, the entire group turn their heads to the right, and what meets their gaze is large white, rounded tent with a large red cross painted above the pointy cone area, set on a large piece of white painted carboard, tightly fixed to the canvas roof with string and rope.

Grinning slightly in an awkward manner, Kanzashi proceedes to speak in a very kind and friendly tone. "Thanks for being here for me though!".

Feeling slightly embarrassed with themselves, Rin and Houki slump forward anime style with their arms dangling down in a good taste of comedy. However, the bashful and slightly embarrassed moment does not last long as Kanzashi shoots a very strict and serious look over towards Ichika and in a surprisingly cold voice, speaks in a tone that catches everybody off gaurd. The only exception is non other that the long black haired Kestrel, whom does nothing but blink and cast confused looks at the Russian girl as she begins to wander over towards the red cross tent.

"Ichika..."

"Huh?" - Ichika responds in a mixed tone of surprise and concern. The first thought coming to the Japanese male is one of concern as he can feel a very hostile auror venting off the Russian girl.

"Do you have a moment? We need to talk" - Kanzashi speaks in calm, rational yet strict and flat manner.

Suddenly overwhelmed with fright, Ichika gulps, the Japanese male fretting and hopeing to god that he hasn't done anything to upset the blue haired girl with a bleeding hand. Though he does not speak, Ichika acknowledges Kanzashi's request by putting on a slightly serious and confused face and replying in a tone that seems to be expecting trouble "... Ah, yeah sure thing".

As Ichika follows Kanzashi towards the medical tent, Houki and Rin cast concerned looks at each other, blink... and then... dash away in hot pursuit of the pair. Tomoe looks down at Kestrel,  
the Israeli youngster is following Ichika and Kanzashi with his eyes, not blinking for a single second.

As Tomoe looks at the Israeli child she notices his small, white hand is free for grasping, a faint blush appears on Tomoe's face, her heart beats a little faster than usual. Her stomach feels a slight tingle, and although it takes a few seconds of hesitation. Tomoe takes her chance, she carefuly and tenderly reaches down with her hand and takes Kestrel's right hand lovingly in her left hand.

The scar faced child looks up at Tomoe with a confused look due to feeling his hand be grasped by the softness of the Japanese female's hand. Tomoe smiles in a very affectionate manner down at the Israeli youngster, half closes her eyes and with a quick motion of her head, as if gestureing... proceedes to speak in kind and soft manner "Lets go follow them okay?".

Kestrel looks deeply into Tomoe's eyes and fires back a timid, nervous, small yet very comfortable smile, which comes as some great relief to the Japanese female. Less than 10 seconds later after stareing into each other's eyes, Kestrel and Tomoe look forward, and then... hand in hand, the pair follow Ichika and the girls towards the red cross tent.

Whilst walking just a few feet behind Ichika is a near mass of nerves, his shoulders are tense, his very thoughts are a perfect combination of what is playing on his mind - ( "Oh man! Don't tell me I've done something to cause Kanzashi to bear a grudge against me!" ).

However, unbeknowst to Ichika, the light blue haired beauty walking ahead of Ichika has very differant reasons and motives for wanting to speak strictly to the Japanese male. She does not look over her shoulder as she does not wish for anyone to see her concerned face, laced with determination.

( "I can't simply stand by and act as if nothing happened, I have to make up for my sister's wrong doings... One way or another" ) - Kanzashi thinks seriously to herself, whilst at the same time, keeping her eyes fixed soley on the white red cross tent that is gradualy coming ever closer as she leads Ichika and others through the still, irritatingly hot summer heat.

_**Okay everyone, thats Chapter 46, the next is underway as we speak. I'm going to stay true to my word and may Kanzashi as a main character aswell as Kestrel's shotacons, Yuno, Konoe and Rie. **__**Don't forget to read and review. If anyone has any requests or friendly suggestions I can give to making things a bit more spicy at the IS party, then feel free to speak out. Any credit for the ideas will be mentioned towards the people that suggested the ideas, its the least I can do to make things even more likeable to you readers. Anyway... untill the next chapter, remember I'm wishing everyone the best and may your own fics get great reviews.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	47. Chapter 47: Kestrel and the Raven

_**Black Falcon 01 has returned yet again with a fresh new chapter, before you start reading I would like to say thanks to everyone that gives me the heads up with spelling and grammar, its people like that, which I owe a bit of something back in return. Really... you all don't know how grateful that makes me. This is just a preparation chapter, but lets Kanzashi become more of a main character, and gives her the chance to make up for lost time in this fic. Anyway... I won't get mushy or burdensome with the introductions, sit back read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 47:

Sitting down on a green chair, Kanzashi sits maintaining eye contact with a very anxious Ichika Orimura sat directly across from her on a red chair. Standing with curious faces, just mere feet behind Ichika... Houki and Rin can't find their voices. The two girls share Ichika's concerns, though the pair don't have the clue as to what is wrong, the pair are not about to up and walk away when something very interesting as about to develop.

While looking and proceeding to speak to Ichika, the IS academy assistant nurses, with their purple pigtails maintain a very friendly atmosphere, despite the red cross tent being stuffy from the summer heat that slips under the gaps between the ground and tent canvas and through the open flap entrance. Despite the air being stuffy, it is a much better change than being out in the blazing hot sunlight. Rin makes this fact a reality as she whipes a trail of sweat off her brow and away from the left side of her head at the temple.

Tomoe sits a distance away on a gymnasium wooden horse, the dark blue haired beauty crosses her legs in a very lady like manner, clearly not feeling embarrassed at showing her white, smooth thighs and shins. Directly on her left, with a sparrow pearched on his small hand is non other than little Kestrel. Tomoe for the moment oblivious that Kestrel is in direct contact with wild life like some form of god or Disney character.

The small, male sparrow eases and seems to relax as Kestrel proceedes to carefuly stroke the back of the small bird with his free and for the moment un-occupied right hand. A small, timid, yet very pleasant smile is on Kestrel's face as the sparrow relaxes itself and lifts up a leg, showing a clearly relaxed nature.

Kanzashi speaks comfortably to Ichika, resting her hand on a small make shift metal tabe, allowing the assistant nurses to tend to the cuts that remain a mere few minutes old. One assistant nurse wears thin, white latex cloves, dabbing and carefuly washing away the blood on the Russian girl's hand in a careful manner.

The other identical twin nurse on the other hand kneels down on the ground with a pleasant look, opening a green box with a white cross embalzoned on the lid. The said nurse is clearly getting ready any band aids, pads or bandaging for the unfortunate Kanzashi whom had the unlucky run in with a wild and mischevious raven.

However, for now... there's a lot more important things on the light blue haired female's mind. Most of the things relating to a certain sister of hers, ever since looking at the apparently sadistic photographs that the girls took of Ichika the other night, a lot of dissapointment and resentment is being directed towards Tatenashi and its apparently not all from Ichika.

Kanzashi, blinks, nods slightly and sighs to herself... the Russian girls looks Ichika dead centre in the eyes and proceedes to speak in a low and serious tone. - "Okay Ichika... now... I know all about what happened between you and the girls during Charlotte's slumber party.."

Suddenly at that moment, the assistant nurse suddenly jinks, and lets out a very hard battled titter. The purple haired beauty with nicely crafted curves seems to battle hard not to giggle,  
clearly the nurse has seen the photographs, heard the news and simply seems to see a comedy and humorous side of what happened. Though her views do her no good as Ichika sends a very angered and hurt frown over towards the nurse.

Houki and Rin fold their arms, glare at the nurse and shake their heads in unison. Upon seeing the angered expressions, the assistant nurse's pearly white grin drops. The amused look on her face drops and is instantly replaced with a slightly nervous yet appologetic face. The assistant nurse says nothing, but does hold up a hand to show that she is dropping the matter and not about to push it any further.

Kanzashi shifts her half closed eye gaze away from the nurse and maintains her looking at Ichika directly in the eyes. The assistant nurse returns to treating Kanzashi's hand as the girl herself lifts her free hand to her mouth in a balled fist and lets out a small coughs. As the girl lowers her balled hand, the Russian female gets back to the matter at hand, this time looking Ichika in the face with a symapthetic look.

"So... as I was saying... I want you to know that I know about all that has happened, and I want to say that..." - Kanzashi pauses, closes her eyes and looks down at the ground for a brief moment before looking up at Ichika and continueing with the words - "...I'm very sorry for what has happened, what my sister did was out of order.

I haven't taken any joy about what has happened, and I have asked other girls to not look or take any ammusement from what happened, so... if you see my sister, don't talk to her... in fact... I wan't to have a quiet word with her myself!" - As Kanzashi finishes her sentance a look of anger is on her face, causing Ichika, Rin and Houki to blink in surprise.

"Is... this, what you wanted to talk about?" - Ichika replies in a confused and surprised tone with a straight face.

Blinking in surprise, Kanzashi can't belive how calm Ichika is. The last time she checked, Ichika was out for the girl's blood. The only acceptions being Houki and Rin, whom took no part in the antics of that chaotic night. Kanzashi sits up straight with a surprised face, her glasses slide down for moment, as Kanzashi slowly pushes her spectacles back upwards towards the bridge of her nose, the said girl speaks in a very confused voice. - "Well... yeah, you are still hurting after all that happened aren't you?".

Ichika lets out a deeply held breath, leans forward, relaxes his nerves and body and rolls his eyes. A relived smile appears on his face for a brief moment. "Yeah... its just for a moment I thought I had done something to have upset you" - Ichika replies in clearly relieved tone.

Suddenly blushing to herself slightly, Kanzashi shoots back a friendly smile and proceedes to raise her un-wounded hand up as a form of reasurance. As she speaks the sound of her voice is a clear indication that all is okay in the so called diplomatic relations between her and Ichika.

"Oh no,... theres no problem between you and me, I just wanted you to know that I have some buisness to settle with my sister because of the stunt she helped take part in, so if you see her can you not speak to her untill I give you an all clear?".

Smiling and making a small bow in respectful acknowledgement, Ichika speaks in a warm and pleasant manner "Sure thing, and thanks for the consideration".

Kanzashi goes slightly wide eyed at this moment and gets a very bashfull look on her face. Thankfuly the Russian girl composses herself and simply looks down smiling warmly, the said girl says nothing in return and simply begins to fidget with edge of her IS uniform skirt.

unfortunately things don't suit that well with Houki and Rin whom merely frown at the pleasant and fuzzy atmosphere radiating around Ichika and Kanzashi.

It naturaly does not take long for the clingy jealous sides of Rin and Houki to appear, but thankfuly since Ichika has begun to stand up to the girl's out of line reactions, both girls have developed the habit of showing their dissaproval in an equal... if slightly... harmless manner. As a ressult Ichika soon finds himself being lifted out of the red chair under both arms by a blushing and slightly passive aggressive Rin, and jealous Houki.

Ichika can only blink in surprise as he is taken from behind and lifted out of his seat by the clingy females that for some reason just don't have the balls to grow up and express their feelings to him.

"C..Come on Ichika, I can see your getting stuffy in here... so lets go somewhere cooler" - Houki stutters in a quick and seemingly desperate acting tone.

"Y.. Yeah! What she said! C'mon Ichika, I'll let you buy me a cold drink! Wasn't that sweet of me to remind you!?" - Rin exclaims firstly with an irritated scowl which changes into that of victory. The Chinese girl closes her eyes and turns her head away in slight display of personal pride and victory whilst beginning to cling to Ichika's arm.

Kanzashi does nothing but sweatdrop slightly at the sight. The Russian girl does like Ichika but only as a personal friend, though she can't help but admire Houki and Rin's enthusiasim she also can not feel the 'Oh boy!' situation at a time like this. As Ichika is dragged out of the tent, an awkward grin is on his face, the Japanese male can do nothing but speak in a slightly put out yet comfortable manner "Okay, I guess I'll see you later okay!".

Kanzashi raises an eyebrow and smiles in a small affectionate manner as she watches the two love stricken girls drag away thier love interest. The only words that escape the girl's mouth are slight girlish chuckle followed by a friendly acknowledgeing tone "Yeah... the same to you".

Then, as Kanzashi begins to loose herself in a moment of pleasantness, a nasty and painful twinge causes Kanzashi to hiss in pain, turn her head to the left to see what is happening to her hand. Meeting the Russian girl's gaze is non other than the two assistant academy nurses, both with happy faces.

"Sorry about that... okay... thats it, all done" - One of the twin nurses exclaims in a tender and kind manner, rubbing Kanzashi's lightly bandaged hand in a loving parental way. The said nurse's eyes are full of warmth and endless kindness, which comes as some form of very much needed ease to the Russian girl.

"Take it easy okay" - The second nurse puts in, speaking in a very pleasant tone whilst giving a very lady like and respectful bow. Kanzashi smiles, blinks and proceedes to stand slowly.  
As the Russian girl stands to acknowledge the nurse's act of friendless, she fails to notice Tomoe and Kestrel casually walk away and out of the tent and back into the bright hot sunlight.

As the light blue haired beauty bows back in respect and turns to speak to Tomoe, the said girl gets an un-expected surprise as she finds herself alone. Kanzashi rolls her eyes and huffs in a form of self stress, showing the sick irony of the situation. Thankfuly, the moment does not last as Kanzashi proceedes to calmly walk out of the canvas tent and back into the near unbearable heat of the sunlight.

**\- Outside -**

Kanzashi's smile instantly drops upon feeling the heat come into contact with her fragile skin. The Russian closes an eye and turns her head to one side, sheilding her forehead with an arm.  
Sweat begins to almost instantly roll down her face and temple, anger and irritation begins to form in Kanzashi yet again. One thing is for sure, Kanzashi may never get used to this summer heat, and even if she is to get used to this type of weather... then its going to be a long and difficult road.

( "Christ sakes!... Its like walking into a furnice!" ) - Kanzashi thinks to herself, hissing in pure anger and irritation, whilst flashing a pearly white snarl to show her disapproval of the weather.

Though Kanzashi begins to suffer upon walking in the hot sunlight, help comes almost instantly. Mostly in the form of Ichika, Houki, Rin and Tomoe calling over to the Russian girl from an open aired tent with a canopy. For Kanzashi, its hard to look ahead in this form of heat, but because her ears seem to be dealing with hot air more than her face, the blue haired female manages to follow the sounds of Ichika and other's voices.

Though it seems like a struggle lasting five minutes, Kanzashi lets out a large breath of relief as she feels the shade suddenly wash over her body. Her snarl suddenly changes into a very relieved smile, and the look of joy returns on her face. As Kanzashi lowers her arm away from the top of her forehead, sweat rolls like a rainstorm down the front of her head.

Looking at the Russian with a sympathetic smile, Rin can't help but fold her arms and lean against one of the silver support poles that hold up the massive dark green coloured tent roof. The tent pole is large and bulky, bolted to the ground... so the odds of it falling because of Rin leaning against it is litteraly one in a million.

Houki grabs ahold of the waist line from the lower top half of her IS uniform and proceedes to flutter her uniform in an attempt to fan her body, seemingly not careing if the white skin of her body and navel can be seen by anybody. In a case like this, when your close to fainting from the heat, whom would care about modesty in a case like this!?

Ichika sits on the dry grass on the floor with his limbs spread apart, one knee is raised. The Japanese male definately understands how kanzashi is feeling, in a way that is! For Ichika this hot weather is simply hard to put up with, so for a girl that is used to freezing arctic weather, this weather has got to be unimaginable. Ichika can only speak in a low and careful tone as he watches Kanzashi wipe her glasses clean of sweat with a thin, silky piece of glasses cloth.

"Ah... Kanzashi, why don't you go back inside the academy and cool off, you look like your close to fainting?"

As Kanzashi carefuly places her glasses back on her face, the girl seems to make Ichika's point clear as she stumbles forward and in a weary voice replies with the words "I feel close to fainting".

The said girl's eyes are half closed, and her voice is virtualy gasping as she stumbles forward before finaly coming to a stop thanks to Houki and Rin, whom rush forward and grab the Russian girl under the arms in an attempt to stop her from falling.

Ichika stands as if with lightning reflex as Kanzashi very nearly collapses in the heat, thankfuly though... Rin and Houki carefuly manage to lead the heat stricken Kanzashi over towards little Kestrel and Tomoe. Whom both sit, side by side, on the ground on some pitch blue gym mats. As Rin and Houki help Kanzashi to sit down, both girls have deeply concerned looks on their faces.

Tomoe isn't fairing any better from the heat herself and can do nothing but place a hand on Kanzashi's left shoulder as a sign of comfort. As Kanzashi turns her head to the left to smile at Tomoe, Rin stands straight and firm, like a person about to take on a serious challenge, a frown is on her face.

"Okay.. I'm going to get us something cold, I'll be back in a moment so don't go anywhere, C'mon Ichika!"

Ichika blinks in confusion, and is taken completley by surprise as Rin marches past, grabbing his right hand and pulling him away in tow. Houki however frowns, not ammused at the sight. Though Houki secretly wants to be the girl that Ichika claims as his lover, the Japanese female is not about to step into the blazing heat again.

Anyway... being with Tomoe and Kanzashi will get a good chance to have some proper girl to girl talk, and besides... Kestrel is starting to attract to some eyes with his ability to get into contact with wildlife. So maybe it wouldn't hurt to boast that she is a close friend of the Israeli youngster that has this habit of coping with this near unbearable heat.

Haze is everywhere, its hard to imagine that this is Japan and not the desert, it had been confirmed on weather channels that hot weather was approaching, but its a good assumption that not a single person, not even the IS academy inhabitants was expecting it to be this hot.

Fanning herself with a hand in some vain attempt to get cooled off, Tomoe lets out a very deep sigh. Small sweat beads roll down the side of her temple. Despite being in the shade, the heat is clearly everywhere. The only real person whom is managing with the weather so far is just the scar faced youngster Kestrel. The only signs of heat on the child is a single, tiny droplet of sweat on his small, pale, white skin forehead.

Ironicaly, just as quickly as Ichika and Rin leave the group to get some aid, Houki notices that on Kestrel's IS uniform arm sleeve, is a large, pitch black raven. The very size alone is alarming and causes Houki's face to be suddenly overcome with surprise and shock. From a distance Ravens don't look so large, but up close and personal, its impressive at how large they can be. When one includes that Kestrel is only a 10 year old kid and merely four feet tall, the Raven is like a great large Eagle perched on his small arm.

Houki, while still standing is eyes wide, and stumbles back in surprise for a moment, causing Kanzashi and Tomoe to cast looks of curiosity her way. Just catching a glimpse of Kanzashi and Tomoe's curious gazes, Houki does nothing except slowly raise her arm, extended and stretched with an index finger pointed down at Kestrel.

Tomoe and Kanzashi practacly leap out of their bodies in shock and surprise when they see what it is that is perched on Kestrel's arm. Kanzashi freezes up stiff, eyes wide open in surprise and full of disbelief. Tomoe however overcomes her surprise relatively quickly and proceedes to smile kindly at the sight, though Tomoe is nervous around wild animals, it helps ease her rapid heartbeat as she sees Kestrel smiling timidly yet happily at the great black raven that seems to look Kestrel in the eyes with a equaly comfortable gaze.

As Kestrel tilts his head to the left slightly and proceedes to carefuly stroke the Raven's chest and body feathers with his small index finger, Kanzashi can't help but blink in disbelief. Ravens are wild animals, the bird isn't even ringed around the leg, so how come this wild animal is on friendly terms with a small ten year old human boy which it has never met!?

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing!?" - Kanzashi whispers loudly with a tone of bewilderment. The Russian girl leans to her side, the seering heat seems to blow away as amazement washes over the girl's body. Kanzashi proceedes to move slowly by shifting herself to the left, untill the side of her body comes into direct contact with Tomoe. Both girls do not look at each other as their hips and thighs press against each other. All that matters is the sight that many would not belive was possible.

Tomoe relaxes herself and maintains a friendly face, the dark blue haired beauty, with her large butterfly hair clip set beside her elegant looking ponytail blushes at how surprisingly sweet and adoreable the sight is. The Israeli youngster raked with PTSD seems to have the face of a person whom has had all problems cleared up in one move. Even though that isn't the case with Kestrel, it is worth every moment if it will help prove that there is a way for the Israeli youngster to overcome his horrific past life memories.

"Thats right... he had a sparrow perched on him earlier" - Houki speaks in a low tone filled with happiness, letting a smile form on her face.

"We didn't know untill it flew past us" - Tomoe quickly adds in a low tone, trying not to startle the black animal that seems to be fond of the harmless looking Israeli child with a pure red scar that seems to be at ease in the sunlight, under one of his two ocean blue eyes.

For Kanzashi, its hard enough just to belive the sight, but to belive the news is even more harder to belive. The Russian female adjusts her glasses to prevent their slipping, before blinking yet again, the sight is overwhelming.

As Kestrel begins to stroke the back of the Raven's head, neck and back, nothing but silence befalls the group. The three girls that are just to the right of the Israeli child remain frozen on the spot, bewildered at the sight. Then... as if on cue... a distant female with a thick spanish accent is heard shout the words "HEY! EVERYBODY! LOOK AT WHAT THE ISRAELI BOY'S DOING!".

Slowly and carefuly kneeling down, Houki closes her eyes and shakes her head in irritation. As the Japanese girl's knees touch the dry grass, a very irritated tone runs through her head,  
the girl places her index finder on the bridge of her nose, directly between the eyes. As Houki shakes her head and places a frowned expression on her face, a very low mutter escapes her lips. - "Thats all we need!".

Tomoe can say the same, but maintains her smile. The dark blue haired beauty with beads of sweat on her temple looks away from Kestrel and out to the left to get a visual on the girl that has just shattered the moment. As Tomoe narrows her eyes to look through the haze, a light green haired ponytailed girl with a gold christian cross pendant on a chain around her neck is seen with an overjoyed expression on her face. Pointing over to Tomoe and the group. To make matters slightly worse, a large quality of IS schoolgirls can be seen rushing up towards the said female that has just broken the moment.

Kanzashi and Kestrel are the only ones that do not look across and away to their left, both are simply to heavily focused on the Raven that appears to be at home on Kestrel's arm. Tomoe's heart for some reason leaps into her mouth, the Japanese female is hopeful that the mass group of IS schoolgirls are not going to rush over like a stampeede of buffalo or wilde beast.

However, fate is not on the gang's side. As a total of 24 IS schoolgirls suddenly rush forward and up towards the oblivious Kestrel. As the pack of IS schoolgirls dash forwards, nothing but amazement is on each and every girl's face. Even though there is a heat wave haze, many can still easily the long haired Kestrel, sat on a blue gym mat, back resting against a large silver tent support pole, petting the large, black feathered bird.

How the girls can manage to run around in such blazing summer heat is virtualy beyond anybody's mind, but the explination this time is in all likely hood the deep desire to be near and close to the Israeli youngster that somehow has the ability to either communicate or tame wild animals.

Though Houki stands up as slow as possible as to not startle large black animal perched upon Kestrel's arm, the odds of trying to slow down the on rushing schoolgirl stampeede is nearly one in a million. Never the less, the Japanese girl attempts to slow the over-excited females down by raising both arms and shaking both hands rapidly, shaking her head slowly in some form of attempting get the message out that the IS females should slow down or risk starteling the Raven.

Amazingly it comes as a surprise as the mass group of IS schoolgirls slow down and continue the journey over towards Kestrel in a very careful walking pace, which comes as some overwhelming relief to Houki and Tomoe. As the IS females walk into the welcoming shade of the large, green tent canopy, nothing but wide eyed expressions and smiles appear on their faces. Some girls slowly kneel down utterly blown away by the sight.

"Oh my gawd!" - An brown pigtailed American girl exclaims in amazement, a large wide open smile is on her face.

"Can you belive it!?" - A Canadian girl with a blonde bun puts in whilst rubbing her eyes, trying to make sure she isn't seeing things.

Upon hearing the girl's voices, Kestrel blinks and lifts his small head in curiosity. What he sees causes his calm and steady heart to leap in startlement, the Israeli younster's ocean blue eyes slowly widen in surprise, as his eyes meet the gaze of all 24 IS schoolgirl's faces. Each and everyone with the look of bewilderment, and amazement.

With atmosphere settling down, Tomoe and Houki take the chance to cast relieved and happy looks at each other. Tomoe practacly lets out a deeply held sigh, her heart settles down. Houki notices the eased expression on Tomoe's face and acknowledges the moment with an affectionate roll of the eyes.

"How... How has he done that!?" - A long dark red haired girl with the small Finnish flag logo on each shoulder exclaims in an amazed tone. Swinging her arm from Kestrel and towards the Raven. An index finger pointing at both the troubled Kestrel and towards his black feathered friend as the Finnish girl swings her arm back and fore.

Tomoe smiles warmly, her tone changes to that of a proud mother, yet her voice is low. The last thing that Tomoe wants to do is frighten away another animal that seems to care for the Israeli boy that has not experianced what its like to be loved or cared for.

"I don't know, he just sort of does it" - Tomoe explains, turning her head away from the Finnish girl and returning her focus back onto Kestrel and the Raven.

"Almost like something you would read in the bible" - The accented Spanish girl exclaims, tightly clutching her gold cross in cupped hands, her eyes are warm and seemingly full of love, as she gazes at Kestrel whom returns to petting the wild Raven, which simply closes its eyes and lifts up a leg, showing its feeling of relaxment and content.

As the mass group of schoolgirls begin to increase in number, and gather around the Israeli youngster blown away in amazement. From a distance the beautiful green haired Maya Yamada can't help but freeze and smile at the sight. The green haired teacher in thin framed glasses, raises an arm, motioning over a nearby Chifuyu Orimura to look at the sight. Maya's voice is a soft and happy whisper - "Miss Orimura... look!".

For the mighty scowling Chifuyu, the god annoying heat and blazing sunlight, seems to fade and melt away, becoming the sweat that rolls down the side of her head. A smug but affectionate smile forms on her face as the sight of a very popular looking Kestrel comes into view, with the shining black feathered Raven, proudly perched on his arm.

As the two teachers stare in both amazement and pride at the sight, Chifuyu can't help but affectionately comment with the words "Hmph! I can now see why my dopey kid bro Ichika is so happy to be around the kid... the kid not only has spunk, but has something else about him that makes him impressive!".

"But... don't you think that being more popular will merely cause more horse play for our girls?" - Maya asks in a curious and inquisitive tone, not taking her eyes off little Kestrel whom is once again the subject of fuss and gossip.

Chifuyu folds her arms, closes her eyes and shakes her head in a smug, yet affectionate manner, the black haired beauty proceedes to speak the words - "I wouldn't be too concerned... since we explained that Kestrel has PTSD, I'd say that our girls know a lot better in trying to go overboard or get to overly excited around the kid".

"But there is the case of Alcott, Bodewig and.." - Maya begins to explain, before being cut off by Chifuyu, raising an extended arm with flat hand palm in order to silence the matter that Maya is digging up.

"Maya... Let me stop you there, regardless of what happened during Charlotte's sleep over, I can safely say that there won't be any overboard antics any time soon" - As Chifuyu finishes her sentance, the mighty ponytailed woman relaxes her face, yet maintains her smug facial image at the same time. Maya can merely blink in concern as Chifuyu looks the said teacher directly in the eyes.

Maya's heart beats slightly faster in the usual expected anticipation, but eases of when Chifuyu raises her arms to make the traditional "Wha?!" pose. Chifuyu's voice is full of affectionate yet playful seriousness at the same time "Trust me Maya... Have I ever steered you wrong?".

Then, as Chifuyu wipes a coloumn of sweat of her brow, turns and walks away... Maya raises an eye brow and puts on an awkward face. Slightly nervous yet slightly affectionate at the same time, Maya replies only one word, in a low... ironicaly comedic tone "Ye-eesss!".

Less than a second later, Maya follows after the mighty Chifuyu, the said woman desperate... just like Chifuyu to escape this god damn annoying heat.

_**That wraps up chapter 47, like I said, this chapter is just a preparation chapter but there should be a lot more spicy chapters coming. Please read and review, also... I want to warn all you readers, that some sick BASTARD is hacking people's computers and laptops. I had a message from a dear and very much liked Fanfic liking comrade of mine, warning me about it all... the message reads: -**_

IF A PERSON CALLED SIMON ASHTON () CONTACTS YOU THROUGH EMAIL DON'T OPEN THE MESSAGE. DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE HE IS A HACKER!

TELL EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY ON YOUR LIST ADDS HIM THEN YOU WILL GET HIM ON YOUR LIST. HE WILL FIGURE OUT YOUR ID COMPUTER ADDRESS, SO COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE EVEN IF YOU DON'T CARE FOR THEM AND FAST BECAUSE IF HE HACKS THEIR EMAIL HE HACKS YOUR MAIL TOO!...

Anyone-using Internet mail such as yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on..This information arrived this morning, Direct from Microsoft and Norton. Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the may receive an apparently harmless email titled 'Mail Sever Report'

If you open either file, a message will appear on your screen saying 'It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful.'

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password and possibly your bank account details.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon... AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the antivirus softwares are not capable of destroying it yet.

The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'...

PLEASE SEND COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, And ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

_**Okay everybody... Spread the word! The last thing any of us want is some sick long streak of piss hacking into our systems. May the sick bastard burn in the fires of Hell, like Kestrel's tormentors! Okay... Untill the next chapter.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	48. Chapter 48: Charlotte is forgiven

_**Okay, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh out of the oven chapter. First of all I'd like to say that ideas for the IS academy disco and party are still being concocted so I thought in the mean time, it would be a good chance to see if Charlote can make things up with Ichika in this chapter, after all... theres still strong chapters ahead. Also on July 30th, it is the latest anniversary of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. For those of you whom are interested in more histroy, then theres a documentary called 'Sea Tales: Missing! The USS Indianapolis' it is free to watch on Youtube. So anyway... without further ado, please sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 48:

**\- IS academy Bedroom Hallway/ 13:00pm -**

Drenched in sweat, his IS uniform skinking terrible of odourful bodily fluid. Ichika wipes his brow clear of yet more freshily appeared sweat. For Ichika, the opening of summer is really becoming a handful. The Japanese male so far has had a promising day, first of all he was releaved to find his test ressults were in the green, secondly his friendly relations with Kanzashi has improved - Not that there was anything wrong with his relations with the Russian girl to start with! -.

Now, just recently, the Japanese male has had a chance to eat out with his scar faced friend Kestrel, along with Houki and Rin. The Israeli youngster had eaten a plain hotdog with ketchup at a BBQ stand, it came as some surprise to the group when Kestrel gave the game away that he had never eaten cooked meat before. Never the less, the gang had a very successful lunch, Kestrel had shown his special skills with being able to get into contact with wild birds and earned himself yet even more fame, as did Ichika, due to the fact that both boys hang around quite a lot with each other.

Ichika had left Kestrel with his interpreter Yui, along with the child's affectionate shotacons, Konoe, Rie and Yuno. Though Ichika enjoyed the child's company, the Japanese male was desperate to get showered, his head itched from sweat, his pits were drenched and his groins was screaming from the mass of sweat that was forming and rushing all over his body. Anyway... earning a shower was needed for today anyway... firstly because Ichika hadn't had the chance to shower since the antics of Charlotte's sleepover, secondly because tonights festivities were going to be in firm demand that the male smelt nice and thirdly, It gave Ichika a chance to change out of his IS uniform and into the comfort of his average civilian clothing.

So far Ichika has had no problems or trouble with any of the other students, but now the break is about to end. Sitting down, slightly on her side is, head held low, eyes fill of saddness and greif, just outside Ichika's bedroom door, is non other than the French blonde ponytailed girl Charlotte Dunois. The French blonde hasn't shown her face or speaken to Ichika since she up and went ahead with her horse play antics with various other females.

Ichika's pleasant face drops and is soon replaced with a very uncomfortable scowl. Ichika's heart seems to sour, and his blood seems to boil slightly at the sight of the miserable looking French blonde. For Charlotte, everything is just torture... first of all she was humilated by being punished in front of her school friends, secondly she was shouted at and lectured by Ichika's older and strict sister Chifuyu, thirdly and worst of all Ichika... the boy she loves... does not look at her nor does he speak to her, he takes every chance he can get to avoid her.

Though Charlotte had heard of Cecilia's failed attempt to be forgiven, it had not undermined her confidence, but deep down... the French blonde's heart is freezing with terror, the said girl can't breathe, fear and terror churns and rolls inside her gut. All Charlotte wants is for Ichika to hold her in his arms, smile and tell her that everything is going to be alright, but...  
as far as Ichika is concerned that possibility is in all likely hood, too little, too late!

Hearing footsteps gradulay getting closer and closer, Charlotte slowly turns her head to the left like a zombie. Her pale face regains colour, her eyes light up and her heart flutters as she looks and sees the shape of Ichika walking towards her. Ichika on the other hand feels nothing but resent and dissapointment, before Charlotte had acted very infantile and did what she did during her slumber party, Ichika had a lot of respect and admiration towards her... now... all Ichika feels is nothing but anger.

Charlotte does not fail to catch the sight of Ichika's angered scowl, the sight of Ichika's angered expression sends chills up her spine and causes her heart to suddenly freeze with fear. Pain and sorrow fills Charlotte's heart. As she blinks, tears begin to form in her eyes.

The ten seconds that pass, between Ichika and Charlotte's meeting, is one of the longest and worst ever felt. Ichika is desperate to shower and get changed, whilst Charlotte is desperate to make up with the black haired male, filled with anger and sour emotions.

Finaly upon reaching his door, Ichika pulls down on the handle and proceedes to open the door, mere inches away from the depressed Charlotte. Ichika had intented to walk past Charlotte and escape her pressance without saying anything at all, but Charlotte is damned if she is going to allow Ichika to simply walk away or refuse her chance to at least try to make peace. Charlotte nearly yelps in desperation as Ichika opens his bedroom door and walks inside. A lightning reaction flashes through her body, causing her to reach out fast and suddenly grab Ichika's arm,  
the French blonde clutches tighly on Ichika's arm, trembling from head to toe, trying not to become overwhelmed with emotions.

Ichika jolts suddenly to a halt, surprised at Charlotte's actions, yet at the same time fed up with having to deal with any more girl trouble. Since being with Kestrel, not a single girl has even tried to approach him and say that they are sorry. On the contary, many still take light of Ichika's humiliation, and that fuels Ichika's rage. The Japanese male does not like being sour,  
no question about it... but since Charlotte is one of the many girls at the heart of the problem, it takes all of Ichika's will power to not spin round and smack each and every girl in the face and spit in the eyes.

A moment passes, with Charlotte clutching tightly to Ichika's arm, looking at his back with a desperate expression. Ichika says nothing, causing some sickening fear to bubble inside the French blonde. Finally... after a moment, Ichika relaxes himself slightly... sighs and speaks in a low, serious tone "Release me Char".

Charlotte closes her eyes, shakes her head at a moderate pace and replies in a normal yet nervous voice "Ichika please... let me speak to you, there's so much I have to say".

"I don't want to talk you Char!" - Ichika replies in low and aggressive tone.

"Ichika I beg you!... please, speak to me!" - Charlotte responds in desperate and emotional filled tone.

Rolling his eyes and relaxing his muscles, Ichika stands easy, he shakes his head and after a moment replies in a solemn tone - "Well make it fast... I want to get a shower".

For Charlotte, the way Ichika is speaking is causing her heart to beat rapidly in fright, but his answer offers her some very much needed hope, if Ichika could just hear her out and understand that she is tearing herself apart because of her foolish horse play, then maybe Charlotte could earn his forgiveness, and earn a spot deep down in Ichika's heart.

Charlotte gulps, sighs, and then... with a heart full of mixed emotions and nerves, timidly but clearly speaks the words - "Ichika... I... I want to say... that I'm... very... very sorry, for what I did to you the other night. I acted in a very horrible manner and caused you a lot of terrible feelings and embarrasment, so... if you would just forgive me for what I've done, and give me a chance to prove that I understand and accept the punishments for my actions... then... I promise... from the bottom of my heart... that you would never regret it".

Ichika frowns and shakes his head, the said male is simply full of rage and is still clearly feeling sour for what happened, this is made all too clear as Ichika replies in a low, solemn tone

\- "Y'know Char... my real grudge doesn't only just apply to the fact that you did nothing to help me out of that situation... its due to the fact that it was YOU whom happily and willingly took part in targeting Kestrel... you targeted a child, filled with post traumatic stress... a child that has been forced to do things against his will, and as such... YOU, Laura and various other girls were happily going to take part in forcing the child into doing more things against his will... if you had left Kestrel out of it... you wouldn't be so high up on my bad side".

Charlotte gulps and lowers her head, her heart is heavy and emotions are swelling and churning out of control inside her. The French blonde is unable to find her voice, her nerves is perfectly clear to Ichika as he feels her trembling hand still tightly clutching onto his arm. Ichika's silence and not looking at Charlotte causes the French blonde to feel sick with nerves and remorse.

The French girl has had a fair idea of how rotten Cecilia feels at hurting the boy she loves and is now suffering the feeling of being hated and tossed aside like a girl after being found out cheating on her lover. However, unlike Cecilia, Charlotte is able to find her voice, just in the nick of time... as Ichika is by now on the verge of pulling his arm out of Charlotte's grasp.

"P..Please Ichika... I want to prove to that I have changed, and I want to repair the damage that I've caused you" - Charlotte speaks in trembling voice, filled with a mix of sorrow and nerves.

"Oh thats very kind of you Char, Very kind I'm sure... the trouble is... I DON'T belive you!" - Ichika speaks out in a flat and serious tone, first with ease and comfort, then changing to a mix of furious rage and bitterness. Ichika remains looking strait ahead at his bedroom window, not for one second looking down or back at the French blonde that is tearing her heart open behind him.

Proceeding to whisper in a very frightened and emotional mixed tone, Charlotte does not take her eyes off the back of Ichika's head - "Ichika, please... I beg you... give me a chance to show you that I'm being serious, and that I wouldn't do anything like this again".

Finaly... easing his body, Ichika turns his body and head to make eye to eye contact with the French girl, what Ichika sees next makes him blink in utter shock. Charlotte is looking up at Ichika with a trance like stare, filled to the brim with sorrow and depression. At first, Ichika can't help but nearly stumble back in surprise, but thankfuly, he regains his stability and composure, looks down with a frown at the French girl.

"Then... tell me Char... If you was so sorry about what you've done, then why didn't you come forward and appologise to me as soon as you got a hiding from Chifuyu-nee?" - Ichika asks in a strict and inquisitive tone.

Charlotte blinks, her eyes fill with tears, and her voice begins to crack - "I tried to come forward and appologise, but everytime I tried, you were either surrounded by others or had took off somewhere in a hurry, before I had a chance to appologise".

Ichika shakes his head and scowls at the now tearful French blonde, as he speaks his voice is filled with anger and discomfort - "Then what about the times when I was going to bed? The times at breakfast? Times at Lunch?... there where many times and chances you had a chance to come up and say you're sorry... its only now on the last day that you come up and appologise... now... I don't know what planet you come from... but that to me is like you've been taking some perverse pleasure from what happened to me that night!".

Charlotte losses her voice. The French blonde blinks, the wind is in many ways, knocked out of her. Those Charlotte is shocked, loose tears begin to roll down her face. Grief and guilt roll and churn inside her gut. The sick memory of her and some of the other girls feeling pride and making jokes of what happened to Ichika, first thing the following morning after the incident took place, replays inside her head, causing her to lower her head.

Ichika notices Charlotte's lowering of the head and her grip on his arm is felt ease up. However, Ichika does not pull away his arm, but instead takes the chance to give Charlotte a chance to feel the misery that Ichika felt when the girls poked fun and taunted him with the photos and video footage of him, being forced into gender bending.

Tears roll off Charlotte's face and land on the floor, the French blonde lets out a loud and deeply drawn sniffle. Her heart is shattering with remorse, the said girl has never felt so foul with herself in all her life. Ichika pauses, remains silent... he gives Charlotte the chance to speak, but when he hears nothing but silent clenched sobbing weezing to become more and more clear, the Japanese male simply rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

As Ichika summons only half of his strength and yanks his arm out of Charlotte's weakened grip. The French blonde violently shakes her head, balls her hands into tightly clenched fists and in a violent, loud, greif stricken, sorrow cracked voice... yells in desperation - **"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY ICHIKA!".**

Tears roll like a rainstorm down the French girl's face, her eyes are already red and swollen, yet her tears show no signs of stopping. Ichika's frown lifts briefly, it hurts to see Charlotte like this, but after suffering nothing but humiliation from a girl he looked fondly to as a friend, then common sense says that this is what she had coming to her.

Ichika can't take his eyes off the French blonde, the girl is a lot worse than how Cecilia looked and sounded, the girl is litteraly an emotional wreck. However, with the irritation of sweat and sudden memory of being treated badly in a sadistic manner, the said Japanese male turns his back to head back into his room.

Ichika's attempt to get away from the French blonde is short lived as he finds himself being tackled to the floor by a desperate Charlotte, though Ichika lands hard on his side at first, he soon finds himself laying perfectly flat on his back, Charlotte wraps her arms around his neck, her grip is hard. Aswell as her arm grip, Charlotte wraps her legs around Ichika's waist and clings to him tightly like a limpet.

Though Ichika scowls and prepares to partialy summon his IS arms to pry off the desperate girl, he is drawn out of the moment, as Charlotte howls with loud, uncontrolable sobs into his chest.  
Her face is buried deeply into his chest, the said girl trembles as she sobs in a near heartbroken manner. Through his already sweaty stuffy and hot IS uniform, Ichika can feel the heat of Charlotte's sorrow filled sobs, the warmth of her tears and the heat of her breath.

**"I'M SORRY!, I'M SORRY!, I'M SORRY!"** \- Charlotte is heard howl in utter distress and desperation, despite the voice is muffled due to the pressing of her face into Ichika's chest, it does however do some good. As Ichika's temper amazingly begins to cool off, a light switches on, causing Ichika's scowl to turn into a look of pure sympathy. Though Ichika knows that he does not have to appologise because he is not the one in the wrong, the said male manages to interperate Charlotte's emotions. Though words alone do seem convincing, the way Charlotte is acting is a pure enough act to prove that she realises that she has crossed a line that Ichika won't overlook, and that she is indeed very remorseful for what she has done.

Ichika eases up on his emotions, and although he does not say it... he comes up with a plan, that can only be described as devious yet at the same time an act of reasurance. If Charlotte is truly remorseful for her actions, and is going to turn over a new leaf, then she will have to pass three tests. The first being the task being that she has to act, speak and behave in the exact same manner as she is doing, towards Kestrel, after all... Kestrel is a victim in this just as much as Ichika is.

The second task being that Charlotte is not to raise a finger towards either him or Kestrel, EVER... if Charlotte does this, then its clear that the French blonde is all words, and not the least bit genuine. Ichika will of course tell Charlotte this condition, but only if she passes the first condition, which she has to do by herself, without being told.

The third and final task, if she can earn not only Kestrel's forgiveness, but Tomoe's, Konoe's, Yuno's and Rie's... then Ichika will forgive Charlotte for what she's done. Though the second task will be in all likelyhood a life long task, passing the first and third tasks will at least earn Charlotte a real large amount of forgiveness.

As Ichika finishes concocting this plan, he thinks seriously and confidently to himself, with a frown - ( "Thats it! I didn't want to act like this... but I've got no choice" ).

Upon finishing thinking, Ichika makes his move, after all... this has gone on far enough with Charlotte wandering around looking like a zombie. If Cecilia, Laura and Tatenashi want to be forgiven then they will have to do and go through what Charlotte is experianceing, but for now... Charlotte has to be delt with. The fact being proven as Ichika thinks to himself in a very awkward yet ironic manner with a sweatdrop ( "One girl at a time okay!?" ).

Charlotte's tenses up and freezes stiff as she feels one of Ichika's hands rest itself on the top of her head, whilst the other rests on her back between the shoulder blades. For the French blonde, it takes time, but as she feels Ichika pull her down into a loving embrace, her heart begins to beat normaly again, her tears ressume, but this time... her tears are not only filled with remorse, but also happiness, but what she doesn't know... is that her real challenge has only just started!

Loving Charlotte better slightly, and rubbing her head in an affectionate manner, Ichika speaks in low, serious yet calm tone into Charlotte's ear, the Japanese male wants Charlotte to get it into her head that if she wants to set things right, then she has to work for her goal.

"Okay Char... listen... If you truly are sorry for what you've done, then I need you to do something for me"

Tightening her grip, raising her body upwards in order to look Ichika in the eyes, the French blonde has the look of a pure heart broken female, yet her crying begins to instantly stop, her eyes are open and her grief and sorrow torn voice has the hint of pure hope and relief. The French girl looks deeply into Ichika's eyes... pauses, sniffles and after gulping... sorrowfully hisses the following words in a hope and happy stricken whisper, yet her face remains unchanged "Y..Yes Ichika... what is it...".

Trying not to be put out by Charlotte's red swollen sorrow stricken eyes that for some reason ressemble saucers, Ichika takes a breath, maintains his frown and proceedes to speak in a very serious, yet calm tone. "Firstly, I need you to get off me!".

Charlotte does not hesitate, the French blonde scrambles off her love interest and gets on her knees as Ichika sits himself upright. The French blonde's now hopeful, yet still tear filled eyes, do not leave Ichika's face for a single second.

As Ichika sits himself upright and proceedes to sit with his legs crossed, the Japanese male's serious facial image does not change for a moment, his pure brown eyes make direct contact with Charlotte's eyes. The pair remain silent for a moment before Ichika raises an index finger and proceedes to explain in a calm and rational tone

\- "Okay... Char... Listen very carefuly to me... I am willing to forgive you, but whats happened won't be forgotten at the same time... If you're realy sorry for what you've done, and you want me to belive you... then theres something you have to do first in order to make me belive every word you're saying... Do you understand?"

With her vocal tone changing to that of a person overwhelmed with relief and happiness, Charlotte trembles with relief, her eyes remain wide and full of loose tears. - "Y..Yes Ichika... I...  
I'll do anything to prove that I mean what I say".

Ichika takes a breath and in a strict tone speaks the words - "Right, If you're really sorry for what you've done, know this... its not me you should be appologising to, its the child that you took part in targeting that night, if you can convince both Kestrel and me that you're really remorseful for what you've done, then I'll be prepared to give you a chance."

Wipeing her eyes clear of tears and sniffling, Charlotte maintains a steady tremble, the French girl's sad face lifts slightly. Her heart begins to warm up, and nothing but relief fills every nook and cranny in her body. Charlotte does not reply but nods mournfuly like a guilty child.

Ichika frowns, he folds his arms and in a calm voice speaks the words - "Char... I need your word to be convinced that you're being genuine."

Charlotte slowly stands to her feet and in a timid, stuttered voice, whispers the words - "Y..Yes Ichika... I promise... I'm sorry, and I'll do anything to set things right".

Ichika rolls his eyes, huffs... and proceedes to stand in a calm manner. His angered scowl lifts slightly leaving a face that is merely just serious, which never the less is a major relief for the guilty hearted French blonde. A moment passes, with the pair standing and stareing at each other, though Charlotte continues letting out sniffles and loose tears, the said girl is clearly overwhelmed with utter high levels of joy.

Ichika himself feels slightly better with himself, knowing that he has just made a good effort to make peace, he clearly stays true to his motives and chooses NOT to show his own level of happiness, NOT because he's forgiven Charlotte, but because he dosen't have to be as cruel to the said girl as how he has been these past hours.

Then, suddenly getting the feeling of irritatingly hot weather wash over him, Ichika lifts a hand and as a gesture of peace points towards the open bedroom door. His voice is calm as he speaks the words - "Okay Char... I need to get showered, go look for Kestrel, when you see him... stay beside him and wait for me to come... I want to be there when you appologise okay?".

With loose tears rolling down her face, Charlotte bows multipule times over and over, the French blonde bowing like she has never bowed before. A bright and emotional smile is on her face, tears of joy roll down her face. Then, after making her sixth bow, whilst speaking out a series of emotional filled "Thank you's", the French blonde suddenly turns heel and rushes away, as fast as she can, some loose tears are blown of her face and into the air as the French blonde rushes away in emotional joy.

As Charlotte rushes away, Ichika sighs, walks forward slowly and closes his bedroom door. Despite feeling better that he has virtualy buried the hatchet with one of many guilty females, the said Japanese male feels very much at unease.

A wild thought rushes through his head in a stressed and exhausted tone, perfectly matching his tired out expression - ( "Thats only one problem out of the way... if Cecilia, Laura or any of the other girls come forward, then I've got the sickening feeling... that I'm going to get even more heart aches, but... all the same... I can't stand and do nothing" ).

Taking a glimpse towards his bathroom, Ichika smiles... relief is all over his face. One final thought rushes through his head. - ( "Well... that can wait for now... MY GOD! I REALLY NEED TO SHOWER!" ) - The thought is full of slight amusement as Ichika walks over towards his bathroom.

Strangely enough... tonights shower would be the best felt shower that Ichika has ever felt at the IS academy!

_**Okay everyone... that concludes chapter 48, Chapter 49 is coming soon. Chapter 48 is shorter than the others but it was intended that way, also I wanted to get Chapter 48 out of the way because like I explained during the introductions, I'd like to have my chance to pay my respects to the American sailors that lost their lives on the Portland class crusier USS Indianapolis CA-35. Which was sunk between 00:14am and 00:26am on the 30th July 1945. Out of the 1,196 crewmen whom served on that ship, only 316 survived. Anyway... enough with the explinations, all I have left to say is please read and review... Stick around everyone... I'm wishing you all the best.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	49. Chapter 49: Preparations, Preparations

_**Okay... Hello again readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, chapter delayed, I know!... You readers already know the drill so I won't bother with the explinations. All I will say is, thanks for the reviews and PMs, keep em coming and remember to feel free to speak out if you have any requests and such, I can't promise all readers their requests... but all the same... keep those reviews coming my way. Also... just to warn everybody... when August comes, I'm not sure if I will be able to do regular chapter posts, that is... I'm not sure for the start of the month anyway. PM me if you want to know why, you have untill August 11th 2015 to know why. Anyway... enough with introductions... Read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 49:

**\- IS academy / Yuno and Konoe's bedroom -**

With plain pitch black curtains drawn, in a white walled room with laminet oak wooden floors, are four inhabitants. Despite there being 2 beds with practacly no sheets, pillows or covers...  
due to the students leaving to head home for summer break... the four females that inhabit the bedroom are not in any hurry to leave the bedroom. The heat and mass dozens of people that are outside is only one excuse for hidding away in the cool, darkened bedroom like a group of anti-social oktakus... the second excuse is for something much more important... love interests!

Sitting on the foot of the bed on the furthest side of the room, just left of the window, is non other than the blue ponytailed beauty Yuno Kaguraska, looking at her Orange short haired friend Rie Sakai with a proud and happy facial image.

Despite there only being 2 inhabitants per bedroom in the IS academy, Rie is obviously more than welcome in the bedroom of her friends. The adoring Shotacons whom love the scar faced Israeli child Kestrel are clearly gathered together in the cool bedroom in order to discuss what can only be described as 'the matter at hand'. Ironicaly, every other girl at the IS academy can say the same. The matters being as follows, number one... how to attract the attention of either Ichika or Kestrel, number two... how to be officialy declared the sweetheart of either Ichika or Kestrel and number three... what precautions should be taken in case one or a bunch of the girls should do if they manage to pull Ichika or Kestrel into the bed tonight.

So far the girls are busy in trying to select what to wear at tonights festivities. Chifuyu and Maya have already made it clear that people can wear their usual civilian clothing or summer time special clothing if they wish... so this obviously is the signal for each and every girl to take the chance to use their feminine wisdom to really attract the two boys at the academy tonight. The beginning of the festivities don't start untill 16:30pm, and last untill 11:30pm so its definatley going to be a night to remember, hopefuly without any unpleasantness... so if each and every student plays their cards right, there will not be any tears, shouting or anger.

There is only 3 hours untill the start of the festivities, so the girls have the time to get themselves freshened up, and obviously many aren't wasting time to do so. Rie for one has just made that fact clear as she stands proud with her arms open, apart from her sides, making twirls to show her dear sister like friends Yuno and Konoe at how she looks.

"This should do it! This will capture Kestrel's heart for sure!" - Rie exlaims with an excited expresion, lowering her arms to her sides and making one final twirl in pride.

Rie wears a small checkered red and black skirt, showing a fair amount of thigh, the skirt ressembles that of a normal schoolgirl's. The top half of the Rie's clothing ressembles that of a schoolgirl's blouse. The navel and stomach is clearly showing, as is a fair amount of developing cleevage. What Rie is wearing can be considered schoolgirl attire, but rather that worn by a xxx rated porn star.

The Orange haired beauty has also made a good effort with the make up, the girl wears light purple eye shadow. Her lips are light but gleaming red with neatly put on lip stick. The girl's cheeks have a slight but very, very tiny pad of pink under the eyes.

As for the footwear, Rie wears the traditional Japanese student slippers. Thankfuly... its a good thing that what Rie is wearing is not considered inappropriate... which is clearly no surprise,  
ever since the IS was invented, women are the top cards in modern society, and as such... these days it doesn't matter what a girl wears as long as she's covered, instead its the boy that needs to be wearing something suitable. To make matters even more worse, Konoe and Yuno do nothing but encourage the efforts of Rie.

Yuno balls her hands into fists and clutches the top collar of her IS uniform in a form of up roar support motion, stares at Rie with a wide open smile and in an excited and happy tone speaks the words "OH! WOW! Rie, Your so daring!".

Konoe with an equal happy facial expression and proceedes to look up Rie's skirt, getting a good eye full of the girl's plain silky white knickers. - "You can easily see your under yummies, are you so desperate have Kestrel bed you tonight!".

Making a very lady like curtsey, Rie winks and pretends to blow a kiss towards towards Konoe, clearly taking pride in the moment. As Rie returns stands neatly and pleasantly, the said beauty with Orange hair makes one final twirl, clearly proud and overjoyed with her effort.

"How about you... you've made a good effort also" - Rie exclaims, pointing with some affectional joy at the long black haired beauty across from her.

Sticking her chest out and lifting her head slightly with her nose in the air, the long black haired beauty takes some steps forward. Rie playfuly leaps onto the bare bed matters, places her hands onto her lap and merely blinks in affection at her beloved close friend, joining Yuno at admiring her friend's effort.

Konoe, with her beautiful long black hair shining in the low light, places one leg in front of the other, one foot neatly and daintly placed behind the other. Konoe's attire is a light blue American prom dress. The blue dress neatly hugs the Japanese girl's body, showing the beautiful and well shapen curved hips and thin body. The said beauty wears blue high heeled shoes, matching a beautiful angel wing hair clip set on the right side of her temple.

"Hmph! Well... All I can say is... If this isn't enough to get our little Kestrel to propose marriage to me, then... I don't know what will be!" - Konoe speaks, firstly speaking with a levels of confidence, before blushing under the eyes and slightly drooling at the fantasy of seeing Kestrel and herself at a wedding altar.

Instantly reacting to Konoe's statement, Yuno glances at Rie, smiles kindly, tries not to giggle and instead affectionatley exclaims the words "Appart from having him in bed with you, enjoying every last inch of your body!".

Upon hearing Yuno's joke, Rie smirks in a smug manner, casting a confident face over towards Yuno. A moment passes before the girl replies with the words - "Well its better than your idea,  
riding naked on a horse and wearing a long golden wig!".

"Lady Godiva's tactic went out years ago!" - Konoe states in a mocking tone, folding her arms and taking pride in the friendly moment.

Yuno places a hand to her mouth and titters for a moment. Whilst Konoe blinks, a curious face appears on her features. The said girl looks over past both females sat on the bed matress and in a calm, natural tone matched with a straight face speaks the words - "Speaking of blondes...".

Konoe stands easy in a normal manner, whilst Yuno and Rie adjust their postures in order to comfortably look behind them at the fourth and lone figure sitting on the bare matress just across from the currently occupied matress. The figure has long blonde curly hair, holds its head low, an auror of utter depression and misery clearly radiates off the figure. Not even a whisper escapes the lips of the miserable female figure.

A moment masses, with the four inhabitants hearing nothing but utter silence, the atmosphere weight isn't heavy, but it is awkward. Untill finaly after a long awkward two minutes, Yuno smiles kindly and in a low and sensitive tone, speaks the words "Cecilia?... What are you doing for tonight's party? You are joining us aren't you?".

With a depressed and grief striken face, along with a loose tear that falls off the side of the girl's face and onto the laminet bedroom floor, Cecilia slowly lifts her head to show her down and glum expression. The depressed British blonde had been keeping herself away from the other students all day, not payed attention to what any IS teachers had been saying all day, skipped lunch and was only approached just a mere hour ago when Yuno, Rie and Konoe was on their way to freshen up for tonight's festivities.

When found, Cecilia was an exact copy of Charlotte and Laura... an emotional wreck, full of saddness and guilt. Thankfuly, Konoe, Rie and Yuno are simply far to friendly in order to leave a miserable person behind to rot, so therefore the three shotacons only felt duty bound to take her along with them. After all... once again... maybe some girl to girl talk could do Cecilia some good for once.

Thankfuly, unlike Laura... Cecilia is a lot more talkative, but is clearly racked with grief and saddness. As Cecilia lifts her head, her face is a clear image of how she is feeling... as is her tone as she proceedes to speak - "Whats the point of going?... Ichika hates me!".

Instantly springing forward, the humanitarian instincts inside the black haired beauty light up, and Konoe rushes forward in a very lady-like manner. Konoe's face is a mix of sympathy and worry. Concern laces Konoe's voice as she holds out her arms as if she is trying to stop a person jumping off the top of some massive tower block or sky scraper.

"N..No! Thats not true! Ichika doesn't hate you... he just... well..." - Konoe speaks, stumbling at the moment, unable to find the words or explination. Its as clear as day that Ichika holds a vast amount of hate for the girls of the IS academy that treated him like some personal toy and targeted the vulnerable Kestrel, but... surely the outcome could have been worse, but that only applies to Kestrel, whom managed to escape the slightly mischeivous antics of the IS schoolgirls. When concerning Ichika whom was not so fortunate, then the outcome has to be seen from a victim's point of view.

However... now is not the time for pettie matters, as far as Kestrel's three shotacons are concerned, which is made clear as Yuno hops off the bare, white and springy bed mattress and walks over to the British blonde filled with confidence and pride. The blue ponytailed beauty speaks as if its a matter of fact as she holds up an index finger, places a hand on Cecilia's shoulder and speaks in a very enthusiastic tone. - "Hey C'mon! Thats the talk of losers!... The only girls that don't show up at nights like tonight are complete losers, and WE aren't losers!".

Cecilia merely rolls her sorrow stricken eyes upwards to her left to look up at the ponytailed beauty, not a whisper escapes her lips. As Yuno and Konoe look down with confidence at the British blonde. Rie, leaps off the bare matress closest to the window, her short red and black checkered skirt rides up as she happily leaps off the mattress, showing her white silked under garments. How a girl like her can be so confident wearing such revealing clothing is beyond even Konoe and Yuno.

Rie smiles warmly down at Cecilia and in an equaly happy tone matching Yuno's exclaim, speaks the words "Thats right Cecilia, Losers are NOT what we are. I mean look at you, you've always been a figure of strength, not letting any challenge slow you down, and all its taken is one stupid act... and suddenly you look like a woman mourning her child".

Upon hearing Rie's comment, Cecilia slumps forward lowering her head. The British blonde is that miserable that she can't even dare look even her own gender in the face, however, thankfully Yuno is one step ahead of Cecilia's missery... and proceedes to dangle what she plans to wear for tonight's festivities on a mere simple coat hanger. Simple civilian clothing, a blue short sleeved shirt, with a pale darker blue mini-skirt.

Yuno's face is full of confidence as is her tone as she happily blinks and speaks to Cecilia - "See... I'm wearing my simple everyday clothing tonight, and I'm not ashamed of how I look, nor am I backing down, so why not lighten up?!... besides... If Ichika won't have anything to do with you then surely Kestrel will!".

Yuno's eyes go into a half closed dreamy state as she mention's Kestrel's name, the Japanese girl's heart flutters and leaps as she begins to imagine what Kestrel is going to look like tonight.  
will the Israeli youngster be wearing differant clothing? Or will he simply wear his IS uniform as usual?.

Cecilia, with her eyes filled with missery, simply and slowly turns her head to the left, and then to the right, casting up looks at all three Japanese girls around her. A moment passes before Cecilia finaly gathers her words and in a low solemn tone speaks the words "Even if I do go to tonights party, What am I supposed to do!?... Just stand around like some sad ass unoticed by everyone, then leave unoticed like a spare one at a wedding!?".

Folding her arms and smiling in a confident manner, Rie closes her eyes and shakes her head for a moment, as she opens her eyes and blinks the tone of a person proving another wrong suddenly appears in the Orange haired female's voice. "NO! There's all sorts of things to do... games to play, singing, the works!... Theres even dancing... not just solo... but also like the types to get in the fairey tales... ball room dancing!".

Sniffling, trying not to cry again, Cecilia lifts her head up, sits up straight lifts up her arms not like the 'Wha!?' pose but more like a person that is sorrow stricken, showing a variant of the 'Wha!?' position. As Cecilia proceedes to speak, the British girl's voice is cracked and rocked with sorrow and grief, a set of loose tears roll down the girl's face.

"Whom am I to dance with!?... Do you realise is customary for Ichika and Kestrel to ask a girl to dance with them if they appear at one of those dances!?... Ichika doesn't want anything to do with me! Who is going to be with me all night!?".

"WE ARE!" - Konoe, Rie and Yuno shout at the same time, in a happy vocal manner. Cecilia is taken by surprise at the friendly gesture, making her heart feel even more heavy than what it is.  
Never the less the act of kindess is very much welcome as Cecilia lowers her head an in a very sorrow filled tone, whispers the words "Thank you".

Then, placing one hand on her hip and raising another hand with an index finger pointed upwards in a pose of explination, Konoe speaks in a very pleasant manner, adding a fact that Cecilia had all but forgotten about.

"And besides... Kestrel is going to be with us all night, and... were ever Kestrel goes... Ichika goes aswell. So you'll get as many chances as you can get to earn Ichika's forgiveness".

"Not only that... but Ichika is clearly wanting a nice, pleasant night... so he won't get nasty or violent, thats not in his nature... no matter how much he's suddenly changed in one single afternoon!" - Rie puts in with a very friendly tone, the words, explination and friendly gesture are the perfect concoction for Cecilia to close her eyes, and feel a sudden growth of warmth deep inside her body, a small smile forms on her grief stricken face.

"Speaking of partying we have three hours before the festivities start, so if we want Cecilia to have a night to remember, we'd best get her freshened up!" - Yuno suddenly exclaims, with a straight and concerned face, causing Rie and Konoe to look at their blue haired friend with surprised expressions, and for Cecilia to look up at Yuno with a curious expression.

After a brief moment, all three females smile at each other and quickly proceede to look at Cecilia with eager and excited faces, causing Cecilia to blink in utter surprise at all three of Kestrel's loving Shotacons. A moment passes before Konoe speaks in a happy and friendly tone - "C'mon Cecilia, lets get you ready for tonight, after all... we have something here that will knock the socks off you!".

Cecilia inhales a breath, all negative emotions seem to fade away, and seem to be replaced with nerves ressembling those of a bride on her wedding night. Excited and with a heart full of flutter. The emotions filling Cecilia are made clear as the British Blonde proceedes to speak in a nervous voice, matching her trembling body. - "Okay... lead on".

Kestrel's loving shotacons smile with triumph at each other, as the British blonde stands to her feet, with a face looking like she is ready to take on the world. Less than ten seconds later,  
the sounds of girlish chatter and the moment of selecting clothing fills the slightly empty bedroom.

**\- Elsewere/ unknown IS academy bedroom -**

In another white walled bedroom, ressembling that of Yuno and Konoe's bedroom, equal in terms of being empty in terms of bedroom needs, but not equal in terms of being positioned, as the bed on the left is closest to the window as opposed to the right bed being close to the window in bedrooms like Ichika's... stands non other than the dark blue haired Japanese beauty Tomoe, along with the popular IS long sleeved schoolgirl Honne, along with fellow IS schoolgirl friends, the short purple haired Kiyoka Aikawa, and the blonde haired Tina Hamilton. All four IS schoolgirls being in some unknown persons bedroom for matters that can only be related to the excitement for tonight's party.

Tomoe having a confused face, matched with an anxious heart beat. Tomoe had been enjoying a nice peaceful lunch with Yui and Kaede, untill she was taken by surprise and slightly dragged away to this unknown bedroom, needless to say... Honne, Kiyoka and Tina's motives are clearly harmless as the three girls had released their grip on the anxious female and had begged for Tomoe to stay with them.

Despite feeling awkward and nervous, trying not to remember her scrape during Charlotte's sleepover, the dark haired female has been reasured in a very forward manner that the girl's motives are peaceful, aswell as leaving the bedroom door open in order to show Tomoe that the three females mean no harm.

Fortuneatley Tomoe's curiosity overcomes her nerves as she sees various boxes being thrown out of a open closet. The sounds of clothing on hangers clatter with movement as the long sleeved Honne continues to crash around, intent on finding something that she is not about to let slip away.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head Tomoe begins to walk forward slowly towards the opened door of the bedroom closet. As Tomoe begins to walk forward, the American beauty Tina sits on a white bare mattress beside the window and with a raised eyebrow, followed by a curious and concerned voice speaks the following words - "Honne... are you sure its okay for us to be in here?".

Honne does not look back, but instead continues to proceede kneeling, opening small drawers, placing in a hand and pulling out various papers or odd bits and pieces before moving onto another, looking a bit like a woman crazed with panic looking franticaly through drawers intent on finding something that seems vital to her very life, or at least for her life's safety.

Though Honne does not look back, a very friendly and happy reply is heard from the excited and frantic long sleeved Japanese female "Sometimes! My sister doesn't know where here so its best we find what we need and leave before she comes back!".

Upon hearing Honne's pleasant reply, Kiyoka and Tina cast surprised if shocked faces, both girls are filled with disbelief. However, neither girl says anything back towards the excited if slightly mischievous Japanese female, whom is now finished rumaging through the bottom set of drawers, springing in an excitedly upwards into a standing position, and beginning to repeat her frantic movements in opening and turning out the drawers in the top half of the closet like cupboard.

With a straight face, doing her best to ignore the sounds of clattering, drawer opening and chaotic noises, aswell as seeing papers, make up instruments and differant coloured bottles fly out of the open door, crashing to the floor and beginning to make the room look like a real chaotic mess.

Pulling a slightly awkward smile whilst looking down to make sure she doesn't stand or trip on any of the various items that Honne has thrown out of the closet like some excited and messy five year old child, Tomoe eventualy makes it towards the door frame, however... the dark blue haired Japanese female is soon forced to leap back in terror as a large brown book suddenly comes flying at her face. Causing Tomoe to blink and leap backwards slightly in fright and shock.

The brown book itself lands mere inches away from Tina's feet, which are neatly placed side by side in a very lady like way at the foot of the striped down bed. The American girl can only roll her eyes and sigh in an awkward manner. Kiyoka closes her eyes and smiles in a kind yet awkward manner, both girls ironicaly have the same thought in their heads, which sound directly at the same time from a third persons point of view - ( "Engergetic is one thing she isn't lacking!" ).

Blinking, taking a few breaths and taking a moment to regain her composure, Tomoe regains her normal, neautral facial image, yet as she proceedes to speak, the said female makes the emotion of feeling awkward clearly evident as she proceedes to speak in a low, clear and serious tone, not for one second bothering to look at what Honne is doing or risk getting hit in the face with some various form of self made debris.

"Ahh... Honne... What exactaly is it you're looking for?"

Amazingly, Honne is instant to respond as the long sleeved female rapidly darts towards the door jarm, places her left hand on the white wooden door frame, leans the top half of her body to one side, looks a slightly startled Tomoe in the eyes and with a very beaming, happy smile replies with the words - "Something that will help us get some real dates tonight!"

Lowering her shocked face, Tomoe's facial image quickly becomes awash with confusion. Though Tomoe heard Honne mention the word 'Dates', she can't see where it is Honne is going. However, in some form of self-sensibility the dark blue haired girl chooses to remain silent and close her left eye slightly, tilt her head and raise an eyebrow to show her confusion. Hopefuly Honne will spill the beans and explain exactaly what it is she is up to, that is... if the gods of sensibility are following the bouncy if slightly air headed Honne around today!

As Honne dashes back into the open closet and proceedes to continue crashing around like an excited child, Tomoe can only shrug her shoulder and hold her arms apart from her sides in a motion of a slight 'Wha?' moment. The Japanese female exchanges confused looks with Kiyoka and Tina, and soon a moment passes by with all three females looking towards the open closet and back to each other. Each girl does not make even the slightest whisper as the sounds cluttering and the sight of junk being thrown out of the open door resumes once again.

Thankfuly, the moment is very short lived, as Honne is soon heard shouting in a cry of utter happy triumph, causing all three females to blink, jump slightly and rapidly look at each other in disbelief. Each girl clearly showing that neither has ever experianced or seen a moment like this before, though it is amazing in one respect, it is also very bewilldering in the other.

"FOUND IT!" - An overjoyed Honne shouts, followed by the long sleeved female rushing out of the closet making a joyful and happy leap over a large pile of thrown coats, clothing and paper work, the long sleeved Honne leaping over the small pile as if it is a miniature hurdle. As Honne ends her leap, letting her hair, clothing and slightly bouncing breast settle, the said girl gives her three female friends a chance to look at what it is that she has been so fussed over.

Tomoe calmly walks over towards the sat down Tina with crossed legs, Kiyoka simply takes a few steps forward as the said Japanese beauty is standing just a few inches away beside the bare white mattress. As Tomoe joins her two inhabitant friends, all three pairs of eyes soon stare with intent at a red object being tightly and intently held in Honne's sleeved hands. Despite her fingers are obscured by her long sleeves, it is clear as day that Honne is not about to release the object that she holds in comfortable yet heavily secured grip.

In less than a second, all three females interperate what the object is... a large red book, with a large silver heart illustration set directly in the middle of the book cover. Just above the silver heart that shines elegantly in the daylight that beams and fills the room, are a set of words writen in large shining silver letters. The book looks exactaly like something that one would buy for their sweetheart on valentines day.

After a moment of looking closely at the red book, Tomoe slowly and clearly speaks out the book's title, slightly pausing between each word in a tone of confusion and wonder - "Love... dates ... sex... and... you?!".

Blinking with confusion, Tomoe casts a curious look at the proud looking Honne, whom merely sticks out her chest as if she is taking a lot of warmth and pride in the situation. Kiyoka and Tina remain silent, both girls are interested, but at the same time slightly curious as to what it is Honne has in mind, though in some ironic twist... all three girls have a fair idea as to where it is Honne is going... but, then again, it is worth giving the friendly long sleeved female the benifit of a doubt is it not?.

As Honne lowers her arms, letting her sleeves run down to show her smooth, bare skinned arms... before holding her red book, fliping it over and proceeding to open the red attractive book,  
Honne holds the look of utter excitement on her face. Her smile is large and her eyes seem to sparkle, deep down the girl's nerves are on turbo and her heart is fluttering with anticipation.

Kiyoka, Tina and Tomoe remain silent, resembling the look of interested students looking and listening to their teacher as Honne holds the red book in one hand, ressembling the look of Maya when holding a book with a single hand and giving lessons.

The comforting atmosphere is very much welcome as Honne shows her enthusiasim by holding up in Index finger as if its a matter of fact before changing the upward pointed index fingered hand into a flat hand palm and placing in on her hip, mimicking a woman not ashamed to strut or show her attractive body off to the slobbering millions.

Honne's spirit is perfectly matched by her equaly happy voice, speaking in a highly confident manner, matching her mimicked flashy pose - "Trust me girls, this book has everything a girl needs to know about charming her man!".

Upon finishing her sentance, Honne's pose instantly changes as she begins to hold the red book with both hands, her happy facial image reappears and her normal everyday bouncy and engergetic tone reappears, showing a slight form of pure innocence and being naive. - "Besides... if its worked for my sister it should work for us!".

Blinking and feeling somewhat deflated about the matter, Kiyoka is first to express her doubts on the matter, the girl can't help but feel as though the mallet of irony has hit her 'Smack,  
Bang' on the head. Its true, Honne's plans ARE what Kiyoka was anticipating, but at the same time Honne's spirit is not to be underestimated, and her efforts are something to be admired by.  
So the least Kiyoka can do is lower her opinion down to a more friendly level.

"Yoouuu... don't seriously think that is going to work do you?" - Kiyoka speaks out in a low and slightly delicate manner, raising an eye brow and looking Honne directly in the eyes.

Tomoe feels the same, but is oblivious to a small blush forming under her nose and eyes, thankfuly, Honne, Kiyoka and Tina fail to notice the blush as Tomoe quickly regains control of her normal, comfortable emotions. As Tomoe speaks, it is clear as crystal that Tomoe has her doubts towards the so called 'Love aid' book in Honne's hand. As Tomoe speaks her tone is equal to that of Kiyoka's the only differance in this matter is that Tomoe points an index finger, smiles kindly, turns her head away to the left slightly whilst rolling her eyes to the right to maintain eye contact with the cheerful Honne.

"A bit dated... don't you think Honne?"

Scoffing in a playful manner, Tina calmly stands to her feet, extends an arm whilst speaking in a very confident yet smug manner towards the long sleeved Japanese girl. - "Hmph! If you want to know how to win a man's heart, you best ask the only ones who are masters in these matters..."

Kiyoka and Tomoe blink and look with confused faces at the blonde American girl in silence and curiosity. A few seconds pass before the blonde female sticks out a thumb and quickly proceedes to level it at her chest. Tina's eyes close for a brief moment as a wave of pride washes over her, then... as if on cue... Tina continues her sentance. "...and that would be us, the Americans!"

Almost instantly, Kiyoka and Tomoe sweat drop and half close their eyes, both girls are unable to find their voices. Honne merely misses the point in some comical manner, due to her simply pushing Tina's hand away and putting on a slightly irritated scowl. Honne's lack of getting the point is made clear as she speaks in a serious defensive manner - "Don't touch my sister's book".

Recovering from the awkward moment, Kiyoka places both hands on her hips, lowers her head and lets out a slightly frustraited sigh. As she lifts her head up Kiyoka regains eye contact with Honne, and as if in one last desperate attempt to try and talk her out of what mischeif she has in store, speaks in low and concerned voice - "Look Honne, we do admire you're spirit... but don't you think reading crappy old books to get tips of picking up a boy you like, as a somewhat... old fashioned... out of date method!?".

Closing the red book and placing it firmly to her chest, Honne folds both arms, sheilding the book. The Japanese girl is seemingly unaffected by Kiyoka's statement, and simply seems to get even more energised by the statement. Honne simply responds by sticking out her chest, raising her chin, closing her eyes and shaking her head. As she opens her eyes and looks the seemingly mocking Kiyoka in the face, Honne's tone is that of a person whom is hell bent on getting what she wants with a mix of pure innocence. "Nope! I think its a good idea... and if you ask me,  
its just what we need!".

As Honne proceedes to walk eagerly away with the red book pressed firmly to her chest, the said Japanese girl's happy tone does not change for a single second as she speaks the following words "C'mon, follow me... I've got some really beautiful dresses and clothing we can try on".

Casting one final look at each other, all three females sigh in defeat, knowing its impossible to change Honne's mind in a moment like this. Tomoe, Kiyoka and Tina soon give chase, and rapidly follow the eager Japanese girl out of the bedroom and down the corridors. Leaving behind a cluttered and slightly devastated bedroom behind like a bunch of three year old kids, ironicaly as Tomoe follows Honne and the other two girls down the white corridors, one thought rolls through her mind in a slightly ironic manner - ( "Since I got to know Kestrel, I've grown real fond of the other girls here in the academy... but I can't help feeling that sometimes I'm surrounded by a bunch of idiots!" ).

_**Phew! That's chapter 49, Chapter 50 will be coming up soon... As a treat, I think chapter 51 will be the start of the partying, so if anyone has any requests for things they want to see happen, or if they just want to wait untill that chapter comes... feel free to message me. Please read and review, also as I explained during the introductions, future chapters may be delayed untill after August 11th, So I do appologise in advance... so... anyway... For those of you whom write fics yourself, then may they get the best reviews and follows possible and remember I'm wishing all you readers the best. Untill the next chapter...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	50. Chapter 50: Teacher's party preparations

_**Black Falcon 01 is back again with a new chapter, fresh out of the oven and ready to read, okay... now... I won't become burdensome with any introductions, as I have none to say for once. Heck! That actually isn't bad for once... anyway... no words, just sit back, read and enjoy!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 50:

**\- IS Teachers lounge 14:30pm -**

To say that its just the students that are excited by an on-coming party would be totaly untrue, ever since the end of the morning's closing celebrations... or at least... the final briefings, nearly every single IS academy teacher is making an effort to turn up in either an average or stunning way in order make festivities all the more better for the learning and study stressed IS students. Though many academy teachers would merely remain dressed in usual attire, the IS academy is an exception. The green haired and very friendly IS academy teacher Maya Yamada is definate proof of the happy atmosphere that fills a currently half filled teacher's lounge.

The Green haired teacher in glasses smiles happily as she looks from left to right, observing and admiring the efforts of the many differant IS teachers whom exchange pleasant remarks to each other. The green haired teacher is dressed in the exact cow skinned, cosplay like attire that she wore during the "Cater to Ichika, service battle".

**Note: Watch that episode on Youtube, under title season 2 episode 5 if you haven't seen that before. Its complicated for me to describe Maya's party wear so I won't put any details into that!**

To think that Maya is comfortable wearing such revealing clothing is unbelivable, but the facts for her comfort could be down to be surrounded by nothing but females at the IS academy, and since the only males at the academy is the dense and friendly Ichika, and the timid and fragile Kestrel, it is probably no surprise that the green haired Maya is so comfortable showing the appeal of her body, despite not aiming for any indecent intentions anyway.

As Maya stands confident with her hands behind neatly placed behind her back, the said woman takes in a very deep breath, closes her eyes before exhaleing and blinking with a warm and very pleasant smile on her face.

As Maya turns her head to the left, the green haired teacher's emerald green eyes become set on a sight that makes her break into a very excited and impressed smile. The teacher's smile opens, showing an over excited look. Walking up towards the green haired teacher dressed in her revealing attire, is non other than the black haired teacher Kaede. The dark haired teacher maintains her usual hair style, but what causes Maya to break into an over joyed facial expression is what Kaede is wearing.

The warm and friendly Kaede wears a dark blue-greenish skirt that has yellow flowers on the bottom right, tied up by a ribbon, and a green kimono underneath. She also wears light brown heels and a darker shade of brown socks. The clothing that Kaede wears is the cosplay outfit to what the anime character 'Dora-tan' wears from the anime 'Etotama'. The only acception here is that Kaede's hair is unaltered, there are no thin framed glasses or deer horns on her head, but never the less Kaede has made a very good effort.

"Kaede! Is that what you're wearing to the party tonight?!... It looks stunning!" - Maya asks with a very friendly and happy expression, the question turning into a joyful comment in a very warm and friendly tone.

Blushing slightly and looking down with a nervous yet pround and small smile, Kaede blinks and pauses before lifting her head, making a small girlish titter and replying back in an equaly friendly manner - "Heh,heh... yeah... well Chifuyu Orimura did say for us to wear festive clothing, and aparently Mizuho said that cosplay was a sighn of festivity so... well... I sort of went with what she said".

Placing her hands together as if she is about to clap, Maya blinks, maintains her friendly smile and replies back almost instantly - "Oh No! Theres no problem at all with what you're wearing! It looks absolutely perfect on you!".

Unable to find her words, the flattered and clearly bashful Kaede can do nothing but give a pleasant bow back in return, an over joyed smile is set upon her face. As Maya acknowledges Kaede's bow with an equaly lady like and kind bow back in return, a thought runs through her mind, the thought focusing on the academy's strict, yet secretly warm hearted librarian Mizuho. Since the day Maya met the dark haired Librarian for the first time, nothing but unease and nerves was felt around the strict and very unfriendly woman, but... once again, since Kestrel came to the academy, some very drastic if slightly unprodicted changes have befallen the inhabitants at the IS academy, and in many ways... these changes have brought some very good ressults.

Maya makes this fact clear as she straightens herself up and looks away from Kaede and towards the lounge wall, in the direction of the academy library one thought rushes through the happy and excited teacher's mind - ( "I never knew that Mizuho could be so thoughtful, needless to say... since Kestrel came here, theres been quite a lot of surprises!" ).

A few moments pass and soon Maya turns her head back round to face Kaede, whom at the moment is observing the other IS academy teachers with an impressed look on her face. Maya can't help but exchange smiles and looks of utter uncontrollabe joy with Kaede as both teachers soon become embroiled in observing the other IS teachers, either helping each other to dress or helping each other pick what to wear for tonight's party.

The sounds of female gossip and chatter fill the air, the room which is filled with mature ladies sounds like a classroom or the cafateria filled with schoolgirls, the ressemblance is uncanny, but then again, the saying is true that Boys will be boys, but at the same time... girls will be girls!

The fact is proven as Maya and Kaede look over towards a pair of female teachers, one of the said teachers wearing a typical grey office suit like uniform with long black hair and green eyes holds up two coat hangers, one coat hanger in each hand. The black haired teacher has a happy yet confused look on her face, the woman is clearly unsure of what she should wear for tonight. Folded neatly on one coat hanger is some summer time clothing, the other coat hanger has a neatly folded kimono.

Across from the black haired teacher stands another school teacher, the other female has short purple hair and brown eyes, the woman wears a black school teacher uniform attire. The purple haired woman places a hand under her chin and holds a confused yet inquisitive look on her face, clearly trying to help her friend choose what to wear for tonight.

Maya and Kaede maintain their smiles as they turn their attention towards a group of as many as five more school teachers. Each sat down on a light green chair each, discussing on what should be done for tonight in regards to the students. Though the teachers are not yet dressed in any other form of clothing, it is clear that the spirit of tonights festivities are not hindering their responsibilities as teachers to the many hundreds of bouncy, if mischievous IS schoolgirls.

"Everyone seems to be fired up for tonight" - Kaede states in a calm and pleasant tone.

Folding her arms and putting on a cheerful expression Maya looks her dark haired colleage in the face and replies in a slightly excited tone "Yeah well, it would be bad for the students if we didn't show that we have a sense of humor aswell as they do, after all its good to let the hair down and enjoy being a free human being isn't it!"

Closing her eyes and nodding for a breif moment, Kaede begins to feel a small vibe in her heart. The black haired teacher begins to feel the first twinges of excitement, though the teachers are going to supervise tonight's festivities, there is going to be plenty of chances for all the staff at the IS academy to blow off some steam, not just by dancing or singing, but by doing various other activities, and deep down in Kaede's heart... the feeling of being a teenage girl has suddenly reapeared.

Ironicaly Maya doesn't fail to notice and can do nothing but place a hand on Kaede's shoulder. Though the sudden feeling of being touched on the shoulder defuses the sudden feeling of reicarnated youth, it quickly reapears as Kaede's eyes make eye contact with the playful looking face of Maya. Though Maya isn't really a councilor... her voice and methods for helping a person is something worth observing as she gently rubs Kaede's shoulder and in happy and careing tone speaks the words - "Its okay, I know... I'm excited too, don't worry... I'll be with you tonight, so don't worry about things getting out of hand okay?!".

Kaede pauses for a moment and then, after a mere few moments, places a hand on top of Maya's resting on top of her right shoulder. Kaede's heart calms down, the feeling of pure relaxment overwhelms the teacher's body. One thing is for sure, Maya's humanitarian personality towards troubled, innocent people is sure as hell something to be impressed by. Even Kaede makes the point evident as she warmly thinks to herself - ( "We'd be lost without Maya, I'm sure glad that I chose to work under her suppervision, she's the closest person I can feel the most comfortable around... apart from my mother and father!" ).

As Kaede glances down at the floor and becomes lost in thought, a sudden realisation hits Maya smack in the face like a custard pie. The green haired teacher's happy face drops and is quickly replaced with surprise and concern. Though Maya's emotions drop to a neutral state, the look on Maya's face is clearly rocked with concern and somewhat nervousness. Thankfully, Maya, being her usual open self... lets her concerns be known as she quickly snaps her focus away from three IS school teachers dressed as shrine maidens and looks at Kaede's turned away face.

As Maya withdraws her hand from Kaede's shoulder the green haired teacher proceedes to speak in a calm, clear yet slightly concerned voice - "OH! I just remembered!... Where's Chifuyu?".

Blinking with a straight and neutral facial expression, Kaede turns to look Maya in the face and in a calm tone speaks out - "Chifuyu Orimura?... She said she wanted to speak to Yui alone for a few minutes, so she went to her office".

"When was this?" - Maya asks, now slightly interested and amazed at Kaede's explination at the absence of the mightiest woman that has ever lived in Japan.

"About two minutes ago" - Kaede replies, clearly at loss as to why Maya is so interested in suddenly being focused on being in Chifuyu's pressance.

"Really... ohh... I wonder why she wants to speak to Yui... alone!" - Maya exclaims, rolling her eyes before looking up with a concerned and pained expression. Feeling slightly left out at not being allowed to be around Chifuyu and be a part of what it is that the said woman is so interested and speaking about. As Maya places her hands on her hips, and shakes her head in a form of showing that her confidence has been slightly deflated, Kaede can do nothing but simply blink, close her eyes and smile awkwardly at the moment.

Thankfuly, the atmosphere lifts as the two teachers are suddenly approached by a pair of IS academy teachers wearing police women uniforms, and in less than 2 seconds the plans for the nights festivities, conversations on dress sense and pleasant atmosphere reapears. Staying that way untill all teachers make their moves and leave the room hell bent on enjoying tonight's partying with their hard worked out students.

**\- Elsewhere/ Chifuyu's office -**

In its usual low lit, cool and slightly frightening atmosphere, Yui sits up straight in a visitors arm chair in a very pleasant and lady like way. While Chifuyu sits behind her desk with arms folded and legs crossed. Normally Yui is full of nerve and curiosity when called forward in a slightly strict and cold manner by Chifuyu Orimura, but today is a differant manner.

The interpreter of the scar faced Israeli youngster at the IS academy is remarkably calm. Her face is a clear example of being calm, her heart is beating at a steady pace and her palms and temple are clear and dry, not a bead of sweat is on the said woman's body.

On the other hand, Yui is full of confidence, the said woman has had a feeling that Chifuyu would want to speak to her alone sooner or later, and to be prepared already is clearly an advantage in cases of when things can suddenly happen without warning, so it clearly pays to be ready for all eventualities.

For the moment, Chifuyu hasn't even made a single hint of what it is she wants to talk about, all she's done so far is speak in a calm yet cold tone, sit in her office chair and stare Yui in the eyes. Not blinking for a single second, and for Yui to feel so comfortable and calm around Chifuyu at a moment like this is purely phenomanal.

A moment passes with nothing but silence being exchanged between the pair, untill after what to Yui seems like an eternity... Chifuyu closes her eyes, lowers her head and lets out a sigh.  
As Chifuyu raises her head and looks Yui in the face, the all mighty black haired woman speaks in her usual cold tone - "Okay... I trust you have a good idea of why I brought you here?".

Yui responds instantly by blinking, frowning and in a calm yet annoyed tone speaks her mind's words - "I have a fair idea of why you've brought me here... I take it... it concerns our Kestrel?".

Smiling slightly, Chifuyu leans forward in her arm chair and proceedes to place her elbows on her large wooden desk. Chifuyu's smile disappears as she places her hands together, as her fingers entwine through the gaps between opposite fingers on each hand, Chifuyu pauses before replying back - "Correct...".

At this moment, Yui's heart beat increases slightly, the office like woman's mind remains clear of thoughts, yet her heart is a race with dread and fright. However, Yui has very good reason for feeling this way, when matters concerning Kestrel rise, it is a moment of feeling nervous... and the what Yui is fearing the most at this moment, is that Chifuyu is going to inform her that Kestrel is going to have to stay at a care home or at a church, or that a bunch of people that claim they are the child's parents are going to snatch and take him away from the academy. Kestrel has already made it clear that he does not want to go back to Israel... so if someone is going to try and use force on the child, then its clear that things are going to get messy.

Kestrel himself has made that clear, the kid's IS can't be removed from him because that will kill him, and the kid is clearly powerful for his age, so if its not for the child's safety then concern must be put into account for whomever it is that has got the idea of targeting the said youngster in the first place.

Thankfuly, Yui's rapid heartbeat is eased as Chifuyu leans back and after a moment of moving her arms, pulls out a remote from her desk drawers and proceedes to click a button. Directly on cue, the room glows red as a large holographic 3D image of Kestrel's 'BLACK PHOENIX' IS is suddenly displayed before the two women.

Chifuyu maintains her slightly firm grip on the remote as she leans back in her large leather arm chair, her legs remain crossed. As she speaks, its perfectly clear that any frets or fears that Yui holds are merely just nightmare'ish fantasies, in fact... what Chifuyu is bothered about can be considered far more important when concerning matters at the IS academy.

"This... is what I want to discuss" - Chifuyu speaks in a low and serious tone, clicking yet another button on her remote and causing another red holographic screen to appear direclty to the right and to the side of the first red holographic screen which houses the 3D image of the 'BLACK PHOENIX'. Upon the second 3D holographic screen appears the IS rifle weapon which ressembles the 'Gundam Wing Tallgeese Dober gun'.

Above the 3D holographic image that glows red appears large white letters that stand out in the holographic screen which reads 'PROMETHEUS'. Various words, data readouts appear in listings that roll upwards in smaller transparent boxes bellow the the 3D schemathic light image.

Looking at the data and holographic images being presented before her, Yui is at loss for words, though this isn't the first time that she's seen the data or Kestrel's IS, the sight never fails to amaze her. However, the main reason why Yui is at loss for words is upon taking another look at the data readout on the IS rifle like cannon. Though various data is not related to power readouts or anything important, and is just linked to numbers and messurements, one such description causes Yui to blink in wonder.

The data description mentioning that the 'PROMETHEUS' firing solutions can be either semi-fired or can be fired as a large beam. Though Yui is at the moment oblivious, Chifuyu manages to give Yui the hint of what it is that she is so interested in at the moment.

Leaning back in her chair, her facail image standing out in the bright red glow that engulfs the room. Chifuyu folds her arms yet again and in a calm and very clear tone speaks the words "Don't worry Kestrel won't be fighting any IS battles... one reason is because the term here at the IS academy is over, the second reason is because I don't want other people to see what it is that the kid's IS weaponry could do!".

Lowering her head and letting relief wash over her, Yui's confusion suddenly returns as she lifts up her head to take another look at the 3D presented images. Ironicaly... Yui does not get what it is that Chifuyu is wanting. Which causes the said black ponytailed woman to sweat drop, and lean her head back feeling like she has just been portrayed as a complete idiot.

As Chifuyu regains eye contact with Yui, the said woman places an index finger between her eyes for a moment, before clearing her throat in a light and clear cough and proceeding to speak in a calm and rational manner.

"I'd like to see Kestrel fire a fully charged beam shot, from his... 'Prometheus'". - Chifuyu states in calm and clear manner. Upon hearing Chifuyu's statement, Yui's eyes widen slightly.

Allowing the chance for Chifuyu's words to develop and become clear in her mind, Yui's blood soon runs cold. Fear and nerve spreads throughout every nook and cranny in her body, but the said woman does not tremble. Yui has seen Kestrel fight, and as such has seen Kestrel fire only single semi fired shots from 'Prometheus' during battle. However, the woman is smart enough to acknowledge what data readout's say about Kestrel's IS and its weapons.

If data readout on Kestrel's 'Prometheus' is true, then its a fair assumption that a fully charged beam shot would be totally devastating, maybe even more appocalyptic than that of a nuclear explosion. Though everything is just data words and readout, nothing is determined in real life experiance, but never the less... Yui is a mass of nerves and can clearly and hardly belive a word that is being said to her.

"You are jokeing!?" - Yui virtualy whispers in disbelief as Chifuyu clicks the off button on her remote, letting the red glow of the room suddenly disspear and letting the low light darkness envelop both women. Yui's face is white and pale, her eyes are wide and a bead of cold sweat rolls down her temple, the Japanese woman's heart seems to have stopped and not a single breath goes in or comes out of the said woman's mouth.

Chifuyu sighs, shakes her head but says nothing as she proceedes to open a drawer and put away her remote. The silence that comes from Chifuyu causes Yui to feel extreme levels of sickness at what Chifuyu has just suggested or demanded.

Upon acknowledging Chifuyu's silence Yui speaks again in a near desperate tone - "Chifuyu Orimura... Are you suggesting that we let a traumitised child like Kestrel, unleash the full fury of a weapon that hasn't even been pushed to its full potential even in test firing!?".

Chifuyu lowers her head and closes her eyes for a moment, as she stands, all Chifuyu can do is stare at Yui and speak in a near grim manner - "I wish I was jokeing Yui... I'm sorry".

As Chifuyu folds her arms and glances down and away from Yui, clearly not wanting to make eye contact, Yui reacts on her nerves and raises herself slowly out of her chair as she stands up, the black haired woman does nothing but stare at one of the office walls in disbelief.

It can't be denied, that Kestrel is a remarkable child with a lot of skill and potential at fighting and IS piloting, but at the end of the day, the child is troubled, the child's mind is wounded and broken, and now he is to be used in a test or experiment that may cause reverse effects on not only others but the child himself... that has got to be illegal, but as all rational and intelligent people know... that some big shots or sicko's that belive they are smarter and have more authority over others, would go to unimaginable lengths to get what they want.

Fortuneatley, because of Kestrel's situation concerning his past, IS and age... Kestrel should get away with being used on a lighter scale and because of his skills, he should be able to get himself out of any unpleasant or uncomfortable situations without any real obsticles in his way... but sadly, this factor isn't clear to the two women at the moment, the real matter at hand here is the bizare desire from heads or members of either U.N or govermental IS management.

"Those... sad bastards that we call members of our goverment want an innocent, fragile, ten year old child to be used as an experiment in IS weapon testing!?" - Yui slowly speaks in a low and calm voice, clearly hinted with rage at the sudden demand that must have been weighed down on Chifuyu's shoulders.

Chifuyu casts a surprised glance at Yui upon hearing the woman use vulgar language, but is also surprised at how sharp the said woman's mind is. Though Chifuyu is expected become formal and act with authority, the black ponytailed woman chooses not to use that tactic, the reason for being is because Chifuyu does not approve of this plan anymore than what Yui does.

"Close... very close... but not ALL of the big IS management freaks approve or know of this idea either, Tabane Shinonono has said that she will take management of this wild idea, so there won't be any chance of some sad asses getting their hands on, or demanding the hand over of Kestrel, but... yeah... what you've said fits the picture perfectly". - Chifuyu speaks in a low, careful yet serious tone.

"No... No its not real..." - Yui speaks in a low tone mixed with a slight form of whisper, beginning to pace round and round the large visitors chair. Placing the tips of her fingers to her forehand and placing her other hand on her hip.

The atmosphere becomes sickening, the utter feeling of helpless and hopelessness washes hard over both women, Yui is a perfect example as she removes her hand from her forehead and walks around the vistors arm chair with a distressed look on her face, her vocal tone is a perfect match for the distressed facial image - "This can't be true, this can't be true! I'm telling you... I'm having a nightmare and I'm going to wake up screaming in a moment!".

Sighing to herself, Chifuyu rolls her eyes, looks over towards the paceing Yui and in a calm tone speaks the words - "If it makes things better, you will be allowed to attend, you'll be beside Kestrel at all times, where ever Kestrel goes, you will be allowed to go aswell".

Suddenly freezing and sending over a slightly angered expression over towards Chifuyu, Yui can't help but feel nothing but vast uncontrollable levels of rage. Not directed towards Chifuyu or Kestrel, but mostly towards the people that have been responsible for creating the IS, Kestrel's tormentors and above all else, the people whom made these god annoying IS rules in the first place.

"That's supposed to make things even better is it!?... Look.." - Yui hisses in a near furious tone, pointing an index finger at Chifuyu, but is unfortuneatley cut off by a sudden and rapid knock at the door. Causing both women to shoot over surprised faces towards the large mahogany painted door.

"Who is it!?" - Chifuyu calls out, frowning and heavily annoyed at suddenly being disturbed in the middle of an important conversation.

"Maya!" - Replies the voice of the all too familiar and friendly Maya Yamada from behind the mahogany painted door.

Knowing that having a secret conversation is now dashed, Chifuyu casts a rapid glance over towards Yui, and with the pointing of an index finger proceedes to speak in a strict and serious tone, matched by a cold and serious frown. - "We'll continue this discussion later, in the meantime, not a word gets out okay!?".

Solemnly nodding her head, Yui feels shattered and destroyed... but for now any sourness has to be swallowed, the said woman can not find her voice nor can she speak any words. Knowing that her time with Chifuyu is over, the office woman walks away towards the closed mahogany door. However, before Yui's hand has a chance to come into contact with the door handle,  
Chifuyu's voice causes the woman to freeze and turn her body and head to the left in order to make visual contact with the mighty Chifuyu.

As Yui's eyes make contact with the cold and serious stare of Chifuyu's ice cold eyes, Yui is soon at further loss for words as Chifuyu's bitch glare lifts to that of an affectionate sister. Though the look on Chifuyu's face is smug, the woman's tone is warm and surprisngly comforting. - "Yui... listen... trust me... Tabane is a person we can rely on... if anyone can help us out here, she can... in the meantime, lets just do our best for the kid and savor as much positive moments as we can okay?".

Yui remains silent for a few moments, her face is slightly surprised at how comforting Chifuyu just sounded. Yui soon closes her eyes, looks away for a moment, before looking into the eyes of Chifuyu and in a calm and pleasant tone, matched by a small smile replies with the words - "Thanks".

"Oh, just one more thing!" - Chifuyu speaks out rapidly, in a near yelp causing Yui to nearly jump.

"What?" - Yui replies, curious as to what it is that Chifuyu is wanting, as Yui turns her head to look back at the mighty Japanese woman, Yui's eyes widen and a surprised expression appears on her face as she is greeted with the sight of Chifuyu holding a black coat hanger in each hand, upon one coat hanger is the outfit that she wore during the cater to Ichika service battle, while on the other, is a large, white silk dress with a large purple cape, the dress ressembling that of 'Henrietta's' from the anime 'Zero no tsukaima'.

A moment passes with Yui stareing in surprise at Chifuyu and the two forms of clothing that is being presented before her, after blinking a few times, Chifuyu speaks in a questioning tone, matched by a straight and curious expression on her face, giving Yui the chance of seeing Chifuyu's pure if slightly tomboy'ish and off course feminine side.

"What should I wear, the maid outfit or the Queen's dress?" - Chifuyu asks in a calm and curious questioning tone, causing Yui to blink and smile in a form of affection.

_**Okay everybody, thats the best I can come up with for Chapter 50, in the next chapter, partying starts. As a side note, I'd like to say "WA-HEY!", for my 50th chapter, I know its not really something to be so impressed over because others have 100 to 200 chapters but still... its my first fic and first 50th chapter. So go easy on me if you think I'm embarrasing myself because trust me... I Don't do that! I keep myself to myself and hardly every have anything to celebrate, so please don't think of me as a person whom struts about like Cecilia because I don't do that!**_

_**Anyway... Please keep reading and reviewing, as I explained once before some chapters will be delayed untill August 11th and maybe over untill September, but I will explain that to any whom wish to know why, just PM me okay? Also the dead line for the partying chapters will come soon, so for those whom have any requests for things to happen at this party or for people whom wish to see things happen at this party, feel free to message me! Okay... remember... I'm wishing you all the best, and may your own fanfic's get positive reviews!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	51. Chapter 51: Party games

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, this chapter is the beginning of the festivities for the IS academy party, first of all, before we start reading I would like to thank all those whom have messaged me, also I would like to thank a reader for his request which I happily placed upon in this fic, It isn't a major request but very welcome non the less.**_

_**As an extra note, thanks alot readers and reviewers for the positive reviews, may your own fics get perfect positive reviews / Favorites and followers in return. Anyway... I know all you readers are excited for what I've put in this current chapter, and I hope it appeals to all you readers entertainment and positive sides...**_

_**Also I must warn you all! In the following chapters you will come to know more about the horror's that Kestrel endured, so... be warned for descriptions that can be very graphic and very, very distressing!**_

_**Delayed like I said in the last chapter, but its the best I can to in the crowded time.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 51:

**\- IS academy training ground / 17:00pm -**

An exact hour had passed since the offical start of all party and festivities at the IS academy had started, although many students had scrambled and had begun flocking around various differant classrooms inside, and various stalls and stands outside, no significant major beginnings had started. Singing competitions and such had started, but the main events such has dancing are not yet ready to begin, those spicy events are to happen as darkness falls. So as a ressult the main climax and spicy atmosphere at the academy is obviously being reserved and saved when the dark of night blankets the IS academy.

Never the less, many students have already begun the celebrations, and so far everything is calm and moving at a calm and steady pace, which obviosuly is no surprise as each and every single girl wants to conserve as much energy as possibile in order to get the chance to swing and twist the night away beside the two and only boys at the IS academy. The dead line for all stalls to close inside the IS academy is at 21:00pm, which upon that time darkness will have seized the sky, there for ending the summer light which comes upon each and every evening.

From a third person's point of view everything is well organised and festive enough, but... from the girls point of view, that reason for being is because each and every single female is each hell bound on grabbing hold of Ichika or Kestrel's hand and dancing the night away in utter joy, that aswell as getting the possibile goal of having some hanky panky alone time with each boy!  
Which thankfuly is unknown at the moment to Ichika and Kestrel, if it was known then it would be a good bet that neither boy will have even dared appear at tonight's festivities.

For the moment however, both boys can enjoy the time alone without the fuss of any girls. Walking down the many rows of stalls and stands which seem to form some vast maze in a stretch of ground that would normaly be used for IS training and testing purposes. The festive air is so vast and clear it seems to drown the entire academy away from the world, many of the IS schoolgirls are perfect examples of this, though some girls wear the IS school uniform, others are dressed in normal civilian clothing, where as others wear animal cosplay, others are seen wearing anime and manga cosplay and others, past time clothing - which is mainly victorian era.

Ichika and Kestrel simply wear their IS academy uniforms, Kestrel's reason for being is that his civilian clothing has been taken to Tomoe's home, Ichika's reason for remaining in his IS uniform is basicaly due to his own independent choice, after all... guys aren't as fasionable and spiritual in dress sense like girls, so maybe its not such a bad thing for the 2 boys to merely wear what they are most commonly seen wearing at the academy.

So far Ichika and Kestrel have simply enjoyed walking past the many differant stalls and overjoyed schoolgirls, both boys seemingly oblivious to the flirtuous and assertive glances matched with crafty smiles that all girls are sending towards both boys. If someone was to say that "all women are lustful", then that would clearly apply to the current situation at the IS academy.

Though both boys have only walked a sort distance from the academy buildings onto the IS training grounds, both have already attracted a lot of attention, mainly in the form of flirting waves, winks and blows of kisses. Some girls have waved and shouted out phrases like "Dance with me tonight!", "Spend the night with us boys!" and "We'll make tonight the best of your lives!".

Sweatdropping and smiling awkwardly every time and merely sending back a friendly wave, Ichika manages to shrug off any uneasy feelings, but it clearly isn't doing him any good as chills continue to run up his spine. Little Kestrel simply turns his head slowly from left to right and up and down, shifting his blue eyes from left to right, clearly oblivious as to what it is that the girls are saying, and does nothing but enjoy the innocence of the moment by observing pure sights that are to behold.

Ichika does not fail to notice Kestrel's bewilderment, and sends down a careing big bro look down to the long haired youngster. As Kestrel turns his small head back to the right and glances up he catches Ichika's friendly face which comes as a small surprise and makes the Israeli child leap in startlement for a moment.

Looking up at the friendly looking Ichika, Kestrel's little heart beats in rapid nerve for a moment, but quickly eases up as Ichika smiles a little wider and gives a slow but very warm nod.  
Kestrel pauses with confusion for a few seconds, but smiles a timid and small smile back to Ichika and responds with a small nod back in return.

Suddenly feeling great with himself, Ichika points over to a stall, looks down at the scar faced Israeli child and speaks in slightly excited tone - "Hey Kes, lets get involved in some fun".

Kestrel follow Ichika's finger, and then looks up at the Japanese male with a confused face, the said youngster tilts his small head and the only change on his confused face is when he blinks a few times. Clearly unsure of what Ichika means or is trying to say.

Now becoming slightly embarrassed with himself, upon remembering that Kestrel hardly understands a word that is being said to him, Ichika places a hand at the back of his head and chuckles awkwardly, but... despite the mistake, Ichika quickly manages to regain control of the moment after removing his hand from the back of his head and in a friendly act, motions with his hand for Kestrel to follow him. Ichika does not take his eyes of the Israeli youngster for even the slightest second and his smile does not drop.

Kestrel's face changes to one of a curious look and as a ressult, the youngster curiously follows on after the Japanese male and towards a colourful stall which is manned and operated by 4 IS schoolgirls.

For the four schoolgirls that are operating the stall the sight of the two and ONLY male IS pilots on earth walking towards them is quite a moment, excitement and joy instantly appear on all 4 of the girl's faces. One of the said girls with firey red hair in a long braid, smiles widely and with very excited facial expression, turns to her 3 friends and shouts in an almost over excited squeal - "HEY GIRLS! LOOK WHOS COMING OVER, ITS ICHIKA AND KESTREL!".

As the other three girls come into view, it is clear as day that all four are wearing IS academy uniform, even though a vast majority of the girls are wearing differnt clothing, it is a comfort to Ichika and Kestrel, knowing that aren't the only ones whom don't stand out among the mass hordes of IS academy females.

"Grab the balls!" - One of the three remaining IS females with long, blonde curly hair calls out in a broken european accent with a happy facial expression, matched perfectly by her excited tone. The form of nationality on the long blonde female is proven by a single small Ukrainian flag on both IS uniform sleeves.

"I'll set up the targets!" - The second of the three standing IS females speaks out in a very happy and pleasant tone. The said girl has shorter blonde hair than the Ukrainian girl but has a less accented tone. The short blonde haired girl's nationaility is proven by a single, small Polish flag on both IS uniform sleeves.

"ORIMURA! KESTREL! HOW ARE YOU GOING ON!?, WE'VE GOT'A US SOME GREAT PRIZES OVER HERE!" - The fourth and final IS girl shouts out in an overwhelmingly happy tone holding up her arms in very kind and pleasant welcoming gesture. The girl's accent giving away her nationality and proving that she is an Italian.

Smiling calmly and holding up a hand as a sign of acknowledging the girl's greetings, Ichika calmly walks over towards the four IS schoolgirls, little Kestrel curiously and timidly keeps pace to the left beside Ichika. Almost as quickly as the greetings begin, Ichika and Kestrel are standing at the the stall. As the two boys come to a stop, Ichika makes eye contact with Italian female and in a very pleasant tone matched by a warm, friendly face, responds to the black slightly short haired beauty with brown eyes.

"Everything is great, thanks for asking.." - Ichika pauses for a moment before looking down at the curious Israeli youngster whom is once again turning his small head from left to right,  
obviously overwhelmed at the magnificent sight of the commencing festivities. After happily observing the child's innocence for a moment, Ichika turns to look the four IS girls in the face and in a calm and interested tone continues making conversation with the four girls.

".. me and Kes was just passing by and I happened to notice that this is the first stall that seems to have signs of entertainment suitable for guys like us... so... what have you girls got going on here?" - Ichika explains happily at first before ending the moment with a happy and interested question.

"You throw balls at targets and win prizes, are you and Kestrel up for it!?" - The blonde Ukrainain girl asks in a playful yet challenging tone, matched perfectly with a confident yet playful grin, showing the blonde girl's pearly white teeth.

"You and Kestrel are our third and forth visitors so far, and we've yet to give away our top prizes, so you and little Kes here have a chance to win big!" - The red braided girl explains, blushing slightly due to being up close and personal to the black haired Japanese male that very few girls get the chance to speak or have contact with.

"We've got a good set up of prizes that have appealed to all girls that have passed by, so if you're lucky, you'll be able to get first crack tonight!" - The blonde Polish girl exclaims with a warm and confident smile, before breaking eye contact with the Japanese male and continueing to place various tin cans and paper targets upon a long rack of shelves.

Casting a very eager and friendly smile down to the long haired Israeli beside him, Ichika's emotions fill to a mix of excitement and pure pleasantry. Kestrel on the other hand is clearly to confused about the whole scenario, feeling nothing but neutral and empty emotions.

The sight of little Kestrel's curious innocence causes the Polish, Italian and Red braided female to ball their hands into fists, raise both balled hands to their warm and lovey dovey smiles,  
and each let out a warm and loving "Awww! So adoreable!".

Ichika lets out a friendly chuckle and proceedes to rub the Israeli youngster on the head in a form of big bro affection, little Kestrel merely blinks and rolls his ocean blue eyes up to look at the friendly and genuinely kind hearted Ichika, then over to the left to look at the cooeing IS females. A moment passes but after finaly getting the sense of a warm and comforting atmosphere the timid and traumitised Israeli child half closes his eyes, glances down at the ground, smiles in a warm yet timid way and in a soft voice... slightly louder than a whisper speaks the Israeli words for 'Thank you'.

\- "Rav todot"

**\- 5 minutes later -**

Despite the friendly moment lasting a mere few seconds, the main matter at hand was quickly broken in, Ichika had wasted no time in asking for 6 light green tennis balls and after catching little Kestrel's un-divided attention the black haired Japanese male had begin to demonstrate in showing Kestrel what to do at this stall of 'for the moment' unknown and un-discovered entertainment.

Standing with legs slightly apart and tightly clutching a tennis ball in his right hand, Ichika smiles in a happy and excited way, narrowing his eyes to focus on a square paper target set upon the fifth shelf from the stack of six. Then, slightly casting a confident glance down to the curious Israeli youngster, whom briefly closes one eye, tilts his head to the side and raising the side of his small hand to the side of his head before scratching his hair with his index finger behind the ear lobe like a dog or wild bird of prey.

As Kestrel blinks in curiosity at the position Ichika is making, a moment of silence surrounds both the boys and the four smiling IS females that stand behind the make shift counter. Ichika casts a confident smile to the Israeli child, whom blinks in curiousness whilst lowering his arm back to his side.

"Okay Kes... Watch carefuly" - Ichika speaks in confident tone, seconds later... the Japanese male draws his arm back and using nearly all his arm's strength, proceedes to throw in a rapid and very impressive way. The green ball leaves the Japanese male's hand and in just a flight that lasts two seconds, smacks into the paper target, shredding the white paper and leaving a hole. The ball continues on for a second more before finaly hitting a green safety net behind the shelf stacks and falling harmlessly to the ground.

The four IS schoolgirls instantly huddle together, sharing a girlish moment of giggles and lovey dovey whispers. Which comes as some confusion to the dense yet good hearted Japanese male,  
thankfuly Ichika quickly shifts his confused glance off the four IS schoolgirls and after placing the knuckles of his balled fists at the side of his hips, looks down at the slightly even more confused Israeli youngster and in a kind and pleasant tone speaks the words - "See?... Now lets try it together".

Though the long, black haired youngster hasn't got a clue on what Ichika is saying, Kestrel quickly gets a good idea of what Ichika is wanting him to do. Without hesitation Kestrel takes a few timid paces to the counter and after keeping his ocean blue eyes firmly fixed on Ichika, holding up a ball in one hand as a gesture for him to pick up a ball... slowly, yet comfortably reaches out with his small hand and picks up a green tennis ball.

In regards to the weather, the evening summer heat has not subsided, yet nobody shows any sighns of letting that hinder them, Ichika is a perfect example as the Japanese male fights the urge to tear off his clothing and run and dive head first into the nearby sea. Thankfuly the sea breeze is stronger than it was this morning and the blast of cold, salt air comes as a perfect fan to the inhabitants of the IS academy.

As Kestrel stands curiously looking at the green round object in his small hand, like an animal bewildered at seeing its reflection for the first time in his life, Ichika smiles with a mix of joy and excitement. A moment passes with both boys being silent as the grave, the only sounds being made is the girlish giggles and whispers from the four hosting IS schoolgirls that don't take their eyes of the two IS males for a single moment.

As Kestrel blinks a few times before slightly tilting his little head to the left, the Israeli youngster, with his pure silver star of David pendant gleeming proudly in the evening sunlight resting comfortably on his silver chain that seems to lovingly hang around his little neck... looks upward and blinks in confusion at the taller, black haired Japanese male that motions with his hand for the child to have a go at the small but seemingly fun looking challenge.

Kestrel turns his head to the left to look at the various targets set up on the shelves, stares in curiosity for a moment before looking up at Ichika again, ironicaly causing the four IS schoolgirls to huddle tightly together, overwhelmed by the coolness of Ichika's big bro nature and Kestrel's curious yet fragile innocence.

Then, after making a mock demonstration at throwing a ball to a target Ichika points with confidence at the set up of targets and in an eager and careing tone, speaks the phrase "Hey C'mon Kes, theres no trouble... just send what the Americans call 'A fast ball!' at those targets okay!?".

Though Kestrel blinks, slightly surprised at Ichika's joyful and excited tone and playful act, the Israeli youngster casts a few looks up to Ichika and then back to the targets before setting his ocean blue eyes on the shelf targets, and then... parting his small legs, covered over by the pure whiteness of his IS uniform, prepares himself.

Ichika takes a small step backwards and smiles eagerly, the four IS schoolgirls go silent and stare in curiosity, each of the four teenage girls are all a wonder at what could happen next.  
Then... raising his small arm upwards before drawing it back, Kestrel summons a fair amount of his arm's will power and strength and tosses the tennis ball forward as best he can.

Unfortuneatley... the toss forward is feeble and the tennis ball lands a metre away from the shelves that hold the targets. As the tennis ball lands softly on the ground, Ichika can't help but blink and smile slightly in an awkward manner. The four IS schoolgirls' spirits deflate and each and everyone feels the awkwardness of the moment and can't do anything except sweatdrop.

Normaly one would laugh in a situation like this, but Ichika and the four IS schoolgirls are not as sad assed as most people and can do nothing but feel some pity for the Israeli child, whom by some people's point of view, couldn't hit a barn door with a thrown football at ten long stretched paces.

Kestrel thankfuly is simply oblivious to the whole thing, which is at moments like this a very good thing, after all... it isn't Kestrel's fault that he seemingly isn't good at throwing things. The reason for being is as clear as day, and is down to numberous reasons, the first reason for being is because he's never thrown anything before, the second reason for being is due to the fact that he hasn't played any ball games before and the third reason is because his arm isn't used to throwing things.

The fact that Kestrel failed at shot put and Javelin throw during P.E lessons should have been clear evidence enough, but... as its early days, all Kestrel needs is time to break in this new experiance, and that should clearly be the answer to helping the Israeli in his current awkward situation. Ichika makes this point clear as he looks kindly down to the long haired youngster and holds up his hands as if surrendering calmly to a gunman.

"Hey its okay Kes, don't feel embarrassed okay?"

Kestrel merely responds by blinking and casting curious looks at not only Ichika, but the four IS schoolgirls that seem to smile in sympathy at the troubled youngster. Then, upon lowering his arms Ichika takes a small step forward and picks up another tennis ball and upon kneeling on the ground on one knee, the Japanese male looks the scar faced Israeli boy in the face and in a calm and kind voice speaks the words. "Lets get you standing on something higher okay?".

At this moment, the four IS schoolgirls happen to suddenly remember something, the counter - which is really just a large wooden desk, is roughly up to Kestrel's mouth, so maybe it was no wonder Kestrel's first throw attempt failed. The child could have been straining just to look above and over the wooden oak surface, feeling slightly foul with herself and feeling as though she has just made fun out of the scar-faced Kestrel suffering with PTSD, the red braided girl rushes over to the counter and pulls back a wooden carved chair.

Looking Ichika in the face with a look of feeling sorry and slighty relieved at the sight of the wooden chair the red braided girl is quick to speak the words "Here, use this!".

**\- Behind the stall -**

Whilst Ichika and the others become embroiled in helping little Kestrel, at least 4 mischevious IS schoolgirls led by a well known Kaoruko Mayuzumi remain still, each of the five IS schoolgirls are knelt down on the ground their sides pressed against the green painted wood that marks the end wall of the stall.

Despite the fact that the IS schoolgirls are all motivated on celebrating the end of the school year, Kaoruko and the rest of the news paper club are motivated on getting something a litte more than just the hand of either Kestrel or Ichika in tonight's dancing or various other festivities. Despite being given a serious hiding from Chifuyu and having her camera seized and her club given a serious warning that it could face closure, following the seemingly sadisim way of how Kaoruko and her friends took in spreading seemingly scandalistic news of the Japanese male after being forced into drag and being treated like a dress up doll at Charlotte's sleepover...

Kaoruko was still not about to let her year at the IS academy end without recording or documenting anything interesting. Though she has a look of pure confidence mixed with a smug like mix of being crafty, her friends are not feeling the same. The four IS schoolgirls have nervous expressions on their faces, each and every girl can't shake off the memory of having Chifuyu shouting pointing fingers and threatening each and every girl with suspension.

How it is Kaoruko can feel so comfortable in aparently pushing her luck and trying again with the annoying motives of journalisim and being a reporter, is litteraly beyond anybody. Since showing her friends that she had a hidden camera, Kaoruko has been following Ichika around were ever he's been today, and since tonight is surely going to be a night to remember, Kaoruko is sure as hell about to go to any lengths if she is going to get some memorial photographs and a good story.

The spare Nikon camera shines in the evening sunlight, the lense and glass surface areas gleem as Kaoruko adjusts her glasses for a moment with her index finger. Pushing the frames upward and toward the bridge of her nose. A smug and challenging expression is on the girl's face as she turns to her friends and places an index finger to her lips as a motion for her friends not to make a whisper.

However, to the girl's dismay, each and every girl behind her has a purely nervous expression, hearts are beating wildly, laced with fear. Cold sweat rolls down the temples of three IS schoolgirls. The air is heavy and neither girl is comfortable with the situation, if Chifuyu is to find any of the said girls up to no good, then the punishment this time will surely be worse than what it has been so far.

Kaoruko smiles with a confident expression and prepares to stand and climb onto a stack of boxes, which will surely give the girl a good look down at Ichika and Kestrel, and most importantly will give her a good shot angle, devious can be a good word to describe Kaoruko, the girl in thin framed glasses has thought of everything this time. If she is caught photographing Ichika and Kestrel, then the girl will use the excuse that she is gathering friendly memories for the two boys, after all... nothing so far is proven, so if Kaoruko is accused of being up to no good,  
then there surely won't be any evidence to prove it.

Then, as Kaoruko stands, a loud and clear whisper in a panicked tone from an IS girl with average shoulder height black hair and green eyes hisses in a rushed tone. - "Kaoruko please!... I don't want to do this! If Orimura sensei finds us she'll.."

"She won't find anything out!" - Kaoruko speaks in a silent and clear tone, cutting off her press partner, then... leaning to one side to make eye contact with her nervous friends, proceedes to speak in her happy and confident speaking whisper.

"Look girls! Don't anyone of you want to have night to remember!? Don't anyone of you want this school year to go out with a bang!?" - Kaoruko asks in an inquisitive tone, a smug expression is upon her face.

Her friends can't find their voices and instead just look calmly at each other with nervous faces, it comes as a dissapointment to Kaoruko as the girls simply look the glasses girl in the eyes and say nothing, silence fills the air around them, the atmosphere is heavy and tense.

Lowering her confident face and replacing it with one of irritation, Kaoruko sighs, lowers her head and looks down in a slumped manner. The said girl stays that way for a moment before looking her friends in the face and speaks in an irritated tone.

"Look! You guys don't have to do anything! Just leave it all to me okay!?... You guys just stay were you are and keep a look out!"

As Kaoruko stands a sudden tug on the bottom of her IS blouse causes the girl to look down and straight into the nervous eyes of her journalist friend with purple pigtails and green eyes.  
As Kaoruko's friend speaks, it is clear that fear is the main emotion that clearly fills each and every single girl that has followed the leader of the newspaper club seemingly out of the frying pan and into the fire. Never the less, the pigtailed female is compelled to ask a question that nearly causes Kaoruko to fall face first to the floor anime style.

"W..What exactly is that we're trying to photograph?"

Stumbling forwards and feeling slightly stupid with herself, Kaoruko rolls her eyes and in a fit of angered irritation kneels down and in an aggressive hiss, looks her friends the face and speaks the words - "LISTEN! I'll do the thinking! You do the following for tonight okay!?".

Sweatdropping, all four IS schoolgirls, with their white IS uniforms standing out proudly in the evening sun, can't help but feel the 'OH boy!' scenario. All four girls have been following Kaoruko around all day so far without questioning authority, so basically... whats the differance in the situation that the girls currently find themselves in?

As Kaoruko sighs and relaxes her nerves, the said girl points with an index finger at the IS schoolgirl with shoulder height black hair, and another girl with a long green ponytail and in a tone of authority speaks the words in a demanding like manner - "Look... you and Tanya, hide in that tent over there and wait for us to get our shots!".

Both girls snap instantly and in a scrambling manner dash away over towards a large green tent, running as quickly and as stealthy as possible so that Ichika, Kestrel or anyone else won't notice them.

As the girls dash away a short and brief feeling of relief hangs over Kaoruko, but... sadly the relief is short lived as yet another IS schoolgirl looks Kaoruko in the face and in a nervous whisper, clearly speaks the words - "Kaoruko please! I've got a really bad feeling about this! I don't think we should be doing this!".

Kaoruko snarls in a brief fit of irritation and points an index finger at the schoolgirl, the finger directed soely at the girl's face. In an irritated whisper Kaoruko replies the words - "Look girls! I'll make a deal with you... If things get any more risky then what they are... or if I get so much as a tennis ball smash me in the face... we'll call everything off...  
OKAY!?".

Silently gulping the two remaining schoolgirls then let out a sigh of relief and their hearts ease up from their nervous state. Both girls nod and look Kaoruko in the face to show their acknowledgement of their said leader's deal.

Then, feeling triumphant Kaoruko regains her smug smile and looks up at the top of the large green wooden board acting as the stall's backwall and in a tone of determination, the girl speaks the words - "I will get my story if its the last thing I do!".

Then, suddenly thinking to herself, Kaoruko can't help but titter at what she just said to her friends ( "Hmph!.. Like hell any of those things will happen!, If Ichika thinks the power of the press will die just his sister is the head mistress, then I'm afraid he's badly mistaken!".

As Kaoruko stands up and prepares to get up to her mischief, the girl is oblivious to a figure watching her from a distance.

_**Okay everybody... Thats chapter 51, not much happens in these chapters like other people's fics I know but thats because of my style... if people don't like that then don't read, thats all I have to say, for those of you whom like these chapters "GOD BLESS YOU!" after all, fanfics are about having fun and sharing skills and ideas are they not!? Anyway... as I mentioned upon the intro, more graphic and dramatic moments will come, but don't worry that won't stop the partying! Please read and review... its still a few chapters away untill the main dancing event and spicy moments occur at the academy party, so if you have requests or ideas to help spice things up, then feel free to ask, I've got 2 requests already and I've happily accepted both...**_  
_**so don't feel restrained...**_

_**Please read and review... remember its good for confidence and morale for anybody's fics, so anyway... untill the next chapter...**_

_**Wishing you all the best**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	52. Chapter 52: A ball in the face!

_**Hello again everybody, Black Falcon 01 has returned again with yet another fresh chapter, thanks for sticking around everyone that has followed and enjoyed these chapters so far, but don't worry the entertainment is not yet over, theres still lots more to cover. Now... As I explained once before... chapters will be delayed around August, mainly around the 11th... did any of you readers quess why?... well... you'll get your answer down at the bottom of the page after you read the chapter. Anyway... I won't burden you all with red tape... please... sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 52:

**\- IS academy / training ground -**

If someone says that news reporters and journalists are nothing but lying, evil back-stabbing scum bags that take foul entertainment from watching other people suffer, then... its a fair assumption to say that is a 50/50 truth. Though some are honest and respect the troubled atmosphere of the people they are interviewing or filming, others can be real sad bastards and that is no mistake!

What title should be given to the IS academy newspaper club president Kaoruko Mayuzumi is anybody's guess, though she isn't taking any current sadisim joy in photographic something like Ichika getting kneed in the testicles by Houki, or Ichika getting chased down by his five self proclaimed lovers for some minor offence. Kaoruko is going to far with her photographing motives. Though she failed to publish any further scandal directed at Ichika, and she failed in photographing or witnessing Ichika give Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte a good scolding... the light brunette Japanese beauty in thin framed glasses is not about to let any chances of getting a good photograph slip away.

Even though the photo she is after taking can be considered harmless in regards towards Human rights, she non the less is still pushing her luck with permission to photograph the only 2 males at the IS academy. The girl stands with her back placed firmly against the wall of a stall, which is currently giving the famous Ichika Orimura and just included Kestrel some light but amusing form of entertainment.

The sounds of the boys and the female hosts of the stall is like the sounds of prey to a predator's ears for Kaoruko. Though her friends are knelt down on the ground with nervous faces,  
Kaoruko seems to be un-effected by the seemingly nervous and slightly dangerous auror that fills the air around the newspaper club girls.

As the voice from an accented Italian girl breaks the silence, Kaoruko's face harbours a very smug if slightly sinister smile. Not only is Ichika and Kestrel oblivious to Kaoruko's pressance but so is the four IS schoolgirls that are running the stall. - "Remember Kestrel, if you can knock down any of the largest and heaviest targets on the third shelf, or if you can knock down 3 cans, you can have any prize off the second shelf".

Suddenly turning her head to look down at her nervous faced friends, grinning and placing an index finger to her lips, Kaoruko's heart beats rapidly in excitement. The Nikkon camera in her other hand seems to gleem in the red hot, yet beautiful evening sunlight, the summer heat seems like nothing for the over-confident newspaper publishing girl.

Then, as Kaoruko turns her head back to the right, looks up slightly whilst rolling her eyes upward at the very top of the back stall wall, she proceedes to point up with her index finer as if she is warning her friends that a dangerous target is on the other side unaware of their pressance.

A moment passes, then, Kaoruko gathers all her strength and proceedes to scramble up a stack of wooden crates and boxes, allowing the press girl to easily climb to the level she desires and to get a photographic shot of the 2 IS boys unaware of her pressance.

Kaoruko's friends gulp and tremble with nerve as Kaoruko carefuly climbs up the make shift tower, the moment becomes ever more nerve wrecking as Ichika's happy and confident voice suddenly breaks the awkward silence yet again, the careing big bro tone is heard clear as crystal - "The whole secret Kes... is co-ordination".

**\- With Ichika -**

Unaware of Kaoruko climbing up the back of the stall walls to get a photograph of the two boys, Ichika and the four IS schoolgirls stand aside as the long black haired youngster, with his star of pendant gleeming in a magnificent way in the sunlight prepares to throw a hard ball at the line of targets set on a row of shelves a distance away. Little Kestrel, stands on a chair,  
giving him a free line of sight and line of throw... the youngster stands sideways like an archer, then... with one eye closed, draws his little arm back, his small hand tightly clutches the green tennis ball.

Ironicaly, as Kestrel summons all his strength and leans back slightly... Kaoruko is just about at the top of the stall wall. In less than 3 seconds, Kestrel throws the tennis ball with as much strength as possible, the green tennis ball soars through the air with grace and in then, just as quick as it begins it ends as the tennis ball smacks into a large silver cylinder, a clonking metal sound is heard as the metal cylinder falls backwards and the tennis ball bounces off the metal and on the ground.

Though Kestrel has hit a target, it is only a target on one of the lowest shelves. Clearly throwing things is not Kestrel's strong point, but it is non the less a good ressult and effort for a ten year old that has had nothing but pain and missery most of his little life.

Glancing with a smile on her face, the IS Ukrainian girl can't help but speak in a playful if mocking tone to Ichika, - "I don't think its because Kestrel has no co-ordination... I think its because he has a bad teacher!".

Folding his arms and casting a playful yet annoyed look back to the Ukrainian female, Ichika can't help but reply the words - "Very funny!".

As the girls begin to exchange playful girlish giggles and titters with each other, Ichika suddenly remembers something that makes him place his left hand palm to his face in a manner that makes him feel like a dope.

( "I forgot to tell Kestrel to fast ball! Damn!" ) - Ichika thinks in an irritated tone.

Thankfuly, Ichika does not have to wait long for the next throw, as Kestrel has already picked up another tennis ball, which comes as some relief to Ichika, and gives the Japanese male a chance to make up for his small and honestly harmless mistake.

**\- With Kaoruko -**

From behind the green stall wall Kaoruko is almost to the end of her climb upon the large if slightly rickety crates and boxes, stacked cruedly making a makeshift form of elevation for the crafty press girl with glasses. From behind the stall wall Kaoruko's excitement builds by the second, the girl's stomach seems to contain butterflies as she climbs up the make shift tower of boxes and crates, being as silent as possilbe to prevent anyone from hearing or finding out of her exsistance.

Though she knows that someone could see what she is doing from a differant angle the girl is not about to let a chance slip away from her. Her senses are on high alert, as if she is some form of child butchering predator trespassing into the territory of some bigger carnivor's territory. Knowing that mum and dad will appear at any minute, and is desperate to kill the infant and flee the territory fast.

Finaly, as her hand touches the top of the stall wall, it takes nearly all of Kaoruko's will power not to squeal with triumph or joy, the girl's high senses seem to leave. If she maintained her moment of being hyper-sensitive to sounds and the auror in the air, then Kaoruko would have heard the voice of Ichika instructing Kestrel on how to stand and prepare for the throwing of a seemingly hard fast ball. The only voice she does hear is that of the Italian female whom seems to have a voice of pure and unrestrained excitement - "C'mon Kestrel! You can do it! Do it for me!".

Standing with her side pressed against the wooden stall wall, Kaoruko clutches her Nikon camera in one hand, whilst clutching firmly onto the top of the wooden wall with her other hand. As Kaoruko grins with a smug like manner, feeling nothing but triumph, the sounds of clicking and adjustment of the camera becomes music to the girl's ears. The lens are large, and the flash that will emit will ensure a perfect photograph.

Then, as Kaoruko takes the final steps up to the very top of the tower of crates and boxes, the voice of the red braided girl is heard in a tone of nerve which unfortuneatley is unheard by the over-confident Kaoruko.

"B..But... do be careful!"

From below the press assisting friends of Kaoruko can only blink and breath slightly heavily in continous fear, Kaoruko places the camera to her face and prepares to jump up and take her much wanted photograph of the oblivious boys. A moment passes, and then... summoning all her strength, her confidence is matched by a sadistic grinning smile, clearly showing her pearly white teeth, Kaoruko springs up, the top half of her body appears over the top of the wall of the stall.

At the same time the four IS schoolgirls voices are heard yelp in sudden fright - "KESTREL!".

Ichika is heard shout in a form of panic - "WHOA! I'VE GOT YOU!".

Kaoruko, with un-characteristic overjoyed conceited tone, shouts the words - "SMILE BOYS!".

**\- WHACK! -**

In just a fraction of a second, its all over for Kaoruko's camera as a tennis ball, traveling as fast as bolt of lighting, smashes into the girl's camera, smashing the glass from which one looks through, snapping and shattering the lens, and causing plastic to fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces. The momemntum of the impact causes the knuckles and vast majority of the large Nikon camera to smask Kaoruko in the face, and causing the girl to suddenly be flung backwards, causing the girl to stumble, loose her balance and fall back off the tower of crates and boxes,  
her head is flug backwards her hair blows wild at the sudden spead of her head and body being knocked backwards.

For Kaoruko, an un-imagineable feeling of pain overwhelms her face. She feels something snap inside her nose, the pain is nearly undescribeable. It makes matters worse as she suddenly feels her the back of her head and overall back itself hit the ground. Thankfuly, it is only a 1 second fall, so the fall won't be fatal or cause any critical injury.

Kaoruko's friends leap to their feet and in a terrified yelp shout out the said girl's name. Almost instantly the four IS schoolgirls whom at this moment forever regret being part of the news and media club, surround their injured leader.

"Kaoruko are you alright!?" - One such girl yelps whilst dropping to her knees and holding a very worried look on her face.

Nothing but a muffled moan is heard reply from the once proud photography hungry girl. Kaoruko holds her face as tightly and as carefuly as she can, groaning and whimpering, if sat on her backside the girl would be making the fetal position just like Kestrel, but never the less, the girl is making a very well made position whilst laying on her side down on the ground. The girl's hand is red with blood and tears of pain, resembling those of a little child after falling hard on the ground, roll down Kaoruko's face.

The sounds that the girl is making is a clear indication that the said female is in utter agony, Kaoruko does not speak a word, for the painstricken female, the feeling is nearly un-imagineable the pain is overwhelming, it feels as though her nose, upper lip, mouth and spot in-between her eyes has been smashed beyond relief by a baseball bat, and is now on the verge of dropping off.

"I'll go get the nurse!" - One of Kaoruko's friends speaks out rapidly, scrambling to her feet and dashing away as fast as her legs can carry her.

"I'll go help her!" - Another yelps out, photography gear drops to the floor with a cluttering sound whilst the said girl dashes away after the first, hell bent on getting medical aid for her downed and dearest friend.

Turning their heads away and looking down at the whimpering Kaoruko, one of the said female's dearest and most trusted friends places a hand on the shoulder and lowers her head and body down to Kaoruko's level, offering some comfort like a loving mother.

Suddenly... as if on cue, whom should appear at this moment but Houki. The Japanese ponytailed girl had been watching events from a distance, but after seeing Kaoruko fall from the tower of crates and boxes, the said girl's curiosity and concern and gotten the better of her and as a ressult Houki had instantly reacted to instinct and humanitarian rescue feelings and had dashed forward towards the scene of the 'Somewhat' ironic accident scene.

As Houki's dash slows to a sudden stop, what the ponytailed female sees is a sight that makes her eyes widen and her concerns raise to overwhelming levels. Needless to say, the sight of a familiar face is very much welcome to the remaining 2 females that do their best to help their injured and groaning friend. As both girls turn their heads to cast nervous eyes on Houki, the sights of fearful expressions suddenly change to those of being overwhelmed with relief.

"HOUKI-SAN!" - One of the newspaper club girls speaks in a happy manner, the girl has short brunette hair, and green eyes.

"OH! Thank god! Please... we need your help, Kaoruko's had an accident and she's hurt!" - The second girl speaks, the said female has long black hair and brown eyes.

As Houki rushes towards the downed newspaper club girl, whom holds her face in a tight and secure manner, Houki frowns, blinks in disbelief at Kaoruko and in a deeply concerned tone asks a question that anyone would ask in a moment like this.

"What the heck happened?!, I saw her fall from that tower of boxes all of a sudden... what for the love of god was she doing!?".

Turning her head and looking upwards whilst pointing with an index finger to the top of the stall wall, the long black haired girl keeps her cool but its clear at the sound of her voice that she is trying not to burst into tears and go into a fit of panic. - "T..This tennis ball hit her in the face, we tried to stop her from going up there but she wouldn't listen to us!".

Jumping to her feet and proceeding to seemingly jog in a panicked manner on the spot, the short brunette female places both hands to either side of her head and acts like a person crazed with utter levels of panic and fear. The girl keeps her fearful and panicked eyes fixed on her wounded friend and as she speaks, its clear as day that what the girl says is true but the panic is clearly making things a lot more awkward for Houki to understand.

"W..We told her not to go up there, but she said there was nothing to be scared about, she said she was going to get the photo she wantedbutwe.."

"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!" - Houki suddenly speaks in a loud and irritated manner, raising an irritated eyebrow at the girl whom was beginning to speak in a very fast forward manner. Houki raises her right hand palm as a way of getting the girl to quiten off, the fingers on her hand are apart from each other as a way of showing the panicking girl to stop speaking.

Though the short brunette female ceases talking, her panic does not show any sighns of leaving, as she proceedes to panic jog on the spot. The sounds of Kaoruko's pain stricken moans seem to add fuel to the fire, it can't be denied that panic does not help anybody, but discussing accidents and reading about them is one thing... to experiance them in the flesh, its obviously a differant matter... and maybe some can't control the human instinct to fear, which can in cases like this can be very in-convienient or at least... sympathising... espescialy if its a person whom cares deeply for you like a true friend.

Thankfuly, Houki... despite being bitchy and immature at most times, surprisingly has the situation under control, but that reason may once again be thanks to the experiances seen and heard about concerning the PTSD troubled youngster Kestrel. Taking a breath, rolling her eyes and looking the panicked girl in the eyes, Houki proceedes to speak in a calm and rational tone, and with a friendly motion of the hands speaks the words - "Listen... just calm down okay... just rewind all that and tell me what happened again, okay?".

**\- With Ichika -**

To say that Kestrel's third throw of the ball was wasted would be totaly untrue, despite smashing the spectacled Kaoruko in the face, causing nasty levels of damage and destroying a camera, the tennis ball had ironicaly bounced back and landed in non-other than one of the IS schoolgirl's hands. Amazingly nobody had noticed or heard the moment when Kaoruko was hit in the face and when one of her friends had yelped in the said girl's name in a panicked manner.

Instead, what attracted everbody's attention was the saving of Kestrel from a nasty fall, though the Israeli youngster had followed Ichika's instructions to make a fastball, the youngster's foot was on the very edge of the chair from which the long, black haired little one was stood upon, and as a ressult... when the youngster was on the razor's edge of throwing his fast ball,  
the little one's foot went an inch to far and as a ressult the little one slipped to the side and fell, ressulting in a tennis ball flying at over 70mph flying in the air.

Thankfuly, Ichika... once again proving to be perfect to have around in a tricky spot, had reactd instantly and caught the little one in his arms, and was quick to place the child back on the wooden seat. To say the least, the ressult was decent, as Kestrel's tennis ball had landed safely in the red braided IS schoolgirl's hand. Ressulting in a lot of confused expressions and head scratching minutes as to what could have caused the tennis ball to return in the strangest of manners.

Despite the setback of the moment, Ichika and the schoolgirls managed to get little Kestrel prepared for his fourth throw attempt. Standing slightly startled with a rapid heartbeat as to suddenly loosing his footing, the Israeli youngster's nerves quickly ease as the said youngster's ocean blue eyes, naieve and innocent meet the friendly faces of Ichika and the four strange IS schoolgirls.

"Go on Kestrel, you get to throw again" - The Ukrainian girl speaks in a friendly tone, motioning with her arm for the youngster to try again.

Kestrel blinks and in a very soft and timid tone, with his mouth closed is heard let out a tiny yet sweet - "Hm?".

Blushing furiously at the scar faced youngster's act of pure innocence and curiosity, the Italian female places a hand over her chest, directly over where the top of her her heart is, as the said female manages to regain her composure, the Italian female casts a quick glance towards the targets on the shelf and back to the Israeli. As she speaks a tone which matches pure motherly affection... or at least... that of a girl whom is trying to resist the urge to ravage the youngster on the spot escapes her lips. - "Just do your best okay".

Deep down, a thought mixed with vast amounts of sexual excitement churns inside the Italian female's body, butterflies flutter in her stomach - ( "Mama Mia! What is wrong with me!? Don't get excited! Don't get excited! He's only ten and he's got PTSD! Focus Gina keep it together!" ).

Thankfuly... Kestrel does not notice the Italian girl's excited expression, and simply proceedes to make his fourth toss of the ball. Ichika and the four IS schoolgirls cease talking, hold their breaths and watch in anticipation as little Kestrel stares in a neutral expression for a moment, cease breathing... and then... after a mere tense ten seconds, the Israeli youngster gathers all his strength in his limbs, raises a knee, draws back his small arm, tightly clutching the tennis ball in his small soft hand.

Ichika holds his breath and smiles in a calm manner, just watching little Kestrel like this reminds him of his own childhood. Ever since the said child came, Ichika's spirits have risen, though Ichika is only a younger brother, his big bro nature is amazingly out of this world.

The four IS schoolgirls gather into the corner of the stall, lean forward slightly, each with excited and nervous faces. Silence fills the group, then... just 4 seconds after raising his small knee, Kestrel swings his small arm forward with all the strength he can muster, a mid air 'WOOSH' is heard as the Israeli youngster throws the tennis ball as hard as can manage. The tennis ball roars at a paper target, the eyes of the schoolgirls and Ichika fix firmly on the ball as it smashes into a small tower of tin cans on the third racked shelf.

The sounds of metalic tins clattering and falling echo through the air, sound followed by the drowned out sounds of the bouncing tennis ball that falls on the ground. As Kestrel straightens himself up, breifly adjusting his star of David pendant around his small neck, and moving some of his long hair away from his face and back over his shoulder, Ichika and the four IS schoolgirls exhange impressed faces.

Kestrel merely blinks in confusion at the many tin cans that have scattered across the ground and that the once tin can tower has gone. As the said youngster turns his small body to look at Ichika and the IS schoolgirls, the child sees nothing but warm and pleasant faces, which comes as a big and much needed boost to self confidence and the feeling of welcome'ness.

The child looks at the four IS schoolgirls with a confused face, but is quickly drawn back to looking at the remaining three tennis balls after the red braided IS girl motions with her hand for the youngster to take another shot. Normaly Kestrel would be hesitant, but this time, the child is instant to react.

The child simply repeats what he did on his last throw, the child raises a knee, swings his arm forward American baseball throwing style, his long, shiny black hair flutters and spreads in the air due to the motion of his body and arm suddenly moving forward at speeds. The tennis ball flies at a slightly slower speed than the last, but thankfuly hits a target, but its only a paper bullseye target on the fourth shelf. The tennis ball tears throught the paper target, only just through the small red bullseye, before softly bouncing on the floor and rolling away forward.

"Last throw Kes, do you're best!" - Ichika speaks in a friendly manner, whilst standing directly behind the Israeli child with a friendly and kind face.

Though Kestrel does not understand what the Japanese male is saying, the said youngster has a good idea of what it was that Ichika just said. As the child focuses on the rack of shelves, the final task of selecting a target is made, eventualy after less than seven seconds, the child chooses to target a coconut set upon a long bamboo cane.

As Kestrel begins to position himself to make his last and final throw, the child can't help but make a small innocent blink, but... its something that the little one quickly gets to regret. In less than a second, as quick as a blink, Kestrel's heart begins to beat rapidly, his breath has gone... the child looses colour in his face and his small ocean blue eyes widen in fear. From Kestrel's point of view, the triangle shaped formation of coconuts set upon bamboo canes have changed.

In litteraly one second, the coconuts have dissapeared, and the bamboo canes have changed to blood stained wooden stakes. Set on the top of each of the five stakes is a severed male head, Kestrel's shoulders slump and the child stands idle with his arms set motionlessly at his sides, his ocean blue eyes become glazed and a 1,000 yard stare begins to form in his eyes.

Time seems to freeze, Kestrel looses all nerve in his body, and begins to stand, stareing at the severed heads like coloured ice. From Kestrel's point of view, three of the severed heads have closed eyes, the remaining 2 have slightly open eyes, cold, empty and dead. Blood smears the pale and cold blueish dead skin on the severed heads, one of the severed heads have a bullet hole the size of a coin on the left side of the temple, matched by a massive loss of skull and brains on the opposite side where the exit hole has been formed.

Blood coats the stakes all the way down from the points of skewerment in the necks all the way down to the ground, and as Kestrel stares paralazed with fear, cold sweat begins to form on the side of his temple, his small heart starts to pick up its beating pace.

Kestrel can't move, nor can he blink, his nerves begin to gather as the familiar sounds begin to dissapear from his small ears, then... suddenly... as soon as it starts, its all over as Ichika's voice full of concern and curiosity breaks the moment, which comes as some overwhelming relief to the youngster, even though it does make the said child jump in a little startled manner.

"Kes?! Are you okay?" - Ichika speaks in a clear and concerned tone, having noticed that Kestrel had froze stiff and was seeming to have another turn.

Blinking and making a tiny little shake of the head for a moment, Kestrel looks down to make eye contact with a concerned Ichika. From Ichika's point of view, its clear as day that Kestrel was suffering another turn, but at least it hasn't lasted or for that matter begun to fully develop. Placing a small hand to his forehead and half closing his eyes to resemble the look of a person whom is dead tired or is suffering a bad headache, Kestrel mutters something in a low and soft tone.

"Sorry, what was that?" - Ichika asks, while looking Kestrel in the face.

Kestrel then takes a quick glance to the targets and is more than happy to notice that everything has returned to normal, which causes the child to let out a sigh of relief. Then, regaining his focus and composure, Kestrel positions himself and then, with a rapid swing of the arm, casts his ball forward at impressive speed, the green tennis ball smacks bullseye into the stack of coconuts which falls to the ground with cluttering sound. Kestrel had knocked all five coconuts down perfect, which causes the four IS girls to erupt into a praise of clapping and small and well contained uproaring praise.

Though the girls begin to chatter and begin to speak in various congratulationary manners to Kestrel, the Isreali youngster says nothing, nor does he react to the IS schoolgirls. Instead the said youngster simply and carefuly leaps down from the chair that he was standing on and simply looks at the ground with a sorrowful expression.

Ichika does not fail to notice and can do nothing put place a hand on top of the youngster's head, as Ichika looks down with a sympathetic look, a thought runs through his head - ( "He saw something again... poor kid... I guess PTSD isn't something that can be beaten so easily" ).

"WELL DONE KESTREL!" - The Ukrainian girl cooes whilst clapping.

"Well done Kestrel, you can have any prize on the second shelf!" - The red braided girl states in a happy manner.

Kestrel does not look at the girl, and instead its Ichika that makes eye contact with the said female and putting on his bravest face that he can manage the Japanese male points towards the prize self and in a calm and happy voice speaks the words - "See that big book about ships and naval battles?... Kestrel likes that sort of stuff... can he have that?".

"Of course Ichika, Of course" - The red braided female replies, bowing pleasantly.

As Ichika takes another look down at the long haired child, a serious frown forms on his face, though Ichika's face is sympathetic, its clear that Ichika is determined to help his most frail male friend see this terrible condition to the end - ( "Kestrel... I don't know what it is you're seeing, and I don't what you've endured... but trust me... I'm with you till the end okay?" ).

_**Okay everyone... thats all I can think of for chapter 52, remember to read and review... and for those of you whom have requests remember to feel free and speak out, theres going to be I think 2 more chapters before the main dancing and disco partying begins, so for those whom wish to see things happen, just give me the PM and such. Now... I said that I would explain about why everything has been delayed and here it is...**_

_**It was my 23rd birthday on August 11th, and I've spent the last few days going places, whilst building a 1/350 scale USS Hornet CV-8. I've also had to take it easy aswell because at one point I was half way through this chapter and I very nearly made myself sick from being overworked, or over partied or celebrated!... Anyway... I'm back to normal, and my routines and writing time is getting back to how they once were.**_

_**Its also been unbearably hot over here in South Yorkshire Doncaster, Great Britian... so for those of you whom have had to endure annoyingly hot weather then my sympathy goes out to you! **__**Anyway... please R+R, I appologise deeply for any innconvieniance that the delays have caused, and for any future delays that may still arrise.**_

_**Thanks for the support and postivie reviews, I'm still wishing all you guys and gals the best and may your own fics get 100% positive reviews.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	53. Chapter 53: The Black Kite

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned again with a new chapter, firstly... before we start reading I just want to explain that whenever I've mentioned that Ichika has a 'Big Bro' instinct, **__**that is just a slang that me and quite a lot of other people use here in South yorkshire quite a lot, so for those of you whom want to see the word 'Brotherly' don't take it badly, that slang of mine is just a force of habit. Normaly most chapters like these don't go beyond 6,200 words, I'm working to try and extend these chapters ASAP. Anyway... lets not be burdened by the red tape, please... sit back, read and enjoy.**_

_**WARNING: This chapter has graphic horror moments that any guy would dare not experiance in real life, for those whom don't like horror, please consult some company before reading.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 53:

**\- IS academy grounds -**

Though it had been a minor setback since little Kestrel had the misfortune to suffer a light if highly unpleasant turn, good atmosphere had successfuly been salvaged, mainly in the form of a bird of prey, its species being the "Black Kite". For many that have never had the opertunity to be so close up to a creature that is considered a beautiful creature of god's earth, it truly is a sight to behold, non-the least even more incredible to notice that the said wild and un-tamed animal is happily and comfortably perched on the small, IS uniform sleeved arm of the long black haired ten year old.

For Ichika it is more overwhelming than it is for most of the IS schoolgirls, that stare, whisper, point and take the chance to film or take photographs on Iphone like objects. Ichika wasn't aware that Kestrel had hold of the great, majestic looking creature untill the said bird had lowered its head, raised its hackles, opened its wings and screached in anger at the Japanese male when he had seemingly gotten to close to the Israeli youngster.

At first, Ichika was originaly hesitant and full of nerve when looking at the fiercesome eyes of the wild bird of prey. Though it wasn't the fear of birds that caused Ichika to move away from Kestrel slowly, it was the surprise of the moment. To make Ichika even more nervous, was the fact that Kestrel had the bird perched on his small arm, and there is no gauntlet *Or protective glove to protect his arm and un-covered hand, very nearly balled into a small fist.

Just like all birds of prey, Black Kites have a formidable set of talons, so if the bird panics, or tightly clucthes Kestrel's hand, wrist or arm, then there would be nothing to protect the said youngster's soft skin and flesh from being slashed or torn open by a creature which weilds what can only be described as a set of four knives on each foot.

Thankfuly though, the said bird seems very comfortable, and merely returns what strangely enough is a perfectly comfortable stare into the child's eyes, Kestrel slightly tilts his small head to the side and smiles warmly and at the animal, the majestic beauty raises a leg and makes small humming sounds back in return.

Ichika can't help but feel awkward, as the pair begin to attract a vast amount of attention from the wide eyed female hordes. Some IS schoolgirls point, others whisper, so far none of the many IS females have dared move forwards closer to the two boys, but its clear as day that its only a matter of time.

Unable to carry both a large book and a bird at the same time, Ichika hold's Kestrel's won book under one arm like some important school book or bag. Despite it getting late, the summer heat is still very blinding. The Japanese male has small beads of sweat on the side of his temple, many others are in the same boat, but thankfuly the heat seems to be subsiding and the much welcomed light sea wind from the nearby ocean is a perfect fan or cooling treatment.

As Kestrel and Ichika calmly walk forward, Ichika slowly shifts his head to the left, then... back to the right, though Ichika is not surprised that a vast ocean of female eyes are stareing at both him and his little friend, the horrible feeling of discomfort is like a very nasty smoldering mound of ash that rests deep inside his stomach.

Thankfuly the scar faced Kestrel is at the moment oblivious to the attention they are attracting, and simply and carefuly strokes the stunning Black kite's front with the back of an index finger. The black kite responds by allowing Kestrel to move his hand forward towards its beak, less than a second later the black kite seemingly begins to carefuly nibble on the child's finger. Kestrel does not flinch or panic and maintains a careful walking pace, whilst admiring the great animal on his arm to preen his small, soft, white skinned hand.

Sadly though, the heart warming moment is short lived as 2 IS schoolgirls loose their cool, leap up and down in excitement, using all their will power to restrain themselves from screaming with delight. Kestrel, Ichika and the mighty Black kite are taken by surprise and turn their heads to the left, what the trio sees is 2 IS schoolgirls, tightly clutching Iphone like objects dashing over towards the pair, both girls have black hair, but one of the said girls has her hair in a pony tail.

Ichika gulps, rolls his chocolate brown eyes in a type of 'Oh boy!' manner and comes to a stop, Kestrel immediately does the same. Ichika feels dread circulate inside his body as the pair of IS schoolgirls dash forwards from a light blue coloured tent. As the 2 females rush forward in a jogging pace speed, the Black kite on Kestrel's arm becomes somewhat anxious, as the said bird proceedes to turn itself around on Kestrel's arm to face the 2 IS school girls, whom by know are just mere feet from the 2 boys.

Kestrel blinks, his small heart begins to beat in a quickened pace, his ocean blue eyes widen a little, ever since experiancing the chaotic antics at the IS academy first hand since his arrival, Kestrel has remarkably come to understand what to expect and read the signs of mischief that the girls at the IS academy can concoct or become. No doubt making Ichika feel as though has the perfect compainon at the IS academy.

As Ichika prepares to raise an arm and call out to tell both girls to stop, a sudden ear piercing non-human screech causes both IS schoolgirls to jump in startlement and suddenly come to a sudden stop, slightly skidding forward, very nearly tumbling forward... and blink with wide eyes in sudden surprise. Looking down, following the direction from where the screach came from, Ichika notices that Kestrel has his small arm outstretched, allowing the mighty Black kite to fully open its wings, stick out its chest and stretch its neck, as a way of showing size and power. The bird's hackles rise, making the animal look all the more menacing.

The 2 black haired IS schoolgirls are at first wide eyed, but... sometimes one effect can cause the opposite of good to occur, as more curious and bewildered females dash forward, some in cosplay, others simply in IS uniform. In less than a few seconds, Ichika and Kestrel soon find themselves surrounded, but at least its fair distanced circle. Some females keep their eyes fixed firmly on the Black kite, others glance to look at Ichika. The sounds of muttering, whispering and girlish joy fills the air, but at least the 2 boys are not being glomped, which is mostly thanks to the large dark feathered animal resting on Kestrel's outstretched arm that contiues to screach and flap its wings violently at any schoolgirl that tends to get to close towards little Kestrel.

Taking the chance, one of the 20 or so IS females, with short light blue hair dressed in a police woman's uniform points towards the dark feathered animal and in a bewildered tone asks a question which Ichika was expecting to hear - "What type of bird is that?"

Ichika smiles nervously at the questioning girl and with a pleasant face and vocal tone replies with the words - "Ah... that's a Black kite".

"Its a beauty!" - A long brunette girl dressed as a shrine maiden exclaims, knelt down slightly to get a better view of the feathered animal.

"...And?... thats a wild animal?" - Another girl, with blonde pigtails dressed in normal civilian clothing asks in a amazed tone, stareing with astonished green eyes.

"Ah...yeah, its a wild bird" - Ichika replies with a friendly smile, clearly feeling un-comfortable. If someone was to say that Ichika and little Kestrel are the luckiest guys in the world, then they clearly are either blind, deaf or utterly stupid... most guys whom would kill to be what can only be described as "Chick magnets", are mostly just sad, immature fools or fags who think with their dicks, and even then... its a well known fact that a Harem can become a guy's worst nightmare, especially if its an un-wanted harem!

If one takes another look, Ichika and Kestrel are good hearted souls, that keep themselves to themselves, which is mostly what purely good hearted guys do.

So for Ichika and Kestrel to be constantly surrounded by the opposite gender, which in all reality can cause a lot of misery and saddness, aswell as cause a lot of awkward moments... then its fair to say that Ichika and Kestrel can't help but feel discomfort.

"How does little Kestrel do it? How does he attract such wonderful animals!?" - A spanish accented girl with a long orange braid asks, dressed in a red spanish like dress.

"Did you see him with that Raven earler today!" - Another girl with a long green side headed ponytail exclaims with an over excited face.

"Its so beautiful... can I pet it!?" - A girl with curly orange hair, brown eyes, dressed in civilian clothing asks, with love hearts taking the place of pupils in her eyes. As the girl begins to excitedly rush forward with arms and hands ahead of her resembling those of a zombie, mesmorised at the stunning creature perched upon little Kestrel's arm.

"Ah... I... I don't think thats.." - An Indian girl with pure green eyes and a shinning black hair stutters holding up an index finger, as if anticipating what is going to happen next.

Almost instantly after the Indian girl stutters, the black kite upon Kestrel's arm turns itself round, its yellow feet and shinning black talons seemingly to harmlessly brush or pass over little Kestrel's uniform sleeve and small hand. Upon seeing the curly orange haired girl suddenly be up so close, the Black kite screaches in a furious manner, causing Kestrel to turn his small head to the left in a normal manner, Ichika however does not get the chance to see what happens next due to keeping eye contact with the mass numbers of schoolgirls that surround both him and his timid little friend.

The Black kite raises its hackles, flaps its wings violently and makes scream after scream in a furious tone. The curly haired orange female does not acknowledge the bird's verbal warnings, the said girl seems to be lost in bewilderment. Kestrel merely gets only a glimpse of the girl's face, hands and arms before the inevitable happens.

In less than a second, before little Kestrel or anybody else has the chance to react, the Black kite seems to lean down, wings upwards and open, and springs upwards beating its wings in a fast and furious manner, the Black kite lifts up both its pure yellow legs and feet, its final angered scream is let out.

**\- Briefly Elsewhere -**

Standing dressed in a traditonal red Chinese dress with stunning gold patterns, is non other than Rin, holding a ice-cream in one hand. The pigtailed brunette had been speaking to three other IS schoolgirls, 2 wearing average everyday clothing and the other wearing a cosplay french maid outfit. The four females had merely been exchanging pleasant comments to each other about how stunning their hair or clothing looks, each of the four girls filled with confidence of getting the hand or hanky panky moment with Ichika or Kestrel tonight, though non of the said girls would dare mention that goal to each other, mainly due to the fact that each female is what they claim to be 'Far to much of a lady' to say such things to each other.

However, even then the competition is clearly evident in the air, and as a matter of fact, each girl can't stop feeling either smoldering levels of jealousy or envy when another shows or speaks their confidence to the other. For those girls that can't show such confidence to each other or suddenly feel deflated by the effort of another, then the only trick they can pull is to change the subject. Which ironicaly is what Rin was doing before she and the other 3 girls were brought out of their moment by a loud ear pierceing female scream.

**"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"**

Upon hearing the pain stricken scream, Rin and the other IS schoolgirls suddenly spin their heads directly down a long row of stalls set as isles. Only to see a large wall of IS females, the source of the scream being obscured by the gathering wall of IS females.

"Was that a scream?" - The girl in the french maid outfit asks in a curious and concerned tone.

"If you ask me it was a fog horn blowing off!" - One of the average dressed females comments with closed eyes, a joyful smile and shrug of the shoulders.

As the average dressed female with medium lengthend green hair finishes her jokeful comment, Rin and the remaining 2 girls exchange howls of un-containable laughter, filling the atmosphere around them with a party like atmosphere.

**\- Back with Ichika -**

Every other girl goes white in the face and leaps back in sudden surprise, as a wacking sound ressembling that when a person punches another echoes throughout the air. Almost instanlty after the wacking sound, the curly haired girl lets out a pain striken scream, mixed with that of fear. Ichika turns both his head and body fast as lighting only to be greeted by a sight that sends a chill of dread up his spine.

The Black kite which once occupied Kestrel's small arm is now clinging tightly to the orange haired girl's hand, its black, shinning razor bladed talons are sunk deeply into the girl's soft flesh, red blood begins to gush almost instantly. Though it isn't the just pain of the talons that causes the orange haired girl's pain, its mighty pressure that the bird has deep inside its foot.

Some girls attempt to rush forward to help their striken friend, only to be frightened off as the Black kite goes into a deep and terrible rage. The Black kite's yellow foot becomes caked red, but the crisis isn't over yet, as the out-raged bird of prey slams its other foot into the curly haired female's arm. The pain stricken girl lets out another yelp of agony, and begins to thrash and swirl herself around in a desperate attempt to throw the clinging bird off her left hand and arm.

Panic never does someone any good, but as far as the curly haired female is concerned, its better than just standing still and letting the bird of prey yank and flap its wings, in an aggressive attempt to pull and tear off the girl's flesh. Ichika leans back nervously, his chocolate brown eyes are wide and his blood seems to freeze, the Japanese male likes to think that he has control of any situation but in a case like this... its a fair assumption that even the best loose control or are unable to deal with each and every problem.

**"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"** \- The curly ginger female screams in panic stricken agony, thrashing and tossing her and arm around, hopeful that the violently wing flapping bird, continously screaming will simply release her flesh, some girls do manage to get up close to their pain striken friend, but... each and every girl simply backs away again, from a distance... birds of prey seem small and harmless, but when you compare an adult human's body parts, like the head to the size of a fully grown Black kite... you come to realise that these birds are very large, and deep down... very, very powerful.

Kestrel on the other hand, merely stares in shock, the youngster didn't expect nor did he see something like this coming. Thankfuly, the child's heart quickly returns to a calm and normal pace. Then, completely on his own, the scar-faced youngster slowly and calmly walks forwards towards the panicking girl. Amazingly, Ichika and the other girls don't notice little Kestrel, until one of the said females points at the youngster and shouts the words - "Hey, LOOK!".

"Whats that crazy kid think he's doin!?" - An American girl with long green hair and brown eyes asks in a startled tone.

"KES! Come here, that bird could tear your arm off!" - An Austrailian girl with green eyes and short blonde hair shouts in nervous tone.

As the girls around Ichika begin to shout in fear, the Japanese male begins to notice something... the Black kite is beginning to calm down. The bird now looks at the stood still youngster, whom proceedes to slowly lift his small left arm, with his small hand positioned in a way of offering a perch. The child says nothing, the youngster and the bird stare each other in the eyes for a moment.

Ichika watches with anticipation, opening his arms in a way of preventing any girls from dashing past him, if it seems like a girl is about to dash over to Kestrel, Ichika proceedes to quickly hiss phrases that restrain any sudden movements, mainly phrases along the lines of - "Wait!", "Don't move!", "Look at the bird!".

Despite that curly orange haired girl still panics, thrashing and throwing herself around, what happens next amazes everybody. The Black kite, keeping eye contact with Kestrel, relaxes its feet, and with a sudden opening of the wings, proceedes to calmly release the girl's hand and arm from its tight painful grip. As the bird releases the curly haired orange female's arm, a thin, hardly visible trail of blood streams from the birds talons.

Every single IS schoolgirl, including Ichika is silent and stunned as the large bird of prey calmly and gently lands itself on the Israeli child's arm. Its feet are pure red, as is its talons, which quickly stain little Kestrel's uniform, but at least the crisis is quickly brought to an end, in terms of removing the problem that is!

The curly haired orange female, holds her wounded arm tightly, screaming in an hysterical manner, the girl's IS uniform sleeve is pure red from below the elbow. The girl's hand is torn open and is dripping red, and to make matters worse, nobody will dare go near their wounded friend as long as little Kestrel has hold of the wild bird on his arm, thankfuly... Ichika and the others don't have to wait long.

Kestrel soon raises his small arm upwards and with a small, timid smile, says something in Israeli, before carefuly making a small thrust motion upwards with his arm and casting the great Black kite up into the sky. Everybody is silent, stunned beyond relief, seemingly blown away by the sight as the Black kite flaps its wings, and calmly flies away upwards over the tops of some tents and into the air.

As Kestrel lowers his arm, the sight of blood on his sleeve and hand causes the youngster's smile to drop. Then, with his senses quickly returning to the world of the real, turns his small head over to look at the curly haired orange female, whom thankfuly by now has stopped screaming but is holding her hand in way that shows she is in pain, or to overwhelmed by panic to even notice any pain. Whimpering, with tears of panic in her eyes, a pale face and wide eyed panicked expression, the curly orange haired female is clearly unable to remove her eye sight from her wounded hand and arm.

"My god its killed me! Its killed me!" - The orange haired female yelps in a fast spoken tone, filled will un-containable fear.

As Kestrel looks at the girl's wounded hand, and the position its set upon, the child's heart stops beating. From the child's point of view, the girl is holding her hand like some evil villain, palm facing her face, fingers apart looking like some psycho-bitch'es grappling clawed hand.

Kestrel's eyes become nearly empty, a 1,000 yard stare appears on his face, the blood that drips from the girl's wounded hand triggers a terrible turn. In Kestrel's mind and from his point of view. A white mind flash changes the scenery, the girl's bloodied hand has not disappeared, instead... it becomes the bloodied hand of another female.

Kestrel, with a 1,000 yard stare, panicked pale face with tears of fear beginning to form in his ocean blue eyes finds himself in a very dirty looking living room. As Kestrel shifts his small fear striken eyes away from the hand what greets him sends un-imaginable levels of sickened fear to his small gut.

Standing with a nasty, evil grin on the face is a brunette female in her late teens wearing a Japanse style school uniform. Upon noticing Kestrel's panic striken stare the girl's grin turns into a very sinister, smug smile her catish green eyes burn like molten lava deep into little Kestrel's nerves. Kestrel wants to run, but as he attempts to turn and run, he can nothing except jerk, his limbs aren't responding to his commands, even though the child can feel every part of his body.

As Kestrel looks down, he finds himself chained and tied to a large wooden door, the youngster notices that dried blood smears the door that he has been restrained to. To make matters worse his IS uniform is gone, instead he finds himself covered from the neck down towards his small thighs in thin, tattered, sheeted rags.

As Kestrel looks up rapidly to look at the girl, he now finds 2 more schoolgirls, each in their late teens looking down at him with sadistic grins. One girl with light brunette hair in a ponytail licks her lips and speaks in a foreign tongue, the air becomes heavy and thick as the girl's voice becomes deep, low, seductive and menacing with an echo that fills the room and sends chills of terror up little Kestrel's spine.

Though Kestrel can't understand what it is she is saying, the child knows what tounge she is speaking in, she is a Syrian. The second girl that has a appeared has short blonde hair that goes to the shoulders, in her hand she holds a thin cigarette, as she takes a quick and light drag, she mutters something in Syrian, which causes the first 2 females to look at Kestrel with satanic looks.

The sickening stench of cigarette smoke makes Kestrel want to choke and vomit, but the child can't, his stomach is paralyzed with terror. Then, taking a breif look down, Kestrel notices something that makes him scream and yelp in terror, laying on the floor is a pair of adult man's testicles. The sexual organs are severed from a nearby body of a teenage boy with short black hair and glasses, laying dead on his side, pants and underwear around his ankles with dried up tears on his pale face. The area where the teenage male's crown and jewels have been torn off is gushing a massive lake of blood across the dark wooden floored living room.

Kestrel begins to thrash, tears roll down his small face, the youngster screams for help and phrases of distress in sob clenched Israeli. Then, just Kestrel thinks it can't get any worse a loud shreading sound causes the youngster to thrash even harder and panic, the feeling of cool air circulates around his now bare thighs and lower areas.

As Kestrel's looks through his blurred tear filled eyes, another teenage girl with long dark blue hair with pink ribbon stands with her arms folded, a smug expression is on her face. Kestrel is brought close to vomiting as the girl smirks at him and in a cold, echoeing voice in broken Israeli speaks the words - "Hold him still girls! Its my turn this time! I've brought the straps with me!... HMPH! As I expected... he has a small one, how pathetic!".

Kestrel closes his eyes, gathers his strength and lets out a large ear piercing scream, the sounds of bonds snapping and giving way fills his ears, followed by the sounds of angry yells of the girls, but thankfuly... little Kestrel's turn comes to an end.

Screaming in a panicked way, thrashing violently, Kestrel dares not to open his small eyes. As Kestrel feels his body impact solid ground his arms and legs get the feeling of being pinned, which causes Kestrel to open his eyes.

Looking up, Kestrel is breifly blinded by the evening sun, which causes the youngster to look away, closing his eyes to prevent the pain. The feeling of reality returns, and then a dark shade seems to engulf the youngster's body and face. Japanese voices begin to fill his ears, one of which is the most welcomed, it is the voice of Ichika.

"Kestrel! Speak to us!"

"Kestrel! Calm down, its okay!" - A female voice is heard speak out.

"Kestrel! You're having a turn!" - Another female voice is heard.

As the sounds of female voices become jumbled, Kestrel's head begins to scream in pain as a nasty headache begins to form. As Kestrel opens his eyes, a dark shilouetted image greets his distressed and tear filled eyes. Blinking, shaking with fear and beginning to relax... Kestrel's heavy breathing begins to slow down, and a warm feeling of happiness and relief courses throughout his body as the relieved and concerned face of Ichika, along side that of schoolgirls greet the child's gaze.

Some schoolgirls break into heavily relived smiles, Ichika is amoungst those whom appears the most relieved. As a calm atmosphere fills the air around him, Kestrel eases up on his tense muscles. The youngster lays his head back on the ground and closes his eyes, his face is wet with tears of terror, his blood red scar gleams from the sparkling warm tear drops that wet little Kestrel's small face.

"Ichika! Lets go get the nurse!" - A girl with long orange hair, blue eyes and a thick Irish accent speaks out.

Ichika wastes no time in getting to his feet and dashing away, as the black haired Japanese male rushes away the male shouts to the group of IS females that release their pinning grips off the scar-faced youngster - "Don't let him go anywhere, we'll be back soon!".

"Sure thing Orimura!" - A girl with long blonde hair with a few curls replies.

Though Kestrel's turn is over, the child's eyes are still holding traces of the horrors that the child just remembered. Even as Kestrel carefuly sits up, the child is still a mass of nerves,  
thankfuly... a girl that is repentant for guilty actions, appears directly behind Kestrel, with mixed emotions.

As Kestrel feels a soft hand touch his shoulder, the youngster turns his head. Meeting the child's troubled stare is the blonde ponytailed beauty from France, Charlotte Dunois. Silence fills the mass gathered group of girls and young boy. Kestrel blinks, looks into Charlotte's eyes and ironicaly becomes confused and curious.

Kestrel thankfuly is to badly troubled to panic or feel any emotions as Charlotte pulls the youngster into a loving embrace, as Kestrel returns the embrace Charlotte uses all her will power to not burst into tears. Many other girls can compare to Charlotte's feelings, because many around Kestrel were guilty for hunting him down and trying to put the youngster in drag. Soon enough, a massive group embrace gathers and forms.

Which amazingly comes as some form of comfort to the traumitised Kestrel, non the least even more comforting to the many dozens of females whom feel foul and crap after pulling their stunts against Ichika and the said youngster which was effectively just recently or so.

Observing from a distance, a pair of blue haired females stand silent. One of which has a troubled frown on her face, whilst the other has a serious scowl. The evening sunlight reveals the pair to be the Russian sisters Kanzashi and Tatenashi, since this morning Kanzashi has been at Tatenashi's throat, and amazingly had put her sister in her place. Its difficult to put a sibling in its place or lecture them perfectly, but Kanzashi can be a very scary opponent when angered, which Tatenashi has had discovered on multipule occasions.

So far, Kanzashi and Tatenashi have been wandering the academy looking for both Ichika and Kestrel. Though both girls had both very differant feelings upon hearing Ichika's voice, its clear as day that any chances of getting a good, rational and maybe private conversation with Ichika are now dashed. With so many females around in the area, its best to not have such an important discussion, after all... if you want to punish someone for their actions, it has to be done 'Just right', and that includes an atmosphere where someone will understand and be truly sorry for their actions. Which Kanzashi makes perfectly clear to her troublesome sister, whom every now and then attempts to brighten the matter at hand or change the subject.

"C'mon Tatenashi, we'll get our chance to Ichika later... in the meantime, you don't go move more than 2 feet away from me, GOT IT!?" - Kanzashi speaks in a low, menacing, strict tone, while pointing her index finger at her troublesome sister.

"Hey c'mon sis... It was only a joke... I said I'm sorry... I'll appologise to Ichika don't worry about it" - Tatenashi speaks with a nervous smile, trying in vain to avoid the angered scowl of her sister.

Kanzashi lets out a frustraited sigh before looking her sister angrily in the eyes, leaning forward and speaking in a low and strict tone, causing Tatenashi to lean back nervously and gulp.

"Yes... You ARE going to appologise, but you WILL do it with me supervising! I've told you before... I'm not going to overlook this matter, you harrassing other people, playing practacal jokes on them is one thing... but this... when you force people to do things against their will, make sure their powerless, and target a PTSD striken child... THAT is a differant matter!".

Raising her arms nervously Tatenashi stutters to her furious looking sister - "H..Hey sis, calm down, I've already explained that I didn't know things were going to get that badly out of hand, and.."

"NO!" - Kanzashi snaps, making a breif wag of her finger, and causing Tatenashi to gulp. Even though Kanzashi wears glasses, the said Russian female's eyes hold un-containable levels of anger that looks as though it is about to break the glass and melt the frames. Even as Kanzashi proceedes to preach, Tatenashi can't help but feel nerves go on turbo charge.

"You **WILL**... say all these explinations to Ichika and Kestrel, you **WILL**... save it for the appology!, You **WILL**... say nothing more to me untill I give you permission!, You **WILL**... do as I say for the time being!... and... You... **WILL**... **TURN OVER A NEW LEAF!**" - Kanzashi hisses in a furious manner, causing her sister to tremble and gulp.

As Kanzashi straightens herself up, the Russian female points with an index finger towards the direction of the IS academy main building and with a resounding angered hiss, snaps the words - "Now get walking!".

Tatenshi slowly if slightly rapidly walks past her sister and in a tense manner walks over towards the main buildings, Kanzashi maitains a close pressance whilst keeping her arms folded, following her sister. If one knew the reason what the moment was all about then only thing could be aggreed on... 'Who could have believed Kanzashi was so formidable when it came to punishing her sister!'.

_**Okay everybody... Thats it for Chapter 53, chapter 54 is underway... please remember all readers whom have requests for things to happen during the party have untill Chapter 55 to PM me and to make their requests, 2 have already been accepted, if you wish for me to mention that a certain idea was yours, just let me know in any requesting message. Chapter 54 will be a prep chapter but be warned... more graphic details of what our little Kes edured in his past will be brought to light. After chapter 54, the partying really starts... I will do my best to make things as spicy as I can so go easy on me if you think I don't do enough already, but saying that... if you don't like this fic, don't read it. For those whom have followed on for so long, thanks a lot... please remember to read and review... may your own fics get posititve reviews and lots of followers/Favorites.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	54. Chapter 54: The Ice cream incident

_**Okay, Black Falcon 01 has returned yet again with a brand new chapter of this fanfic, first of all I want to thank everyone for following on, and for those that have stuck around for so long, **__**tiring I know, but the least I can do is make the journey as entertaining as I can. Anyway... I don't have much to say for the introductions, thank god! So anyway, enough with the red tape... **__**please sit back, read and enjoy.**_

_**Chapter delayed I know but this time its not just been house work, animals and such, F***ing intense heat, god awfull allergy attacks and such have also kept me away from writing, but... as I've said many times over... I'm a man of my word!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 54:

**\- IS academy grounds -**

Walking, head lowered, eyes empty with a 1,000 yard stare and deeply sorrowful face, Kestrel holds his book which he won, tightly to his small chest and body like some precious object. It had been an hour since leaving the red cross tent with Ichika by his side, but little Kestrel still was a mass of nerves and distress. Walking close along side, trying to forget her previously made, if slightly innocent but chaotic antic. Charlotte Dunois walks along side the 10 year old youngster with her head low, ever since getting a hiding from Chifuyu Orimura, and hate scolding from Ichika and a portrayal as a child abuser from Kestrel's shotacons, Charlotte has been increasingly miserable.

Though Ichika had given her a chance to redeem herself, the French blonde knows all to well the conditions and catch behind Ichika's lenient attitude towards her. Though Ichika is prepared to bury the hatchet, Kestrel seems to be a differant story, and whats worse to pour salt into the wound, the French blonde was unfortunate enough to come across Kestrel when he was having a very nasty mind turn. Causing Charlotte to feel even more worse than what she has been doing lately, one could say that if Charlotte was an robotic andriod, her emotional circuits and chips would have melted from guilt and sorrow.

The fact being proven by the blue, depressing atmosphere that surrounds the French blonde. Ichika, despite walking calmly beside the Israeli youngster on his right is currently pre-occupied at the moment. Ever since Kestrel suffered his turn, and witnessed some unfortunate chaos spiral out of control, the said Japanese male has had a lot of explaining to do to the mass numbers of IS females that obviously... just like all girls and women... live and seemingly survive on gossip and activity!

The fact being proven as many IS females, whom were unaware of what was happening walk directly on the Japanese male's left, the said boy calmly explaining everything that was happening in a calm and comfortable tone, whilst shifting looks and glances from girl to girl that fixes their eyes on his face with curious faces.

As Charlotte glances to her left to look down at the walking youngster beside her, the French blonde's emotions swirl and bubble in sickness and guilt. Every now and then the said girl puts the palm of her hand to her face and whipes away a guilty tear that somehow sneaks out of her saddened eyes. Though Charlotte knows that she hasn't done anything wrong this time, the weight of remembering the moment when she pursued the said youngster and to probably force him to do something against his will keeps coming to memory, any body else who's done something stupid in their lives and is truly sorry for what they've done can understand how foul the French beauty is feeling.

Kestrel looks so very helpless, and it takes nearly all of Charlotte's will power not to suddenly stop leap down and smother the youngster in a sorrowful embrace, ironicaly though... the French female is not the only one whom feels that way. Many of the girls that escorted the academy nurse and her two beautiful assistants whilst carrying the out cold child to the red cross tent felt the same, and many of those are the girls that took part in photographing Ichika in forced drag, aswell as trying to make sure Kestrel ended up in the same situation.

Though Kestrel wasn't in any real danger in the open, it was considered wise to have Kestrel brought to the red cross tent just in case, besides... laying down on the floor prevented the fragile little one from getting fanned by the sea breeze, that in hot weather like this is considered seriously vital. It was also a good chance to attempt to make peace with a certain and very unlucky orange haired female that had the misfortune to be taloned by one of little Kestrel's majestic feathered friends.

Though the IS schoolgirl had been unfortuneatley taloned and put into a state of panic by little Kestrel's feathered friends, the said female seemed to have been very forgiving, but non the less had a certain condition insisted upon the both of the boy's shoulders. The condition being that she was to have the honor of dancing with Ichika and Kestrel when ever her chance arose, though the girl's conditions had scared Ichika slightly, the girl seemed to have taken everything lightly, smiled and winked at the said Japanese male... either way one looks at it, the girl has already buried the hatchet, after all... that is only to be expected, due to the fact that neither Ichika or Kestrel did nothing wrong from the start, and what happened was beyond their control.

The secondary fact being that the girl was partialy to blame for what happened and third fact being that Kestrel had been unfortunate enough to suffer a nasty mental turn, so... all the same, its all been water under the bridge.

Though Ichika has had a very promising few minutes and such, firstly regaining good relations with a schoolmate and know having a sensible conversation with the schoolgirls, mainly focusing on casual matters like, music, IS, whats being done during summer break and if Chifuyu ever comes home to spend time with Ichika... Kestrel on the other hand is still very badly troubled.

The said youngster has never been one whom likes being fussed over, nor has the kid liked the idea of standing out in the spotlight... the reason why he's so timid and troubled should be clear proof of that matter, but never the less... it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the youngster, whom maybe strong and mature for his age, and maybe well behaved and does not ask for much... needs all the outside help he can manage.

Kestrel has always faced problems alone, he's suffered alone... and the reason why is because at one point... he's had NO Choice. So its clearly a force of habit when the child isolates his problems away from others, but thankfuly, thanks to a certain good hearted Ichika, the child's mind and spirit is beginning to open, even if it is at a very slow snail's pace.

As the group approach the IS academy buildings, the sounds of music begins to grow louder by the second, making of the IS schoolgirl's smile and cast hopeful or sneaky glances at both Ichika and his smaller long haired friend. There is still an hour or so untill the main dancing and festivities take place, and to add even more excitement to nearly every student at the IS academy, there is a rumor going round that Chifuyu and other members of staff at the IS academy have, what at this moment is known as "A special surprise".

As expected, Ichika, just like many of the other girls at the academy right now are utterly curious as to what this so called "Special surprise" is, many girls have said that the mighty head mistress has brought in some attractive male superstar singer, other girls have said that the surprise could be a celebration cake so large that an axe will be needed to get through the frosting, others have said the surprise is that Chifuyu is going to force Ichika into kissing the best dancer at tonight's party. Fortuneatley... Ichika isn't the one whom pays much attention to rumors, which in all reality is a very sensible thing to do, after all there is a true saying that "People get killed because of their tounges", aswell as the other 2 sayings, "Eeves droppers never do any good on themselves" and ofcourse the best reasurance line when it comes to easing the nerves of your best friend "Don't listen to gossip, tounges can be a real bastard!".

Though Ichika could do without having to have his ears numbed or chewed off by the damn annoying gossip and fussiness of the IS schoolgirls, the said Japanese male is... what can only be described as "rescued" in some ironic way by the said gender that seems to enjoy nibbling Ichika's ears off with words and expectations.

"Hey Orimura, theres Ice cream over there, come join us!" - A girl with long red hair and blue eyes exclaims in an excited voice.

Almost instantly, every single female turns their heads into the direction of which the red headed female points, Ichika does the same and to his amazement notices that a pair of white, plain vans stand directly next to the high, thick grey boundry wall of the IS academy, just behind that wall is nothing but a 4 metre edge followed by jagged rocks and low lapping sea waves.

Though the sea breeze helps blow away some of the gathering sweat, it doesn't help many of the students at the academy feel as though their insides are cool. Besides that factor, this summer heat is intense and is causing a lot of unrest, many tents are gathered to the brim with students gathered around coolers, so it obviously says a lot of what most students are having to put up with so far.

As the mass of IS schoolgirls suddenly become overwhelmed with excitement, Ichika soon finds himself being taken from under both arms by the mass of swooning females, and even though Ichika attempts to speak and settle things in a calm rational manner, it all proves to be in vain. Thankfuly, little Kestrel is not dragged but simply led, the troubled traumitised youngster's left hand is tenderly taken by Charlotte Dunois, whom sends down a near pleading look wanting forgiveness to the youngster. Kestrel however is unable to find any rational feelings and instead seems to let the French Blonde lead the way.

Clearly little Kestrel is overwhelmed with mixed emotions, so the child is in no mood or condition to react in a certain manner at the moment, and even if he did, it would be considered either self forced or a miracle that the youngster would react in his normal curious ways so fast. Ichika can't help but smile with impressment at how Charlotte seems to handle the situation, the brief glance is cut short as he is soon dragged back to the over affectionate female horde that seems to love smothering the two boys.

To say that Ichika isn't flattered would be untrue, since Kestrel arrived at the academy his mass fangirl army seems to have increased heavily, but in the end the Japanese male always sees the girls acts as simple friendliness and in many cases that would be true, if one is surrounded by nothing but one's own gender then surely that said person will be starved to be even close up to the opposite gender. Many all girl's schools are filled with girls that are cruel, stingy and are either lesbians or don't give a flying damn about the male gender, on the contary... many all girls schools have females that are simply snobby rich bitches that tend to spit on anything male... so, for Ichika to be surrounded by so many affectionate females... then that can be considered a miracle, even more so for that of the traumitised Kestrel.

As the mass of IS schoolgirls begin to pull both boys over towards the icecream kiosks, a pleasant auror begins to fill the air, on the way Ichika feels this but tends to get a sudden glitch when passing by an entertainment stall, with a pair of IS schoolgirls dressed as nurses, whom seem to cast interested looks at the 2 boys surrounded by the IS females.

**\- 30 minutes later -**

"Here you go!" - A black haired female with a side bun with a ponytail drapped over a shoulder speaks in a very cheerful manner, handing an Ice cream cone over to a blonde IS schoolgirl dressed in elf cosplay, bowing pleasantly the IS schoolgirl whom works behind the large white counter is soon drawn over to the next customer, an IS schoolgirl dressed in ww2 female attire.

Wipping some sweat of his brow, Ichika manages to swallow his irritation directed towards the summer heat. Despite the sea breeze, quite a lot of IS schoolgirls are unable to escape the desire to cool their insides with much needed cold food and drink. The line towards the 2 Ice cream vans have been longer than expected, even more so when a lot of first year females noticed the all to famous Ichika and the newly aqquired Kestrel.

Fortuneatley at this point, Ichika is now only 4 females away from getting is own Ice treat, though casual conversation has helped pass the time, the Japanese male's throat and mouth has become very heavily parched. Kestrel seems to be un-affected, but that is to be expected, the child hardly says a word, and he comes from the blazing deserts of the middle east, so it is fair to say that despite looking fragile, the child is stronger than one expects.

As 2 IS schoolgirls suddenly move away from the large white, humming and rumbling van, Ichika's mouth waters, he desperately needs something cold to soothe his throat. As he casts a look down at the Long black haired youngster directly beside him on the right, a warm smile appears on his face, Kestrel however does not notice Ichika's friendly face and instead simply looks down, clearly still effected by that horrible mind turn he experianced virtualy an hour ago.

As Ichika looks up to the three IS schoolgirls in the Ice Cream van, the Japanese male suddenly goes bright red under the eyes as he sees that one of the IS schoolgirls with long black hair and green has a green bikini top on, showing her clear dainty skin and surprisingly well endowed cleevage. Directly beside her is a blonde female with short hair that goes only down to the tops of the shoulder. The blonde female is dressed in summer time one piece.

Ichika's blush deepens and the Japanese male is forced to look away for a brief moment, as the vibrating van is clearly making both of the girl's breasts jiggle in some form of erotic tease. Thankfuly Ichika manages to calm his arousal down, and is able to regain his self control, the Japanese male's feelings are proof that even Celibate heroes have natural urges every so often.

"This is a very wobbaly van!" - The blonde haired female speaks in a concerned tone.

"Everything is very wobbaly!" - Ichika mutters to himself, the 2 IS schoolgirls infront of him giggle and titter in a girly way, having clearly heard Ichika's mutter. From behind the French blonde Charlotte Dunois is suddenly rocked with curiosity and in a curious tone asks Ichika a question that the said Japanese male would dare not answer - "What was that Ichika?"

"Nothing Char! Nothing! Just giving Kes here a friendly message!" - Ichika replies in a near nervous tone, hopeful that the French female will buy what Ichika has just said, which to his overwhelmed relief, she does. Ichika sighs on the inside after turning his head round to look at Charlotte whom is now focused back on Kestrel.

As Ichika turns his head to look forward, he notices that 2 IS schoolgirls ahead of him bow pleasantly and dash away with orange Ice lolly treats in their hands. Ichika looks down and in a happy tone speaks the words, "C'mon Kes".

The Israeli youngster looks up and blinks with a curious face, but his eyes are clearly still glazed with traces of a 1,000 yard stare, though it hurts Ichika to see Kestrel like that, its a big relief to see the youngster beginning to recover, even more so that Ichika can now treat his little friend to a well needed cold treat.

"ORIMURA!" - The black haired female with a ponytail over her shoulder yelps in an over excited tone, her 2 assisting friends hold equaly excited faces and rush to the counter to see the only 2 IS piloting boys on earth suddenly be close in their pressance.

"You want to taste the best Ice cream on earth Orimura!?" - The second black haired IS female asks in a very excited manner.

Chuckling in a friendly manner to himself, Ichika places a hand the back of his head for a brief moment, before placing both hands at his sides and replying the words - "Ah... yeah, its a scorcher today so... I thought it would be considerable to give our little Kestrel here something to help cool his insides down with".

As Ichika mentions Kestrel, all 3 IS schoolgirls suddenly cast looks at each other, then... without hesitation, all 3 lean over the edge of the Icecream van counter and cast loving, excited faces at the curious Israeli, whom merely blinks back up with an innocent expresion to the 3 well developed teenage females.

"He's so sweet!" - The blonde female cooes in a loving tone.

"I'll get him a plain cone!" - The first black haired female exclaims in a playful and lovey dovey manner, before rushing away to get Ice cream for the traumitised youngster.

"What would you like Orimura?" - The second black haired female asks in a friendly tone.

"Same as Kestrel, a simple plain cone" - Ichika replies in an equaly friendly tone.

"Coming right up!" - The second black haired female replies excitedly, leaving the seemingly friendly blonde leaning over the Ice cream van counter casting a very warm and friendly gaze down to the Israeli child whom, unfortuneatley regains an un-welcome, full... 1,000 yard stare.

Having not fully recovered from his previous turn, the youngster has once again the misfortune to suddenly see something that he could realy have done without seeing. As Kestrel blinks, the youngster suddenly finds that the blonde haired female has now been replaced by a long brunette female, hanging in a slumped manner over the edge over the end of the Ice cream van, the brunette female is dead, a bullet hole dripping a seemingly endless gushing tap flow of blood is set in her forehead.

The brunette's eyes are empty and dead, blood smears the girls arms that dangle down over the edge of the van, blood splatters are against the side of the van. Kestrel's heart beats rapidly, and the youngster suddenly feels very sick, but thankfuly... this turn ends just as quickly as it starts as Ichika's voice suddenly snaps the child out of his lost trance.

"Kes!"

Jumping slightly, Kestrel blinks and looks up to his left. The child is greeted with Ichika kneeling down, offering the youngster a vanilla Ice cream set in a very tasty looking cornet cone. Kestrel's nerves settle and calmness begins to wash over the youngster, as Kestrel timidly takes the Ice cream from Ichika, the child's emotions of fear are replaced with those of warmth. Kestrel looks up to the 3 IS females, the child finds all 3 casting hopeful looks at the youngster. Kestrel wastes no time and in a timid voice, lowers his head and front making a slight and very timid bow, his small soft voice full of mixed emotions quickly speaks the words "Thank you".

Ichika notices little Kestrel's nervous tone and immediately knows that the child very nearly suffered another turn, but is more than relieved to see that it hasn't had the chance to get the child's mind in some sickening, evil grip.

Fortuneatley, Charlotte and some other girls have noticed this also. Knowing that this isn't the best place to settle things, Charlotte dashes forward and in a very friendly gesture, speaks the words - "Ah, Ichika... why don't you speak to the girls here, everyone else can get what they want at the same time, can they not?".

"Great idea Dunois! We needed to talk to Orimura anyway!" - The first black haired female states in a happy tone, raising an index finger up as if explaining something as a matter of fact.

Ichika takes a quick lick of his Ice cream and in a happy and comforted tone, matched with a calm and pleasant face, speaks the words - "Sure, okay Char".

Even as Charlotte dashes forward and orders an Ice lolly, it takes all of the French blonde's will power to not leap up and scream in an overjoyed manner. Just having Ichika smile at her is like being offered thousands in gold and silver. Especially since the French blonde is attempting to make amends since her out of control antics caused Ichika to suddenly feel swelling levels of hate towards her and various other females.

After a few moments, Charlotte, with an Ice lolly in one hand, dashes towards Kestrel carefuly taking the youngster's hand in her own free hand. Leading the child towards the shaded area of some set up tables and chairs, each and every table has a large umbrella set up and risen to offer some protection from the sunlight, as Charlotte joins the scar faced child at a white table the pair look up and notice that as Ichika exchanges pleasantries with one of the IS schoolgirls, the other 2 tend to the remaining line of other females, either in average IS uniform or in cosplay.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

Despite that Ichika seemed to be held up for some time, the black haired Japanese male with brown eyes had amazingly managed to put up answering question after question from the 3 Ice cream girls whilst managing to eat his own, if one thinks that girls are the only ones that multi-task, Ichika has amazingly managed to say otherwise... even if it is just a petty obsticle.

Most questions the girls have asked have mostly been about whom Ichika is dancing with tonight, what he's doing during summer break and most importantly... which girls he seems to have the best of relations with. Though Ichika was able answer many differant questions, the Japanese male has so far been flabbergasted at a sudden question coming from the ponytailed female that has asked Ichika a question, and one that the Japanese male is apparently unable to answer... the question being - "What about your sister? What does Orimura sensei have to say about all this?  
Does she like seeing you around so many girls at once?".

Ichika had been forced into stumbling on words, pulling an awkward face and rolling his eyes, then... just as things seem as though they can't get any worse, a familiar voice breaks the awkward silence, causing Ichika and various other IS schoolgirls to jump, yelping in fear.

"What was that about me!?"

"EEP!" - Ichika yelps in fear, upon hearing non-other than Chifuyu's voice, sounding its traditional low, alpha bitch and ice cold queen like.

"Chifuyu.. Ah, Orimura sensei!" - Ichika Quickly speaks, stumbling before quickly correcting himself, the last thing Ichika wants is to earn a final hand or book to the back of his head. Not only that, but Ichika is attempting to salvage anything and everything good for a promising evening, so to upset his bigger if slightly scary older sister, could very badly spell disaster.

Standing looking his older sister in the eyes, Ichika suddenly gets realy horrible chills, the Japanese male's heart leaps rapidly for a moment. The Ice cream girls feel the same as Ichika, as does many others in line towards the Ice cream van, everybody is hopeful that the all mighty Chifuyu, has not heard questions that seemingly can cause the said woman to frown and get overwhelming levels of irritated anger flow through her body.

Standing with a hand on her hip, with a smug looking frown on her face, Chifuyu can't help but smile at Ichika and the girls. From a perspective, it looks like Chifuyu is taking pride in being able to scare the living daylights out of Ichika and the IS schoolgirls, but thankfuly Chifuyu's smile is ( what she ) belives is affectionate. From behind the office dressed woman, with her long black ponytail elegantly streaming down her back, Charlotte and Kestrel merely stay sat down, ironicaly both are watching with curiosity, both the Israeli boy and the French girl wondering about what is going to happen next.

By now both Charlotte and little Kestrel have finished eating, and the only traces of the pair's Ice treats is the lolly stick in Charlotte's hand. The pair had been looking through the book that Kestrel had won before Chifuyu had arrived, but... as everybody knows... whenever Chifuyu appears seemingly hell bent on some reason or another... it is a moment you must watch, no matter how good some oceanic history book maybe.

Casting a look at the large white van, with a raised eyebrow, Chifuyu speaks in a calm and seemingly normal manner for her character that is! - "You lot are acting as if I'm about to suddenly rip your heads off, what were you lot talking about?"

"NOTHING!" - Everybody yelps in fear, the only ones that remain silent is Kestrel and Charlotte, whom clearly was not a part of the discussion.

"Ah... what we mean to say is, we aren't talking of anything we shouldn't have been talking about, nothing suspicous!" - A girl with long blue hair and brown eyes speaks in a timid way, holding up her arms as if she's surrendering to a gunman.

"Yeah! What she said!" - Another girl with green pigtails and blue eyes puts in with happy but nervous face.

Folding her arms, Chifuyu smirks, closes her eyes and shakes her head in a form of effection. The said woman lets out an affectionate "Hmph!", before looking her younger brother in the eyes and smiling in a smug smirk manner. A moment of silence passes which causes Ichika and most of the IS schoolgirls to tremble, but everybody eventualy gets the feeling of overwhelmed relief as Chifuyu speaks in her usual normal tone. - "Let that be the only "Nothing", you lot need to have straight minds and save the energy if you're going to party the night away!"

"Orimura sensei... Are you going to be there?" - A girl with blonde sided ponytail, asks with a curious face matched by an equal curious voice.

"Of course!" - Chifuyu replies with a smirk on her face, her arms remain folded. Upon hearing Chifuyu's words aswell as hearing the tone of her voice, Ichika's eyes widen. The Japanese male is stunned, in all the time he's spent at the IS academy, Ichika has come to see his older sister as this hard assed, cold, Ice queen whom has no time for fun or activities, sure... there was the time Chifuyu let her hair down when Ichika and the gang went to the beach along with the other students... but a large gathering like this... no way would Ichika belive that his sister would partake in activities.

"Realy Chif... Orimura sensei?" - Ichika stutters with wide open eyes, flabbergasted with his sister's remark and comfortable auror.

Turning her head to look at her stunned brother, Chifuyu can't help but blink and smile with a smug expression before replying in her normal and neutral tone - "Someone has to make sure you crazy monkeys are under control, and besides... I think we could all do with letting off some steam!".

Before Ichika has a chance to reply, his ears are suddenly filled with overjoyed girlish cheers and cooes, but that was to be expected. For a painful 5 minutes Chifuyu is placed in the pure spotlight, but at least the said woman gets things under control relatively quickly. As Chifuyu manages to hush the females swooning over her, the 3 Ice cream girls can't help but whisper to each other for a few minutes, as the 3 finish their secretive whispering, the short blonde haired female leans forward and in a tone full of confidence and excitement asks a question of which many other females have been on the verge of asking.

"Would you like an Ice cream Orimura sensei?"

"Heh,heh... yeah, please do... its a real scorcher today isn't it?" - Ichika speaks in a kind yet still flabergasted tone.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think so" - Chifuyu replies in her cool and collected tone.

"Oh go on miss Orimura, some of that Ice cream is Italian, and us Italians are the only ones who can make Ice cream!" - An Italian accented female with brunette hair, braided but in a type of bun on the back of her head exclaims with a proud tone.

"If you keep up with that concieted act, I'd say that's the ONLY thing you Italians are made for!" - Chifuyu replies with an annoyed frown on her face, its difficult enough to deal with Cecilia being concieted, so the last thing Chifuyu can bear is another girl whom seems to like strutting. Despite a few giggles and finger points at the Italian female, every other girl is soon put back in place as Chifuyu shoots a bitch glare at any chuckling females. The Italian female can only one phrase at the moment - "What'a mistake'a to make'a!".

"Please Miss Orimura, this weather is real hot, and everybody needs a nice treat every now and then" - An American girl with short red hair and purple hair clip speaks as if its a matter of fact, the American female has a friendly smile on her face that seems to help ease Chifuyu's bitch auror.

"It realy is, VERY good Ice cream" - The first black haired female in the Ice cream van states, looking the mighty Chifuyu in the eyes in a type of pleading manner.

With a final and affectionate head shake Chifuyu, rolls her eyes and does her best not to smile widely, but its clear by the sigh and sound of her voice that she is now convinced. Looking the 3 Ice cream girls in the faces, Chifuyu speaks in an affectionately defeated tone - "Oh very well, but just this once okay!?".

As the mass of schoolgirls begin to look and whisper to each other in moment of joy, Ichika, whom although has a smile on the face can't help but feel some very nasty chills go up his spine. He dares not say it, but deep down in his mind one thought is running around screaming - ( "Why do I get the feeling something horrible is going to happen!?" ).

From behind at the white table and chairs, Charlotte and Kestrel watch in utter silence, though little Kestrel can't get it why everybody is so worked up all of a sudden, Charlotte can... just like the group of IS females, the French blonde is bewildered that Chifuyu is about to eat a wonderful Ice treat with her students. However... just like Ichika... Charlotte has a feeling of dread crawling up her spine, but unlike Ichika, Charlotte brushes off the un-well feeling and simply begins to savor the moment.

As Chifuyu walks calmly upto the large white box like van, the mighty woman looks carefuly with intent at the ricketyness of the large white trailer like vehicle. Raising an eyebrow, turning her body slightly to look over at her younger brother, Chifuyu's questioning eye to eye gaze causes Ichika to gulp and hold up his arms making the traditonal "Wha?" position.

"This a very jittery machine isn't it?" - Chifuyu asks in a concerned tone whilst looking up at the 3 Ice cream girls.

"Ah... the Ice making machine is on its last legs I think" - One of the long black IS schoolgirls replies in a careful tone, hopeing to not discourage the other girls or even the mighty Chifuyu from getting a much needed Ice cream treat.

"Well in that case just give me a cone" - Chifuyu speaks in a calm and comforting tone.

Less than a second later Ichika rushes from behind and in a calm and pleasant tone speaks the words - "Girls, you heard sensei!".

"Yes Of course!" - The second black haired schoolgirls replies in an excited tone with a pleasant bow, as the first girl rushes to grab a cone, Ichika backs away to give his older sister some space.

"Make it a large one, my throat's dry" - Chifuyu speaks in a calm and expecting tone.

As the black haired female rushes towards the machine to deploy the Ice cream, every single girl in the line has their eyes wide and looking at the mighty Chifuyu with excited smiles, for many girls at the IS academy moments like watching your idol get a treat to eat, is something to savor above all else, but... what happens next... will be anything but savoring, as far as idol lovers are concerned!

As the black haired female in the Ice cream van, with her 2 friends standing directly beside her, with overjoyed smiles on their faces - pulls down the lever to deploy the Ice cream... what can only be described as "A real balls up" occurs.

**\- CRACK! -**

A metalic splitting sound is heard, a piece of the Ice cream deploying nossle collapses, and in an instant... before anyone gets the chance to react, pure white vanilla Ice cream shoots out like a hose shooting water. Ice cold vanilla Ice cream moves at lightning speed through the air, smacking Chifuyu in the face, directly between the eyes and on the nose!

The IS schoolgirls leap back in alarm, smiles drop to be replaced with looks of fear. Ichika is the worst affected as he stares wide eyed, his shoulders hunch up and he begins to tremble as Chifuyu raises both her arms, shakes her head and thrashes around, eventully moving out of the stream of vanilla Ice cream. In just 10 seconds the beautiful Chifuyu is smothered from the top of her forehead to the waist band on her office skirt in pure white cream. As the stream of cold cream comes to a stop, a terrifying silence falls over the mass of IS females and Ichika.

From their table, Kestrel and Charlotte cast quick looks at each other at exactly the same time. Charlotte is white in the face and can hardly breathe, Kestrel is simply bewildered by the sight.

Chifuyu's face is obscured by the cold cream, her pitch black hair is messed with large splatters of cream, her skirt, shoes and stockings have small but still messy splatters of cream. As the now cream covered Chifuyu moves her arms and with both hands, slowly and in a very worry-some way scoops cream of her face and simply discards it with flicking motions to the floor, Ichika begins to tremble.

As Chifuyu wipes her face clear, a very, very nasty and bloodthirsty snarl is on her face, how you can see the sharp fangs and normaly clenched teeth on Chifuyu's now white creamed face is beyond anybody's guess. As Chifuyu opens her eyes, un-containable levels of fury is evident in the woman's eyes, the line of schoolgirls all back away slowly and quietly. The 3 Ice cream girls gulp hard and grab ahold of each other, their blood seems to freeze as Chifuyu begins to let out furious hisses, a satanic angered death glare is sent at the 3 IS ice cream girls.

The only description to give Chifuyu is blood-drunken, as the woman positions her hands and arms in a manner that is only acceptable for those whom are about to tear another person limb from limb. The cream that slowly drops off Chifuyu's fingers makes the woman's open fingers look like blood stained claws, its as if Chifuyu is the horror villian from nightmare on elmstreat. Only one word is being continously emitted from the blood-drunken woman of fury every five seconds... a violent hissed **"YOU".**

Chifuyu does not blink, she is hell bent on murder, it can only be considered a miracle when Chifuyu manages to get her rage under-control and not leap up and tear the ice cream girl's limbs out of their sockets and drinking the blood. Never the less... Chifuyu's rage seems to increase as she looks at the 3 IS girls huddled and paralyzed with fear in the Ice cream van.

**"YOU... YOU... YYYOOOOUUUUUUUU!"** \- Chifuyu rage screams at the top of her lungs, causing many nearby students to run behind tents and stalls and begin sit or kneel on the ground in a cowering manner. The 3 IS girls in the ice cream van shake violently, the colour leaves their bodies.

Charlotte grabs little Kestrel's hand and drags the child to safety behind a nearby blue tent, before wrapping her arms and legs around the youngster and trembling out of control. Kestrel apparently returning the embrace out of confusion, instead of fear, but deep down... Kestrel is more comfortable being around Charlotte and a tent than he is in the open with a raging Chifuyu Orimura.

**"HAVE YOU ANYTHING TO SAY!?"** \- Chifuyu hisses in a deeply aggressive hissed voice.

Standing, shoulders hunched... his front teeth pressing down on his lower lip, with an expression that looks like its struggling not to burst into tears and cry for mercy, Ichika shakes in a terrified manner, before shaking his head, gulping and speaking in a voice cracked with terror, distress and mixed negative emotions - "*Gulp*... w..would you like a wafer with it?!".

_**Okay everyone, I hope you got the joke on what just happened and what Ichika just said, I got the idea from a real life event I saw when I was just a 12 year old kid, only differance is... everyone laughed when it happened. Anyway... continue to read and review, the next chapter will have the real spicy events in, stick around if you've enjoyed everything so far, remember I'm wishing everybody the best and my you're own fics get positive reviews and followers.**_

_**I'll see soon with the next chapter**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	55. Chapter 55: Party night begins

_**Hello Readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned to the nest with a fresh new chapter, bear with me that delays were mentioned and that more may come in the future, thanks for sticking around for so long, remember that everything is greatly respected for those whom read through first timer's fics like mine. In this chapter the partying realy starts, I'm going to do my best in these few chapters so that everything should appeal to a person's tastes, after all we all have differant likes and dislikes, there are no preparation moments in this, it just takes you straight to the fun, in a manner of speaking that is... also I know that theres a lot of detail in my chapters and some of you may find that annoying but... thats the way I write, if you don't like it don't read it, simple as that!**_

_**Delayed chapter I know, but I have had a lot of crap to dig through, family... allergic reactions that makes the F**king nose become a bastard to deal with! Summer heat, the works!... So I do deeply appologise for the delays!**_

_**Anyway... I'm going to extend these chapters a bit, or at least will try to... if you readers are okay with that or not just let me know, I'm doing my best to entertain you readers so if you're people that can respect others, don't take that for granted... thanks a lot to readers that like this fic, you're keeping me alive with your views and messages. So... thats it for introductions, **__**please... read and enjoy.**_

_**PS: Actualy I DID make this chapter longer than usual, so be grateful you damn crazy Fanfic loving monkeys! There's going to be a few chapters concerning the party and ideas are becoming minimal, so if you want to see anything happen, feel free to ask!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 55:

**\- IS academy / outside of the assembly hall -**

With summer heat still radiating in the atmosphere followed by the now half glowing embers of a now setting sun, the atmosphere at the IS academy is beyond description, the main events of the IS academy party has now begun, all stalls and cosplay cafe like stalls have now closed in the IS academy, all hosts are now focused on one thing, and that is dance, sing, scream and litteraly have a night to remember. To clarify, there are 3 large halls and rooms in the IS academy and each and every one is litteraly a party hot spot, party food, drink and music thumps and echoes across and out of the IS academy.

Many IS schoolgirls have flocked to the main halls dressed as best as they can, and it can't be denied, that the many slender females at the IS academy look utterly stunning. Though some remain dressed in IS academy uniform, others are dressed in cosplay, whilst others are dressed in what all Americans would call "Prom style".

Many IS schoolgirls have flocked to the largest halls and rooms in the IS academy to begin partying, energetic is just an understatement of the spirit many of the IS schoolgirls are feeling right now. The sounds of overjoyed shouting, gossip and cheers fill the entire academy as disco music begins to fill the academy atmosphere. The sight alone could blow the strength and wind out of one's body, so for a certain pair of IS academy boys, tonight is going to be very difficult to deal with. Its a fond hope that both Ichika and Kestrel have the strength to just be able to handle and hold back the mass army of females that are undoubtably hell bent on dancing and partying with them tonight.

For Ichika himself, ever since the incident with Chifuyu being hit in the face with vanilla ice cream... the Japanese male has been a mass of nerves. Though the mighty Chifuyu had not been physicaly wounded, the incident was purely terrifying. Ichika and every IS female within a 20 yard radius looked so terrified that it looked like everybody's hearts were going to give out from fright.

Never the less, it didn't mean that no trouble occured, the ressult was that both Ice cream vans had to be closed down instantly, and every student had to suffer the enduring wrath of the mighty Chifuyu, how it was that the woman was able to prevent herself from tearing apart the 3 Ice cream girls limb from limb is anybody's guess, but never the less... by the time Chifuyu was finished dealing punishment out, the 3 IS schoolgirls that were selling Ice cream looked like zombies after being punished. When ever their terror striken friends had tried to speak to the pale faced girls, the only response was a traumitised mutter that was contiously repeated in terrified trance like manner "...I saw gates of hell... I saw the gates of hell!"

Thankfuly, nobody was ripped to pieces by the enraged Chifuyu, which can only be considered a miracle. The IS schoolgirls that was in the area when the incident occured don't need to be beaten in any way... the experiance alone has clearly been enough to teach the IS students what happens when one puts a toe out of line when under the rule of the strict Chifuyu Orimura.

Ichika's so called joke didn't make things any better, though Ichika reacted on a moment of nerves and was for some reason unable to hold in his words... Ichika had added what can only be described as a massive army fuel carrying truck to an already raging firestorm.

What followed was a very unpleasant experiance as Chifuyu had given a very, very fiercesome verbal scolding, but that was only to be considered a miracle as the mighty woman was on the verge of chasing her brother around the academy like a blood drunken lunatic, so in terms of being in perfect phsyical condition, Ichika and various other IS schoolgirls have had a lucky escape.

Never the less, Ichika has been on edge ever since, holding tightly to little Kestrel's hand, coming to a stop when he got towards a corner, before leaning forward and nervously looking left and right quickly before dashing onwards towards a destination with a rapidly beating heart. The Japanese male had suddenly dashed away towing little Kestrel everytime an IS schoolgirl came rushing up to him, or at least called his name. So its also a fair assumption that the 3 Ice cream girls have learned their lesson, after all... Chifuyu had already made things un-mistakeably clear that if one final little problem occurs, even if its just the slightest... then whomever over steps the mark... then the said person will clearly wish they hadn't been born!

Now... sat down, looking as white as his IS uniform, Ichika tightly clutches his chest over his heart. The memory of his enraged older sister is still causing the Japanese male to tremble and fight back the urge to somehow piss his pants! Little Kestrel thankfuly had his small face shielded from the sight of Chifuyu's raged fury, but non the less had felt some nerves having being able to hear the mighty Chifuyu shouting her head off and acting blood crazed. If Kestrel had seen the moment when Chifuyu foamed slightly at the mouth and had the eyes of satan the said youngster would have clearly fainted from fear or had a nasty turn.

Sat down behind the assembly hall, Ichika takes the chance to regain his composure, breathing deeply and looking at the sky, the said male seemingly looking as though he's thanking god that he's still alive. Kestrel sits in the fetal position, but is not suffering any stress or a turn, instead the youngster is simply letting his small mind wander whilst enjoying the cool sea breeze that fans off the hot summer evening heat.

It takes a total of 5 minutes of silence before Ichika is able to glance down at his small Israeli friend and smile kindly, the Japanese male's heart always seems to ease and his fears seem to disappear when ever the innocent looking face of Kestrel looks up into Ichika's eyes. As Ichika slowly stands, Kestrel watches the Japanese male move in silence, the youngster does not make a whisper nor does he move his small body.

However, as Ichika kneels forwards and offers a hand, the youngster is quick to accept the friendly gesture and soon enough both boys are standing again. The white IS uniforms of both boys will clearly make both males stand out tonight, but... its too late to turn back now, and even if there was a way out, Chifuyu and other IS staff would have clearly sealed it off.

Not only that, the IS students at the academy have now stepped on thin ice with Chifuyu, so Ichika wouldn't even dare over step the mark with his powerful older sister after whats happened today. Turning his body slightly to the left, Ichika looks over his shoulder, looking at the large buildings of the IS academy that stand out in darkened way against the blue evening sky in nervous silence... Ichika closes his eyes, inhales deeply and then after taking as much air as his lungs will allow, the Japanese male lets out a deep and loud sigh.

Ichika swallows his fear, and puts on a brave and valiant face as he looks down at the curious faced youngster. Kestrel tilts his small head and blinks his eyes as Ichika smiles in a very confident manner, maintaining good eye contact with the youngster. Ironicaly, Kestrel somehow understands and feels calm and collected also, as Ichika speaks in a calm and confident tone - "Okay Kes, we just got to grit our teeth, not stray apart from each other, watch each other's backs, get through tonight and then... we're free home boys!".

Ichika speaks with briefly released levels of excitement as he finishes his phrase, little Kestrel responds by smiling timidly in a confused manner, though the scar faced youngster does not understand a word Ichika is saying, the youngster can't help but feel comfortable in Ichika's pressance and be promised that everything is going to be alright tonight.

Feeling good with himself, Ichika sticks out his chest in a confident way before relaxing himself and looking down at Kestrel with an excited smile, as the Japanese male speaks, its clear as day that all fear in Ichika's voice is now gone - "Okay Kestrel, lets rock and roll!".

Then, with a brief motion of his hand, Ichika leads the now calm and comfortable Israeli youngster from round the walls of the IS academy assembly hall and towards the already started and spicy sounding party that awaits them both. As Ichika and Kestrel walk directly side by side each other, every so often sending each other comforting smiles, a pleasant auror surrounds them both.

**\- 4 minutes later -**

In the assembly hall, a magnificent sight awaits all the IS students, the assembly hall has got 3 large chandeliers that glisten and sparkle as 4 large rotating disco balls spin round in a slow manner. Orange, blue, red, green lights flash, making the assembly hall look bewildering, the music is not set at ear pierceing loud, but at the same time not to low at the same time. From a third person's point of view the lighting and volume of music is set at what you would imagine a spicy party to be like. Long tables with white sheets drapped over, line the entire length of the left side of the assembly hall wall. Whilst on the right side, a long line of chairs are lined, but none are occupied as many students are busy twisting away with happiness and joy.

Bodies seem to move to music, eyes and ears seem to be caught in a type of hypnotic trance as adrenaline fuels the many dozens of IS schoolgirls. The glistening and reflected light off the disco balls and crystal droplets is magnifyed by red and blue ballons that are stuck together in sets of three inbetween some neetly noted together decorative sheets that hang down like hamocks, the sheets and ballons run the entire length of the assembly hall, but... nobody seems all that interested in observing how stunning and festive everything looks, many IS girls are to busy dancing to the adrenaline pumping music.

Though the assembly hall is quite a sight, there are four other party hot spots at the IS academy tonight, one such place is the cafateria that looks very much like it does when a welcoming party is being held, there is also the training ground which is now clear of game and party stalls and now looks like a mass gathering to some popular band group, with students waving glowing party sticks, dancing and singing. The fourth and final place is the P.E grounds which looks mostly like some large festival, no matter what one's taste is... there is no shortage of joy and groving tonight!

The smells of purfume, food, drinks and sweat fill the air, the heat seems to be intense as many students dance and sing away. As Ichika and Kestrel enter the assembly hall, the sight is overwhelming, both boys eyes seem to leave their heads, as the sounds, sight and atmosphere hits them like a large rogue wave. Ichika for one has never seen anything like this, and whats more... the Japanese male is clearly hell bound on making sure tonight is going to be remembered. A wide open smile is on his face and his nerves become overwhelmed with excitement, Kestrel on the other hand is simply amazed because he's never seen anything like this before, the said child's star of David pendant gleams with pride in the changing coloured party light.

Kestrel's face only has a normal straight, curious look, which is obviously well fitting for a youngster with a caliber like his, but as the moving lights, sparkles begin to flash and move the child's nerves begin to rise. Kestrel begins to look up and down rapidly, then side to side, like an animal panicked with sudden nerve... and like a wild animal being introduced to some alien enviroment created by the hand of man.

Thankfuly, Ichika is on hand, and rests a hand kindly on the youngster's shoulder, as Kestrel turns his head to the left and looks up, his ocean blue eyes meet the kind and friendly face of Ichika, smiling with a pleasant expression. Amazingly despite the destracting sounds of music, Kestrel can clearly hear what Ichika is saying, the child's nerves ease as Ichika speaks in a purely confident manner - "Its alright Kes, its just lights and sounds".

Looking down for a moment, Kestrel closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath, as the youngster sighs... Ichika feels an overwhelming sense of victory, the Japanese male's emotions are full of pride and excitement. His very thoughts prove the point as he looks up at the sparkling, colour changing ceiling which has as many as 10 to 20 small lights all changing colour every 5 to 10 seconds. - ( "Thank you god! I now I'm being a pain in the ass but... please help us get through tonight without any unpleasant surprises!" ).

However, as Ichika begins to think to himself in a relieved manner, a female voice suddenly shouts in a clearly over excited manner. - "ICHIKA AND LITTLE KESTREL ARE HERE!".

Ichika's smile drops... both boys turn their heads rapidly to the right in the direction from which the female voice came from. What both boys see is the curly orange haired female they met earlier this evening, surrounded by 4 other female friends. Though orange haired girl's hand is in bandages, it clearly hasn't stopped the said female from getting entertainment tonight, all 5 of the schoolgirls that sight Ichika first are in IS academy uniform, but soon... more girls, that are NOT in IS academy uniform soon sight both males, standing in a state of both idle and stunment near and next to the entrance and exit into the assembly hall.

The next female that calls out the arrival of the 2 boys is a girl with blonde hair set in a large pony tail, the girl has a long blue, prom style dress on her that seems to glisten and sparkle in the party light, the girl ceases dancing, points proudly with an index finger and with a wide open and excited smile shouts out in a purely excited manner - "ICHIKA'S BROUGHT KESTREL TO THE DANCE!".

From a short distance away with backs against the wall, 2 black girls dressed in short, revealing civilian shirts and mini skirts, cast over lustful, hungered smiles at the 2 boys. Both girls have long black hair, the first has her hair set in long twin pigtails, whilst the other has long curls that runs down the female's back, though both girls look cool and collected, its 100% clear that the looks they cast, are laced with lust and excitement.

As 2 more females dash past, obviously too excited to notice the 2 boys, Ichika can't help but feel that all his hopes have been in vain. Even as Ichika reaches down and carefuly takes the soft and small hand of little Kestrel, the said Japanese male is well aware that maybe god can't help him out this time, after all... sometimes everybody has to work things out and deal with with problems themselves do they not?!.

As 2 girls wearing prom dress, one in pink and one in dark blue - walk slowly and pleasantly up to Ichika and Kestrel, the Japanese male feels little Kestrel trembling. In an act of reasurance Ichika tenderly squeezes the youngster's hand, which causes little Kestrel to look up to the Japanese male with a nervous and timid expression. Ichika smiles nervously down at the Israeli child and in a nervous voice chuckles the words - "Ahh... why don't we go get some drinks before we do anything? It is real hot in here isn't it?".

Kestrel does not respond, but does not object to Ichika's sudden nervous reaction as the Japanese male begins to lead little Kestrel over to the catering tables, in fact, being led away from the predatory images of either sex crazed or love prowling females seems to come as much needed relief for the already traumitised youngster.

Although Ichika knows that the girls will follow him no matter where he and Kestrel go, going to somewhere that can offer some form of aid and maybe normality is far better than being glomped and smothered by an army of girls.

As Ichika and Kestrel head over towards the catering tables with as many as 30 to 40 IS females hot on their six o'clocks, a brand new bunch of females suddenly make their appearance in the colour flashing and music echoeing hall, the females soon revealing themselves to be non other than Rin, Houki and a few other random IS friends.

Both Rin and Houki had been hopeing to get to the IS hall before Ichika or Kestrel, but upon looking at the massive swarm of females gathering in a certain location around the catering tables, its plainly clear that both females are too late. Although Rin or Houki are unable to see the two boys amoungst the mass of female bodies, the way the girls are acting is a perfectly clear give away that the pressance of both Ichika and Kestrel is in the massive party hall.

Rin's red chinesse dress, shines with beauty in the coloured party lighting, the gold patterns reflect light in a stunning manner. Houki herself is wearing something other than her IS uniform but is really nothing brand new, its merely the shrine maiden dress and white fox ears that she wore during the battle to service Ichika.

**Note - See the episode if you want to know or remember how she looks or looked! -**

Houki also wears a long white fox tail that seems to twitch and move gently as if it was bio-logicaly her own, from behind the two girls, the IS female friends that have followed both girls are too heavily dazzeled by the beauty of both Rin and Houki. Ever since Rin and Houki made their appearance to all the other IS females, the pair have been followed around. Its as if both girls are 5 star movie celebrities, or even school beauty madonnas that get followed by hordes of drooling, dog tounged fanboys.

Ignoring the mass of female attention directed towards her, Rin stares straight ahead at the mass girl grounp with a neutral face expression, soon turning into an aggressive frown. The Chinesse brunette puffs her cheeks out, stands straight with her chest stuck out and folds her arms. The Chinesse brunette is clearly annoyed at the sight, unlike Houki whom is turning over a new leaf due to Ichika's warnings and Kestrel's pressance... Rin is clearly still the usual clingy jealous girl.

As Rin looks to the ground and snarls, grinding her teeth in annoyance, the fangirls that have followed both her and Houki around can't help but squeal and coo in excitement or joy at the privalidge to be around an idol when heavily antagonised. For Rin, tonight is a night that she wants to remember dearly, the said girl has put on her favorite and best traditional Chinese clothes, put on her best perfume and only just recently... put on some light blue eye shadow, and thin, cherry red lipstick. So for Ichika to be so heavily pre-occupied on other girls is like a slap in the face for the Chinese brunette.

Houki could say the same, but... The Japanese female knows better than to start on her childhood friend for selfish reasons, deep down the Japanese girl still feels heavy searing levels of jealousy, but since Kestrel's arrival and Ichika's aggressive warnings that hell will rise if she tries something... the said girl is amazingly a lot more mature, and whats more to pour salt into Houki's mental wounds, she knows it!

These days Houki tends to think carefuly before she acts, which has surprisingly had even greater upsides than what she ever imagined. She's gotten more popular and Ichika seems to be talking to her more and more. So although Houki was humiliated and brought to some form of justice concerning human rights wise, the Japanese female is clealry grateful for Ichika's calling out of her and pulling her round from making unlawful insults and lash outs. Its also cemented Houki's chances of winning Ichika's heart, which causes the Japanese girl to leap up and down and clap happily to herself behind close doors.

As Houki looks down, smiles pleasnatly and blushes to herself, the Japanese girl's heart is a mass with warm, fuzzy feelings. However, for Rin... whom is still one or two levels behind Houki, the immature jealousy emotions are still overwhelmingly out of control. Thankfuly, Houki does not fail to notice Rin's scowling pout directed towards Ichika, whom is clearly buried behind a wall of females.

"Dammit Ichika! You said that you would wait for me outside the hall and instead you... HMPH! I don't care anymore!" - Rin suddenly snarling snaps to her self, before swiftly turning her head to the right, closing her eyes and looking away with her nose in the air. The Chinesse brunette stands firmly with her arms folded, her tone has a hint of stressed moan at the end as she claims that she no longer cares what Ichika does and where he goes.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head Houki can't help but feel the 'OH Boy!' situation in the air, but never the less, the Japanese female still turns her head to look at her Chinese love rival and speaks is if its a matter of fact, Houki's tone is that of a concerned friend and her face is a mix of concern and somewhat pity - "You know that Ichika's going to get this when and where-ever he goes don't you!?".

Lowering her head slowly and half opening her eyes, Rin does not turn to look back at Houki, but instead replies in a huffed tone - "That's not the point!".

Houki puts an index finger to her forehead, closes her eyes and sweatdrops... though Houki does see Rin as love rival she can see her in many ways as a true friend. If only the Chinese brunette would just give up the fight for Ichika's heart then Houki would happily go so far as to say that the Chinese brunette is actualy her sister!

However, with no sign of that ever happening... all Houki can do is pretend to be as suportive or at least as friendly as possible. Though all girls know of each other's challenge and race to win Ichika's heart, each female for some reason has the envious ability to pretend that is not the case... that is... concerning the main 5 of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers!

Rolling her eyes, not sure of what comforting words to say, and definately not about to support a dreaded rival, Houki raises her arms in a confused shrug manner. The Japanese female sighs and in a huffed voice, clearly indicating no interest in getting involved in an arguement, speaks in sighed manner - "Look... I'm going to get a drink, if you want to stand there pouting, feel free".

As Houki walks off in a calm manner, her cosplay fox tail giving a gentle sway side to side as she walks away. Rin opens her eyes and makes an angered frown, the Chinese brunette turns her head to look at the walking away Houki with her fangirls in tow for a brief moment. Then... after raising a type of envious eyebrow with the emotion of feeling stupid and shown up... Rin quickly follows, clearly not wanting to be seen as a weak and lonely person by the many hundreds of females that could be watching her tonight.

As Rin follows, Houki's words that replay in her head, somehow causes the Chinese brunette to smirk, the pigtailed brunette for some reason finding Houki's words somehow amusing. As she smiles in a now slightly amused manner, Rin can't shake off the desire to suddenly start and awkward conversation to make Houki look stupid, the fact being proven as Rin suddenly changes her voice to that of a normal calm tone before changing to a suspicious sweet tone - "Yeah... Actualy while were on awkward subjects... Hoouukkiiii!".

**\- 10 minutes later -**

To say that Ichika was unable to get out of a smothering situation would be untrue, as he cuts the floor with the curly orange haired female. Surrounding Ichika is as an encirclement of IS females, all dancing and twisting as best as their groves will allow, if one looks twice they will notice that each and every girl surrounding Ichika and the curly orange haired female is all looking at the pair with excited hell bound eyes, clearly not a single girl is going to let the chance to dance with one of the most popular boys on earth slip away.

Its as if Ichika is a large piece of meat being circled by dozens of sharks, or even a hippo being surrounded and encircled by over 50 hungry crocodiles. Thankfuly, Ichika is doing real well in handling the situation, but even then... the Japanese male is on the nerves edge. Ichika isn't claustrophobic, nor is he a gay boy... but the flirtous winks, blows of kisses and brief skirt flips that flash knickers, garter belts and stockings are causing the Japanese male to go red under the eyes and to gulp with nerve.

Whilst Ichika dances away to the music, and does his best to avoid the girl's flirtous whistles, gestures of love and body flashes, Rin and Houki are now pre-occupied on something else... tasteing nibbles, and the punch that has been brewed for the students. The punch bowl itself is pure silver that shines in the party lights, and is amazingly large, as big as 12ft wide and can hold enough punch to fill the beer mugs 2 times over for as many as 160 men. The catering tables are filled to the brim with various differant white plates and silver trays of food, each bit of food has got to have originated from various differant countries.

Even so, the food and punch the IS students have the privalidge to taste is definately exquisite, as Rin proves with a dreamy expression on her face. The Chinese brunette leans her head back and closes her eyes for a moment, placing an index finger to her lips and in a half dreamed voice speaks the words - "Oh! Oh that is lovely!".

Smiling happily, Houki licks a trace of cream of her index finger. The Japanese female has only just finished eating a small cream scone, whilst Rin has tried a small piece of pie from the west. The Japanese female speaks in an equaly happy, half dreamed state speaks the words - "Hm... yeah, wonderful... just... wonderful".

It can be considered somewhat ironic that the girls are now focused on the food and drink instead of Ichika, but at the same time, it can be considered far better than getting into an argument over the said Japanese male that every girl wants to have for themselves. With the said Japanese male suddenly springing to mind, Houki takes a brief glance in Ichika's direction, deep down Houki wants to take any chance she can in order to spend some alone time with the said boy, but with so many intefering girls around, that seems to be either not coming or at least a fair while away. Then, looking twice... Houki notices that Kestrel is not amoungst the mass group of females, nor is he near Ichika.

"Hey, I've just noticed... where's Kestrel?" - Houki asks in a confused and concerned voice, whilst turning around to look left and right, trying to find the youngster from the mass crowds of IS females either in uniform, cosplay or civilian clothing.

"He was here a moment ago" - A girl with long black hair and green eyes states, instantly responding to Houki's question looking below her and around trying to look for the youngster that is apparently absent from familiar faces.

"The kid?... He's right... Were is he?" - An American girl with a long green braid suddenly speaks in a sudden surprised and confused tone.

Thankfuly Houki, Rin and the other IS females don't have to look very far, and the briefly nervous search does not last for long. A Spanish female with brunette pigtails and blue eyes ends the search after washing down a mouthful of food with a quick swig of punch. The Spanish girl points with an idex finger over towards the very end of the catering tables and in a friendly and clearly happy tone speaks the words - "There he is, he's over at the end of the tables".

Now munching on some party nibbles, Rin, Houki and every other female around the two representative girls all follow the Spanish girl's finger. Through the chaotic mass of females, thumping music and eye blinding, flashing coloured party lights, Rin and Houki narrow their eyes and there, un-mistakenly is non other than little Kestrel. The long black haired youngster is clearly nervous in this alien enviroment.

The scar faced child has his small hands set firmly over his little ears, the music is clearly too powerful for the child's ear drums and the flashing lighting is causing the child to look panicked. The youngster looks up, down then left to right as the movements of IS females matched by the flashing lighting and defeaning music seems to cause un-matched levels of fear and panic to the child's nerves.

Feeling sick with dread Rin suddenly surprises everyone by handing a girl with short blonde hair her punch and in a determined voice matched with a deeply concerned look, quickly speaks the words - "Don't worry I'll see to this".

As Rin suddenly dashes away, her red Chinese dress fluttering and showing her smooth, young legs and pretty looking black chinese slippers, Houki can't help but blink for a moment... then, as if on cue, the Japanese female places her own cup of punch down on the long wide catering table just beside her, and in her own hurried voice, suddenly speaks the words - "Yeah... Actually, I'll come give you a hand!".

In less than 3 seconds Houki gives chase after Rin, soon followed by as many as 20 differant IS schoolgirls, all have a goal on their minds, 'to rescue and comfort the most traumitised yet most remarkable child, the world has ever seen'.

From his position in the group, Ichika notices Rin and Houki dashing past in the not to far away distance and is about to break contact with the girls and join, but his hopes are dashed as a girl with a long black ponytail suddenly grabs Ichika's hand and with a flirtous wink and a seductive tone speaks the words - "Its my turn to dance with you now Orimura!".

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head in stress, Ichika then returns to twisting with the mass numbers of girls. His muscles are becoming strained and his feet are falling asleep, the Japanese male has got to sit down and rest soon, and although Ichika knows that the army of females will follow him no matter where he goes, its a fair assumption that Ichika will feel somewhat heavily satisfied knowing that he has appeased some of his close female friends at the academy.

However, more important matters are at hand, as Houki, Rin and the 20 or so IS females are aware of. Kestrel is showing serious signs of suffering a turn, and whats worse, it seems to be on the razor's edge of starting. As Rin, Houki and the pack of girls dash towards the nervous Kestrel, hearts are beating wildly, Kestrel has suffered a nasty turn already today so for the youngster to suffer another already could be considered an act of human disaster, and extreme negligence in concerning the protection and wellfare of an exploited child.

Though it takes just 2 minutes for Rin, Houki and the group to make it to the child, the look on Kestrel's face makes it look as though the cavalry has arrived in just a hair's breath of time as Kestrel looks like a highly nervous wreck. The child is white in the face, his ocean blue eyes hold un-containable amounts of distress and whats worse a 1,000 yard stare has begun to form on his face.

"KESTREL!" - Rin yelps out in panic, leaping forwards and landing on her feet directly in front of the troubled youngster. As Rin gets on the hall floor with both knees, and places her hands on the shoulders of the youngster, Kestrel's rapidly beating heart begins to slow down, and some colour begins to form on his face, which comes as an overwhelming relief for the Chinese brunette. Less than 8 seconds after Rin's sudden arrival, Houki and the army of females suddenly appears, each and every girl looks down with worry at the youngster whom holds his ears tight to block out the deafening booms of music.

"Kestrel, are you okay?" - Rin shouts in a calm and collected voice, the Chinese female is mentally praying that she and the others have not arrived to late to prevent a very nasty turn from taking hold of the troubled youngster. Kestrel, with his small hands pressed tightly over his small ears, regains his usuall curious self and merely blinks in confusion at the Chinese female.

Placing a hand to her chest, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh of relief, Houki smiles to herself. Its clear that she and the other girls have arrived in the nick of time and have successfuly prevented something very nasty from taking hold of Kestrel's traumitised mind.

"We need to get him out of this hall! All these lights and music are causing the kid to panic!" - A Canadian girl with short red hair in IS uniform shouts at the top of her lungs next to Houki's head. Houki follows the Canadian girl's finger and notices that although the music was loud and comfortable at first, it has gotten gradualy louder, so loud... that you have to shout down each other's ear in order to properly hear each other. The speakers are now occupied by 3 random IS schoolgirls, whom must have turned up the volumes, the speakers are large, the circular speaking rings are 4ft wide and constantly pumping out a mass of nerve thumping music.

Just as things can't get any worse, the cowgirlish voice of an American comes out over the tops of the speakers. The sudden loud magnified voice causes Houki to suddenly hold her ears down slightly, Kestrel closes his eyes tight and looks down. Rin puts an index finger in one ear, closes an eye and snarls, the Chinese female glances to her right and up to look at the massively large stage that is normaly occupied by teachers.

"OKAY YOU PARTY HEADS! ITS TIME TO REALY SPICE THINGS UP! GRAB YOUR PARTNER AND LETS... PAARRRTTTYYYY THE NIGHT AAWWWAAAAYYYYY!" - The American female shouts into a microphone, less than a second later, a mass of female cheering and excited squeals add fuel to the fire and causes Rin to react on instinct. The Chinese brunette grabs a hold of Kestrel's little hand and quickly proceedes to stand and begin to rush towards the exit, pulling the Israeli child after her.

As if on cue, Houki and the 20 females follow on, how it is that some people are able to put up with such a volume of racket may never be known. How Ichika can deal with it is beyond anyone's guess.

However, what Rin and Houki don't know, is that Ichika is already on the very edge of endurance and although its impossible to hear his own voice in the now music thumping hall, Ichika mutters to himself - "Anybody want to take my place!?".

_**Okay... thats the best I can do for now, its not much of a way to end a chapter I know, but still... I will compensate that by changing scenes and showing various differant things happening further on, also... as I'm not a person whom goes to parties or is the partying type... I quickly run out of ideas when it comes to spicy goings on, I'm not embarrased to say so, so for those who think thats pathetic, screw ya!**_

_**There will ofcourse be more delays coming for the next chapters, and I do appologise for that in advance. I did say that requests come to an end at a certain chapter, but... what the heck! Feel free to request something anytime! Prefrably something to happen during the party if anyone has any ideas!**_

_**Anyway... thanks for reading, please read and review... wishing everyone the best and may your own fics get good reviews...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	56. Chapter 56: Princess Tomoe

_**Hello again, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh new chapter, For those of you whom thought I was begging for help on the chapter then I'm afraid you were badly mistaken, I'm not defeated by working stress yet, anyway... I'd like to say thanks for everyone whos followed on a read these chapters so far, its been a big morale booster for me. So... without further ado, please enjoy chapter 56, sit back, read and enjoy.**_

_**Also on a side note: Expect further delays, things to do and all... no offense intended to all you readers.**_

Taming Kestrel chapter 56:

**\- IS Academy / outside the assembly hall -**

Falling to his knees, breathing heavily and clutching his chest, hand directly positioned over his small heart, Kestrel is nearly exhausted from fear. The child's limbs are almost as frail as jelly, and his small Ocean blue eyes are on the verge of filling with tears of stress.

So far Kestrel's first real adult tasting party has gone horrificaly wrong, one minute everything was going realy well, the next... disaster, but at the same time... that really should have been expected, the lights and sounds, aswell as the atmosphere and levels have clearly been over the edge for a child of his age. Sure, Kestrel seemed to be okay whilst being around Ichika, and yes the said youngster did have 2 cups of cola, but that was just about it.

For a certain pair of asian beauties, revealing themselves to be the beautifuly dressed Rin and Houki, a promising looking evening seems to have gone utterly out of the window, but... as the pair stand outside in open, along side their friends and beside the shaken Kestrel, both girls suddenly realise that this is just the beginning of the festivities, and there will be many chances to get to impress and be alone with their beloved Ichika tonight, just for now at least... the only thing the 2 girls can do is just impress the Japanese male and... maybe even more helpful... if little Kestrel can be trusted with some realy respectable and trustworthy people tonight... then maybe Rin or even Houki can get the chance of having Ichika all alone and if god is on their side... will have the Japanese male suddenly ask one of the 2 girls to be his girlfriend!

Both girls have already had this thought suddenly hit them as they assisted little Kestrel to the exit of the ear piercing, music filled assembly hall. Unfortuneatley the girls will have to focus more on the safety of their young long haired schoolmate, even after everything that the child has experianced so far, there are still things are both alien and alarming.

The IS schoolgirls that help Kestrel to his feet can clearly see the evidence of un-nerve and dazzelment in the youngster as the child rubs his eyes and places a hand to the side of his temple. Though Kestrel needs to be steadied for a few moments, the youngster quickly manages to regain the feeling of normality in his limbs and body.

"Looks like we got him out with just seconds to spare" - Rin speaks in a serious yet calm tone as she kneels down and puts the back of her hand to little Kestrel's forehead, only to suddenly cause the child to take a few steps backward and suddenly look at Rin's hand with nervous yet curious wide eyes.

Breathing a sigh of relief Houki relaxes her nerves for a moment before shooting an annoyed glance at the IS academy assembly hall. The Japanese female is well aware of the fact that at gatherings like this people become to heavily pre-occupied with festivities and forget those in distress, but what makes her scowl the most is the sudden blast of music that took everybody by surprise. To say that it was just Kestrel whom took full brunt of the raised volumed music would be untrue, as Houki notices a sudden rise of IS females suddenly appear around the assembly building. All of which have slighty painstricken faces... are muttering in low voices and are trying to aid their slightly stinging ear drums with their index fingers.

"Guess those who have sensitive hearing are going to have it real hard tonight!?" - An IS female with blonde pigtails dressed in a pure white nurse's uniform states.

"You're not kidding!" - A British IS female with short brown hair and a small pink ribbon, dressed like Laura Croft - states in a low, irritated tone with a hand pressed firmly against the side of her head, the British female has slight tears of pain in her eyes.

"Do you think we should go get miss Sakurada?" - Another IS female, with long purple hair and green eyes states with a concerned tone.

Just then, as if on perfect cue an all to familiar voice causes everybody to suddenly turn their heads in a certain direction. Rin and Houki suddenly gain the feeling of joy and relief as the friendly sounding voice of the office like beauty - Yui Sakurada echoes through the air - "What was that about miss Sakurada?".

As everyone suddenly stands straight and looks in the direction of which the all to familiar female voice came from, a great sense of safety befalls the entire group as the familiar face of Kestrel's interpreter walks calmly up into full view, walking close behind is the young black haired teacher Kaede, dressed proudly in her cosplay 'Dora-tan' attire. One thing is for sure the young woman makes a beautiful spitting image, the thin framed glasses is perfect as is the way Kaede has done her hair, at first glance Kaede looks as if she actually is Dora-tan.

"Miss Sakurada!" - Houki calls out in a joyful tone, the office like woman responds by sending back a very friendly smile back in return. Though many do not recognise Kaede at first, smiles quickly rise upon finaly discovering whom the said teacher is, and sure enough the beautiful Kaede finds herself surrounded by as many as 30 to 40 IS females taking photographs and creating amature footage of the moment on small portable cameras set in Iphone like objects.

Though it becomes an unfortunate inconvienance for Kaede, it gives Houki and Rin the chance to suddenly speak to Yui about more... serious matters. As for Yui's appearance, the woman is dressed in her usual everyday office like clothing, the woman has never really been one that understands cosplay, nor has she ever taken it as an act of fun to indulge in, but that is a matter that concerns her and only her.

Little Kestrel, upon seeing the friendly and kind face of his interpreter suddenly gets an overwhelming feeling of relief and comfort wash over him, but still is un-lucky to still feel twinges of still rapid turbo nerves spark and flash through his small body. Never the less, the long haired, scar faced youngster is clearly happy to see one of the only women on earth that has in many ways gradualy earned the child's trust, but still... troubled and still slightly twitchy the child can't lift his head to look up at the friendly faced Yui, but that is understandable.

Yui's smile drops, soon being replaced with concern and nerve as she sees the emotion mixed face of Kestrel looking down on the ground. Fearing that the child has had another turn, the office woman dashes forward a few steps, and quickly proceedes to kneel down on the ground, placing her hands on the youngster's shoulders and looking into a pair of fear stricken blue eyes.

Rin and Houki cast brief looks of neutrality to each other before taking a few steps up towards Yui, whom now speaks softly in Israeli. The office woman carefuly places the palm of her hand onto Kestrel's blood red scar for just a brief moment before moving the hand away and pulling the youngster into a loving embrace. Yui seems to bury little Kestrel as deeply as she can within her chest, body and breasts. The office woman seems to cling to the child as if her life depends on it, placing a hand on the back of the youngster's head and wrapping an arm round his back.

The embrace lasts for 30 seconds, before Yui breaks the embrace and looks at both Rin and Houki with a concerned expression, then in a very concerned tone the woman asks a question that she dreads to ask, her stomach churns with fear as she asks the question - "As he suffered a turn?".

Rin and Houki blink in surprise, the 2 IS females look at each other for a moment before smiling, raising arms in a reasuring manner and replying the words litteraly at the same time - "No, oh no!".

Lowering her arms and speaking in a very proud tone, clearly feeling pleased with herself, Rin looks Yui in the eyes, and with a cheerful smile explains - "We just got him out of the hall, the lights and music seemed to be scaring him, so we thought it would be best if we got him out before anything did happen".

Standing directly beside the Chinese brunette, Houki waits for Rin to finish speaking before she to begins to speak in a slightly lower, yet clearly proud tone - "He was a lot better when we got him outside, he was a bit shaken and jittery but that was all".

As Houki finishes her explination, Yui closes her eyes and lets out a sigh, the woman feels as though she has just be cleared of a very serious crime accusation. A overjoyed smile forms on her face as she remains knelt on the ground holding Kestrel deep into her chest. As she speaks, joy and relief are clearly present with in her voice - "Thank you, I can't thank you girls enough!".

Almost instantly Kaede, now with the group of now calmed down females suddenly appears behind the 2 asian beauties. As a teacher, Kaede is clearly proud of how well the students have performed especially when they have little or no handling of such situations. Rin and Houki soon become laced with deep red blushes as Kaede looks both girls in the face and with a proud smile, speaks the words that only a clearly proud parent can relate to - "Well done ladies, you may have just helped a vulnerable soul escape from a very nasty experiance!".

Rin places her legs tightly together as if she needs the bathroom, she haunches her shoulders, places a hand on one of her arms and giggles in a timid way. Houki can only smile nervously and place both hands behind her back, but unlike Rin, Houki manages to find a voice, the Japanese female clearly does not want to be seen as austentatious. - "Thanks for the praise but... really we all took part in helping little Kestrel out".

Yui carefuly allows little Kestrel to be freed from her embrace, and as she proceedes to stand, the woman suddenly notices something that makes her smiling face change to that of pure curiosity, her tone is a perfect match as she speaks in a questioning manner - "Speaking of which, I would have thought Kestrel would have been with Ichika... do you happen to know where he is?".

Now suddenly feeling somewhat irritated and slightly stupid, Houki turns her head to the left and points an index finger towards the music banging hall, from behind the flashing glass window pannels, the black shapes of dancing figures can clearly be made out, and the volume of music only helps make Houki's explination all the more believeable.

As Houki speaks, the Japanese female rolls her eyes and in a slightly huffed tone speaks the phrase - "He's being surrounded and glomped over by our classmates like a giant stuffed animal!".

Sweatdropping, Keade and Yui can't help but feel the mood has gone to a slightly awkward moment, but thankfuly it quickly ends as an IS schoolgirl with long green hair and brown eyes suddenly comes from behind Kaede and with a bewildered face, matched by a flabbergasted tone speaks in a clearly amazed tone that is only just louder than a whisper - "She's beautiful!".

Some IS schoolgirls blink in surprise and look at each other, Rin and Houki are amoungst the females that are confused. Kaede at first belives that the bewildered IS female is talking about her and gets an overwhelming feeling of flattery rush over her for a brief moment, but... as the teacher rolls her eyes around, she too notices a sight that makes her smile openly in a very happy manner.

Rin and Houki look at each other, confused as hell untill... Houki finaly notices that Yui and the other females are looking away in a certain direction, but its Rin whom breaks the confused moment, with a very excited whisper matched by a clearly overjoyed face, the Chinese brunette speaks the words - "Houki, look... its Tomoe".

Houki looks at Rin for a second, then, as she turns her head to follow the directed gaze of the others... the Japanese female finaly notices a sight that makes her break into a loving smile. Walking forwards slowly, and timidly with a very nervous yet pleasant face is none other than the dark, blue haired beauty Tomoe. The girl is dressed in a pure white princess gown, a red ribbon is set at the waist, Tomoe wears white high heeled shoes and pure gold tiara on her head. Tomoe also wears a slight touch of make up, her lips wear a nice thin layer of lip stick, the girl has light blue eye shadow on her eye lids, another noticeable feature is a jeweled necklace around her neck. Tomoe's appearance is that of the beautiful Charlotte Hazelrink from the anime princess lover.

**Note: - ( Look on the internet for an image of that female's dress! ).**

Walking directly beside Tomoe on her right is the dark haired IS female Kiyoka, the girl wears a silver like prom dress, a golden bracelet on her right wrist and her white coloured shoes are very, very feminine. On the left side of Tomoe is the long sleeved Honne, wearing a usual anime cosplay outfit. The outfit being that of the old, but still very much loved anime poke'mon, though there are many classy dresses being worn at the IS academy party this evening, what Honne is wearing can only be considered what one would expect of such a cheerful and bouncy hearted girl. Especialy since Honne tends to have a liking for clothing with sleeves that go over her hands and wrists.

Nobody seems to pay much attention to Honne and Kiyoka at first, all seem to be to heavily pre-occupied on Tomoe. Though Rin, Houki, Kaede and various other girls are wearing either classy clothing or cosplay, what Tomoe seems to be wearing is putting everyone else to shame.

Some of the IS girls waste no time and slowly but surely hold up their Iphone like objects, and soon begin to snap away or begin filming what appears to be a golden moment. For Tomoe its hard for her to keep her head up and as a ressult, the girl lowers her head in a very nervous manner. Other IS females remain frozen on the spot, whilst Houki and Rin slowly shift themselves over towards Yui. Yui is a pure woman at heart, but she too is amazed at how stunning Tomoe looks, the office like woman suddenly gets the horrible feeling of showing the girl up by appearing in her normal office like clothing.

For a breathless 2 minutes the air around Rin, Houki and the other females is pure silence. Everybody's eyes are fixed firmly on Tomoe, which obviously hasn't gone un-noticed by the said female and her friends Kiyoka and Honne, whom slowly turn their heads and cast triumphant looks at each other, soon exchanging victorious winks at each other. Though Kiyoka and Honne see and feel this moment as one of victory and one to savor, Tomoe feels the opposite.

Tomoe trembles from head to foot as she slowly walks towards Rin, Houki and the group of IS females. Its not that the dark blue ponytailed female is embarassed about her appearance, its due to the fact that she stands out amoungst the group, if any snipers where out to target the girl then they wouldn't have to look far, in fact, with what everybody else is wearing... Tomoe is the only female that can be considered pure five star elegance.

Though Tomoe looks down and away in moment of feeling very bashful, the dark blue haired beauty's heart begins to slow down and a very happy feeling fills her body as her eyes meet the curious and amazed ocean blue eyes of Kestrel. The long haired child whom has now managed to recover from his apparent nasty moment in the IS assembly hall seems to be as bewildered as the others, the only differance being that Kestrel is a lot more curious and innocent that the others.

As a warm and very loving smile appears on Tomoe's face, the said beauty straightens her posture and walks forward proudly keeping her half closed yet loving eyes fixed on Kestrel. However, as Tomoe sticks her chest out a little, her nicely endowned cleevage seems to be on the verge of bursting out of her dress, in breast size Tomoe... despite her age has to be close to a F cup, and as she gets older, its a good assumption that her breasts will get larger.

When the girl wears her IS uniform it is clear that the girl has a nice sized bust aswell as beautifuly curved and crafted hips, legs and body, but like this... the Girl is clearly the envy of every other female in the academy. Which Rin and Houki make painfuly clear, as the red dressed Rin frowns in annoyance, casting a quick look down at her own chest and away, the girl suddenly wishing she hadn't seen the dark blue haired female to start with.

Houki maintains her focus on Tomoe but strains herself from looking at Tomoe's breasts. The Japanese female suddenly feels a terrible sense of defeat was over her as the voluptous beauty happily walks over to the group with Kiyoka and Honne either side.

As Tomoe finaly makes it to the group, the girl looks down and sends down a very warm and loving smile for Kestrel, to which the child responds by looking down timidly with a faint red flush under his small eyes, the child is unsure where to look, but quickly regains his composure by looking the Japanese beauty in the eyes and smiling back very timidly.

Everybody does notice the moment and goes silent, ever since Kestrel arrived at the academy, the child has been very cautious and twitchy around the majority of the IS students, so if Kestrel can suddenly take a step forward and show some comfort and attraction to the opposite gender so soon after being rescued from a pure hellish past, then that would be a major achievement.

Tomoe is aware of this but is not thinking anything of the sort at the moment, for some reason... all the dark blue haired female wants is to see Kestrel and be in his pressance. Timidly placing a white gloved hand behind her back and raising the other to wave in a feminine manner at the youngster, the said female goes a slight flush of red under the eyes, which goes 100% noticed by Yui and the others, to which their response is a bunch of friendly and seemingly joyful glances to each other.

From a distance away, another pair of females notice the moment, the pair being a very beautiful dressed Tatenashi and her sister Kanzashi. Both girls stand frozen, both with excited smiles on their faces, wanting to know what will happen next, even if its just a friendly set of words from Kestrel that are a beutiful complement, it will at least be a step forward to the child's recovery. As for what Kanzashi and her sister is wearing... Kanzashi is wearing a red prom like dress which seems to have sparkling silver stars in multipule areas, a set of gold chains are round her neck and a silver ring as around the ring finger on her right hand. Tatenashi is wearing a pure white, silk dress that shows her curves, just like her sister. Tatenashi also has the old Russian communist star set on a small black leather belt that hugs her waist.

"Do you think he's going to kiss her or hug her?" - Tatenashi asks in a very excited manner, with a matching happy smile.

"Oh shut up!" - Kanzashi replies in an annoyed yet excited whisper, mimicking with her hand for her mischevious sister to be silent.

As Tomoe rests her hands comfortably by her side, the air around the group is still and silent. Untill, little Kestrel lifts head up and to left to look at the happy face of Yui, blinking a few times, Kestrel takes one final curious glance at Tomoe and then, looking Yui in the eyes... proceedes to speak in a very soft, timid yet very curious voice. Though the phrase is in Israeli, everybody remains excited and on edge as to what Kestrel has just said.

Though nobody knows what it is Kestrel just said, the loving smile and very kind and happy sounding reply that Yui gives to Kestrel is a perfect confirmation that what ever it is Kestrel has just said... it must be something good. The confirmation is even firmer when Kestrel replies almost instantly to Yui's phrase with a timid yet very friendly smile, to which Yui gives a single nod.

"What was it he just said?" - Rin asks with an anticipating smile, the Chinese brunette foreseeing a very good answer.

With a very friendly face, Yui turns her head to look Rin in the eyes for a brief moment before looking Tomoe in the eyes and warmly saying the words - "He asked if Tomoe was an angel".

Upon hearing those words Tomoe suddenly feels overwhelming levels of happiness wash over her, as does the other IS females, Rin and Houki can't help but cast happy looks at each other. Kiyoka and Honne simply look down at little Kestrel with very friendly faces, and a warm and pleasant auror of silence befalls everybody for at least 4 minutes before Kiyoka looks Yui in the eyes and in a calm and pleasnant tone asks the phrase which everybody else was on the verge of asking.

"What did you say back, and what was Kestrel's reply?"

Yui takes a brief look at little Kestrel whom at this point seems to be looking deeply into his Star of David pendant, which the said youngster holds very carefuly in his small hands. Yui's smile is small but full of both happy and sympathetic emtions, her tone is perfect example of this as the Japanese woman looks Kiyoka in the face and after a 3 seconds replies in a happy yet clearly mixed emotioned tone.

"I told him that Tomoe is a princess... and he said back to me... "I don't know what 'Princess' is, but she looks really nice anyway"".

Upon hearing those words Rin and Houki can't help but smile, both the Chinese brunette and the dark haired Japanese female cast cool big sister, yet very affectionate and approving smiles at each other, both females are amazed that although the child is tormented and scarred beyond belief, the youngster is still full of pleasnat surprises. Deep down Houki can't help but feel some what defeated, hidden behind her cool smile is a terrible feeling of dread and jealousy as her thoughts speak out in a very annoyed yet calm tone.

( "Isn't it marvolous!? We have a child here that has had a life of pure hell, and yet the youngster has managed to hit the bullseye when considering a girl's feelings... yet Ichika, a much older and mature person of all people, fails to see the moment when the flags been raised!" ).

Ironicaly Rin of all people is thinking the same thing, the only differance is the facial appearance, the Chinese brunette maintains her smile but has an annoyed eye brow raised, the said Chinese girl thinks on the same levels as Houki, as her thoughts prove in an annoyed tone.

( "And I thought Ichika was the most mature and considerate guy I have ever met!" ).

As this happens, all the other girls that surround Kaede and Yui, can't help but clutch the colars of the clothing that they wear, unlike Rin and Houki, all the other girls suddenly have the overwhelming urge to suddenly glomp the scar faced youngster and smother him with a barrage of sympathetic hugs, cooes and nussels.

Kiyoka puts on a triumphant grin and affectionately nudges Tomoe's back with her elbow as if she is sending the sign that the dark blue haired female is 'In the zone'!. Tomoe on the other hand goes a flush of red under the eyes and smiles in a proud, bashful and timid way to herself. The dark blue haired girl's heart seems to flutter and jump for joy, the dark blue haired beauty gets all tingly between her legs, as if she wants to make love, and for some reason her lips seem to have the urge to hunger for those of Kestrel's.

The dark blue haired beauty suddenly shakes her head in a slight rapid way, the girl is unable what to make or say of Kestrel's innocent comment. Her voice despite being slightly stuttered is a clear give away that the said female is clearly overwhelmed with happiness.

"T..Tell him, thankyou... H..He's very good hearted and that I..I... Like to do my best!".

Deep down in her mind, Tomoe suddenly feels very awkward, the girl is clearly confused as hell with herself. To suddenly get overwhelmed with joy at such an innocent comment, how embarassing is that, and to top it off, Kestrel is a tormented youngster, he's been abused indecently by her gender, so to suddenly feel great levels of attraction towards such a timid youngster, that has to be slightly incorrect, as her mind screams to herself.

( "C'mon Tomoe, he's gone through enough, be adult in these matters!, just calm down!, calm down!... keep it together!" )

From a distance away, the Russian sisters Kanzashi and Tatenashi can't help but blink with very straight and confused faces. Never the less, the sight of such a happy auror makes it clear that the time is good to make their appearance. Although Kanzashi and Tatenashi are both eager to party the night away, Kanzashi is eager to finish what can only be described as a 'Matter at hand!'.

Ever since this morning Kanzashi has been at Tatenashi's throat, although it seems like all water under the bridge with Ichika, Kanzashi is still feeling sour at how childish her sister acted during the antics of Charlotte's sleepover. Tatenashi despite being guilty and shifty at that matter, still maintains her happy and pleanast facial expression, aswell as showing her jokes'ter side.

"Well, are we going to join them, or are we going to simply stand here like a couple of spare ones at a wedding!?" - Tatenashi exclaims with a smug smile, and with folded arms.

Shooting her troublesome sister an annoyed look, Kanzashi can't help but suddenly feel the urge to kill Tatenashi, ever since this morning Tatenashi has had the nerve to virtualy make a 100% monkey out of her sister, and seemingly showing no remorse to taking part in humiliating Ichika and very nearly little Kestrel.

Replying to her sister with an annoyed hiss, along with a quick adjustment of her glasses, Kanzashi turns her head rapidly to glance Tatenashi in the eyes and speaks the words - "DON'T Get all clever! We are going to join them and I'm going give everybody the privalidge of seeing you on you're knees begging for forgiveness with tears in your eyes!".

Closing her eyes and looking away with her nose in the air, Tatenashi can't help but feel somewhat offended. Sure... Tatenashi has already admitted that she was out of order for acting like a saddistic bitch at Charlotte's sleepover, but the way that her sister is treating her is way more than what she could ever have imagined, it was painful enough getting her ass slapped by Chifuyu, aswell as frightening enough being shouted at... now she has to get another dose of human brutality.

However, even though Tatenashi is ready to appologise, the smug look on her face is a clear indicatation that she is not about to start begging for forgiveness, as her face shows with half closed eyes, and a smug smile.

"Oh!, If I'm going to beg for forgiveness and have tears in my eyes then I have to be crying"

Kanzashi stands straight and tough with her hands on her hips, the blue haired Russian female looks Tatenashi in the face with a serious and annoyed facial expression. Her tone is also a perfect match for the searing levels of anger and irritation that she feels towards her sister. To double matters, Kanzashi had been anticipating that phrase from her sister, but... as they say... "To can play that game" as Kanzashi is saving her own personal moment of punishment for just the right moment, which is just seconds away.

Speaking in a calm, low yet angered tone, Kanzashi looks her sister in the face and speaks the phrase - "And you're point is?".

Leaning forward slightly with her arms folded, her face still holding its smugness, Tatenashi then points an index finger to her face and in a very smug manner speaks a phrase that Kanzashi was expecting all too well - "I'm not exactaly crying, nor do I feel like crying... so I guess you're out of luck, SIS!".

Tatenashi puts a lot of emphisis on the word SIS, the troublesome Russian girl is clearly still not seemingly in any mood to meet her sister's expectations, but... Kanzashi is also not about to back down from this otherwise serious matter, and with the pointing of an index finger at her sister's face, Kanzashi raises her voice slightly, maintains her angered expression and with a serious tone, snaps out the words - "Well we'll soon fix that won't we!? Look over there!".

At this crucial moment, as Kanzashi points past her sister to nothing, and to Kanzashi's personal amazement, her sister falls for the oldest trick in the book, and turns her head to look at litteraly nothing. Kanzashi reacts with lightning reflex, rapidly lifting a knee and quickly proceeding to drive her high heeled shoe straight into the unsuspecting foot of Tatenashi.

Tatenashi's eyes and mouth widen in open state, a pain stricken yelp escapes her lungs, but Kanzashi isn't finished yet... The blue haired Russian female in glasses then positions her fingers on her right hand into a V sign, whilst she grabs her sister's shoulder with her left hand. Once again, before Tatenashi knows what hits her, Kanzashi drives the 2 main fingers on her right hand straight into her sister's eyes.

Once again a pain stricken yelp escapes Tatenashi's lungs, the Russian female quickly places the palm of her hand to her screaming eyes, however... Kanzashi has two final surprises to give, the first is a nasty smack in the face with the back of her left hand... quickly followed by the girl leaning forward near her sister's ear, and in a sharp, nasty and angry tone... Kanzashi snaps like an angry parent, her words are spoken quickly, yet clearly enough to be made out, its as if Kanzashi is a parent scolding its child. - "DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"

Holding her stinging eyes tightly, Tatenashi is in agony, her cheek is bright red and stinging, the pain on her face helps fuel the pain screaming on and around the Russian girl's head. The Russian female's foot feels as though a butcher's carving knife has just been driven through the flesh and bone all the way, her eyes feel as though they are about to fall out, tears of pain fill her eyes, and the shock causes emotions of humiliation and stress to appear.

After a length of 5 minutes, Tatenashi moves her hand away from her eyes and to Kanzashi's satisfaction, tears are rolling down her face. Tatenashi looks like a child trying but failing not to cry after being hit hard on the head or falling down hard. Her voice is a whimper as a tear filled with both pain and saddness rolls down her red stinging cheek.

"Hmmm... You four eyed, ungrateful... heartless, nasty sack of.. thats criminal assault that is!" - Tatenashi moans out in upset and pain stricken tone, the girl is on the verge of bursting into tears and crying her eyes out.

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Kanzashi shakes off all feeling of guilt, the blue haired female over looks any feeling of negativity by remembering her belived 'More important matter' as her angered yet satisified voice speaks the words - "Now you are crying!, what do you say now sister?... shall we do it now and get it over with as quickly as possible?".

Tatenashi does not answer her sister, but instead sniffles in a very miserable manner, amazingly... Tatenashi miserably nods her heads in a very sorrowful manner. Incredible is just a pure understatement, of what the moment is like the only shame being that nobody is there to see it happen, that is... not in Kanzashi's pressance, as a certian trio dressed in a very scantaly clad manner look from distance at the moment playing before their eyes. The trio revealing themselves to be non other than Kestrel's shotacons, all three of the females are leaning from behind a corner of one of the IS academy buildings.

Looking at the Russian females walking away towards the further distant group that harbours their beloved little Kestrel, the trio are clearly overwhelmed with amazement at the sight before them, as the dark haired Konoe speaks out in an amazed questioning tone.

"Did you girls see that!?"

The blue haired Yuno and Orange haired Rie looks back their black haired friend and in very happy tones mixed with those that are excited with gossip - "UH-HUH!".

_**Okay all, thats it for Chapter 56, the next chapter should be longer than this one, but that won't be out for a few days, so hang around as best you can okay. Also, I would happily like to send a very, warm... and dear, special thanks to Mr Beaver Buttington whom had the great idea of having Tomoe being presented in a Princess dress. We chose the Charlotte Hazelrink Princess dress together, so for those whom enjoy the idea of seeing Tomoe cosplaying in Charlotte Hazelrink's princess dress then not only thank me, but thank Mr Beaver Buttington aswell.**_

_**For those whom have any further requests feel free to speak out, please continue to read and review, stick around for further chapters. Please remember that I'm still wishing all you readers the best either with you're own fanfics or with anything else. So... untill the next chapter,**_

_**P.S- Extra special thanks to Mr. Beaver Buttington.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	57. Chapter 57: A nose bleed

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter as promised. Please forgive the delays but this chapter has been very badly delayed due to reasons involving house work, pets to look after and a very stressfull family, so I guess you could say that I've had to take a breather from writing and all... but, now I'm back with a new chapter, for those of you that are sticking around then thanks a lot, many thousands of times over. Also I want to mention that when Laura was reading data on Kestrel, it said that Kestrel was 30lbs, please note... that was just a bio when the child was first found and just recently I have been reminded by Termanian-Oni about that factor. So very special thanks to Termanian-Oni, Bio's and numbers never where my strong point!**_

_**One of the main reasons I portrayed little Kestrel's weight as being so light is due to the tortures and horrific past that he suffered at the hands of Phantom task and other evil whores, **__**so think of his critical weight as being proof that the child escaped death just in time and that his recovery weight has only just been established.**_

_**In fact, children and adults that have suffered torture have been rescued underweight, so think of my mistake as showing the human drama and true factors in matters like these.**_

_**Kestrel's height however is in acurate fact 4ft tall, and please note that most people from Europe and America are 6ft tall, and that people from Japan and the far east are at most 5ft tall, **__**so in terms of children, Kestrel is somewhat of a very tall youngster to the Japanese.**_

_**VERY, VERY 'BIG' SPECIAL THANKS: TERMANIAN-ONI**_

_**So anyway... enough with the introductions... please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 57:

**\- IS academy/ Gym Storage room -**

On a dark blood red 3D holographic computer like screen, various sets of words set in bright yellow letters appear before a certain eye patched German female's face. The bright red light makes the German girl's face and hair look like a well mixed coat of fresh bright pink. The German female revealing herself to be non-other than Ichika's self-proclaimed wife Laura Bodewig, Despite longing to be at Ichika's side tonight, the German female couldn't help but take another look at the long black haired Kestrel's bio's. After all... maybe... just maybe... if Laura can prove to Ichika that she is NOT a child attacker or for that matter a girl that would go so low as to take advantage of a vulnerable youngster... then maybe she could about earn Ichika's respect and more importantly... his love for tonight.

The look in the German female's eyes is clearly a pure mix of determination. The room she sits in is pitch black, the room ressembles that of a gym storage room, as there are many sets of light blue P.E mats, basket balls, tennis rackets, footballs, obsticle like objects and wooden horses. Everything is coloured pure red in the bright light that fills the entire room, and makes a certain set of clothing that Laura wears just that little bit more lighter than what it normaly look in normal based light.

What Laura wears tonight can be considered dated, antiquated and obsolete but non the less still makes the silver eye patched beauty still look very attractive. What Laura wears is an old second world war German female military uniform. The uniform is natuarly a military camoflage green, though that only applies to the top half of her uniform and the skirt, upon Laura's head the said German girl wears a green forage cap slightly off to one side, but that is how many female servicemen appeared in the second world war.

As for Laura's lower half, the German female wears black stockings with a black garter belt, along with black high heeled shoes, for all historians Laura can be considered very ravashing in terms of cosplay and such. Tonight everyother German female will be wearing the same thing tonight, all for a tallent show surprise arranged by Clarissa herself.

Deep down Laura is a mass of nerves, she does not know what to think, the painful pressure of time and waiting is crushing into her like a python grip. Thankfuly Laura always comes prepared for such matters, just typing away on a laptop like pannel checking and buffing up little Kestrel's data is enough to swallow and destroy her nerves. The sight of yellow letters glowing against a pure red 3D holographic screen followed by other pannels and windows showing 3D holographic displayed models of little Kestrel's bodily structure is helping keep Laura's nervous gut at bay.

Shifting her single solitary eye to focus on one of the 3D pannels, Laura looks with interest at Kestrel's 3D model body. The 3D model is just a straight grey filled in silhouette, rotating and zooming in and out on various areas on the presented body parts and showing data readouts. Though the data readouts themselves are just small red letters set in small rectangle boxes, what Laura sees isn't any problem for her keen, sharp eye sight. Though Laura may have just the one visable eye, the girl's optics are very, very sophisticated, which has to be twenty - twenty vision.

As Laura shifts her focus away from 2 pannels showing data readouts set against 3d body models of little Kestrel, the girl then proceedes to highlight a large vertical rectangle holding what can only be described as the main data pannel. Less than a second after highlighting the pannel, the mass pannel enlarges and fills most of the 3D holographic screen, what meets Laura's eye is the now up to date Data review on Kestrel.

The words that are presented before the German female are pure yellow that stand out perfectly against the red 3D holographic screen:

**_\- Schwarzer Hase Individual Investigatation Data Record Profile -_**

**_Individual code number: 6644601_**

**_Individual Data registration: 4762_**

**_Input access code: -_**

**_111399541_**

**_Access authorised to restricted files.._**

Less than a second later, Laura blinks as a brand new file is presented before her single solitary eye, the newly appeared file pannel taking the place of the previous one, yet staying the same red with yellow letters.

**_Individual name: Kestrel_**

**_Surname: Unknown_**

**_Gender: Male_**

**_Age: 10_**

**_Height: 4ft 0_**

**_Weight: 60.4lbs_**

**_Family: - Unknown -_**

**_Nationality: Israel_**

**_Home city/ town/ village: - Unknown -_**

**_IS code: - Unknown -_**

_**Current IS: Black Phoenix**_

_**IS Generation: Generation six**_

_**IS type: - Unknown/ Belived ballanced -**_

_**IS Manfacturer: - Unknown -**_

_**Individual pilot history:**_

However as Laura is about to read more data readout on Kestrel, a sudden sounding knock at the gym storage door causes the German female to suddenly yelp and go wide eyed for a second. As Laura turns her head, the realm of the living returns to her and the sounds of disco sounding music begins to fill her ears.

Snapping almost instantly, Laura quickly deactivates the 3D holographic screen, plunging the entire gym storage room into darkness, allowing the only form of light to be none other than the traces that seep through the thin narrow spaces of the gym storage doors, looking like someone has put a welding torch on the spaces of the doors, leaving behind the glowing hot lines of hot welded metal.

From behind the disco sounding doors a very welcome and familiar voice is heard, causing Laura to smile with a slightly open mouth letting out a sigh of relief.

"Captain Laura Bodewig! Are you okay?"

"Yes Clarissa! I'm coming out now!" - Laura replies back in a loud and clear, the German girl overwhelmed with relief that it wasn't Ichika at the door. The last thing the German female wants right now is to be caught before her surprise to everybody is unveiled. Theres also the fact that Laura does not want Ichika to see her as a person that is preying on the vulnerable Kestrel.

As Laura scrambles to her feet and off her knelt down positon on one of the blue gym mats, the German haired female picks up a medium sized laptop tablet like object that projected a screen and key pad the size of a large TV. Less than a second later the silver haired German rushes over towards the gym doors, the said girl is clearly racked with relief that she is not in any further trouble than what she already has been in the past 48 to 24 hours.

As Laura opens the gym doors, the sight of Clarissa and fellow members of the Schwarzer Hase corps greet an already anxious Laura, however, as Laura is the captain of the corps she is 100% expected to set an example to the other members of her unit and as a ressult greets her fellow military hard assed comrades with a senior expression.

As Laura stops, briefly turns and closes the gym door behind her, the other German girls of the Schwarzer Hase corps stand ridgedly to military attention. From a third person's point of view one notices that its not just Laura thats dressed in ww2 female uniform, but every single Schwarzer Hase female, including Clarissa. Though Clarissa and her German girls are just dressed this way for a special tallent show performance tonight, it can't be denied... that the females look utterly attractive. If any ww2 historian saw these girls then they would sure as hell comment that "its truly a shame that military personel don't wear attire like this anymore!".

Turning round to face Clarissa, Laura closes her eye and takes in a very deep breath, the German girl is clearly nervous about tonight. Ironicaly the same can be said about the rest of the girls that work for Laura, as each and every single girl's heart is thumping heavily, mixed with nerve, excitement and anticipation.

Even though what the girls are doing tonight is considered easy compared to intense military training, aswell as military drills... the girls are still a mass with nerve, which one can no doubtfuly understand if they themselves have ever gotten ready to perform on stage for the first time in front of mass hundreds or thousands.

Clarissa despite looking like the most mature is all to aware of this fact as she herself has a heart laced with nerve, but thankfuly, just like her girls... Clarissa reacts on military discipline and as quick as a flash stands ridgedly to attention the click of her high heels is a perfect confirmation that although faced with a new experiance, neither she or her girls are about to back down or show any signs of fear.

"All present and correct captain!" - Clarissa speaks in her normal military tone, the look on the German woman's face is what one would expect of a woman that is military hard core, straight and emotionless.

Allowing the sight to sink in, Laura swallows her nerves and puts on a strict military look of her own. Less than a second later a click of the heels is heard as Laura stands to attention and raises a hand in respectful salute to Clarissa. Clarissa acknowledges Laura with her own, as does the other German females, less than 10 seconds after the girls raise their hands to salute, in perfect sync, the girls lower their arms and once again stand ridgedly to attention.

As soon as Laura lowers her arm and regains her composure, the said German girl remembering her strict discipline and presentation training. Laura gives an acknowledging firm and resounding nod back to Clarissa and in her average tone mixed with strict authority speaks in a phrase that is just perfect for showing the effiancy of the German army, aswell as authority.

"Excellent... okay everybody, stand easy".

On perfect cue, in perfect sync, the sounds of feet hitting the floor with force are like music to Laura's ears, it adds some normality that the girl is familiar with. Though the girls stand behind a large black set up stage with large black curtains obscureing view for the partying students in the gym, it gives the German females the perfect privacy that they need in order to get ready for tonight's festivities, and one thing is for sure, each and every single German girl is going to perform to the best of their abilities for tonight.

Now looking Clarissa in the eye with a slightly curious yet expectant expression, Laura proceedes to speak in a normal tone with only hinted levels of authority, the German female despite being the captain is currently at the moment oblivious to what ideas it is that her dearest college has in mind, much to her nerve wrecked annoyance.

"So, Clarissa what it is it that you have in mind for tonight?".

"Ah... Something that I promise will knock instructor Orimura's younger brother head over heels for you!" - Clarissa replies with a hand under her chin, eyes closed, her face and voice laced with high levels of confidence, that is clearly shared by every other girl of the Schwarzer Hase.

Every other girl of the Schwarzer Hase standing normaly casts confident and excited smiles at each other before glancing back at their captain, not a whisper escapes their mouths, nor does an out of line titter from anticipation is ejaculated from their mouths.

Laura on the other hand is overwhelmingly interested and bewildered, ever since Clarissa came forward and brought her out of her depressed state during the preparations for the IS academy party, the German female is clearly about to follow the dark blue haired German woman's words like a sheep being pointed by a shepard.

As Laura speaks it is clear as day that the said German female is more than ready to do what ever it is that Clarissa has in mind, but that is only to be expected, the German girl has so far done anything and everything that Clarissa has told her to do ever since Laura declared that Ichika was to be her husband. A good example of this is when Laura went ahead and bought such a revealing bikini swimsuit during the IS academy trip to the beach and Inn, the German girl has even gone so far as to wear next to nothing and prepare various wierd surprises in order to earn Ichika's attention and heart, and ALL of it was under the direction and instructions of Clarissa.

Though its painfuly clear that all Clarissa's instructions have been wrong, chaotic, mixed up, none of the German girls have dared think twice if any of their plans were wrong or out dated. However, as nothing as been tried with the German girls working all together then maybe the ressults will be a lot better than what they have been previously.

"What is it!? What!?" - Laura asks balling her hands into fists and raising both arms so that her fists touch her chest, clearly showing the German girl's excitement at what it is that Clarissa has in mind.

Smiling in a smug and confident manner, her eye patch slightly shinning with an auror of magnificence, Clarissa raises an index finger as if she is explaining something as a matter of fact. As she speaks the German woman is clearly a mass of confidence, almost as if she knows that some weakened enemy of war is about to be crushed in one swift easy stroke.

"We are going to show instructor Orimura's youngster brother the true appeal of German womanhood, hence the great uniforms!"

Looking down at herself and then glancing over to her friends Laura suddenly gets the idea of why it is Clarissa insisted that everybody should wear the exact same 'old' if slightly still smart and attractive military uniform. As the silver haired German female looks Clarissa in the eye, the German girl wastes no time and clearly shows great levels of excitement, as she speaks Laura is clearly interested, yet still confused at what the full idea is that Clarissa has concocted to grab the heart of the Japanese male that seems so far away from her depressed heart. One thing is for sure, and Laura is a perfect example of it, "Love hurts" and more importantly "Love makes you desperate" or worse "Crazy!".

"I see... but... I am still unclear as to what we are going to do in order to attract the attention of my wife".

Placing an index finger to her forehead, Clarissa suddenly feels stupid with herself, the dark blue haired German woman clearly remembering that she hasn't explained herself properlly, but once again, that was to be expected, when one is excited, one does tend to forget certain levels of information. As Clarissa lowers her hand the woman proceedes to speak in a calm and very well collected tone of explination.

"Ah my captain allow me to properlly explain..." - Then as Clarissa takes a breath, a certain question which to Clarissa's mind is one of the uttmost importance suddenly rears its head. Clarissa wastes no time in asking by holding up both hands as a form of calmly wanting the truth or in this case the right answer and though she stutters in alarm at first, Clarissa speaks in a very calm manner as not to cause any negative emotions to swirl in her already fragile emotioned captain.

"J..Just one question first, before I explain anything... Captain Bodewig... do you know the old nineteen thirties song "Naughty Lola"?".

Rolling her eye and shrugging her shoulders, Laura replies almost instantly in a comfortable if confused manner - "By Marlene Dietrich?... Yes!".

Suddenly letting out a sigh of relief, Clarissa seems to be overjoyed that at least in this day and age the German people don't forget their past famous singers and entertainers. Sharing Clarissa's relief, the other girls of the Schwarzer Hase smile in a relieved manner and look at each other in a overjoyed manner.

Overwhelmed by confusion Laura looks deeply into Clarissa's eye and in a very confused manner speaks the words - "Clarissa... why are you asking me questions that are irrelivant to the getting back of my wife?".

Clarissa closes her eye and shakes her head in a relieved if affectionate manner matched by a small smile, before taking yet another breath, folding her arms, leaning forward and looking deeply into Laura's eye. Laura's eye is wide and excited, her ears are open and ready to recive what ever words Clarissa is about to speak - "Well.."

**\- Elsewhere / IS academy grounds -**

Walking hand in hand with the beautiful Tomoe, the long haired Israeli youngster known as Kestrel is clearly at loss for words at how magificent everything looks. Music fills the air as not only Kestrel and Tomoe, but Yui, Kaede and various other females walk down what looks like a large corridor of IS stalls, lit up with differant coloured lights. Rin and Houki are no longer with the group as the pair were to heavily pre-occupied in getting close to a busy Ichika, aswell as feeling annoyingly in-adaquite in the pressence of the dark blue haired Tomoe.

Thankfuly, Rin and Houki's absence are now filled in with that of the 2 Russian sisters Tatenashi and Kanzashi. Kanzashi looking seemingly overjoyed and proud of herself as she walks proudly beside the IS academy teacher Kaede pleasantly gossiping at chatting away like any normal average female would do.

The reasons for Kanzashi's happiness is due to the magnificent performance that her sister made in beggining for forgiveness in front of the timid and confused little Kestrel, though most of Tatenashi's tears were caused by the pain of a stinging face cheek, top of a foot and the jab in the eyes, the blue haired Russian girl had performed seemingly very well. Though what it was that really made Kanzashi's day was when Kestrel seemed to walk away from Tatenashi with his head low looking nervous or suffering from mixed emotions. It really hurt Tatenashi when Kestrel did that, aswell as getting a set of angered stares from the other IS females, it brought genuine tears of guilt up from deep inside Tatenashi.

Never the less, Kanzashi's personal goal had been completley accomplished, Tatenashi had cryed her eyes out and got on her knees pleading in the light of humiliation. Though Kanzashi could be considered sadistic others could call her a girl that has done what any right minded sister would do... teach her troublesome sister a lesson, it helps even more that nobody is talking to the guilty Tatenashi. Instead every one lets the still sorrow stricken Russian walk silently with her head low directly beside her sister Kanzashi.

Despite it being quite a show, everybody seems to now be focused on partying again. Though its clear that the dancing in the assembly hall is out of the question for the fragile Kestrel, there is still plenty of festivities at the IS academy tonight and above all else, Chifuyu Orimura herself has a grand surprise for all the students tonight, what it is unfortuneatley unknown.

In the meantime everybody can let off some nasty pressurised steam, the smell of food both hot and cool fills the air acting like a beacon that can't be ignored, the only acceptions to such attractive smells is Kestrel, whom is too heavily bewildered by the sights that surround him. The large bright lights standing radiant against the now darkening sky cause the child to continously blink, and the cool sea breeze causes the last annoying traces of daytime summer heat to slowly fade of his body and head.

However, what attracts little Kestrel the most is the magnificent looking sunset, that mixes the last traces of daylight in a stunning blend of orange, gold, pink and purple against the now approaching night sky. Ironicaly, nobody else appears to have noticed the sunset, but instead seems to be more interested in walking at a snail's pace looking around and pointing at stalls and lights with impressed expressions.

Thankfuly the moment of obliviousness comes to an end as Yui just happens to look down and notice that Kestrel is looking away from the group, his small face is full of straightness and pure neutrality. The long haired Israeli youngster seems to be mesmorised by something, causing Yui to become filled with curiosity.

Though Yui looks down at Kestrel with a concerned face and mentions his name five times, the youngster is clearly overwhelmed with amazement at how beautiful the sky looks. Now attracting everybody's attention, Yui proceedes to get on her knees and with a purely curious face matched by a very friendly yet curirous tone, looks the scar faced Kestrel in the left side of his face and speaks out the words - "Kestrel? Whats wrong?".

Though Yui's words don't get through to Kestrel, they do get through to the beautiful Tomoe, whom blinks in sudden confusion, turns her head and looks down at the long haired youngster. The dark blue haired beauty is suddenly overwhelmed with worry, the last thing that anybody here wants to see is for the vulnerable Kestrel to suffer a turn, especially when everything is going so well, and the atmosphere is pleasant. Kneeling down, carefuly as not to accidently dirty her white dress, Tomoe lovingly places a hand on the youngster's shoulder whilst slightly tightening her grip on the child's soft feeling hand.

Now, with Yui and Tomoe knelt down speaking in a soft manner to the Israeli youngster, everybody else is soon caught up in the confused and curious nature that fills not only Yui but Tomoe also. Adjusting her glasses and blinking slightly, Kanzashi looks down at Kestrel and in a confused tone asks a question that nobody can answer at a time like this - "Whats wrong?".

Then, with a mental lightbulb suddenly forming above her head, Tomoe leans forward putting her face next to the side of Kestrel's face and then, without warning, the dark blue haired beauty proceedes to pucker her lips and blow a very light breeze onto the childs face, the youngster's scar gets full brunt of Tomoe's wake up, if slightly erotic teasing call, but never the less the dark blue haired beauty manages to bring Kestrel out of his trance. The Isreali youngster blinks, jumps in startlement for a second, and rapidly turns his head to look towards the source of where the sudden breeze came from.

Meeting the surprised eyes of little Kestrel is the kind and loving eyes of Tomoe, the Japanese beauty has a warm and pleasant smile, which causes little Kestrel to blink for a moment. As a faint blush of red forms under Kestrel's eyes, Tomoe smiles kindly and pulls Kestrel into a loving embrace.

Seeing this moment, Kaede and Yui can't help but send happy and somewhat proud approving glances at each other, but... for some strange reason Kaede suddenly appears to blush whilst looking at the smiling face of Yui. The said teacher suddenly places a balled hand to her mouth and pretends to cough slightly, whilst closing her eyes and having the overwhelming urge to face down.

With Tatenashi and Kanzashi exchanging confused faces at each other, Yui proceedes to look deeply at the head of Kestrel, and in a calm and pleasant tone proceedes to speak in Israeli to the youngster. Buried face deep in Tomoe's warm, soft, bouncy, sweet smelling perfume cleevage, Kestrel proceedes to struggle to get his face clear which comes as some hard fought success, but thankfuly Tomoe isn't as clingy as his shotacon lovers, so though Kestrel has been exchanging loving cuddles with Tomoe, the Israeli child with his red scar blazing proud in evening sunset light... is quick to reply to Yui.

Though Kestrel makes eye contact with Yui, the youngster points in the direction of the un-noticed sunset, as Kestrel speaks, the youngster's timid voice is full of warmth and comfort, perfectly matched with a small and seemingly peaceful and kind smile.

At exactaly the same time, everybody turns their heads and follows the direction of Kestrel's small hand and index finger. What the group sees is a sight that makes everybody smile with a large quality of amazement.

A warm and bewildered - "Oh!" - comes from Yui.

Kanzashi smiles but closes her eyes, places the plam of her right hand to her forehead and mutters the words in a tone that shows the sick irony of the moment - "To think us big girls like to say that WE never miss anything!".

Tatenashi and the other IS females merely look at the beautiful sight awe struck, not a whisper comes from anybody's mouth, the novelty of the moment is simply too much. Its as if all the girls have suddenly became the humans that first discovered fire.

Kaede balls her hand into a fist and clutches the top of her cosplay clothing in a form of joy, the dark haired Japanese beauty is clearly bewildered at the sight, her voice is a perfect mix of amazement and love struck joy, matched by an open smile - "I've never seen a sunset that big!".

Pulling Kestrel into an even warmer embrace, Tomoe can't help but stare at the mixed coloured sky, the dark blue haired beauty can't help but speak in an equally amazed tone that matches those of Kaede and Yui. - "Oh... that is so beautiful".

Smiling warmly, still snug and lovingly held in Tomoe's embrace Kestrel speaks in low and soft tone, the child's eyes remain fixed on the setting sun. Kestrel's Israeli phrase lasts for a mere 12 seconds, to which a warm smiling Yui replies a kind Israeli phrase back in return.

20 seconds after Yui spreaks to the innocent young Kestrel in Israeli, a questioning tone comes from a bewildered Tomoe whom remains stareing at the setting sun.

"What was he just said Yui?".

Yui does not glance nor does she turn her head to look at the dark blue haired beauty, but her voice is perfectly directed to the said female that seems hell bent on holding the snuggly warm Kestrel to her body, the smell of the hair wash that Kestrel used in the past 48 hours remains evident and radiant on the youngster's long, shinning, soft, smooth black hair.

"He said it looks wonderful, and I said back to him "Yes, Its really stunning"".

Suddenly having the urge to help the child with Japanese, Tomoe turns her head to look at Yui and in a kind and pleasant tone asks the words - "Why don't we teach him the phrase for... "That's beautiful"?".

Turning to look Tomoe in the face with warm and kind face, Yui sends Tomoe a very happy smile matched with kind half closed eyes. As Yui speaks a large quality of encouragement is heard in her voice - "Would you like it if you taught him?".

Upon hearing Yui's suggestion Tomoe is now overwhelmed with excitement and joy, the dark blue haired beauty smiles widely, leans forward slightly and in a tone mixed with joy and happiness very nearly yelps out the words - "Do you think I can!?".

Lowering her head slowly in a confirming nod, Yui closes her eyes for a brief moment, a warm and pleasant smile is set on her face, her tone is a perfect mix of warmth and supporting ease as she motions with her hand as a way of giving Tomoe the all clear to do so. - "Go ahead".

Carefuly releasing Kestrel from her grip, Tomoe proceedes to point at the sunset, causing a now confused Kestrel to turn his head and tilt his head before looking into the eyes of Tomoe silent as the grave.

Tomoe takes a breath before speaking slowly in a calm and pleasant manner - "Its beautiful".

Kestrel blinks, the scar faced child is unable to make heads or tails of what it is that Tomoe is getting at. Even as Tomoe points again at the setting sun and places a hand palm over the top of her heart repeating the word "Beautiful", Kestrel is still at loss for words. The youngster simply turns his head to look at the setting sun, then back at the beautiful Tomoe, the child remains silent, not saying a word, just blinking and looking confused.

Now mimicking with her hands in a gesture for the child to repeat, Tomoe repeats the same word 'beautiful' a further three times, each time at 10 second intervals before little Kestrel finally gets the idea after taking another glance at the setting sun. The mental lightbulb in his small mind seems to light up, the fact being proven as little Kestrel's small ocean blue eyes widen and his small mouth opens a slight amount.

The entire group, including Tatenashi and Kanzashi goes silent, everybody watching the moment in silence wondering what is going to happen next. Then, just 7 seconds after little Kestrel rolls his eyes and lowers his head to gather his will power, the youngster looks Tomoe in the eyes and in a stuttered, soft and timid voice speaks the words - "B..B... Beau.. Beauti... Beautiful?".

Smiling and suddenly feeling proud with herself, Tomoe nods happily, grabs little Kestrel's hands and takes them in her own like a pure loving mother. As Tomoe speaks its clear that the girl is proud of how well little Kestrel just performed, its almost as if Tomoe is like a proud doting mother, congratulating her child for a hard fought effort.

"Yes!, Yes! Thats it... well done!"

Looking at the smiling and impressed face of Yui, Tomoe accidently leaves herself open to a surprise that nobody sees coming. Which happens in a matter of nano-seconds, little Kestrel, with his oceanic blue eyes looking straight naturaly into the eyes of Tomoe, and speaking in a continued soft and timid voice - "S..So... is... you!".

Blinking and now overwhelmed with confusion and surprise, Tomoe looks down into Kestrel's eyes, the youngster looks 100% oblivious as to what type of mood and moment he's just set, but saying that, the youngster has had a life of hell, and hasn't got a clue of what clues to look out for when it comes to noticing or feeling romance. Everybody in the group blinks and looks with wide, amazed eyes at the youngster whom continues to look Tomoe in the face with a slight head tilt.

Beginning to blush heavily under the eyes, along with a fluttering heart, Tomoe maintains eye contact with Kestrel before speaking in a heavy bashful tone - "A..Ah... you mean to say the words... So..Are..You".

"Yes.. you.. are!" - Kestrel replies in a curious sounding tone, the youngster looks at Tomoe with a warm and friendly expression.

Yui and Kaede look at each other with amazed faces, as does every other IS female. A moment of awkward yet very welcome warm atmosphere befalls the entire group, before the blue haired Russian female who goes by the name of Kanzashi points an in a slightly alarmed manner at Tomoe's face, whilst proceeding to speak in a slightly fearful and concerned tone - "Ah... Tomoe, blood!".

A mental question mark suddenly appears over Tomoe's head, the dark blue haired beauty overwhelmingly confused at what it is Kanzashi just ment. Thankfuly, the moment quickly ends, as a now heavily concerned Yui points an index finger to her nose, and in a concerned tone suddenly speaks the words - "Blood Tomoe, you're nose... its bleeding!".

Now blinking, Tomoe slowly and carefuly raises a hand to her face. The smooth, silky feeling of her arm gloved hand fingers touch her upper lip for a brief moment, and as the dark blue haired Japanese beauty moves her hand away from her face she now feels a damp feeling under nose. As Tomoe looks at her white gloved fingers, the said female's eyes widen in shock, her heart beats rapidly with fear as two round blood red patches on her two white, gloved index fingers meet the oblivious female's eyes.

Still blushing heavily under the nose, Tomoe's smile is long gone and now all that is on her face is embarrasment and fear, and as the group of concerned females gather forward wanting to aid or tend to the Japanese beauty, only one nervous yelped phrase can escape Tomoe's mouth. - "G..GET ME A TISSUE QUICK!".

_**Alright everyone, thats all for chapter 57, stick around for chapter 58 because its coming as quick as possible. Please read and review this chapter, for those who have any requests just send me the PM. Also please note, just because Tomoe had a nose bleed does not automaticaly make her a craddle robber, a lot of people have had nose bleeds when they are scared or have had very nasty shocks, but never the less... for those of you that have already guessed, Tomoe IS kestrel's love interest!**_

_**The next chapter will have a lot of spicy party moments, and remember it may look it... but writing all this does take it out of one's creativity and stamina, so thanks for showing me some credit everyone, its much obliged. Okay... untill the next chapter... I wish you readers all the best with your own fics and luck.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	58. Chapter 58: An important discussion

_**Hey there everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned again, delayed but still true to the word. Its been a few days I know, but like I've said many times over theres been things to do, such as house work, pets to look after the works, so apologies for the delay. Anyhow... apart from the delays, everything is going well so far, thanks for the reviews and PMs to all those that have gone through all the trouble to send me the PM or the review, all comments and beliefs are respected, just remember to always show me the respect back in return okay, XD!**_

_**Also, as a quick message, I will be compensating all you action loving readers with more action scenes in the future, but for the time being let me gather my ideas and such, also for those of you who want justice to be delt on the people that hurt and did litteraly unspeakable things to little Kestrel dont worry, that WILL happen, just not at the moment... theres a few things I need to set up before I let those things like justice happen.**_

_**Its been longer than I thought for this chapter, so cut me some slack, remember... writing and coming up with ideas can REALY take it out of the fic writer!**_

_**Anyway... enough with the intros, just read and enjoy okay?**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 58:

**\- IS academy/ outside the assembly hall -**

Despite of the fact that music echoes outside the premises of the IS academy, and that each and EVERY student is either partying or spending the festivities in the most comfortable way that they can muster, not every inhabitant of the IS academy has yet made an offical appearance, and most of those said inhabitants are the teachers and staff of the IS academy. Sure, there are at least 14 staff members that have made their appearance, but the so called 'BIG' and 'IMPORTANT' staff members of the IS academy have yet to show themselves. Understandably, the wanted big and important IS academy members are non other than the green haired Maya Yamada and Ichika's older and 'just recently' very scary big sister... Chifuyu Orimura.

To say the least, despite her unfortuneate incident with an Ice cream van, being hit in the face with vanilla ice cream, having most of her office attire ruined and stained, aswell as having the bad fortune of having a mild case of frost bite to her nose, Chifuyu has managed to swallow her rage, for the moment at least! Deep down Chifuyu is still on the knife blade's edge of shrieking and tearing off each and every one of her student's heads that we're responsible for hitting her in the face with the vanilla treat to start with. Even if it was just an accident, Chifuyu's pride has been wounded, and her fierce scowl hasn't left her face for a single moment.

Thankfuly, since changing into a maid cosplay outfit and walking beside the cow cosplaying Maya, Chifuyu's mind has shifted to other matters. One of which being the angered Yui Sakurada whom looked like she was on the verge of killing someone and drinking their blood for afters, and the reason why is due to a choice coming from what only can be described as 'Through the top', involving the long haired and traumitised Israeli child known as Kestrel in a very, very nasty and dangerous IS experiment.

Every now and then since leaving her office, having a shower, fixing make up, drying her hair, warming up her nose, fixing perfume and getting changed into her maid cosplay... Chifuyu has been looking down, frowning and sighing. The very thought of the amount of pressure that she is facing, aswell as the hated rage from Yui is only one of her problems, the second problem is trying to make sure that Ichika does not find out about the choice being made.

Deep down the dark ponytailed beauty knows that at some point, Ichika is going to find out about the choice that has been made, and above all else the Japanese male will be just as objective to the idea as what Yui is, and whats worse, theres a good chance that as soon as Ichika finds out, then his self proclaimed lovers will also.

In the end, the main problem that Chifuyu faces isn't the anger and objection from Yui and from many others, but also the problem of gossip. Since the early days of intelligence, its a well know fact that gossip dashes many if not all highly secret projects, so if Chifuyu is going to succeed in this matter at hand, the woman has got to find a way to either prevent Ichika from speaking, or not tell him at all. Naturally, Chifuyu would rather just not tell Ichika and leave it at that, but because little Kestrel is always around Ichika and others, the woman is going to find keeping Ichika out of the picture VERY difficult.

Placing a hand to cup her chin, half closing her eyes, frowning and letting out a stressed sigh, Chifuyu is a mass with headaches. The music that echoes and thumps in the air doesn't help in any matters, in fact all it does is cause Chifuyu's headaches to worsen. So one thing is for sure, the black ponytailed beauty is NOT going to dare setting foot into the IS assembly hall, at least not with a screaming headache anyway.

Even just standing outside the IS assembly hall causes Chifuyu to snarl in a very angered manner and place a hand to her temple, hissing to herself, the Japanese female is quick to change course and walk away leaving the oblivious Maya to simply stand idle looking excited, the green haired beauty in glasses is simply either to excited or gulible to read the signs of Chifuyu's absence or for that matter notice the fact that music appears to be so loud that one's ears, if highly sensitive... would be bleeding in pain by now.

Even a few odd students that occaisonaly dash out of the hall holding their ears in pain dosen't register to the green haired beauty in spectacles. In fact, the green haired Maya is such a cheerful character that the said woman is simply not affected by the ear piercing music, in many ways it can be said that Maya's spirit is still that of a high schoolgirl, able to let her hair down and cruise without a care in the world.

Maya's spirit is made 100% clear as the woman leans back slightly and takes in a very deep breath for a moment, as Maya leans forward exhaleing her breath, the green haired teacher is clearly overwhelmed with joy and excitement, even as she speaks, Maya is making it clear that she is a woman that is ready to enjoy such a promising night.

"Well... this is it, and I have a very wonderful feeling that tonight is going to be very promsing!"

As Maya looks to the now darkened night sky, with nothing but brief lightish blue traces of daylight fading away, the green haired teacher's face seems to glow with power like the bright white lighting that lights up her face from one of the academy night lights.

As Maya blinks in excitement, the green haired teacher is expecting Chifuyu to reply almost instantly, but unbeknownst to Maya, Chifuyu is now over 20 metres away and walking in a quick pace to another part of the IS academy. Though music, cheering and shouting echoes everywhere and party lights flash in a stunning manner, there are other places of the IS academy that are a lot more tollerable to a woman of Chifuyu's stature.

Meanwhile as Chifuyu walks away in maid cosplay, a hand still placed on her screaming temple, Maya remains oblivious that her superior has suddenly left her on the spot, making Maya look in many ways... rather stupid and daft, standing and talking to herself!

Thankfuly though, Maya's moment of looking stupid lasts for a mere 2 minutes, which to many can be considered merciful. However some can call it common sense as Maya blinks, allows a confused and curious wave wash over herself and after a moment of pause, speaks in a friendly yet very confused tone, her smile does not leave her for a single moment - "What do you think Chifuyu?... ... Chifuyu?".

As Maya turns her head to the left she notices nothing, just an empty atmosphere with nothing but scenery to greet her eyes. Thankfuly, as Maya turns her head to the right rapidly now slightly alarmed, the green haired woman is quickly overwhelmed with relief as she notices the mighty cosplaying Chifuyu Orimura walking away towards the grounds, which unbeknowst to both women is where non other than Kestrel, Yui and various others are partying.

Not hesitating Maya instantly proceedes to rush after the mighty Chifuyu, the green haired teacher in thin framed glasses holding a fearful expression on her face, obviously hoping that she has'nt done anything to upset the black, ponytailed beauty.

Ironicaly at this point, as Maya's running footsteps fade away, the entrance doors to the IS assembly hall suddenly burst open and for a brief second the music in the air is slightly louder than what it is when the doors are closed. Rushing out of the assembly hall with hands over the head, covering the ears... teeth clenched and tears of pain filling his eyes, is non other than Ichika Orimura. The Japanese male looks very rough, his eyes are wide and the look on his face is that of a person whom is in unconsiderable pain.

Despite taking it for as long as he can, Ichika can no longer stand another second of having such loud ear piercing music filling his ears. Though many other students are able to handle such loud volumed music, the Japanese male is simply not able to keep up with the spirit of some of the other IS schoolgirls. Deep down Ichika knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to retreat from the hall like a considerable number of other IS females, the said male's good heart prevented him from doing so, the mass numbers of IS schoolgirls kept flocking around him and forcing him to dance, now... its a fair assumption that his legs are close to falling from his body.

Ichika's ears sting, his legs are acheing very badly and nothing but exhaustiong fills his body. Ichika's bodily temperature is high, sweat trails down his brow and though he is a good mannered male, the feeling of the cool pavement of the IS academy concrete floor is very much welcome to his rear as he looses the feeling of strength in his sore legs and falls to the floor.

Removing one hand from the left side of his head Ichika is relieved to feel cool evening air soothe his ears, but with the thumping of loud music nothing but a mere few feet away from him, Ichika closes his eyes as his head throbs in a very painful manner, though he can't confirm anything in his present state, his hearing seems to have weakened badly and there is a ringing sound filling his ears, and to make matters worse, a wet feeling seems to be coating the side of his face just below his ear drums.

Sickness instantly fills his stomach and as if a burst of life has suddenly entered his legs, the Japanese male somehow manages to gather his strength and dash away into the darkness and towards and the safe looking santurary of the IS academy grounds and where the red cross tent is set up.

As Ichika dashes towards the multipule coloured lighted IS PE grounds, holding both sides of his head, including his ears as tightly as he can, the Japanese male ignores the acheing and seering pain of his tired out limbs. The only thing on Ichika's mind is having his ears looked at, the last thing that Ichika wants to have at the end of his year at the academy is titinus. Though a voice deep down is trying to calm him down as best as possible, the wet feeling rolling down his face is a differant matter. Ichika would normaly look at his hands just to confirm it, but when one is desperate, all rationality goes out the window... does it not?

The only thing that Ichika can confirm at this point right now is that his ears appear to be bleeding and the only sounds that he can confirm is nothing but the ringing of titinus. Though Ichika witnesses the walking away figures of two females ahead of him, Ichika dares not to look to see who they are, the Japanese male is to badly desperate to get to the red cross tent and the sure loving humanitarian aid of the IS academy nurse.

As panic sets in Ichika's eyes roll tears of fear, and though its hardly the time to think it, but Ichika definately understand what Kestrel goes through at times concerning panic or stress. To say that the party lights are like a beacon of hope for the distressed Japanese male is only half correct, to a person as desperate as Ichika whom is fearing for his ears, such a sight feels like a priority one ticket to life and salvation, so to stop for anything would be considered suicide and insane.

Whilst she walks, Chifuyu hears the rushing footsteps of someone approaching and as if on cue, the mighty ponytailed woman suddenly comes to a direct halt and turns herself round to the left in order to glance behind her, Maya is unfortuneatley oblivious due to only just catching up with the mighty Chifuyu to start, so its a surprise for Maya at least when Chifuyu suddenly grabs the green haired woman by the right arm and drags her forward and out of the path of desperate Ichika. Maya does not see it coming and is only greeted with a flash of white IS academy uniform as Ichika dashes past looking panicked, clutching his ears with his hands.

Now realising that any accidents have been averted, Chifuyu's face changes from a mix of irritation and anger to one of seriousness and concern, yet the frown remains on her face. Maya on the other hand looks heavily flabbergasted, her eyes are open, her glasses are crooked to one side and her heart is beating rapidly. As the stunned green haired teacher regains her breath and blinks in surprise only one set of words can escape her lips.

"W..What was that!?"

"THAT... was my younger brother, Ichika" - Chifuyu replies in a low and ice queen tone, the woman places a lot of emphisis on the word 'THAT', saying it in a flat and sharp manner as if to show Maya that what she is saying is 100% true and not to be questioned, by any doubtful questions or sugestions.

Straitening herself up and adjusting her glasses, Maya can only blink in a mix of confusion and surprise. The green haired teacher was'nt prepared for such a surprise, especialy when she and Chifuyu are supposed to be saving themselves to surprise the students. However, Ichika's dash past seems to have saved Chifuyu from the problem of responding to Maya's awkward questions that seem to revolve around what higher office has instructed and placed upon her shoulders, so for the moment, Ichika's older sister can be relieved of answering questions that she would rather not talk about for now.

Acknowlegding this fact, Chifuyu smirks in a smug manner the strict and serious older sister of Ichika suddenly feels proud and thankful to her younger brother, whom in all likely hood was 100% oblivious to the fact that he just saved her from an awkward moment of questioning.

'Hmph! Okay... maybe he's not such a pain to have around the academy! I'll take back what I've said about him in the past 2 weeks, but of course... I won't let him know that!" - Chifuyu thinks smuggly to herself, the woman's tone of mind is a mix of pride and relief mixed in with a cool and collected dose.

"What was that all about? Ichika looked... well... distressed" - Maya speaks in a normal tone mixed with concern.

"If you ask me I'd say its because of that annoying racket from the assembly hall, not that I blame him" - Chifuyu speaks in a low and neutral tone, rolling her eyes and huffing at the last part of her sentance.

"Do you think he got a chance to see us in proper detail?" - Maya asks in a nervous voice, the said woman hopeful that a surprise is not dashed in just a matter of seconds.

Shaking her head and folding her arms, Chifuyu exhales through her nose, a moment passes before Chifuyu speaks in a calm and collected tone - "I don't think so... he seemed to be panic stricken, he won't have noticed anything!".

As Maya turns to face Chifuyu and opens her mouth in preparation to speak, a female voice shrieks in a loud manner, causing both women to blink in surprise and turn their heads to the left to look back at the assembly hall, and to their surprise notice non other than the Chinese Brunette Rin and the black haired Houki. Rin's voice is full of distress and panic, almost as if she is a cheating girl desperate to reach out and gain the attention of her heart shattered lover - "ICHIKA!".

As both Rin and Houki proceed to rush forward Maya begins to panic, the green haired teacher is wanting to keep both herself and Chifuyu's appearance a secret, so if 2 of the most noticeable and known girls at the IS academy notice them, there goes the surprise for tonight.

Thankfuly though, Maya's moment of panic is cut short as Chifuyu suddenly grabs Maya by the back of the neck and drags her into the darkness of an unlit area. Maya letting out a rapid "WHA!?" as she is dragged in the darkness by the mighty Chifuyu. As darkness engulfs both Chifuyu and Maya, Chifuyu places a hand over the green haired teacher's mouth, the said ponytailed leans forward putting her face next to Maya's ear and letting out a very low, yet loud and clear whisper - "Don't move, Don't make a sound!".

Though Chifuyu's sudden actions come as a nasty surprise at first for Maya, the green haired teacher in glasses is quick to regain her composure and as the 2 IS teachers look at the spot where they were standing just seconds earlier, relief washes over the pair as both the popular Rin and Houki rush past with desperate expressions. Houki holds up the front of her cosplay dress in order to ensure the ability to move fast in the pursuit of the fleeing Japanese male known as Ichika.

Rin leads the way shouting in a loud and desperate voice in some hope that Ichika will respond, even though its impossible, Rin shouts anyway. - **"HEY ICHIKA! WWAAAIIIITTTT!".**

Its all over as quickly as it starts, but as Chifuyu releases Maya from her grip, the black ponytailed woman makes it clear that she is not yet finished with the said woman. As Maya stands straight and dusts herself with the back of her hands, Chifuyu rests a hand on the right shoulder of the unsuspecting Maya.

"Something wrong?" - Maya asks in concerned manner. The green haired teacher's face is straight but the look in her eyes is a clear give away that she is concerned for Ichika's older sister.

Withdrawing her hand away from Maya's shoulder, Chifuyu speaks in a very low tone, though the tone is not sorrowful, it is a clear indication that what ever it is thats on Chifuyu's mind, it has to be something important. - "Maya... can you come over here for a moment?".

Not hesitating and not saying a word, Maya follows Chifuyu over to the wall of a darkened building, no light shines upon their faces, but the reflected light from any glass windows gives just enough visibility for the teacher to follow her superior, and in a space of just 20 seconds, Chifuyu leads Maya to a silent and darkened corner. As Chifuyu makes it to her destination, the mighty ponytailed beauty instantly places her back against the cool marble wall and soon leans her head back, allowing cold sea air to soothe the hot anticipation sweat gathering upon her brow. As Chifuyu closes her eyes, relaxes her head and takes in a very deep breath, Maya gulps... in times like these the said woman knows best to listen carefuly to what ever it is that Chifuyu has to say and more importantly, respond correctly to Chifuyu's problem... but at the same time, Maya is the closest thing to a truly loyal friend that anyone could ask for, so its no trouble to talk to Maya if there is any problems.

Blinking a few times, before lowering her head to let out a sigh, Chifuyu looks her green haired female friend in the eyes with a neutral yet serious gaze matched by matching frown. Chifuyu speaks in a low and serious tone - "Maya... can I trust you not to let a word of this slip beyond just us two?".

Blinking in surprise, Maya is caught off gaurd, but seeing as though this is not the first time Chifuyu has ever asked something so important of her, Maya instantly responds with a nod of the head and a confirming and straight out - "Yes, ofcourse... why?... whats the problem?".

Taking one final glance away from Maya, Chifuyu takes in her final breath and begins to speak in a flat and calm manner, the said woman didn't intend to the let Maya out the so called 'Secret matter', but because Kestrel and Ichika have a right to know whats coming in the next week or so, she has no choice but to let the friendly and good hearted Maya in on the matter at hand.

However... Maya should'nt be any trouble in talking to, the woman is very sincere and true to her word, so if anyone has any private problems to speak out, Maya is truly the best person to talk to and in this case, Chifuyu desperatley needs to speak to someone trustworthy about the large anchor weighing on her chest.

"Maya... in the next week or so... I'm going to have to take our newest student Kestrel, and his interpreter Yui with me... out of Japan... and to an IS experimental testing site around the Ryukyu Islands".

Blinking but staying silent, Maya has clearly taken in Chifuyu's words but is clearly confused as to where Chifuyu is going, but at least Maya manages to understand one part of the message as she replies in a confused yet understanding tone - "You're leaving Japan with a student of the IS academy and his assisting interpreter... Okay... but why?... and why wasn't I told of this?".

Folding her arms and continueing to make eye contact with the confused and slightly stunned Maya, Chifuyu maintains her calm and collected vocal tone - "Because I've been told NOT to speak to anyone about this, including you... so far the only other's I've told this to is just Sakurada herself, but I've not had the chance to give her a propper picture concerning details, all I've told her is the main reason as to why I have to take Kestrel with me to the Ryukyu Islands".

"And what would that be exactaly?" - Maya asks in a now highly interested tone, the look on her face is plagued with bewilderment, and as she adjusts her glasses the green haired woman is clearly eager and interested in hearing all of Chifuyu's explination.

Chifuyu rolls her eyes and takes in a very deep breath for a moment, and as she speaks the ponytailed woman is clearly hell bent on making sure that Maya gets every single word loud and clear. "Okay Maya... as you know... we've both seen Kestrel operating his personal IS in battle, but we've not yet seen that IS get pushed to its full potential... and it seems that we aren't the only ones who want to see it get pushed to its full potential. It seems that higher office wants to have Kestrel perform IS operational testing, Tabane Shinonono will be taking part, if not being in overall charge of monitoring Kestrel's performance and getting data feedback on how his IS manages during testing over the Ryukyu Isles".

"They've spoken directly to you?" - Maya asks in a curious yet flabbergasted tone.

"Yes... as hard as it is to say... they have, it turns out that the background information we have on Kestrel is also playing a role in the want for having him perform IS testing also. Personaly I think all of this is broiling down to the fact that Kestrel has no family data or for that matter any confirmed home, so as far as I'm concerned I guess you could say that higher office along with members of our Self defence forces want to be the first to claim the right of access to a new secret weapon, and as Kestrel's IS is a generation six its a fair assumption that Tabane aswell as many others of our IS management and design teams want to get a good eye full of how far ahead the Israeli's have gone in terms of IS creation and development".

Now placing and index finger to her cheek Maya lets out a heavy huff, but unbeknowst to the green haired teacher the real shocking news is yet to be mentioned. For the moment however Maya simply acknowledges Chifuyu's explination with a straight and simple calm tone, the green haired female in glasses speaks in a very understandable tone, but is clearly still at loss for the main reason as to why it is so important that a mentaly traumitised ten year old child should have to be the main centre of attention in the middle of nowhere away from familiar surroundings. Though Maya's only knowledge of the child's PTSD comes from Yui and Tomoe, the green haired teacher knows all to well how vulnerable Kestrel is, not only in terms of being easily misled in his mental state, but also in terms of feeling safe and secure.

"Okay, I understand all that but... why are they so insistent that you have to go all the way over to the Ryukyu Islands and away from familiar surroundings? I'm not one to point out the already clearly obvious but... in terms of Kestrel's mentality stability, won't having him go out and be suddenly surrounded by so many strange and strict people cause any nasty feelings of discomfort?".

"Thats what I mentioned, but according to them... the data that Tabane had delivered from us concerning Kestrel's IS is simply to important to ignore... especially, the data concerning his IS weaponry and the reasons as to why we can't remove the core from him without taking his life. Tabane claims that she will be looking out for him and that qualified doctors, nurses will be present at the testing, but I'm still not convinced that we can take Kestrel to a strange enviroment without at least taking someone whom he's close to".

Now suddenly getting a chill run up her spine, Maya gulps, the memory of looking at the data readout on Kestrel's Black Phoenix weaponry comes to mind, and although Maya dreads to ask it, the green haired teacher can't fight against the urge to do so. Chifuyu is already anticipating Maya's question and simply softens the serious look on her face.

"IS weaponry?... I take it that they will want to see how Kestrel's IS fairs during combat?" - Maya speaks out in a low glum tone, maintaining eye contact

"I'm afraid so... they say that the data they recived on Kestrel's weapons is something has to be monitored and collected by the right hands. They seemed to be using the excuse that Kestrel and his IS is simply to important to let fall into the wrong hands, so I guess they plan on manipulating Kestrel into becoming some form of superweapon or puppet that works for the goverment's power, but... if that is their plan, I aim to fight them till I drop dead! Tooth and nail!" - Chifuyu speaks out, her tone changing to angered and raged, a angered frown forms on her face.

Frowning herself and folding her arms with a few beads of nervous sweat on her temple, Maya closes her eyes and looks down, a vile taste of sickness churns in her gut as she looks up and in to the eyes of Chifuyu. A nervous yet serious tone racks her voice as she asks her next question - "Yes... So will I... but... these weapons testings... do they concern Kestrel's... Prometheus?".

Chifuyu closes her eyes and nods silently, Maya's blood seems to freeze up. Although nobody has ever seen Kestrel push his Prometheus to the full limit, the data description readout is truly a heart in the mouth. It makes matters worse as Chifuyu looks the now anxious looking teacher in the face and speaks in a very low and serious voice - "Yes... They say they that the footage we've got on Kestrel in battle is eye opening enough, and his history record is unbeliveable as it is, but... in terms of the full limit his IS can be pushed to... its a differant story, they say that they want to be the first to register and gain vital data on him without causing attracting un-needed attention".

"So... I take it they want him to fire a fully charged beam shot from his Prometheus weapon? Is that another reason?" - Maya asks in a nervous yet serious tone.

"Yes... they do" - Chifuyu replies in a low and depresed voice.

Taking a deep breath and sighing, Maya can only roll her eyes and place her hands behind her back. Though Maya is as uncomfortable about this as what Chifuyu is, Maya is intelligent enough to partialy understand why, as she speaks Chifuyu does nothing except nod her head in aggreement to Maya's statement - "Well... I guess I sort of understand why they want to send Kestrel out into the middle of nowhere to conduct IS testing, the last thing we want is to attract unwanted attention and if the data readout on Kestrel's IS Prometheus is true, and if he fires a shot here at the academy... then the ressults could be catastrophic... that much I know... but... surely there has to be a softer if kinder way to have Kestrel conduct IS tests of this nature".

"Thats what I'm going to try and accomplish, in the mean time I have to find out a way of how to ensure that Kestrel does'nt become some living human experimental rodent, and more importantly I've got to find a way to of getting Ichika and his little friends either out of the picture or have them sworn to secrecy".

"Leave that to me Chifuyu" - Maya quickly speaks out with a small smile forming on her face.

"You realise that one way or another that no matter how hard we try, it'll be impossible to keep this secret from Ichika and the others?" - Chifuyu replies maintaining her folded arms and cold ice tone.

"I know that, but if anything... we can't stand and pray that the lord almighty will somehow force your younger brother and the others to turn a blind eye" - Maya speaks in a tone as if its painful but all to true matter of fact.

Lowering her head, Chifuyu is clearly a mass of depression. If one has ever been in such a position of authority then they will be able to relate to this matter, since the earliest days of authority, a leader or head has always been confronted with choices that are extremely difficult to make, and if anything... this is the worst that Chifuyu has ever had to face in all her years of working with IS, or for that matter being a part of it. Although an Ice queen, and bitchy at times, Chifuyu truly has a heart and morals, and although Chifuyu will be able to show a differant face when being preached to by her younger brother... deep down Chifuyu will be as depressed as hell and even more unable to live with herself for allowing a vulnerable for taking part in such a dangerous experiment that can sure as hell claim lives, or even his own.

Maya can say the same, however... as the mood begins to sour and a terrible auror clouds the heads of both women, a mental lightbulb switches on inside the head of Maya, which causes her eyes to widen. A glimer of hope fills her body, which she lets become knowledge to the glum looking Chifuyu.

Letting out a sudden gasp, Maya looks at the face of Chifuyu, whom looks over in return with curious if not stressed eyes. As she speaks Maya's tone is full of hope as she speaks loud and clear to the depressed looking Chifuyu.

"Wait! I just remembered, Tabane Shinonono allowed Ichika and the others to be with Houki during the testing of her 'Akatsubaki', so if Tabane is a main part in running the show, then would it be possible for Ichika and the others to accompany Kestrel to the testing range and be nearby in case he needs someone for support?".

Chifuyu's eyes widen upon hearing Maya's request, and all the dark ponytailed woman can do is look Maya in the eyes with a partialy shocked face mixed with a concerned frown. Deep down inside, the mighty Chifuyu has a voice churning around inside her - ( "They're going to have my neck if they find out!" ).

_**Okay, that's all I have for chapter 58, not very convincing this fic in many areas I know but give me some credit for attempting. Please read and review, the next chapter should have more partying on a different scale of what happened in the first stage, so like I said, please give me credit for trying to create something entertaining at least. Thanks for the supporting reviews and PMs they are all very much thanked for. Apologies for the long delays and all... but as you readers know... I stay true to my word, okay... until chapter 59, I'll see everyone until then, **__**remember I'm wishing you all the best and all.**_

_**Black Falcon.**_


	59. Chapter 59: Deaf' as a doornail!

_**Hello everyone, a thousand apologies for being so late! I know its a pain in the ass but as everyone knows, I am a man of my word and will continue to post as many new chapters I can on a regular basis! The reasons for why I have been so late is due to house work, pets, having to go out to get essential supplies to live on, etc, etc - the works! Thankfuly there has been a lul in the routine and I've finaly got a chance to write again, and anyway... I think a few days off gave me a much needed breather! So please understand that all you lads and lasses! So anyway... I won't burden you all with red tape... just read what I've writen and enjoy it in the best way you can!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 59:

**\- IS academy training ground -**

Standing behind a darkened wall, with the left hand tightly clutching her chest, the German silver haired female with a blackened eye patch, also known the outside world as Laura Bodewig... takes the chance to steady her composure. Even though the German girl is a hard assed military woman that a spartan would like to take on, the said German girl is still 'in the friendly sense' still in her infancy when concerning matters of private or normal human life.

Wearing her ww2 german female uniform the said girl's heart is beating wildly, which although is considered normal for the performance she is about to partake in, the German girl would still not show her nerves in the pressance of the others, after all... being a captian of a military unit demands that you show a brave example to your subordinates.

As Laura lets out a sigh and leans her back against the blackened stage like wall, the girl is virtualy praying to god. Ever since this morning Laura has been looking like a depressed zombie, head low, colour drained, walking at a snails pace and hardly saying word.

It was only due to the intervening of the blue haired Clarissa Harfouch that caused Laura to brighten up, and even then the idea she has come up with is a long shot. If Laura is to somehow win the heart of the famous Ichika Orimura and earn forgiveness, then as far as Laura and tonight's performance is concerned, the said girl is going to need a miracle.

The sounds of people laughing, gossiping, cheering and screaming mixes deeply into multipule and mixed differant melodies of music and sounds, which to Laura seems to add more fuel to the fire of fear that churns and smolders in her gut and chest. Deep down Laura is wishing that the Japanese male which she cares so much for will suddenly walk around the corner of the set up stage or suddenly appear beside her with a warm smile on his face, take her in his arms and tell that he forgives her and will forever pledge his loyalty and love to her, but... as Laura glances left to right, nobody appears, she is on her own for this one.

Every breath she takes in with a deep inhale seems to make things worse, the smell of the salty ozone air that comes from the sea seems to add more sickness and terror to her gut. Sure, the German girl is disciplined and trained in forms that not even a regular soldier would like to think of, but as everyone knows... the human nature is impossible to outrun, even if Laura is what one would call 'no ordinary human' the girl is now all to well aware that no matter how differant she portrays herself, she is STILL a human being and even if she claims she already is... the German girl is NOT anywhere near used to feeling such natural emotions.

Silence is all that comes from the nervous Laura, the girl seems to be holding on to some premonition, what it is seems to be beyond her. Then, completley and utterly by surprise, an all to familiar voice breaks the silence, causing Laura to yelp in terror, her single eye to widen and her heart to nearly leap out of her chest. The voice belonging to the only person on earth that would stand beside Laura no matter what the problem, and no matter what the error the said girl has done.

"Captain Bodewig!"

Now trembling from head to foot, Laura turns her head at lightning speed to the left and looks over towards a small dimly light opening, meeting her startled gaze is non other that the blue haired Clarissa Harfouch. The blue haired German woman holds 2 white plastic cups each hand, steam can clearly be seen escaping from the tops, clearly indicating that the German woman is carrying hot drinks.

Blinking in surprise, her single solitary eye widened slightly at the surprise of Laura's sudden out burst, however, Clarissa despite being a hard military woman herself is very good at being understanding of why Laura is on edge like a bride 'or in Laura's case' groom on the wedding night.

"Coffee?" - Clarissa asks in a friendly manner, extending an arm holding on to the scorching hot plastic cup, now beginning to burn the German woman's soft hands.

Upon looking at the white plastic cup, and upon hearing what it holds, Laura's spirits seem to rise... not only due to being informed what the drink is, but also due to the act of human kindess displayed and gestured by a woman whom Laura can definately describe as a true friend, one thing is for sure, no matter how hard life is at the IS academy in the race to claim Ichika's heart, Clarissa will ALWAYS be a person to reach out to, after all... when the said woman isn't at the IS academy Laura seems to spend most of her time phoning or talking to Clarissa via IS weblink cam.

Letting out a thankful sigh, smiling and allowing calmness to soothe her chest, Laura responds to Clarissa with a very positive "Thankyou".

Clarissa stands straight and calm with a pleasant smile on her face as Laura carefuly raises the white plastic cup to her lips and takes down a small gulp of the hot beverage. Sure its summer time but the facts remain that even then, theres still a lot of people that like to drink hot fluids, especialy if its on a close night like tonight, the only form of fanning that the inhabitants at the IS academy get is the cool sea breeze that comes regular in a freezing but very welcome manner.

Lowering her cup from her lips, Laura's face is a clear indication that some positive feelings have returned, which comes as an extra feeling of triumph to the blue haired Clarissa. However, it also signals a moment that Clarissa never allows to slip away, the chance to get some rational girl to girl talk. As Clarissa takes a quick swig of her own coffee, the said German woman allows the right words to fill her head before proceeding to speak in a very friendly tone.

"Captain Bodewig, you seem to be on edge and we have not yet done our performance, would instructor Orimura's younger brother be playing on your mind?".

Laura does not hesitate, the silver haired female sends over a look that Clarissa knew was coming, as Laura makes eye contact the silver haired female's voice is full of nerve.

"Ya'vol!... I have clear concerns as to what the outcome of our performance is going to have, my wife seems to hold a very deep grudge against me, and I fear that what we are doing will clearly not be enough to earn his approval of my task of gaining forgiveness".

"Ah yes, mabye the performance alone may not be enough to earn instructor Orimura's younger brother's forgiveness... but as we've already planned, we don't plan on showing the instructor Orimura's younger brother our sincerity of involving HIM, we plan on involving the child do we not!?" - Clarissa explains, placing a hand on her hip.

"I am aware of our plan to show how honest we are, it is to involve friendly approaches towards Kestrel, but... the child is clearly psychologicaly unstable when in the pressance of the female gender. If we are to cause the child to suffer a turn of mind the ressults could clearly be devastating, and if that were to happen... my wife would clearly hate me more than he does already!" - Laura speaks out, firstly in a calm and rational manner, before her tone turns to that of near desperation.

Taking another much needed swig of coffee, Clarissa pauses after swallowing the hot liquid. The blue haired German woman is well aware of the dangers but at the same time, doing nothing would be considered cruel to the blue haired woman. The blue haired woman is also well aware of moral approach, to use a vulnerable, pyschologicaly wounded boy as a tool in order to get what is wanted... has got be considered low and real low at that.

On the other hand ofcourse, the girls are clearly wanting to earn Kestrel's trust by being as friendly as possible, although the German females have absolutley no experiance or teachings of how to deal with a person with PTSD, it has to be a very loving and kind thought that the females plan on having little Kestrel become part of their performance, even if it is only just having him stand on stage and be seen as a hero in the spotlight, the attempt alone should be enough to get Ichika to belive that Laura is a person that repents for her sins.

Also if all goes well, despite the risks that the German girls are taking, if tonights performance goes well and if the girls can get Kestrel to smile or at least show signs of happiness, then Laura's reward of having Ichika's forgiveness could very well be worth the risks being taken.

"But... surely if Instructor Orimura's younger brother is to see you at least make the effort, then that would surely be considered honourable and of good conduct would it not!?" - Clarissa asks in a very neutral and inquisitive tone.

Breaking eye contact with the blue haired woman, Laura's heart seems to stop, nerves fill every nook and cranny of her body. A sorrowful look seems to appear on her face as she looks down at the ground, before taking another sip of the hot beverage that overheats the skin on the palms of her hands.

Indeed... at least making the effort would be considered the best of intentions, but all the same, what Laura has said is more than true, if Kestrel is to suffer a mind turn that causes the child to faint or go into fight or flight, then Ichika will in all likelyhood seem to bare an even bigger grudge against Laura than what he already does. Unlike the beautiful French blonde known as Charlotte, Laura is not a girl that is open with her emotions and is simply not the female that you would ever see on knees begging for forgiveness.

Frowning with a sorrowful look on her face, Laura's eyepatch and ww2 german uniform seems to look slightly darker than it does naturaly. As she speaks in a low tone, Laura's voice is a mix of despair and desperation - "I just wish... I hadn't gone along with targeting the child that night".

Closing her single solitary eye for a few seconds, Clarissa sighs, gathering her words before speaking in a voice that confidence can compare to - "Hmph! That's what our fatherland says everyday when historians come to Germany to study evidence about our defeat during the second world war, but look at us today... we seem to have risen from the ashes stronger than ever before, so think of it as a chance to prove that you've changed".

"We aren't talking about two countries fighting, nor are we talking about military strategy... how does that compare to me and my wife?" - Laura asks in a low defeated moan.

"Instructor Orimura's younger brother seems to regard you as a person whom would take part in commiting acts of atrosity on helpless victims... like what our fathers did to the jews" - Clarissa speaks in a low and deflated manner, glancing away upon mentioning the facts of the German's slaughter of the jews during the holocaust, however... Clarissa is nowhere near yet finished with her explination, which is made evident as she looks intently at Laura's head and continues in a serious but friendly tone which can be compared to a parent supporting its upset youngster.

"..And the child is Israeli, a nation of jews, and although the child's religion is not yet known... the child has had a life un-imagineable to us, a life that only victims of the second world war holocaust survivors could have understood. So if you want to prove that you've changed, you must start at the source of the problem... you must show your wife that you are NOT a person who stands for the pain and misery that the child has suffered, you are showing your wife that you are a person who is going to protect the child".

Laura's face seems to lift with hope and although it is a small turn of the head, the look on Laura's face is a clear indication that the said girl is listening to every single word that Clarissa is saying.

"Tonight we are showing you're wife that he is the luckiest boy in the world to be married to such a earnest and considerate example of good German womanhood. After all... it will also show how good of a parent you will be when you and instructor Orimura's younger brother celebrates the birth of your first children!".

Normaly, Laura would go red in the face, even though she litteraly hasn't got the slightest clue of how children are made! Never the less, Clarissa's words of confidence seem to have worked non the less as Laura's depressed frown has now vanished and her face is now filled with the look of flabbergast with an inquisitive and bewildered frown. The German girl can only reply in a tone that ressembles a person whom has just been given the best idea on planet earth - "I never thought of it like that".

Shrugging and taking another swig of coffee, Clarissa replies in a tone of a person trying to be modest but clearly proud of herself, as she swallows the hot, rich tasting drink in her mouth, her words do no justice for the closed eye and proud head motion with the nose slightly raised in the air - "Well... you are Orimura Ichika's husband are you not, and a husband does do her best for her wife dosen't she!?".

A moment soon passes with both German females not speaking a word, the atmosphere is thick and heavy. The only signs of life the two females give is when they raise their plastic cups to their lips. Who could have thought such a small and vulnerable youngster could bring so much troublesome obsticles aswell as wonderful benifits, and the only time that the two females exchange any further words is when Laura comes to the end of her drink.

Though it takes 10 full minutes for Laura to finish drinking, when the said girl lowers her cup from her lips and rests her arm by her side it is clear as day that Laura is feeling a lot more better than what she did before the appearance of her older, much more mature friend.

Smiling proudly, knowing that her task of raising Laura's spirits has been successfuly completed. Clarissa crushes the empty plastic cup in her hand before folding her arms and beginning to bask in a moment of pride. Laura does not fail to notice Clarissa's smile and before she knows it, her sour, depressed lips soon turn up into a small smile also.

Clarissa does not take the discussion any further, speaking about matters concerning the famous Ichika Orimura could cause Laura to head back to square one. In a case like this, its Kamikaze time with no turning back. Instead its time to take in a breath and raise the head, pop out the shoulders and march bravely, which Clarissa indicates in a very friendly yet serious military mixed tone - "We begin peformance in twenty one minutes and 37 seconds, everybody will be present and correct captain!".

Clarissa's words are the perfect concoction wich causes the said girl to suddenly spring with a large burst of life, Laura smiles in a nervous yet excited manner. The German girl releases her grip on her plastic cup, allowing to fall to the floor, Laura with her arms by her sides balls her hands into fists, sticks out her chest and with a proud and eager look on her face, Laura replies in the most eager tone she can muster - "Very good, be ready Clarissa!".

As Clarissa turns and walks away, Laura lifs a fist to her chest, resting it over her heart, a determined look appears on her face. As Laura sticks out her chest a little further, the said German girl has the feelings of a person ready to take on the entire world, her voice is a perfect match to how positive she is now feeling - "Okay my wife! Tonight not only do I earn you're forgiveness, but I also show that I will be good father!".

**\- Elsewhere -**

In a brightly light redcross tent, layed flat out on a make shift medical bed with cotton buds in his ears and an ice pack resting on his forehead, Ichika's calm apparenly sleeping face changes to one of fear and nerve as a horrible chill suddenly runs up his spine.

Opening his eyes and blinking a few times, Ichika gulps in a very nervous manner. The Japanese male suddenly overwhelmed with a horrible sense of pure cold dread, as if he has a sense of on coming premonition and a very horrible one at that.

Sat across from him on a pair of red seats, are non other than the Chinese beauty Rin and the Japanese female Houki, whom do not fail to notice Ichika's sudden shiver and nervous eye opening. So far Ichika has had a difficult night, and the apparently endless thumping music that echoes and rumbles in the air outside the red cross tent is a clear give away of one of the causes, how Houki and Rin can keep on standing after being in a tightly cramped room filled with deafening music and a hot and sticky atmosphere that can cause one to be sick is anyone's guess.

Casting confused and curious looks at each other, Rin and Houki can't help but be concerned about Ichika's sudden tremble. Though Rin and Houki are normaly around preaching that Ichika should show more strength or be more aware of what he's getting himself into, both girls seem to have a sudden change of heart, Houki due to Ichika's standing up to her and Rin due to the fact that if little Kestrel could see her now, she could cause a lot of negitive feelings and that could ressult in the loss of her chances of becoming officaly known as Ichika's girlfriend.

Together casting looks of curiosity to the layed out Japanese male whom is worn out and drained, both girls ironicaly ask the exact same question in the same concerned tone and exactly the same time. - "Is something wrong Ichika?".

Not a whisper comes back from the Japanese male, instead all Ichika does is just stare up at the white canvas ceiling of the red cross tent, blinking every 10 seconds. Suddenly feeling stupid Houki stands up and walks over to the make shift set up bed, as the Japanese female gets to up to Ichika, the said girl carefuly rocks Ichika's shoulder instantly gaining Ichika's attention and causing him to go briefly wide eyed and turning his head quickly to the right to look up into Houki's concerned face.

"Yes?" - Ichika asks in a normal and calm manner, not showing any hint of differant feeling or emotion.

"Is something wrong Ichika?" - Houki asks again, her tone remaining the same, but... unfortuneatley to Ichika, all he sees is Houki's mouth moving. Ever since fleeing from the assembly hall Ichika's head has been screaming and his ears have been ringing. Ichika was more than happy to get treated, and was clearly seen as a desperate man when he entered the red cross tent screaming for help at the top of his lungs.

Thankfuly though, although Ichika had indeed got a case of titinus, it was a big relief to him, Houki and Rin when the nurses told him that it wouldn't be permanent, and just a clear night's rest would be enough to heal the internal wounds, but then again... it is a true saying in some cases... sleep is the best healer.

Now though, though the ringing has stopped and some volume has returned, it is very low and the noises of music and people from out side are very heavily muted, instead everything to Ichika is very slurred and distant echoed. His ears sting everytime he has to touch them, and although its not much to everybody else, but the cotton buds that are tucked comfortably in Ichika's ears make the said Japanese male feel as though his head is in the bossom of heaven.

Sitting himself up and carefuly pulling out a cotton bud from his right ear, wincing slightly at the twinge that his ear drum screams aswell as the ear lobe, Ichika looks Houki in the face and replies to her question with a calm, and neutral facial expression - "You were saying?".

Houki sighs, rolls her eyes and once again asks Ichika the same question - "Is everything alright?".

Ichika blinks, leans his body to the side slightly, tilting his head to the opposite side so that his ear can catch what Houki is saying, from a third person's point of view it is clear that Ichika is positioned in a manner that indicates he is keen to hear what is being said. Houki suddenly gets the feeling of idiocy wash over her as Ichika rolls his eyes away and upward, speaking in a manner that is simply normal and everyday like - "What?".

"IS SOMETHING WRONG?" - Houki speaks out in a much louder and clear tone, placing her mouth close to Ichika's ear.

Now finaly getting Houki's message, Ichika responds instantly to the question, which comes as some great relief to the Japanese female. The Japanese male looks Houki in the eyes and in a calm and rational tone replies the words - "Oh its nothing, I just got a horrible feeling just now".

"What about?" - Houki asks, placing her mouth near Ichika's ear.

Placing a hand at the back of his head, Ichika titters slightly, closing his eyes and looking very sheepish. As Ichika proceedes to speak Houki can clearly tell that Ichika is nervous, the said Japanese male strangely seems to be wanting to avoid something. - "Well... Houki... I just that... well... you haven't seen Laura at some point tonight have you?".

Houki does go wide eyed and inside is highly suspicious, before Kestrel came to the IS academy the Japanese female would raise an eyebrow and take a tone of irritation and anger, but since little Kestrel arrived and Ichika gave her a nasty verbal warning, the Japanese female know seems to think before she acts, which at a time like this can be considered very mature of a girl her age.

Houki rolls her eyes, shakes her head, before placing her mouth near Ichika's ear and speaking again in a calm but loud and clear tone - "NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN HER.. WHY?"

Once again instantly responding to Houki's question, Ichika places a hand on one of his arms and with a nervous smile on his face replies back - "Heh,heh... I just got a horrible feeling run all over me for some reason, and I can't help but think that maybe Laura will have something to do with it!".

Now blinking in surprise, Houki wasn't expecting this to come out of Ichika's mouth, but never the less is deeply relived to hear its just Ichika suspecting Laura of horse play. Which the said Japanese girl thinks to herself unbeknownst to Ichika - ( "Maybe there is something to this think before you act thing!" ).

Smiling to herself, Houki shakes her head, suddenly feeling adult and proud, the said girl places her hands on her hips and speaks in a tone of relief and natural happiness. - "I wouldn't worry if I were you, I know you can find Laura's I.Q on a dice but she isn't stupid enough to try anything nasty on such a night like this!".

"What's that?" - Ichika asks, tilting his head to one side to catch what ever it is Houki is saying.

Instantly responding to Ichika's apparently innocent question, Houki lowers her head and slumps anime style. The fox ears on her cosplay seem to lower and go back slightly as if she is an animal suddenly regreting something. A frustraited sigh escapes her mouth, but thankfuly the deflated moment lasts for just a few minutes.

After a moment or so Houki straightens up and rolls her eyes, but before she gets the chance to repeat what she's saying a frustraited if slightly irritated and jealous Rin cuts into the moment, puts her face beside Ichika's ear and in a loud and clear voice very nearly yelling, speaks the words - "SHE SAID YOU CAN FIND LAURA'S I.Q ON A DICE BUT DON'T WORRY, SHE WON'T TRY ANYTHING FUNNY!".

"GOD DAMN IT! THATS MY EAR HOLE!" - Ichika yelps out in pain, Rin's slighty loud tone badly hurting his already stinging ear drums, the Japanese male closing his eyes, clenching his teeth and placing a hand to his ear.

As Ichika begins to tenderly rub his stinging ear, Houki shoots Rin a very angered and annoyed look. Rin returns the look before folding her arms, closing her eyes and slightly turning her head and body to the left to look away with an angered frown. A cattish "HMPH!" comes from the Chinese brunette.

If Ichika's hearing was normal by now he could have heard Houki and Rin engaging in what can only be described as love rival squabal, instead all he can see is Houki and Rin angrily stareing each other in the eyes and appearing to be pointing fingers at each other and opening their mouths and speaking what looks like very angered words.

To Ichika the only sounds he can make out is just slurred and rumbling, but perhaps for once Ichika can be thankful that he can't hear whatever it is that the two girls are saying. That way he can prevent himself from getting involved and being forced to take sides, therefore saving him from the terror of being given the cattish evil eyes from both girls.

So although its something that Ichika won't be in a hurry to suffer again, being slightly deaf to sound for a few hours does have its good points. As Ichika blinks in confusion unsure of what to make of the situation a sudden rock on the shoulder causes the black haired male to turn his head around, meeting his eyes is non other that the IS academy nurse, her face is friendly and her eyes are careing.

Choughing slightly in an attempt to ignore Rin and Houki's verbal face off, the nurse proceedes to look down at Ichika's curious face.

"Okay Orimura, just take it easy, keep those cotton buds in your ears, do you're best to avoid loud noises, and before you know it... your hearing will be good as grass" - The nurse speaks in a very friendly tone, making hand motions towards her own ears to let Ichika know what it is she's talking about, but to her dismay... the Japanese male accidently causes the moment to be just that little bit more awkward as Ichika looks the nurse in the face and with an awkward smile.

"Heh... sorry, come again?" - Ichika replies in his friendly yet awkward natural tone, causing the nurse to sweatdrop.

**\- Elsewhere again -**

Meanwhile with the ever growing popular long haired Israeli child known as Kestrel, the group has gone through stalls and walked past game tents since leaving the IS assembly hall. Now the group has been joined with non other than little Kestrel's shotacons. One such shotacon going by the name of Rie did the job of striking seductive poses, her xxx style school uniform skirt and blouse showing her curves and good amount of her white silk knickers and breasts. When the girl had asked little Kestrel's translator to ask if it made his heart skip a jump, the girl was soon subject to a big nose bleed when little Kestrel smiled timidly, slightly hid behind Yui with a rapidly beating heart of nerve and speaking in a timid small voice.

It wasn't that which caused Rie's nose bleed, it was what Yui had translated which caused the shotacons fangirlish nature to go out of control. Kestrel's words turning out to be the Israeli phrase for "You look very attractive". Rie's face had gone blood red the girl's heart fluttered and the said female was forced to ask for a hankerchief. Ironicaly the hankerchief was the same which the white and beautiful Tomoe had used for similar purposes a few minutes earlier.

'Poor little Kestrel, the child is both to heavily traumitised and innocent to understand what his slightly matured nature is capeable of... and they say Ichika is the only chick magnet on planet earth!'.

Thankfuly though, little Kestrel's timidness and feelings of nerve lasted a few moments after Yui had managed to convince him that everything was okay. However that didn't mean to say that Kestrel's girl trouble with the shotacons were over yet, as Konoe went into a dead faint with a bashful red flush on the face when Kestrel timidly looked Konoe over and commenting that her blue dress was "Very stunning".

Yuno turned up in cosplay, the girl's cosplay being that of Outer Moka Akashiya from Rosario Vampire, the girl wearing the long pink cosplay wig with the clothing set. Yuno even has a nicely made pair of make shift fangs in her mouth, very comfortable and easy to speak with. Yuno had chosen to take a playful approach to impress the Israeli child, by leaning forward and making finger movements as if she is trying to spook the youngster. Yuno had even grinned and smiled as friendly but as sinister as she can, flashing her pearly whites.

Normaly a youngster like Kestrel would be on the razor's edge at doing something like that, which Tomoe had just pointed out and knelt down in order to comfort the youngster in case of a turn, but... to everybody's amazement the youngster simply blinks, his face is calm and straight, the youngster lets out a very curious yet timid - "Hm?".

The Israeli youngster mimicks Yuno's movements with his own small and slender fingers, whilst tilting his head in a confused manner. Coming as somewhat of a cause to drool in a lovesick manner from the cosplaying Yuno.

The horrible fact and irony of that moment was soon made clear by a sympathetic looking Kanzashi, whom adjusted her glasses and in a calm voice spoke the words - "I imagine he's seen worse, so I guess a girl with fangs is the last thing to get Kestrel on edge".

Now however... after the friendly atmosphere has had a chance to establish, with Yui and Kaede engaging in friendly and adult conversation, alowing the students to interact, a new matter at hand is quick to emerge, coming from Tatenashi's mouth, the blue haired Russian now noticing that everybody except for the British Cecilia Alcott is present.

As far as Tatenashi was aware, Cecilia was tagging along with Yuno, Rie and Konoe... and out of all the girls present, Cecilia is nowhere in sight. Tatenashi breaks the friendly gossiping atmos with a curious face matched by an equaly curious vocal tone - "Hey... I just noticed it... but... wheres the tommie girl!?".

"Tommie?" - Tomoe responds with a confused and neutral expression.

"Yeah, wheres Alcott?" - Tatenashi replies with a roll of the eyes.

"And wheres the French frog!?" - Kanzashi puts in with a position of the arms in the famous 'Wha!?' position.

Upon hearing the two Russian female's questions, the IS females are know at loss for words, they know that both Kanzashi and Tatenashi are talking about Charlotte and Cecilia, but... thankfully, the Russian girls' questions are quickly answered as the shotacon trio suddenly get the mental lightbulb appear over their heads, matched by smug and crafty smiles.

Upon noticing the appearing amused grin on Konoe's face, Kanzashi instantly fires over a suspicious frown. The Russian girl's tone becomes of inquisition and suspect - "You three know something that we don't?".

"Oh, its not that!" - Rie exclaims with a friendly smile, holding up her arms in an act of reasurance.

"Its just that..." - Konoe begins with a friendly tone.

"We think their leaving it untill the last minute!" - Yuno speaks out with a bright and pleasant smile, ending Konoe's sentance.

"Because when Orimura sensei sees them she's going to have kittens!" - Konoe puts in, with a pleasnt if slightly crafty smile.

"Right there!" - Rie speaks, smirking widely as if trying not to laugh, the girl pointing to the ground as if its going to be a matter of fact.

The Japanese girl's comment causes everybody, including Yui and Kaede to suddenly look at each other with confused faces, the only one that remains silent, confused and oblivious to the situation is non other than little Kestrel, whom exchanges confused and curious expressions with Tomoe.

_**Okay everyone, thats it for chapter 59, its been a while I know and not much has happened but don't worry the next chapter should have some propper partying moments in and all, I'll also try to compensate you readers by attempting to make the next chapter that bit more larger. So anyway... I've explained my reasons for delay during the introductions, so anyway please read and review, feel free to make requests if you have any, untill next time...**_

_**Wishing you all the best...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	60. Chapter 60: Party games part 2

_**Hello again everybody, Black Falcon 01 has returned yet again with a fresh chapter, firstly I want to quickly say thanks a bunch yet again for correcting me about the fact that ocean has no ozone scent, I ment to say something like smell of salty air, my bad - hee,hee! Anyway that don't matter now, and I'd like to say thanks to everyone whos stuck around, it keeps the spirits up and everything! Anyway... please don't stand around on my account, please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 60:

**\- IS academy grounds -**

Umongst the partying music, sounds of cheering and festive atmosphere, the blue haired Russian girl in glasses known as Kanzashi is knelt in front of the 10 year old Israeli youngster named Kestrel, whos red facial scar seems to blaze in some form of power in the partylight, despite it being night and that the only natural light being that of the moonlight and stars, the party lights which come in countless shapes and forms.

Standing behind the curious little Kestrel are the two mature females Yui and Kaede aswell as various other random girls, each with a differant hair style and colour. The child is also flanked by the beautiful white dressed Princess Tomoe, who seems to tenderly hold the youngster's left hand in the tightest yet comfortable manner she can manage. On the other side are non other than Kestrel's shotacon lovers, Rie, Yuno and Konoe. The scantaly dressed orange haired schoolgirl Rie holding little Kestrel's other hand. Whilst the others seem to be standing as close as they can in order to simply be in the youngster's pressance.

For the moment at least, everyone is curious as to why it is that the blue haired Russian known as Kanzashi is on her knees and smiling at the curious and timid face of little Kestrel, the Russian girl had claimed that she had something to say and describe about the Israeli youngster, but hadn't gone into details.

Instead all everybody has to go on at the moment is the fact that one of the most mysterious, yet respected and knowledgeable girls in the IS academy seems to be knelt on the ground looking and smiling at what could very well not only be the most traumitised... but most remarkable boy next to Ichika, on the entire planet.

Then, after closing her eyes for a brief moment, Kanzashi lowers her head, then lifting a piece of paper up, the Russian beauty smiles warmly and in a tone of pure and utter kindess proceedes to speak the words - "Kestrel... You're a great kid, and although you've had god knows what done to you, you have some real guts... some real balls!... and back in Russia that is considered realy good... no... more than good... thats excellent!".

Although everybody casts friendly smiles and glances to each other, Kestrel, with both hands occupied by certain females, is at loss for words... mainly because he hasn't got a clue on what it is that the Russian is saying to him!

Kanzashi pauses for a moment and then... after taking a breath, the Russian girl looks at Kestrel with a proud comradeship look and proceedes to look down at the piece of paper in her hands and speaking her next set of words in a proud manner - "This is a spiritual saying about Kestrels, and I think it cuts you right down to a 'T'!"

Upon hearing Kanzashi's words, everybody... including her own sister goes slightly wide eyed. Kestrel is still clearly confused, but perhaps that does not matter because what Kanzashi says next would be just as confusing as it would be to the youngster even if he did understand Japanese. However to everybody else... what Kanzashi says next is truly touching and one of the most kindest things anyone has ever heard come from the seemingly anti-social Kanzashi. -

_"The kestrel teaches control of speed and movement. It teaches patience as well as quick-thinking, survival of Self and Family, observation, and keen-awareness, they teach that size does not constitute strength. Another aspect of being able to fly and soar reminds us to be detached from situations that call for us to see the "bigger picture." Rise above the stress and strife and come to actually see and perceive the magnitude of all things. The kestrel is often a symbol for recognizing opportunities and acting upon them at only the correct moment. It teaches speed and accuracy of action as falcons use their plunge to kill their prey, striking it hard. The kestrel and any falcon can teach us to know when to act, and how to fully commit to our actions, as well as how to use our strengths for the greatest success._

_The kestrel is a bird that can stimulate a quick, graceful and agile mind. It will teach you how to use your mental facilities more effectively and more patiently to capture what you most need and desire. It not only has excellent vision, but its hearing is amazing - so it reminds us to truly Listen and See what is around us, within our lives, and our place/responsibility within situations._

_It is not unusual for individuals with kestrels as a totem/guide to want to always sit or be placed in a position where they have a wide vision of everything about them. Kestrel folks are known for being out-going, vibrant, alive people... living life to the fullest. They are great-thinkers and spend time involved in deep-thoughts, they are detail oriented, and are likewise capable of working in the abstract. They are apt at adapting, can change directions in their lives on a "dime" and recover from any situation with a sense of flexibility and grace. Let it be known however, kestrel-folks are protective of their families, property, and self. Once crossed, they do not easily forgive, nor forget - instead, they choose to totally redirect their own life accordingly"._

As Kanzashi finishes and stands, the Russian girl with a cool big sister like attitude smiles proudly at little Kestrel, takes a step backward before bowing pleasantly. Though little Kestrel wishes to respond, the child finds himself unable to move his small hands out of the other girl's grips. However the youngster does lower his small head, despite being unaware of what ever it was that the Russian blue was talking about, the youngster feels a lot more comfortable and no longer on the razor's edge of nerve around the strange looking, blue headed girl.

Acknowledgeing the youngster's nod, Kanzashi raises an index finger and in a cool friendly manner makes a playful joke with the words - "You owe me one for my troubles junior, it took me a full half hour to find those words!".

Kestrel responds with a confused blink, where as the other girls titter, smile and shake their heads affectionately. Tomoe herself can't help but feel proud, since arriving at the IS academy Kestrel has had to deal with problem after problem with only Ichika as a shoulder to lean on, its taken the child a while to open up to just her alone, and sure Kestrel's shotacons do clearly have a lovey dovey attraction towards the youngster, nobody has ever made the effort to build such a good, clean, purely innocent friendship with him... most girls that have been around the said Israeli youngster have just been interested in getting closer to Ichika, so for one to suddenly appear and show that her intentions are clean... that is truly a major achievement.

However... the horrible down point to this moment is due to the fact that Kestrel didn't understand a word that was being said!

Never the less, the Russian blue gets a very warm round of applause from the entire group, Kanzashi reacts with a modest shrug of the shoulders trying to act as cool and collected as possible, even though deep down she is cheering and basking in the warmth of victory.

"That was great, it made me think of our little Kestrel!" - Konoe coes, placing her hands together in a very careing and feminie manner.

"Can you give me a copy of that!" - Rie coes balling her hands into fists and resting them to her chest, the said Japanese beauty trying to restrain herself from leaping up and down in joy and showing a bit more of her exposing body.

Tatenashi despite being flabbergasted at first can't help but clap in approval of her sister's respectful description, however although she is desperate to suddenly praise her sister, the said Russian girl is still clearly overwhelmed by the remembering sting of being punished. So just to prevent any further sudden and humiliating scolding from her sister, the said Russian stays silent. Altogether the praise lasts 3 minutes and in the time that follows it is clear as day that although she is enjoying it... Kanzashi is obviously pretending to be modest about her gesture of friendship towards the traumitised Israeli youngster, the bright smile on her face and hand resting behind her head gives her true emotions away.

However, as the moment gets friendly and warm... a sudden yelp from the black haired, cosplaying IS teacher Kaede causes the moment to crash down and come to a stop, and causes everybody to suddenly look at the said teacher with startled expressions. Less than ten seconds after yelping, the young and beautiful teacher in her bright and colourful cosplay suddenly turns to Yui. The Japanese beauty pointing out a fact that everybody had very nearly forgotten.

"I just rememberd, the party over there in the grounds" - Kaede speaks out in a loud and clear tone, pointing over towards the many differant coloured tents, highly illuminated and standing out in a form of elegance in the yellow, blue, red, green and purple flashing party lights. The party music helping the atmosphere become one of sudden importance.

As everybody follows Kaede's index finger towards the party going area which is likely filled with hundreds of IS females, the entire group including little Kestrel seem to become swallowed in a moment of awe. Just the sight alone seems to be one of the most attractive in the world, from other angles the sight would be hardly anything to be fuss over, but strangely... for some reason the angle of which Kestrel's group is standing, is very radiant.

"Their selling some really good food and apparently the activities seem to be a lot more calmer than those in the assembly hall" - Kaede continues, lowering her arm and relaxing her hand, a calm and pleasant smile seems to set on the teacher's face.

"ALL RIGHT!" - A blonde Irish accented girl shouts out in excitement before rushing off towards the outside party area.

"C'mon teach!" - An Green ponytailed American girl puts in pulling one of the other random females after her in a fit of excitement.

To say that girls and women are energetic is now confirmed to be 100% true, as one as no doubt noticed on many occasions, in a good way ofcourse! In less than 12 seconds every single random female, minus Tatenashi, Kanzashi, Tomoe, Rie, Yuno and Konoe are rushing away to join the festivities, ofcourse there are the acceptions with at least four IS females tugging and pulling on Kaede with bright and excited facial expressions. Each eager to see a much loved and respected teacher taking part in party activities with her students.

Normaly the conduct of a teacher is to be strict and respected, but ofcourse... as tonight is a party, the last night at the academy before summer break... teachers are permitted to let their hair down, after all the saying 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!' is very true is it not!?.

Ironicaly as Kaede rolls her eyes and smiles affectionately at Yui as she is pulled by her loving students towards the celebratations, Yui can't help but return the wonderful feelings of happiness in an equaly joyful smile. Then, as Kaede is led towards the tents, music and festivity, the Russian sisters Tatenashi and Kanzashi cast neutral looks at each other, the two girls pause for a moment before smiling at each other and proceeding to walk away, their beautiful dresses seem to sparkle and shine in the emitted party light.

Turning to look at the office woman, dressed in her usual blackish dress sense, the dark blue ponytailed Tomoe casts a very warm and pleasant smile, the white dressed beauty can only find 2 words to say - "Shall we?".

Acknowledging Tomoe's question with an equaly friendly smile, Yui lowers her head slowly and then raises it in a confirming yes. The office woman then glances at Kestrel's loving trio and with a friendly voice followed by a kind motion of a hand speaks the words - "Lead the way".

Chuckling in a playful manner, the scantaly dressed, orange haired Rie looks down playfuly at the curious faced Kestrel. The Israeli youngster with his silver star of David pendant shinning in an elegant manner simply blinks in curiosity at the playful face of Rie.

"Lets go!" - Rie cooes in an excited tone, before proceeding to lean down and take the soft and warm little hand of Kestrel in her own, almost instantly on the oposite side of the child, the dark blue haired Tomoe takes Kestrel's other hand. Though Tomoe is wearing arm long, silk white gloves, the said female is still feels the surprisingly wonderful comfort of little Kestrel's soft hands through the gloves she wears.

With Rie on his right and Tomoe on his left, with Yui now engaging in peaceful conversation with Yuno and Konoe, young Kestrel is calmly guided towards the flashing lights and festive music of the partying atmosphere. Leading Kestrel and the females is the not so distant Kaede whom is being shown the way to the party herself, one thing is for certain... at the IS academy you will always find a person whom knows their way around.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Taking in a deep breath, amazed with many differant smells in the air, the long black haired youngster known as Kestrel is stunned at the sights, sounds and smells. Despite that the said ten year old has had a rough start concerning party music, the music that the youngster hears now maybe sort of loud, but comfortable enough for his small, sensitive eardrums.

The smells that the little Kestrel inhales are a mix of female perfume, cooking meat, ramen, vegatables, sweat and fresh flowers and fruit. Joining Kestrel in enjoying the smells in the air is the dark blue haired Tomoe. Despite being a girl with a good heart and bouncy spirit, Tomoe can be considered a silent and refined person, whom just like Kestrel... is person whom you can never fail to surprise.

Since entering the many rows of tents and stalls, walking through a near forest of IS females, some dressed casualy and some dressed in cosplay, Tomoe has been the centre of attention. The dark blue haired female has been spoken very fondly of, but that is in all likely hood due to how stunning she looks tonight. Despite that many females you can find are tomboyish or those that follow their friend's fasion, Tomoe can be considered a female that is a perfect reminder of how elegant her gender can be, and what it means to be a female.

The office dressed Yui hasn't wasted any time and is walking directly beside the young and friendly Kaede, it being a pity that non of the IS females that walk in front of them can hear what the two mature women are talking about. To say that at times like this both women would be talking about school matters would be totaly inncorrect, both women are talking to each other as if they are schoolgirls themselves, which at moments like this is just a plain reminder that no matter what their status is at the IS academy... everybody is merely human and acts accordingly as one would expect of a human being, and friendly interaction is a perfect indication.

To a pair of mature females, such sights are a simple reminder of their own schooldays, and instead its all about entertaining the youngsters. Also as a bonus, since appearing in the partying grounds Kaede and Yui have been the subject of various students suddenly coming up and asking for moments of the time. Some students have been promised such time moments, but its obvious that some students will need to be responded to.

As a ressult, every now and then Yui has had to wave over to Tomoe and the other girls to let them know that they will catch up to them. Although Tomoe is confident enough that she and a few other females are able to look after the timid yet very curious little Kestrel, the girl keeps on managing to persuade the group to slow down so that the two adult women can be in visual range in case any problems with Kestrel's mind suddenly rise.

Even so, when ever the group stops it allows Kestrel the chance to see and experiance not only the sights but the activities that the many differant stalls have to follow. So far its only been random IS females, Rie, Konoe and Yuno taking part in any activities, with Kestrel and Tomoe observing with vast amounts of innocent curiosity, but now its a fair assumption that Tomoe and Kestrel will now have their chance to partake in the festivities.

From over at a yellow stall standing between 2 large green canvas tents, Rie, Konoe and Yuno are standing close to each other, and from little Kestrel and Tomoe's point of view seem to be gossiping to a pair of IS uniform dressed females. As for the stall itself, at the desk is a line of 12 rifles, the stall giving itself away to being a shooting gallery. The sounds of air rifle gunshots also give the guessing game away.

On top of the gallery is large white painted sign with the english letters 'SALOON', emblazoned in traditional American western style letters and paint work. From where Tomoe is standing the operators of the shooting gallery continue to send pointed fingers and aswell as excited facial looks, even though Tomoe and Kestrel are at the most just 20 feet away from the gallery, the dark blue haired Japanese female does not for a single second fail to notice the smiles on the operating schoolgirl's faces.

Every now and then Rie, Yuno and Konoe turn from looking the female operators in the face and look over to both Kestrel and Tomoe, all three females seem to be overly excited about something, which unfortuneatley causes a ripple of nerve to travel up Tomoe's spine, causing the said female to shiver.

Rolling her eyes and looking up, the dark blue haired beauty mentaly begins to pray to which ever god is willing to listen to her mental plea. Tomoe's hand grip on Kestrel's hand seems to tighten, almost as if the said girl is holding onto some vast amounts of hope. Causing the long black haired youngster to look up and tilt his small head in a confused and curious manner, the child seemingly unaware of why it is that Tomoe seems to have a sudden look of nerve upon her face.

( 'God, what if it is thats happening... please... please don't let anything unpleasant occur!" ) - Tomoe's mind mental hisses out, the said female is hopeing that whatever it is that the engergetic females have in mind for Kestrel, it won't cause any unpleasant mind turns.

Now suddenly feeling a hand squeeze in return, Tomoe suddenly snaps out of her mental trance, looks down to see the curious looking face of Kestrel, the child's ocean blue eyes seem to ease Tomoe's nervous rapidly beating heart. As Kestrel blinks, straightening his back from leaning forward slightly, a smile begins to form on Tomoe's face.

Cursing at herself, Tomoe can't help but feel that she is being paranoid, but all the same it can't be helped for her nervous emotions. For a PTSD suffering kid like Kestrel to be in an enviroment with bouncy energetic people, where anything can happen, its a fair to say that nobody could blame Tomoe for suddenly feeling on edge.

"Never mind me Kestrel, I guess I'm just over reacting" - Tomoe titters out with closed eyes, placing a hand on her chest.

As Tomoe opens her eyes and attempts to act natural, the long black haired youngster merely maintains his confused facial image, if there was such a thing as question marks suddenly appearing over one's head in real life, then Kestrel would have them on a regular basis.

As a timid "Hm?" is suddenly heard come from Kestrel, Tomoe's heart suddenly begins to warm, the girl's emotions suddenly become those of happiness. The happy feeling sensation becomes far more greater as little Kestrel sends a very small yet very friendly smile upto the Japanese beauty, to which Tomoe responds with her own loving smile, her eyes half close and faint blush begins to form under her eyes. Unfortuneatley... as Tomoe is about to speak, both she and Kestrel are soon taken by surprise by the cheerful shouting voice of one of little Kestrel's shota lovers.

"TOMOE! KES! C'MON OVER HERE AND PLAY WILL YA!" - A cheerful sounding Rie shouts out, a bright smile is on her face.

Now blinking in surprise, both Kestrel and Tomoe look over and notice that not only does Rie, Yuno and Konoe gaze over in excitement, but now... since just mentioning the Israeli youngster's name, nearly every single eye is trained on the both Kestrel an Tomoe. However... for the now uncomfortable Kestrel and Tomoe, the situation is to get worse and ever more unnessary attention is to befall the pair.

"HEY KESTREL! TOMOE! C'MON OVER HERE!" - A cosplaying Yuno suddenly yells out, waving an arm above her head wildly, a bright smile is set on her face.

Desperate to get the three IS females to shut up, Tomoe raises an arm and waves back to acknowledge that both she and Kestrel have heard and can see them, but to Tomoe's dismay... its already to late.

Before the dark blue haired beauty can react, a volley of flashes from concealed cameras suddenly erupt in nearly every which way, causing not only Tomoe but Kestrel to suddenly close their eyes and wince in pain, just the bright camera flashes alone are enough to start causing a headache, and to make matters worse... nearly half of all the IS females present have begun to flock around both Tomoe and Kestrel.

Thankfuly, little Kestrel, despite his horrors is able to cope with the stares, cooes and glomping from the IS females, but can't help but get anxious as iphone like cameras get into his face. Its not that the foreign looking objects make any noise or flashes, but its the scheer volume of numbers coming at little Kestrel at once, after all... if one was to imagine themselves as an animal and suddenly alien like objects of numberous colours was to get up close all at once, one would feel anxious.

Tomoe on the other hand is what can be called camera nervous, for some reason the dark blue haired female has always hated being photographed or filmed, and the questions that the half dozen or so IS females that suddenly rush up and begin to swoon over both her and Kestrel, does not make things any better.

For Tomoe it is very flattering when some girls ask what another female would ask another, mainly concerning her hair, her perfume and her sense of dress. Non the least even more flattering when the other girls feel and touch Tomoe's princess gown and comment on how stunning she looks, which causes the said girl to blush under the eyes and put the ends of her fingers to her mouth, with the hand palm facing her throat, clearly showing the girl's approval of the positive looks.

For the girls that come into contact with Kestrel, despite their pressance being not needed, they have to be given the credit of taking a careful approach, so maybe a pain in the ass at times when charging like vast Wilderbeasts, it seems that mentioning the fact that little Kestrel has to be approached slowly and calmy has had some positive effects.

From where Rie, Yuno and Konoe are standing a terrible feeling of idiocy has fallen over their heads, which one of the shooting gallery operating girls helps worsen by shaking her head and in a frustraited sigh of dissapointment speaks the words - "Nice going!"

Sweatdrops all run down Rie, Yuno and Konoe's heads, all girls slump forward anime style with their arms dangling down. The sick irony of the situation has struck like a nuclear bomb, which Konoe makes clear by speaking in a low, defeatist tone - "Trust us to go opening our big mouths!".

"Well... don't take it to badly y'all! Its the thought that counts right!?" - One of the shooting gallery operating females speaks out in an American cowgirlish accent, the female wearing a long purple frilly dress and large hat on her head, her hair is long and blonde, a down folded parasol is held neatly in one of her hands whilst she comfort rubs the cosplaying Yuno on the shoulder.

From over at a bunch of tables, each with pitch white covers drapped over the table surfaces, stands non other than the office dressed Yui. To say that Yui does not learn from her mistakes when considering the duty of keeping a watchful eye on the long, black haired Kestrel would be untrue. Since allowing Tomoe and various other females to take the traumitised ten year old to god knows where Yui has somehow managed to focus on not only her cosplaying friend Kaede, but also the situation that her young vulnerable friend and the stunning Tomoe have gotten themselves into. Proving once and for all that women can do what the male gender finds impossible... Multi-task!

The office dressed woman had been tasting pastry when the woman's ears caught the sounds of commotion, turning her head and to her horror noticed a converging group of over excited females gathering around Tomoe and Kestrel. With hand holding a small piece of pastry in one hand, lowering from the mouth, Yui's eyes widen... the sight alone causes a horrible feeling of fear and dread in the woman's gut.

The differant styled IS females move and circle around the pair, like a group of zombies trying desperately to grab ahold of an un-infected human being and tear the unfortunate soul apart. For know Kaede and the IS females at the pastry and bread tables are oblivious to what is happening, there are ofcourse a few females that are running some stalls whom stand and look with worry at the sight, but nobody seems to be motivated enough to move.

Allowing adrenaline to fill her body, Yui suddenly snaps to it. The office attire dressed female suddenly throwing the half eaten piece of pastry to the ground and proceeding to dash forward towards the commotion playing before her. However, to Yui's horror the said woman does not get the chance to make it even a quarter of the distance towards the mass of IS females that surround Kestrel and Tomoe. A random person's arm suddenly grabs Yui's shoulder with surprising strength.

Nervous, Desperate and wanting to get this interfering person out of the way, Yui scowls, she swivels and turns her body and head to the left. The office dressed woman is on the verge of cursing, but thankfuly it does not come to that, after all... its not befitting to hear such a lady like person like Yui use vulgar language.

What meets Yui's eyes is a sight that makes her eyes widen in surprise, the office woman freezes and a massive feeling of calm washes over her entire body. Her heart seems to calm and warm up as she looks into the confident yet serious looking eyes of a person that can only be considered 'The savior' in such desperate moments like this.

"Orimura Chifuyu?" - Yui exclaims in a bewildered tone.

"Thats my name" - Chifuyu replies in a smug yet friendly tone, releasing her grip from Yui's shoulder.

Lowering her head and then rising it, her eyes looking over Ichika's big sister, Yui is completley blown away at the sight of the mightest woman in Japan wearing maid cosplay. Yui wants to find the right words but isn't able to. Instead all that comes from Yui's mouth is a calmly let out, yet bewildered spoken phrase - "You look... differant".

Raising an eyebrow for a brief moment, the black ponytailed Chifuyu is confused as hell, but thankfuly the mental lightbulb appears in her head and suddenly the confused face gives way to one of being impressed. Looking down at herself, Chifuyu can't help but smile slightly, naturaly Chifuyu would rather avoid looking like this, but due to the insistance of her green haired friend Maya, aswell as numberous other staff workers, the mighty woman has virtualy had no choice.

Even so, Chifuyu is more than convinced that she looks wonderful non the less, her maid cosplay is not too revealing, which obviously comes as a great relief to the already heavily burdened Chifuyu.

"I... take it... you found the maid dress better than that of the Princess outfit?" - Yui speaks out in a low and careful tone, matched with a small awkward smile on her face.

Chifuyu responds by folding her arms and shooting an annoyed look at the office dressed Yui, as she speaks its clear that Ichika's older and mighty sister seems to have it in for somebody -  
"Yeesss!... Ofcourse it was no thanks to you! Simply leaving me standing idle and confused in the teacher's lounge!".

"Heh,heh,heh... Ah... well... w..what it is.." - Yui replies, tittering in a mix of nerve and innocence, trying to hide her fear and attempting to concoct a convincing excuse.

"If.. If I may.." - The green haired Maya, suddenly speaks out, interupting the moment and saving Yui from a problematic situation.

Upon hearing Maya's voice Chifuyu snaps out of her scowl, and looks to her right. There standing in her own cosplay, with a nervous yet friendly face, Maya seems to be just as nervous as Yui is at the moment, causing Yui to suddenly feel not so alone and in distress at the moment.

Maya shivers when Chifuyu's ice cold bitch glare hits her own eyes, but non the less manages to calm the mighty Chifuyu down out of her annoyed and terrifying moment. Maya's voice can be considered remarkably calm as she places her hands behind her back, tilts her head in an innocent manner and speaks the words - "May... I remind Orimura sensei that we are observing the behaviour of our students".

Inhaleing through her left nostril, showing that despite the success of regaining the feeling of calmness, Chifuyu is not about to forget Yui's innocent yet unwelcome act performed in the teacher's lounge, which is proven when Chifuyu shoots her focus back to Yui and with a twitch of the eye followed by the pointing of an index finger proceedes speaks in a low, menacing tone - "You haven't heard the last of this! I've been made a monkey out of far to long today!"

Blinking with a confused face, Yui's fear seems to have dissapeared, obviously Chifuyu is talking about earlier today when she got hit in the face with vanilla icecream, and so far Yui is unaware of that incident, and clearly Chifuyu is wanting it to remain unknown of for the time being. So its no surprise that as Yui is about to ask what she means, Chifuyu merely pushes the palm of her hand upto Yui's face and by the closing of her eyes and turning her head away... proceedes to speak in a cold and chilling hiss like tone - "Don't... ask, for god sake's don't ask!".

Looking down at Maya, the green haired woman places her hands together as if she is praying. With the shake of her head with pleading eyes, Yui manages to get Maya's message to simply go along with what Chifuyu is saying and more importantly... do as she is being told.

Closing her eyes and giving a firm and single nod, Yui replies to Chifuyu with a calm and clear vocal tone - "Okay, I shant'"

Taking a breath and allowing a much needed dose of relaxation to wash over her entire self, Chifuyu's face changes to that of a satisfied person. Then, restablishing eye contact, a now amused Chifuyu smiles and in a playful vocal tone asks Yui a question that is utterly unexpected - "What about you? I was expecting you to come cosplaying aswell... whats the big deal of leaving the hard work to all the other staff members!?".

"Ah... well, call me a party crasher... but ever since I was forced to play the Virgin Mary at the christmas nativity play in my sixth year of school, I've developed a policy of never under any circumstances to wear anything except my normal clothing... I do ofcourse wear a one piece when going to the beach but thats as far as it goes" - Yui explains in neutral tone, the office dressed woman seems to cringe slightly when mentioning the Virgin Mary at the christmas nativity play.

Smirking upon hearing Yui's explination, Chifuyu proceedes to speak in a smug like tone, although its just a bit of fun, but Chifuyu still manages to cause Yui's eyes to widen and cause the colour to drain from her face. - "Really?... The christmas nativity play when you was a kid caused you to never wear anything apart from regular clothing!?... What happened? Don't tell me that everybody else in your class voted for you to be the virgin mary... you didn't want to be in the spotlight... you had to go to the bathroom on the night of the play... you forgot to put your under yummies back on... and then when riding the donkey... you fell... landed on the ground... your legs were spread open... and all the parents in the audience got a glimpse of something that you've always intened to keep out of the visual gaze, except for if in the circumstances of having to be examined by a nurse!?".

Now stareing wide eyed, blushing furiously and placing a hand between her legs, Yui's begin to fill up with tears of humiliation. The horrible memory of what happened on the night when she rode the donkey suddenly returns on a horrible memory wave. As she speaks Yui sounds like she is struggling not to cry - "Who told you!?".

Chifuyu's smug expression drops instantly, being replaced by the look of shock and surprise, as Chifuyu speaks her tone is one of utter bewilderment - "What!? Something like that really happened!?".

Sniffling, her eyes filling up and unable to fight the urge to keep her hand tightly clutched between her limbs, Yui feels really sick. The woman is mentaly holding a blue dress down as if her life depends on it. Even though there is no skirt or costume on her, Yui's gut is churning and in her mind its aparently a priority one need that can not under any circumstances is to be ignored.

"Yes it did! And I'll ask again... who told you!?" - Yui demands in a desperate tone, her eyes are already beginning to tear up, just underneath her embarrassed eyes, her face is red as blood.

Now noticing Yui's distress, Chifuyu holds up her hands in a form of reasurance, the last thing that the already busy woman wants is to make a scene. Maya can say the same, except for the fact that the green haired cosplaying teacher is merely wide eyed and adjusting her glasses, due to not being able to belive what is being said. In her mind Maya can already see everything happening and imagining the shock that all the mothers and fathers must have had that night, and ofcourse how embarrassed Yui must be feeling now and how she felt back then.

Unable to explain herself, all Chifuyu can do is tell the honest truth, which is purely innocent. In order to prevent any crying and more importantly to prevent Yui from feeling like she is being made a fool of, Chifuyu rests a hand on the office woman's shoulder and in a calm, friendly and near parental tone speaks the words - "No, no, no... you misunderstood me... nobody told me... honest! The reason why I said that is because of something I saw happen, thats all!".

"Really, god's truth!?" - Yui asks in mournful tone, sniffling at the end of her sentance.

"Yeah, its just something I saw happen for myself... see, I was doing a play when I was a girl shortly into december and during rehersals some unfortunate little floosy had the misfortune to fall off the top of some ass and landed legs spread on the ground!" - Chifuyu explains placing both hands behind her back and putting on an uncharacteristic friendly face.

Upon hearing Chifuyu's explination, Yui pauses... frowns, stares into space for a brief moment before shortly rolling then closing her eyes and shaking her head. Yui's incident took place during the night of a play, Chifuyu's took place during rehersals, so its not possible that Chifuyu was a witness to Yui's accident... is it!?

"Whats the matter?... I have a hankerchief if you need to cry!" - Chifuyu speaks out, looking at the office woman whom seemed to have been staring into space for some un-known reason.

Blinking and now managing to regain her composure Yui relaxes her body, the feeling of rationality returns to her body, ressulting in her removing her hands from her nether regions and casting a look of neutrality and straightness back at Ichika's big sister.

"Oh... its nothing, its just..." - Yui begins, whiping her eyes clean of some stray tears, whilst frowning with a confused face. As Yui looks over at Chifuyu, a silent moment befalls over the three women.

"Just what?" - A curious sounding Maya asks, now standing straight and tilting her head in curiosity like little Kestrel.

"Just that... well... Orimura... do remember what day it was that you saw that girl fall off the donkey?" - Yui asks with a confused face, deep down she fears to ask the question, but she can't fight it... she has to know the truth, if there is the slightest chance that Chifuyu was there on Yui's most humiliating night in history, then at least she can rest assured that she has a shoulder to lean on, after all... Chifuyu maybe many things... but a backstabber is not one of them.

Rolling her eyes and raising an eyebrow, Chifuyu folds her arms and after a moment replies an answer that Yui was more or less dreading to hear - "I... don't really know, if I remember right, it was December 13th... I think!".

"That was the night of my accident!" - Yui quietly yet clearly yelps out, looking at Chifuyu with a face full of dread.

"Oh!?... Well it can't have been you who I saw... I was helping to manage the ass during the nativity play... and where I was, the virgin Mary was two kids ahead of me" - Chifuyu replies slightly surprised at Yui's sudden yelped outburst.

Now slightly breathing a sigh of relief, Yui rolls her eyes before speaking in a clearly relieved tone - "Well... what about the donkey? According to what my mother said the animal suddenly went mad for some aparent reason... I can't seem to be able to remember what it was".

"Really?... the ass that was in the navity play I was in, was really well behaved, so if anything... It can't have been you". - Chifuyu replies with a shake of the head.

"Right... well... how did the nativity play you was in go?" - Yui asks, now somewhat relieved at Chifuyu's words, but what comes out of Chifuyu's mouth next causes the woman to go wide eyed, a feeling of rage fills every nook and cranny in her body, and her blood boils on a level to which she has never felt before.

"Nah! I it found all hopeless, I had to stand around like a brainless fag so whilst on stage I chose to mess around with the ass, gave me a chance to feel what a donkey's tail felt like. Actualy, you'd be surprised as to how an ass tail feels... When I pulled the thing's tail, it was like pulling on a bell rope". - Chifuyu explains with a motion of the arms, the mighty ponytailed female speaking in her casual, neutral tone.

To Yui, everything suddenly fits into place. Every last horrible second of that god awful humiliating night washes over on a tidal wave, amoungst the memory of looking back at the other school children dressed in costume, the young familiar face of Chifuyu suddenly appears in her head. To Yui, the emotion of uncontained rage boils and churns in her stomach and chest, thankfuly though... Yui has more self control and instead all the woman does is clutch her fists at her sides and with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth stares at her past insulting friend...

**"YOU... BASTARD!"** \- Yui yelps out in a loud and clear voice!

Upon hearing Yui's insulting remark, Chifuyu merely flinches backwards as if someone has hit her in the head, her eyes are open and her face is a mix of stun and surprise.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

Despite that Yui and the other adults are now all but totaly occupied with... what can only be described as 'Other matters'. Tomoe and Kestrel have managed to pull off a successful break out from the mass of IS females that managed to glomp and surround them, so without the aid of any of the adults and to have gotten clear so quickly, that can be considered a good record. However the success has had some 'opposite effects'. Although Tomoe and Kestrel have managed to make it towards the shooting gallery, the pair have had to bring at least half of the females that had suddenly swamped them, which can be considered irritating, but at the same time can also be considered useful... that is incase little Kestrel suddenly suffers a mind turn, if the child suddenly faints or goes bannanas... then the more aid available would surely be better than to just standing around tending to the problem alone.

Also as a plus side, it gives the IS operating females of the shooting gallery a chance to make a good impression on the traumitised Kestrel, aswell as having a bunch of the other females getting involved and trying to show the vulnerable youngster that they mean no ill-will.

For the IS females of the shooting gallery, it also gives them a chance to get up close with the scar faced child that everybody seems to be talking about, sure they had seen him fighting in the IS stadium and had heard tales of him, but to see him in the flesh is considered a once in a life-time opertunity.

Leaning over and looking down into the confused and apparently cautious blue eyes of the vulnerable Kestrel, the five shooting gallery females are at loss for words. As the operating females lean forward to get a proper eyeful of the Israeli youngster, whos red scar blazes in what looks like angered fury on his face, Tomoe tenderly holds little Kestrel's hand in her own, the dark blue haired beauty on the razor's edge to leap into action incase Kestrel sees or experiances something horrible.

"Ah... so this is the child everyone's talking so fondly about!?" - One of the operating females asks in an American accent, the female wearing a female version of a western sheriff's uniform, the girl has long curly blonde hair.

"He seems like a nice kid!" - Another of the IS operating females exclaims with a cheerful, friendly smile. The girl has short, shoulder height brunette hair and is wearing a regular IS academy uniform.

"I wonder if he can speak any english?" - The third operating female states, the girl has slightly tanned skin and has American native indian features, ironicaly, the girl has long black hair and is wearing western native Indian clothing that would normaly be expected to have been seen on an Indian woman.

"If y'all ask me I think he'd like a trip over to the states with us!" - The purple frilly dressed operating female states in a friendly manner, batting her lashes at little Kestrel and acting flirtuous.

"Maybe he'd like to see good ol' L.A!" - An dark ebony female with a long black ponytail states in a friendly manner, winking and giving Kestrel the thumbs up.

Getting down on her knees, the cosplaying Yuno, wraps her arms around Kestrel, places her head beside his own and with a closed eye, looks up with a victorious grin. As Yuno glomps Kestrel from the left, the soft breast of Rie suddenly cusions the top of Kestrel's head. Rie's face has the look of triumph as she to embraces Kestrel in a loving manner.

"Sorry ladies, but if you want to get your hands on our Kes, I'm afraid you'll have to take him by force!" - Konoe speaks in playful yet challenging manner which enables all the females around to suddenly titter in very girlish like giggles. Tomoe can only sweatdrop, smile awkwardly whilst thinking to herself ( "Their confidence is something to be impressed with!" ).

Kestrel on the other hand, remains silent and maintain his usual innocent and confused facial image, occasionaly rolling his ocean blue eyes, up, down and then left to right in an apparent if vain attempt to understand what is going on.

Thankfuly Tomoe is hot on the mark and helps defuse the situation from becoming a challenge for which country Kestrel belongs to, because as much as one sees it... although Kestrel is Israeli, the child is virtualy homeless with no apparent family to go to, so if that be the case... its common sense for a bunch of strangers to attempt and convince such a young and lost little one with remarkable skills to live in their homelands. Clarissa and her German females were a good example of this just a few days earlier when she and her girls first at the academy.

Gaining everybody's attention, Tomoe proceedes to speak in her usual soft and kind tone whilst motioning with a hand at the back of the operating females at the rows of moving set up targets that move from left to right set along the set of a large western imaged scenery, riddled with pellet holes.

"Ah... I think, ah... some of us wanted to try out, shooting at the targets you have set up" - Tomoe speaks in her usual kind tone.

"Eh?... OH! Oh yeah... sorry about that, us and our mouths!" - The Native American Indian female speaks in a tone of confusion at first before turning into one of a person who has just taken the joke of being made to look like a complete idiot.

"HEY! How about the girl who gets the highest points gets to dance with Kes at the talent show!?" - A spanish accented female with blonde pigtails and blue eyes asks in a suggestive manner.

"YOU ARE ON!" - The Orange haired Rie suddenly shouts out in an excited manner, a challenging smile is on her face.

"I'LL HOLD THAT KID'S HAND TONIGHT!" - A Scottish accented girl with a long orange braid speaks out.

Almost instantly an uproar occurs, causing Tomoe to sweatdrop and place her index fingers to her forehead. Tomoe does ofcourse admire the other girl's enthusiasim for wanting to have something to do with what is in all likely-hood the most adult mature, powerful if timid and innocent child on the planet, but when everyone gets competitive on a scale like this... it can be a real, deep pain the ass as Tomoe makes clear by a roll of the eyes and a huff of the breath.

Looking from left to right, little Kestrel is confused as hell, his face is a mix of child like curiosity and concern, even as Tomoe gains Kestrel's attention with a small squeeze of the hand the child's feelings of bewildered confusion does not leave for a single moment. All Tomoe can do is smile awkwardly and shrug her shoulders at the confused youngster, as the many differant IS females suddenly stand ready to take their spots at the shooting gallery.

"LORAINE! THE SCORE SHEETS!" - The Sheriff dressed female shouts in excitedly, knowing all to well that no matter what anybody says, a killing is going to be made with the records tonight!

"GOT IT!" - The ebony dressed female replies in an equaly excited tone, suddenly dissappearing behind the counter.

As the sounds and atmosphere becomes more intense by the minute, Tomoe, with a horrible feeling of frustraition in her gut can't help but groan one phrase that anyone would say in a moment like this - "Why the hell isn't Yui helping!?".

_**Okay everybody... thats all I can manage for chapter 60, I made this chapter longer than the others and seem to have been able to pull off a successful record of doing this in just a short period of time. For those of you whom still have requests feel free to speak out, also I want to appologise for any inaccuracies that this fic mentions, so take it easy on me okay!? As you readers read this I'm constantly brewing up more ideas for the moments I hope to amaze people with, like when Kestrel fires his Promethus beam... but You'll have to wait for that one, in the mean time stay cool!**_

_**Please read and review, you guys and gals don't need to read this fic if you think it isn't going anywere, but I do assure it will! Anyhow... thanks a bunch to you readers, its people like you that prove that not all human beings on this world are scum! Remember I'm wishing all you readers the best in return, may you're own fics get positive reviews.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	61. Chapter 61: Fastest guns in the west

_**Hello all, Black Falcon 01 has returned again with a fresh chapter, delayed ofcourse I know but non the less still true to the word. For those of you that have stuck around for so long thanks a bunch, this chapter should be longer than the usual ones also so keep that credit flowing okay!? Okay... don't want to burden everybody with red tape introductions because for once there is none to go through - YAY! XD! Okay... don't stand around on my account, read and enjoy!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 61:

**\- IS academy grounds -**

A loud, sharp gunshot shatters echoes in the air, the noise is quickly drowned out by the sounds of festive music, however... more gunshots are soon heard. Now followed by the sounds of metal tings and pings. If one was to follow the sounds they would find it comes from non other than a large shooting gallery, where as many as 20 or 30 IS females are stood, each positioned like some olympian at a skeet event, holding an air rifle like a marksman.

Standing at the far end on the right of the white painted shooting gallery is a now well familiar pair. The female dressed in white and has a dark blue ponytail, a beautiful butterfly hair clip is set in her hair, whilst standing beside her on a wooden crate is a small long haired child with a blazing red facial scar under one eye. The pair revealing themselves to be Tomoe and Kestrel. Standing comfortably side by side each other, both appear to be focusing on shooting at moving metal targets, shaped in various animals and objects. Deep down in both Kestrel and Tomoe's head, one phrase can be read out on both pair's facial expressions... well mostly on Tomoe's face... but non the less is a phrase that anyone could relate to at times like this, as Tomoe's mind speaks out in a frustraited mental sigh, signaling the 'Oh boy!' moment - ( "How'd it come to all this!?" ).

"GOT IT!" - An overly excited Yuno shouts out in triumph before turning her attention to another target.

"THAT ONE COUNTS AS MINE!" - An scantaly dressed Rie yells in an equaly victorious tone whilst clicking the air rifle bolt to automaticly fire at the next target.

The cracks of air rifles and the denting noises against the revolving metal targets sounds like an endless rain of flying metal and lead, the only ones not shooting at this point is Tomoe and Kestrel. However, after frustraitingly thinking to herself that there is no way back, Tomoe proceedes to fire at the metal targets. The IS operating females that run the shooting gallery seem to be more than happy with the sight and sounds before them as they rush to a laptop system to look at the white glowing monitior that is calculating the scores.

Blinking in a confused manner, Kestrel merely holds the air rifle in his small soft hands, the weapon's weight apparently causing his small arms to ache with strain and his body to struggle against remaining positioned correctly enough to fire the rifle. The child knows what to do, but is seemingly unable to do so and with the other girls busy blazing away while the others not yet taking a turn surround him, Kestrel is virutaly marooned.

What is surprising is the weight of the air rifle, normaly such weapons are really light, but since the IS was developed, its a good assumption that even the simpliest of carnival weaponry has earned a reputation for needing a bit more physical strength, and aparently its strength that is needed in a slightly much older person than that of a 10 year old. Sure some students at the IS academy are only a few years older that the long haired Kestrel, but in this case its a matter of height, size and amount of physical strength.

If Kestrel went into fight or flight, then its a 100% promise that Kestrel could handle 2 air rifles and blaze away, getting bullseye after bullseye, but... as the child is thankfuly in a very stable state of mind, all the child has to help him out is the skin of his flesh and what can only be described as his default skills and abilities. There is ofcourse a differance when the said youngster is operating IS, everything seems normal and easy to handle, but in his current mind state and size... its a reminder that no matter how one looks at it... in the end... Kestrel is just like the rest of us... only human.

Closing his eyes and lowering his head, the child gives up on his turn, the child is not the least interested in firing a gun, taking part in the challenge or wants a prize... all the said youngster wants is to put down the annoying and burdensome object that is causing horrible amounts of discomfort to his arms, aswell as getting the but of the rifle away from his head, the rough wood is brushing against his warm, soft face and causing his face to twitch and itch slightly.

As Kestrel carefuly places the air rifle down on the counter with a careful sounding noise, some of the IS females watching and observing from behind go silent, their smiles drop and their faces, and cast worried and slightly concerned looks at each other. As the IS operating females are too busy with their apparent customers, the only ones to firstly come forward are the females standing directly behind Kestrel that offer the first form of aid as the youngster steps down from the wooden crate and onto the solid ground.

"Whats the matter kid?" - A Brazilian female with shoulder height black hair asks in a careing manner, placing a hand on Kestrel's left shoulder.

"Don't you like shooting?" - An Australian accented female with a long blonde braid asks, kneeling down and placing arm around Kestrel's waist.

Kestrel's only response is his usual curious and timid self, firstly looking at the Brazilian female and then at the Australian girl, unsure of what is being said to him or for that matter how to respond. The sounds of air rifle gunfire continue to crack and ricochet in the air as Kestrel half closes one eye and puts on a nervous and confused face with a small head tilt to the right to show his confusion.

As Kestrel is turned carefuly to face the many differant females, some of which kneel to the child's head level where as others remain stood with merely bent knees and casting worried faces at each other.

After a few moments, a girl with black hair in a bun gestures with an arm if the child wants to take his turn at shooting, only for little Kestrel to simply blink for a second, let close his eyes, lower his head and slowly shake it. As Kestrel finishes shaking his head, the child opens his eyes, looks at the group of IS females and positions his arms in the 'Wha!?' position, his head slightly tilts to the left and his eyes are that of a person whom is facing a very awkward and blue emotional moment.

Some girls sweat drop, where as other's lower their heads, now feeling the weight of awkwardness hit them on the shoulders. Thankfuly though... the moment is quickly saved as an blonde Australian girl suddenly steps forward with a hand raised in the air. Her tone is that of pure kindess and friendliness, as she makes her pressance stand out amounst the 10 or so females that for some reason feel the deepest sympathy for the troubled 10 year old.

"Don't worry, I'll help him out!"

Lowering his arms and joining everybody else in looking in the direction from which the female voice came from, Kestrel is suddenly filled with interest as to whom it is who said what ever it was, deep down the child is constantly wishing its Yui, Maya or even Ichika. However as the owner of the voice comes into view, pushing herself forward past and through the group of females, Kestrel is somewhat nerve moved deep down when it turns out to be a stranger.

As the Australian female comes into view, Kestrel runs his now innocent and curious eyes up and down the Australian girl, as does everybody else. The Australian girl has blue eyes, a blonde curly hair matching that of the famous Rozen Maiden character Hinaichigo. The girl is wearing an IS uniform similar to that of Cecilia, but the strange female's uniform has less frills on the ends and her stockings are pure white.

Smiling warmly and kindly, the Australian female folds her arms and in a calm and pleasant tone speaks the words - "Let me take that kid's spot, I'll score the highest points in his name... its the least I can do for a kid thats got the guts to stand umongst and be surrounded by a jungle of pom-sheilas like us!".

Blinking at first, the Australian girl that has her arm around Kestrel suddenly breaks into a proud and confident smile, and gives a stiff and confirming nod approving the strange girl's sudden intervenement.

"Yeah! Okay everyone, let Betty Fisher take the spotlight!" - The Australian girl comfortably holding Kestrel states in a slightly excited tone.

Kestrel timidly moves rapidly to one side, but that is to be expected as the youngster does that around nearly everybody in the IS academy, but thankfuly the child is offered comfort almost instantly these days. After all... to not offer such a young and vulnerable youngster that is getting more popular by the second any comfort, has to be considered an act of cruelty... right?

Being pulled tenderly and carefuly towards a group of cosplaying females, Kestrel's curious yet slightly nervous ocean blue eyes do not leave the Australian blonde for a single second, even as she walks confidently upto the shooting gallery counter, nodding with a friendly smile to the youngster along the way.

As the Australian girl picks up the air rifle, a confident and pleasant smile is set on her face as she looks down the barrel and through the sights to aqquire her first target, one thought runs through her mind - ( "Okay, lets get to it!" ).

Then, pulling the trigger the Australian female begins to fire, everybody else is unaware of what type of scores this random female is going to score or for that matter show what type of effect her appearance is going to have on tonight's festivities, in a good way though, as all females so far are competing for whom gets the first dance with Kestrel tonight.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

Despite the fact that over 20 to 30 females have been competing tooth and nail for whom gets Kestrel's hand at dancing tonight, the air is now finaly once again filled only with the sounds of music, by now Laura and the German girls must have started doing their performance acting, but thankfuly the main event won't occur untill Kestrel and Ichika make their appearance in the mean time Laura and her comrades can manage to get confidence gathered for the time being. However... nobody seems to be interested in what is happening with Laura and for good reason, as the IS operating females are about to annouce whom has won the first out of a few competitions tonight.

By now Kestrel is now standing beside the beautiful Tomoe, whom had been utterly unaware of Kestrel's absence and virtualy panicked when she discovered that Kestrel was missing from her side, but thankfuly did not have to look far, and her nerves where thankfuly settled when she saw Kestrel with a group of Rozen Maiden cosplaying IS females, each female bearing some remarkable ressemblance to the anime characters... 'hair wise that is', and all aparently Australian.

Upon noticing the usual and timid Kestrel looking around, Tomoe had placed a hand on her chest and rushed forward to the youngster. The girl fell to her knees and glomped the long black haired youngster as if she was a desperate mother just being reunited with her child. Much to the eyebrow raising of the Australian female cosplaying as the Rozen Maiden Suiseiseki, the random female had even gone so far as to speak in a flat tone to show her failed understanding of the situation, her words being - "Hey, don't be to jittery... the kid was safe with us, he never wandered off anywhere and he didn't suffer any turns!".

Tomoe's response was at first a low, flat and unreadable mutter - "I know, but... after being told what happened to him from Yui... I don't like the idea of him being on his own, not only for his own safety but maybe our own!".

The Australian female cosplaying as the Rozen Maiden Kanaria had replied in a confused phrase - "I'm sorry what was that?", but Tomoe's response quickly changed to one of utter grattitude, the dark blue haired beauty had continously bowed and thanked each and every single one of the Australian females for their troubles as if her life depended on it. Only cause some sweatdrops and for all females to lift their arms in a reasuring manner and convince the princess dressed beauty that there was no trouble at all.

Now, however, standing holding Kestrel's hand lovingly in her own, Tomoe looks at the IS operating females... all of which are flicking through the papers of whom gets the privalidge of whom dances with Kestrel tonight. Many females are looking confident as to whom gets the youngster's hand tonight, others are simply nervous as to whom has won, but thankfuly the moment of wait does not last long as not one, but two sheets of paper are presented before the mass of females. The purple dressed operating female smiles and yells in a overly happy voice - "Well... Y'all not belive this but... we have winning ties!".

For the mass of IS females the words are a really unexpected surprise, as everybody is now looking like guppy fish at feeding time, mouths partialy open and eyes are wide, even more remarkable is when suddenly everybody shouts one word at exactly the same time together - "WHAT!?".

Folding her arms and allowing the winning score sheets to be taken from her hands, the American Indian female rolls her eyes and smiles in a satisified manner. Taking a deep breath, the Indian female looks over towards Tomoe and in a calm and happy voice proceedes to speak the words - "It turns out that little miss princess over there is one winner..."

Everybody's eyes rest on Tomoe, the dark blue haired female is stunned and surprised, her eyes are wide and a hand clutches the chest part of her white dress. The female is left breathless, the said girl was expecting to be declared fifth or sixth, but to her amazement, has done the opposite... she's won.

"Who else has won then?" - A spanish accented girl's voice is heard ask from amoungst the group.

The IS operating females cast pleasant looks at each other and then, all with index fingers... point at the Australian blonde that took Kestrel's place during the shooting. The IS females all speak the blonde girl's name at exactaly the same time - "Betty Fisher".

Tomoe, Kestrel and everybody else turns their heads and follows the fingers, untill their eyes rest on a curly blonde haired female with arms folded and with a happy and triumphant look on her face. A faint blush appears but thankfuly the Australian female manages to regain her control, from behind the Australian girl her cosplaying friends dash forward cheering and clapping for their friend, soon gathering her and lifting up the said girls arms as if she is a winner at some championship boxing match.

Bouncing and hugging their victorious friend, the Australian blonde looks across to make eye contact with Tomoe. Both females look silently at each other, the Australian female is smiling warmly whilst Tomoe has as bewildered look on her face. Lowering head to make a calm and pleasant nod, the Australian girl seems to cast a pleasant auror to the Japanese female, which Tomoe responds with a surprised yet pleasntly forced smile of her own.

Deep down Tomoe somehow feels a sense of familiarty, which becomes confirmed as she watches the Australian blonde be smothered and uproared by her cosplaying friends. Tomoe frowns for a moment and casts her eyes to the left to look at nothing in particular, but as she speaks its clear that for some odd reason, Tomoe seems to know this strange female - "That face... I've... I'm sure I've seen it before somewhere!".

Unfortuneatley the dark blue haired ponytailed girl does not get the chance to think any further into the matter as she is glomped by the the remaining IS females, some who seize the chance dive down to fuss the scar faced Kestrel, much to little Kestrel's nervous and frustraited dismay.

From at the back of the group stands the Russian sisters Kanzashi and Tatenashi whom didn't take part in the competition, but instead placed bets on whom they thought would win... which has ended in Tatenashi having to had over an I.O.U for some money on a piece of paper, a frustraited scowl is on the blue haired Russian female's face, whilst the glasses wearing Kazashi looks as if she is on top of the world with happiness and triumph. Sneering and shaking her head, Tatenshi folds her arms... then lowers her head.

"Is there no end to this god irritating punishment!?" - Tatenashi comments, refering to the fact that she is not yet gotten over her sister's persausive demand to beg for forgiveness to the Israeli child for the daft act performed on the night of Charlotte's sleepover.

"I belive this didn't have anything to do with your punishment, after all... you have already said you're sorry and have cryed tears of shame infront of everybody... you're reputation has some form of black out on it... so you're punishment has already been made... this on the other hand was just a sister'ly challenge which has tought you a lesson, which is never to gamble!" - The victorious Kanzashi replies, putting on a straight face before smiling to herself as she puts the I.O.U in the pocket of her dress.

Back with Tomoe and the others, the moment of being a celebrity sinks in ever deeper, making Tomoe regret even being at the IS academy, ofcourse she would have still wanted to meet little Kestrel, but at least somewhere else... that way the pair would have at least have the privacy of a more peaceful and bearable atmosphere.

"HEY TOMOE HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" - The orange scantaly dressed Rie asks in a tone that is happy yet desperate to hear an explination.

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WHERE A CRACK SHOT!" - A long purple haired IS female comments in a overly happy tone.

As Tomoe begins to go through what is described as friendly interogation, the Japanese female's ears suddenly hear the sounds of english words being sung in a patriotic manner, from where Tomoe is standing the Australian females now have arms over each other's shoulders and are clearly proud of what their friend has accomplished in their country's name. Smiling at the females, Tomoe shoots a glance to Konoe, and in a friendly and jokeful voice speaks a phrase that not only Konoe but a few other females instantly aggree on with playful titters and giggles.

"Heh! Australians... I don't understand them most of the time but... you have to admire their spirit!" - Tomoe comments in a friendly ladylike manner, as she and a few of the other IS females watch and listen to the Australian females sing their country's national anthem in a clear form of pride.

_"Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free! -_

_\- With golden soil and wealth for toil, our home is gert by sea!_

_Our land abounds in nature's gifts, of beauty rich and rare! -_

_\- In history's page let every stage, ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR!"_

**\- Shortly after -**

Following the competition at the shooting gallery, the entire group quickly joined back up with the staff, being in the form of Yui, Kaede, Maya and Chifuyu. What was confusing about the whole matter of joining back up was the fact that for some unknown reason Yui and Kaede were keeping their distance from both Maya and Chifuyu. Yui apparently acting like a girl whom is refusing to speak to another girl, simply turning her head and back to the other.

In a matter of fact it is considered a big relief to Tomoe that Chifuyu and Maya have turned up, it gives her a much needed break from being fussed over, by the mass of IS females, and more importantly it gives her the chance to walk beside the scar faced Kestrel.

It had ofcourse been Tomoe's intention to have Kestrel go on a tour around the IS academy grouds in order to see what was happening, but due to the insistance of Yui and Kaede, the dark blue haired female in white was forced to follow the group of IS females, with the Russian sisters Tatenashi and Kanzashi leading the way towards the large black outdoor stage area in the distance which large gold and white lights light up the darkened shape and stand out in a pure adrenaline pumping atmosphere. The sounds of music echoes ever louder as the group walks closer, as the group walks, Ichika's mighty older sister walks with her arms folded, a faint bashful flush of red is under her eyes, which are half closed and looking very heavily annoyed.

To say that Chifuyu is like an ice cold heartless bitch queen from hell is at times like this very untrue, the woman dressed in her maid cosplay is never used to looking slack and being so heavily idolised in moments like these, sure there was the moment when she wore a black bikini at the beach with her pitch black hair cast down her back and yes she was comfortable... but as far as Chifuyu is concerned there is a certain type of attire to where in certain places, aswell as certain situations, and as far as she's concerned the only clothing to be worn at the IS academy should be her office like dress wear.

This fact is proven as Chifuyu's older and slightly scary sister keeps shooting angered and envious glares at Yui whom is walking ahead of her around a bunch of students. Yui is wearing office dress so in terms of personal pride, its a good bet that Yui has gotten some personal vengence following her learning of one of her most embarrasing life moments being caused by Chifuyu.

Non the less the group has no futher problems, the only time the group stops is when a fair majority of the students come to a stop infront of a stall, which include the future telling, food, and drink... but now... the last 2 that little Kestrel will be involved with tonight are coming into view, which include darts throwing and photographs.

Despite not having any success at the shooting gallery the child has had a more pleasant atmosphere, although little Kestrel didn't eat much appart from a few bread rolls and some french croissants, the youngster had clearly had a more pleasant time, though the youngster smiled slightly, his face was still heavily timid. However, it is considered a very, very good and major achievement when the child accepted the offer to taste some pastry samples from Maya and Kaede, much to the impressed stares from Yui and Tomoe. Chifuyu on the other had was overwhelmed with having to amuse or be amused by the IS females, but that was only to be expected due to her being such a well loved icon and idol by the entire student body of the IS academy.

Kaede and Maya had offered Kestrel a drink from the soft drinks they ordered but to their dissmay the child had backed away, instead the youngster had looked up at both teachers with a nervous face and shaken tremble. The child had hesitated for at least 4 minutes without saying a word when he was offered some pastry, staying perfectly still and silent before moving his small arm and hand forward slowly to take the pastry samples from Kaede and Maya. So its considered far to early for little Kestrel to be willing to accept drinks aswell as food from any girl or woman that he sees. Maya and Kaede had looked at each other with sorrowful and demoralised faces, but Tomoe had quickly lifted the women's spirits when explaining that Kestrel has to be approached slowly and carefuly like one would approach a timid, wild animal.

Now, after leaving the fortune telling stall, the ten year old youngster with long, shinning black hair holds a large cup in both hands. The large cup being nothing more but a strawberry flavored milk, little Kestrel is holding the cup in his small hands as if he is holding a cup of ramen, every now and then the youngster sucks on a small green straw. The destination that group now head towards is that of the darts throwing stall with the Russian girls Tatenashi and Kanzashi leading the way.

Upon reaching the stall the entire group discovers that the stall is pure yellow, its size ressembles that of the shooting gallery but is a bit smaller. Catching everybody's attention is a large black wall with red and blue cards. The cards are set 6 down and 22 across, the cards themselves have a pattern which is an exact copy to those seen on the back of the cards one would find in a playing card pack. The cards are a lot larger that those of average ones and are set pattern facing the crowd, on the ground is a set of prizes ranging from boxed chocolates to stuffed animals.

The largest of the cuddly animals are a lion, a bear, a walrus and a monkey, fortuneatley, despite looking at the prizes the long haired Kestrel is not impressed, instead the youngster just looks at the strange looking cards with curiosity, blinks and slowly places his small, soft lips over the small straw and proceeding to carefuly suck another amount of flavoured milk. However most of the IS females are more than interested in what prizes are on offer, and after all... if they can somehow win a makeshift prize concerning entertainment with either Ichika or Kestrel tonight its a fair assumption that yet another challenge is sure to arrise.

At first, everybody is at loss for words as to why Kanzashi and Tatenashi are so interested in the stall, but... after a moment of silence the message sinks in. Standing with arms folded and with a confident smile on her face Kanzashi looks at the group, and with a gesture of the hand proceedes to speak the words - "Whos going to try their luck!?".

What follows is a moment of silence, but then... after casting curious looks at each other, a series of smiles sets up on everybody's faces. Chifuyu closes her eyes, shakes her head with a form of affection and smiles. Maya simply smiles in a matter of being impressed at the sight, ofcourse one can expect the fact that since this morning's incident, Chifuyu is not going to get involved, so Maya simply does not bring the matter up, but instead joins the mighty maid dressed female in encouraging her students festivity.

Some students instantly gather round the stalls where as others hang around the mature Yui and Kaede asking if they will try their luck, only to be turned down kindly... after all... there is a matter concerning little Kestrel which Tomoe is feeling very uneasy about since leaving the fortune telling stall, which is brought up almost instantly as the princess dressed female makes her approach to the mature office dressed lady standing directly beside Kaede.

Whilst the IS students begin to gather around the counter and are quickly tended to by the operating females, Tomoe closes her eyes, blots out the sounds of excitement to her ears and as she lifts her head up to make eye contact with Yui, it is clear that a horrible chill is frozen up the dark blue haired female's spine. Noticing this, Yui and Kaede cast friendly yet concerned looks at each other before looking down at the nervous blue haired female and taking in deep breaths and putting on sympathetic smiles.

"I hesitate to ask if your wanting to talk to us has got anything to do with what that dumb fortunetelling girl told us!?" - Yui asks with a kind and careing tone.

Placing a hand behind her head, Tomoe smirks in an awkward manner before looking down rolling her eyes. The female is feeling as embarrased as hell, a girl of her status in this day and age is expected NOT to belive what some daft fortunetelling person has just uttered out, but... its not her own fortune that Tomoe is nervous about, its one that concerns the young and vulnerable Israeli youngster that she feels so deeply for.

"You know... you do realise that all that fortune telling stuff was only a bunch of girls your age having a laugh you know?!" - Kaede puts in speaking in a loving and equaly careing tone matching that of Yui.

Lifting her arms as if she is trying to reasure the two women, Tomoe looks Yui in the eyes and in a near nervous voice replies the words - "I know, I know... but... its just that... all that stuff that girl said... it sounded... well... as if its really going to happen!".

Placing index fingers to her forehead, Yui smiles, closes her eyes and shakes her head, Kaede rolls her eyes and feels equaly blown away about what they are hearing. Thankfuly though Yui and Kaede are far to good hearted of people to make fun of a person whom has been spooked by what is described as fake materialisim.

As Yui lowers her fingers from her forehead the woman pulls out the piece of paper that she was given by the girls at the stall just a few minutes ago. Kaede feeling the responsibility as a teacher does the same by reaching down into her cleevage beneath her cosplay and lifts out her own piece of paper. Almost instantly as both women open up the folded papers, the nervous looking Tomoe looks both women in the faces and places both hands behind her back.

"Look at what our papers say... no, actualy... look at what mine says... I highly doubt something this is going to happen, and after all I don't even understand what it means anyway!" - Yui explains in her calm and normal way, trying to show Tomoe that there is nothing to fear. Tomoe's eyes fill with interest and the girl begins to listen with intent as Yui begins to read out the words on her presented paper.

As Yui reads, her voice tends to be mixed with amusement as if she is trying not to laugh out loud with amusement at what is put on her paper which the office woman holds with a carefree mix of emotions in one of her hands, the paper is placed between her index finger and thumb.

_"You will find that in the forms of your gender comes a happiness not yet felt, and that your future and 'if' only child, will not be your's by biological gene, no man will ever give a love like the one you are destined to experiance"._

Now, placing both hands at her sides, Tomoe rolls her eyes and is at loss for words, to Yui it is a cause for a good laugh as she titters whilst folding the paper in her fingers and tossing it to the ground. Kaede shares Yui's amusement for the moment before placing her own paper between her index finger and thumb and proceeding to read out in near equaly amused voice matching like that of Yui's - "See? If that isn't confusing enough, listen to my fortune... _'You will find that your year will be filled with stress and strain, but it will be healed by finding love, it may not be in the form you belive, but it will be more pure than what a prince could ever provide... just look to those close to_ _you'_".

Blinking with surprise, Tomoe watches as Kaede rolls up her paper and drops it to the ground, before rolling her eyes and frowning, trying to work out what the two messages ment. Going over the two messages carefuly in her head, Tomoe accesses everything word by word but is unable to find a solution to the problem, but at least it puts her mind at rest and eases her nerves.

"See?... If that does not make sense then what does?" - Yui explains as if she is speaking as a matter of fact.

"What does yours say?" - Kaede asks in a friendly yet careing tone, causing Tomoe to blink, her heart beats rapidly and her gut seems to churn as she lifts out her piece of paper, opens it with both hands, and then... looking down with both eyes, her nerves seem to intesify for a moment as she reads aloud - _"Danger and the risk of death may come this year, but happiness will be found and the reward will be one you will never come to regret"._

Yui and Kaede look and smile at each other before looking into the nervous eyes of Tomoe. Yui reaches out and in a careful manner takes the nervous girl's paper from her hands, rolls it up and drops it to the ground, causing the dark blue ponytailed beauty to blink and nearly yelp. Only to be silenced when Yui places both hands on her shoulders and in calm and pleasant voice speaks the words -

"Listen, you don't have to belive in things like that, after all... they say that the future isn't writen, it can be changed, after all... our messages said that happiness will be found no matter the hardship, then don't you think thats a good thing?".

Lowering her head and closing her eyes, Tomoe sighs before lifting her head up and in a concerned tone replies in a tone that is clearly showing that Yui's words have gotten through and are understood, but in the end... the girl's concern is not for herself but for the long haired Kestrel, whom by now is simply standing and curiously observing the girls throwing darts at the strange looking cards, whilst hollering and cheering at the same time.

"I know its a good thing, but... supposing that Kestrel's is true... then, surely... it... well... here, listen for yourself... _'Pain, Fear, Anger, Death and destruction is very likely in your path this year, however you will find that with the suffering comes a more powerful and treasured gift, and that gift will release you from your suffering'_". - Tomoe speaks out, her tone changing from calm to that of distress.

Casting concerned looks to each other, Yui and Kaede, look deeply into Tomoe's worried eyes. The dark blue haired beauty's heart seems to ease as Yui smiles and proceedes to speak in a pure motherly tone. - "Listen, No matter what some silly fortune may say, Kestrel is perfectly safe with us, after all he's got miss Orimura and her younger brother watching over him, so as long as they are around, Kestrel can't be touched".

"Not only that but Kestrel is a real force to be reckoned with! You've seen it yourself haven't you?" - Kaede puts in, resting an equaly careing hand on Tomoe's shoulder, the young female teacher happily reminding Tomoe that despite the fact that little Kestrel is young, frail and vulnerable... the youngster still has some real big surprises up his small sleeve.

"Nothing is going to happen to Kestrel, or anybody else for that matter whilst we are here, you have my word on that!" - Yui speaks in a confident and soothingly pleasant tone, her words seem to warm up Tomoe's shivering heart and causes the girl to look down for a brief moment.

"If anything happens, then what ever it maybe it will certainly have good ressults won't it? If you look again you'll notice that Kestrel's fortune says that he will be rid of his saddness and pain, won't it?" - Kaede mentions in a very kind and friendly tone, rubbing Tomoe's shoulder like a careing big sister.

From a distance away stands Maya and Chifuyu, both women smile at the sight before them, though they seem to pay no attention to what is happening, the two women continue to send impressed glances at both Yui and Kaede. On Chifuyu's face is a smug smirk, the maid dressed female seemingly looking proud as if she has just seen her reliable if slightly dopey younger brother Ichika defeat the 'Silver Gospel' all over again, this time by himself from the start.

Listening with intent at the two mature females reasuring a suprisingly niaeve younger girl, Chifuyu can't help but take pride in the staff that work at the IS academy, even though Chifuyu is considered a Spartan in terms of discipline and education, she secretly cares for the wellfare of all her students, even more so her younger brother, so although Chifuyu does not say it, the woman is aparently proud of how the two women are comforting this younger girl, if it was left up to her then Chifuyu would have simply snatched the paper away, torn it up and snapped a remark along the terms of 'Grow up'.

If it was Maya then the green haired teacher would in all likelyhood found a nervous breakdown or at the most not understand what to say about the matter at hand, so no matter how one looks at it, both Chifuyu and Maya are very proud of their staff aswell as their students, as Chifuyu confirms with a smug tone - "Hmph! I guess I was right, those two were good choices to have at the academy!".

"I guess it was also a good idea to force those girls to close up their stall, the last thing we wanted at night like this is a drop in our student morale!" - Maya puts in with a confirming smile of her own, causing Chifuyu to shake her head in an affectionate manner.

As Chifuyu watches Tomoe exchange a few more words with the two women before smiling and tearing up the piece of paper in her hand, her confident smile does not leave. For at least 4 minutes nothing but silence is heard from Maya and Chifuyu as they observe Tomoe finish exchanging pleasantries.

"I would say its also a good Idea that you allowed Kestrel to stay with one of the students, Tomoe-san seems to be a perfectly reliable girl" - Maya cooes with a clasp of the hands together.

"Its not just that... he's going to be close to Ichika, aswell as Yui and Kaede... so no matter how you look at it, Kestrel is going to have a lot of his friends around him this summer break" - Chifuyu comments with a straight face.

As she watches Tomoe exchange bows with Yui and Kaede, the cosplaying Chifuyu frowns, looks down with a concerned yet irritated expression and remains silent. Deep down the woman is overly troubled on how she is going to break the news to Ichika when the matter of concerning Kestrel's Prometheus firing test comes up, which unbeknownst to everybody so far is very, very soon after the students leave the academy for summer break.

However, now is not the time to think of such matters, the head mistress has to set an example to her students and show some partying spirit, which is made as she regains her smug like smile, turns to Maya and in a calm and collected tone speaks the words - "C'mon Maya, I think we have a dance to prepare for!".

Maya's first response is that of silence, but after a moment of bewildered stare with a slightly open mouth, Maya's face quickly lifts into that of its usual cheery self as the said green haired teacher closes her eyes and gives a stiff and confirming nod, meanwhile behind her Tomoe is now on her way over to the curious Kestrel and leaving a satisfyed Yui and Kaede standing very close to each other, exchanging pleasantries.

On her way towards the curious Kestrel, Tomoe rolls her eyes upwards and although her spirits are high enough to help forget about what those fortuneistic mumbo jumbo papers said about both her and Kestrel, her curiousity is not enough to help her forget about what was said about Yui and Kaede. Since walking away the dark blue haired beauty is at loss for words and full of pure confusion as to what to make of Yui and Kaede's untill a wild thought suddenly appears in her head which causes her to go wide eyed and suddenly freeze in her tracks.

The dark blue haired female raises an eyebrow, and slowly glances over her shoulder to look at the two women looking each other in the face with bright and cheery facial expressions. The said female quivers slightly but quickly manages to shrug it off, soon continuing on her way towards Kestrel and the group of females. Upon her arrival the Australian blonde Betty notices a slightly unpleasant amount of discomfort on her face, not on the levels of terror and panic, but more on the levels of stomach churn and disgust. Tomoe reacts on her nerves and mouth instinct when Betty asks a question that causes a reply that Tomoe was hoping to keep hush, hush!

"You look a bit blown out are you okay?" - The Australian blonde asks in a curious manner, to which the dark blue haired Tomoe, upon standing beside little Kestrel blurts out a response that is set on a slight frowned and bewildered face, taking Betty by surprise and leaving little Kestrel head tilting slightly to the left.

"Oh?, Oh yeah, I'm fine... I've just found out that Miss Yui and Kaede are Homosexuals!" - Tomoe replies.

_**Okay everyone, thats the best I can do for this chapter, the next chapter will have the moment I think everyone has been waiting for, and that is Laura's performance and see if she can win back the trust of Ichika. Also Laura's performance is followed by the concluding surprise that Chifuyu has had ready for all her students, and when that happens I'll be able to thank and give announce whom came up with an idea that was happily accepted, okay... please read and review, thanks for sticking around everybody, keep doing so.**_

_**So... untill the next chapter, stick around and remember I'm wishing all you guys and gals the best and may you're own fics get the top followers and positive reviews.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	62. Chapter 62: German womanhood

_**Hello again everybody, Black Falcon 01 has returned to the nest with yet another fresh chapter for all your hungry eyes. Before we start I'd like to quickly say that I think I'm doing better than I expected with these extended chapters, so thanks for giving me the credit and keep it coming! This chapter should be the beginning of the conclusion of the party night, so I'll put as much important parts in as I can and see if I can impress you readers... after the party concludes its smooth sailing to the point that I think everybody is wanting to see and that is the test firing of Kestrel's Prometheus. I've already gotten the ideas for what is going to happen already writen down so don't worry I am following a plot, in some areas I do make things up as I go along so I quess you can say that is a skill... anyway... enough with the red tape... please... read and enjoy.**_

_**Delayed Chapter I know, cut me some slack okay!**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 62:

**\- IS academy, outside stage area -**

"KESTREL!" - A cheerful sounding male voice is heard call out from a wall of IS females walking back and forth or at least to god knows where. A raised hand with the distinctive sleeves of an IS uniform is seen, soon followed by the appearance of the familiar but very welcome face of Chifuyu Orimura's younger brother - Ichika. The Japanese male has a bright and cheerful smile on his face as he looks over a bunch of IS females and can clearly see the beautiful princess dressed Tomoe along with a group of various other females. Even though Ichika can't fully see Kestrel its always a good assumption that where ever Tomoe goes, the traumitised Israeli youngster that Ichika has taken a liking towards is not far behind.

Ichika hasn't yet noticed his older and strict sister, along with Maya, but in a few moments that will be the least of his concerns, as the said male is about to earn a surprise, performed in the names of the currently belived absent Cecilia and Charlotte.

Although Ichika has waved over to Tomoe and a few unknown females, nobody has currently responded, but that is to be expected. There is too much noise and to many people around for just a single solitary person's voice to be heard, even if it is shouting as loud and as clear as possible - which is obviously because half of the people in the vacinity are shouting as loud as they can to each other, and the mass of people in the vicinity could best be described as a lift filled to bursting point with people.

There are ofcourse the exceptions of good, free space to walk around but that is limited only to the outskirts of the grounds where Ichika has walked from, and its a fair assumption that when Ichika noticed a distant Tomoe, the said Japanese male was eager to speak to his only non-female friend inside the academy. Following not far behind Ichika is the cosplaying Houki and well dressed Rin, both females are hell bent on not letting Ichika out of their sight for the rest of the evening.

Ever since leaving the red cross tent, Ichika's hearing is been nearly almost deaf, sure... the ringing has stopped but Ichika's hearing is still next to zero, the only sounds he is getting are slurred and can't be properly made out, even hearing himself is hard, which is the main reason as to why Ichika shouts out all the time when ever he talking to someone.

What Ichika is yet to discover is that is impared hearing is going to be the last thing on his mind as he is soon surprised by a gathering group of females around a currently unseen figure. As Ichika accidently walks front first into the unseen figure, a brief flash of long black ponytail catches his eye, soon filling his stomach and insides with vast churning levels of fear and dread. Only one person on earth has the style of ponytail he's just got a glimpse of and it does not take a rocket scientist to know which person it is that the Japanese male is thinking of.

Now snapping his attention away from the distant Tomoe, closing his eyes and rapidly giving a submissive bow, Ichika yelps in fear in a loud and clear voice. Even though Ichika can feel the words escape his throat and mouth, he has to be sure that he can hear what he is saying. After all... if this person is whom he is sure it is, he knows all to well that he has to keep his head low, due to the incident this morning Ichika has been a mass of nerves, which is obvious as he yelps in fear - "M..MY apologies Chifuyu-nee! Eep! ... Sorry, Orimura sensei!".

Lifting his head with a face full of fear, he expects a hand to wack him on the head, but to his surprise nothing comes. In fact, as Ichika lifts his head the Japanese male with his hearing impared and his limbs still numb from dancing an hour or so earlier... suddenly stands straight and leaps backwards in shock and alarm, a girlish yet still male scream escapes his mouth whilst at the same time lifting his arms as if to sheild his face, as his eyes get a full view of what he belived was his strict and older sister.

Two or three seconds pass with Ichika stareing in shock with wide eyes and a pale face. The Chifuyu dressed figure simply stares back in silence, clearly making eye contact but not saying a word, from the back the figure is clearly a perfect look alike to the mighty Chifuyu, but when one looks again they find that this figure is simply a lot shorter than that of Chifuyu.

Both Ichika and the unknown figure does not say a word to each other, from behind the unknown figure stands a group of 10 females, umongst the females is the usual long sleeved Honne, the female obviously coming in cosplay of a large poke'mon Lopunny. The friendly female stares with silence, clearly stunned by the sudden appearance and surprisingly girlish yet very comedy like scream coming from Ichika. Fortuneatly the silent atmosphere is cut short as the demanding and annoyed voice of Rin breaks the silence - "Ichika! Ichika! Where are you!? Get back here!".

A short moment passes with the still Ichika running his eyes over the unknown female infront of him before the red dressed Rin suddenly appears from behind his back with a frown. The said Chinese brunette clearly annoyed with Ichika's dashing away before she was aware of what was happening, as Rin places a hand on Ichika's shoulder the Chinese brunette is about to do what can best be described as a 'lecture nag' to the stunned Ichika, but in a comedy twist, Rin does not get her chance as she happens to glance and discover the impersonator of the great Chifuyu Orimura.

"OH MY GOD!" - Rin suddenly yelps, leaping backwards before slightly hidding behind Ichika like a nervous and timid child.

Less than 30 seconds after Rin joins Ichika in remaining frozen stiff on the spot, Houki herself appears, however... for some strange reason, the cosplaying Japanese female is able to take the shock in far more better than that of Rin and Ichika, but never the less is still blown away by the sight of the Chifuyu imposter.

After blinking a few times, Houki leans forward slightly with a raised eye brow set with surprised eyes, Houki very nearly stutters as she proceedes to ask a question that is on the tip of both Ichika and Rin's tounge. - "Is that... Cecilia!?".

From Ichika, Rin and Houki's point of view, the familiar face of Cecilia is accessable, but in the end its the blue eyes that are the give away, as Chifuyu has brown eyes. Clearly its just the IS students that know of Cecilia's impersonation of the mighty ponytailed female, and for the moment the real Chifuyu is oblivious as to what the British blonde has gotten up to. Never the less, Cecilia makes a truly convincing look alike, from a distance she can fool anybody, but when getting up close the random person notices the facial differanace and height differance.

Putting on a face of panic and bashfulness, Cecilia turns her body so that her entire self is facing the bewildered Ichika, Rin and Houki. The British blonde rapid moves her arms up and down anime style whilst blushing heavily and stuttering, unable to find the right words to give to the stunned trio before her.

However, for Ichika and the two females that follow him around, the surprise is going to get ever more greater, as a the familiar voice of Charlotte suddenly breaks the silence and causes the impersonating Cecilia to suddenly freeze, positioning her arms into the position of a begging dog, except that her hands are open and facing forward, the British female then begins to tremble out of control.

"Cecilia... here, I brought you your... Coff..ee!" - Charlotte speaks out, her tone being normal before turning into a paused stun. The French blonde holds in both hands 2 cups of coffee, but that is not what catches Ichika's eyes, its what Charlotte is wearing and how she looks. The French blonde wears upon her head a perfectly fitted short green wig, the girl wears thin framed glasses and her clothing is a shorter version of those that Maya Yamada herself wears.

"Char!?" - Ichika speaks out in a stunned tone, for Charlotte the moment is simply too much to take in all at once and just like Cecilia, a red flush appears under her eyes.

A moment passes before both Charlotte and Cecilia close their eyes, Charlotte losses her grip and drops both Coffee cups, causing the red hot liquid to splash widely. Cecilia joins the Maya impersonator in placing her top teeth over her bottom lip, both girls blush furiously, before tightly clenching their fists and shouting as loud as they can, a perfectly syncronised -

"NNOOOOOOOO!"

**\- With Kestrel and Tomoe -**

From where they are at the back of the stage area, Tomoe and Kestrel overhear the 2 female shrieks, causing both to turn their heads and look into the wall of females that either ignore the screams or turn their heads also in order to see where it is the usual noise came from. Holding Kestrel's hand tenderly in her own, Tomoe has the look of curiosity and concern on her face, little Kestrel shares the facial expression, and despite the fact that the youngster has a blazing blood red scar under one of his oceanic blue eyes, the youngster still manages to look all more adoreable as the youngster leans his small body and tilts his head to one side, trying to find out what the strange noise was himself.

As Tomoe blinks, still looking in the direction of which the shriek came from, the familiar voice of one of Kestrel's loving shotacons, under the name of Konoe suddenly breaks the silence, after a few moments. - "Is there something wrong?".

Snapping out of her gaze, Tomoe turns her head to look at the long black Japanese beauty that walks calmly up to the pair. As Tomoe makes eye contact with the Japanese female she instantly notices nearly every other female including Tatenashi and Kanzashi is doing the same as what she is, trying to find out what that noise was and where it came from. The sight causes a good amount of relief to flow through Tomoe, the Japanese female is clearly relieved to know that she is not the only one whom heard that sound and that she is not hearing or seeing things.

Almost instantly, the dark blue ponytailed female responds to the dark haired Konoe in a calm and rational tone matched with a calm and curious face. - "Nothings wrong, its just... that noise... that sounded like someone screaming".

Before the black haired Konoe has the chance to respond, the cosplaying Yuno cuts in before the black haired female can respond, her tone is carefree as is her face, the cosplaying girl is taking every chance she can to make light of the situation and to simply forget the suspicious sound that everybody around now seems to be ignoring.

"NAH! It was a truck backfiring!" - Yuno suddenly speaks out, whilst kneeling on the ground and wrapping her arms around the curious and somewhat not surprised little Kestrel, whom clearly does not say a word or whisper.

"Hey no fair! she's got to cuddle Kestrel and were standing idle!" - Kestrel's third and final shota lover scantlay dressed as a xxx schoolgirl yelps in a moaning manner before rushing up to the confused scar faced child and joining the embrace.

Despite sweat dropping, Tomoe manages to turn a blind eye at the situation, she'll clearly deal with this problem in a moment, for now a more problematic issue is at hand, trying to find out what that the noise was all about.

As Tomoe proceedes to speak, the female turns her head back in the direction of which the noise came from, her voice is one of wonder as she responds to Yuno's remark - "I don't know... weird, just... weird".

**\- Back with Ichika -**

Holding his hands firmly over both ears, opening both eyes with pained expression on his face, Ichika has finaly managed to recover from the god annoying and unwanted shrieking of both Cecilia and Charlotte. Houki and Rin could say the same about painful ears, except for the fact that both females don't have such a nasty problem than that of Ichika, but never the less can understand the amount of discomfort that the black haired Japanese male is feeling around his head.

For Charlotte and Cecilia, both females are holding onto each other very tightly, as if they are trying to put up some form of shield against a terrible oncoming threat. Both females are clearly shaken due to the fact that they wasn't expecting to see Ichika so soon tonight.

Sure, both Charlotte and Cecilia have torn their hearts out and reduced themselves to tears in front of the Japanese male, but its clear that both females were saving themselves for the moment they belived was right, and when concerning the pace that both Charlotte and Cecilia move at, that could take forever, so in a way it can be considered a good thing that Ichika has found both females and at this moment in time, otherwise both would have simply dissapeared tonight and not made their pressance known at all.

Standing beside Rin and Ichika, the cosplaying Houki lowers her left hand from her head, the Japanese female is clearly as bewildered as what Rin and Ichika are. To make matters even more awkward in this situation, both the impersonating Cecilia and Charlotte appear to be cowering with their backs turned, with nobody except for the cosplaying Honne and a few other random females for cover and comfort.

Both Cecilia and Charlotte are cursing at themselves without saying a word, both are trembling hard and are on their knees as if they fear desperately for their lives, which clearly to Rin is just plain ridiculous as far as she is concerned, thankfuly she unwittingly saves Ichika from the trouble of having to speak first, which she does in a plain, calm and simple manner with a hint of demand.

"What the heck are you two doing!?"

"You think were sick don't you!?" - A heavily demoralised Charlotte replies in a depressed moan.

Raising an eyebrow Houki sends over a surprised and somewhat disgusted look at Ichika, which Ichika responds with wide eyes and a strait and bewildered face. Houki rolls her eyes and after a second looks down at both females. The Japanese female shakes her head before speaking in a calm manner - "Does... Orimura or Yamada sensei know that you two are dressed like this?".

Snapping almost instantly, both Cecilia and Charlotte turn to face the trio with wide and pleading eyes, both girls remain on their knees, causing Ichika to flinch back in surprise, sure its only Cecilia and Charlotte but the near perfect impersonation of Chifuyu and Maya is causing some respected and idolised views of the two teachers to shatter in his mind.

Cecilia and Charlotte sound scared out of their tiny minds and their voices are that of people desperate as they reply to a curious and bewildered Houki, Cecilia very practacly leaps out of her flesh as soon as Houki mentions Chifuyu, Charlotte quickly follows when the Japanese female mentions Maya.

"NO! MY GOD! PLEASE DON'T LET ORIMURA SENSEI KNOW THAT I'M LIKE THIS, SHE'LL HAVE MY HEAD ON SPIT IF SHE FINDS OUT!" - Cecilia very nearly shreiks with tears of panic starting to form in her eyes.

"DON'T GIVE ME AWAY! I BEG YOU! I BEG YOU! I BEG YOU! IF YAMADA SENSEI SEES ME LIKE THIS SHE COULD ORDER ME EXPELLED!" - Charlotte wails out in desperation, causing Ichika, Rin and Houki to leap back in alarm and cast concerned yet shocked wide eyed looks at each other.

Folding her arms, Rin narrows her eyes and glances away whilst speaking in a low yet very clear tone - "Don't give you away? Well thats hardly going to help when your out in the open where everybody can see you!".

Scrambling on hands and knees, ignoring what ever stares are being put upon them, Charlotte and Rin dash forward at near lightnig speed, both girls leaping forward as if crazed with fear and proceeding to cling to Ichika. Both females wrap their arms tightly round Ichika's waist, and bury their faces deeply into the lower half of his IS uniform, the girl's faces press deep into his clothed thighs.

As Cecilia and Charlotte begin to beg and plead to be aided, a blushing Rin is open mouthed and not only shocked but is sickened by the sight. The Chinese brunette is quick to send furious evil eyes at Ichika whom has his arms raised as if surrendering to a gunman and is clearly looking just as taken back by this as much as Rin. Houki on the other hand is simply wide eyed and overwhelmed by surprise, the Japanese female is obviously wanting to know what has caused the two females to act this way but for now its going to be all but impossible to get any rational answers out of the pair, and being surrounded where a scene is being made isn't helping anything either.

Houki glances to the left and then to the right, by now a large crowd of females is gathering around and its clear as day that at if nobody acts soon, then it will be nearly impossible for the trio to control the situation. As Houki casts another look at Ichika the Japanese female begins to remember her promise to Ichika that she is far more mature than what she has acted before in the past, and because the female has promised that she can turn over a new leaf, the said female suddenly closes her eyes for a brief moment, taking the chance to swallow her doubts and concerns.

As Rin folds her arms, twitches an both an eye and eyebrow, the Chinese brunette is clearly steaming will irritation. Thankfuly Houki is far more cool headed but non the less is still frowning with dissaproval at the sight of Charlotte and Cecilia clinging to Ichika like limpets. Never the less, the Japanese female manages to regain control of the situation by stepping forward and in a serious yet cool managaed tone speaks the words - "Ichika... we're making a scene here, I say we should take this somewhere more secluded".

Looking the Japanese female in the face, Ichika notices the serious frown almost instantly, which for a brief second causes the Japanese male to blink with his still widened eyes, however the concerned feeling lasts for a flash of a second. Then, taking Houki by surprise and causing the Japanese female to face palm, Ichika frowns and points to his ears, the black haired male reminding the cosplaying Houki that for now and maybe for a few days, he's hard of hearing.

Houki sweatdrops but acknowledges Ichika's non verbal message, in her mind a frustraited and irritated tone speaks the words - ( "Trust Ichika to go deaf on a night like this!... but... I guess it couldn't be helped" ).

Houki smiles slightly at the end of her mental monologue, but quickly drops it as she walks forward up to Ichika, ignoreing both Charlotte and Cecilia clinging tightly to Ichika's legs. As Houki makes it to the Japanese male, Ichika leans to the side, tilting his head so that his damaged ear drums can catch what ever it is that Houki is saying to him. As Houki puts her mouth beside Ichika's left ear and repeats her message, the Japanese male frowns and closes his eyes, aggreeing with what Houki is saying.

As Ichika opens his eyes, quickly looks at her and then down to see the saucer, red and swollen eyes of Cecilia and Charlotte looking up at him with tears rolling down their pale white faces, Ichika instantly feels somewhat repulsed, not because the girls suddenly look horrible in terms of beauty, but because of their causing his respected and idolised images of Chifuyu and Maya to be ever more tarnished.

As Ichika looks into the eyes of his childhood friend, a feeling desperate reaction is overwhelming his body, and as he speaks it is clear that no matter how it is looked upon, Ichika is wanting to get the desperate Charlotte and Cecilia out of the image tonight. - "As always... you are right... lead the way".

Houki blushes slightly and turns her head away in an attempt to hide her smile, as she speaks she stutters at first but quickly manages to regain her composure. - "Ah...er... y..yes thats right, well... ah... please follow".

As Houki walks away with her head held high, almost nose up in the air with pride. Rin is scowling and sending Houki death glares, the Chinese pigtailed beauty is irritated at feeling all but forgotten. However as Ichika proceedes to pull both Charlotte and Cecilia off the ground and begins to convince them to follow both him and the now walking away Houki, the Chinese brunette is then overwhelmed with pride, just seeing the Japanese male that she loves virtualy with all her heart aiding people in need reminds her of when Ichika protected her from being harrassed and beaten from some classroom punks in a random school playground.

As Cecilia and Charlotte proceede to walk after Houki, Ichika sends Rin a questioning look and with a gesture of his head for the girl to follow, remains silent as the grave. Rin does not hesitate and follows after the demoralised Cecilia and Charlotte, one part of the Chinese girl is wanting to find out more about Cecilia and Charlotte's pulled party piece while the other part is not about to let the Japanese male whom goes by the name of Ichika out of her sight.

Houki leads the way to an uncertain location, directly behind her walks Cecilia, head held low. Charlotte is trailing behind with her head equaly held low, both cosplaying females not for one second daring to show their faces, both females are a mix of sickened fear and dread. Trailing behind Charlotte is Rin, who has put herself between both cosplaying blondes and Ichika. Ichika on the other hand has other things than the explinations of Cecilia and Charlotte on his mind, which is proven as he places the palm of his right hand over his right ear and proceedes to carefuly massage the still numb temple which is closely housing his ear drum.

**\- Meanwhile, at the back of the large stage -**

As Ichika and the females walk away towards some large tents, the five IS students are unaware of a stray eye following their movements from behind the large make shift stage. Despite the stage being large and like a stage one would see at a concert, it offers some much needed cover for a certain silver eye patched female going by the name of Laura.

Having being told of Ichika's appearance by one of the visiting German girls, Laura had been quick to rush over to a darkened location and spy upon the Japanese male that she cares so very deeply for. Laura for the moment is unaware of Ichika's lack of hearing for the time being, but never the less is a mass of nerves and is virtualy twidling her thumbs as she watches her 'so called' wife walk away with four figures. Had Laura noticed that the four figures were Houki, Rin and a well made up Cecilia and Charlotte, Laura would have snapped, abandoned her plans to impress Ichika and dashed after the five, undoubtably earning some funny or idolised looks from the mass of IS females that are in the IS grounds tonight.

Looking down and turning herself slowly away, Laura has a nervous look on her face, but quickly changes to one of determination as she lifts her head and straightens her shoulders. The eye patched German is hell bent on making sure that Ichika notices her tonight.

However, the German girl is all to well aware of what the main person of interest is tonight as she walks back towards the stage curtains and towards some of her fellow female comrades, all of which are dressed in ww2 German female military dress, the forage caps on the girl's heads make them look surprisingly irrestistable. As Laura slows to a babystep pace and comes to a stop directly behind 3 of the cosplaying girls, the silver haired beauty seems to become all ears as she listens with intent at what her comrades are saying in their native German tounge.

The 3 German girls are peering from behind the stage curtain and are keeping their tones low, all 3 girls are seemingly not wanting to let anybody else know of their pressance. Laura is about to up and speak, therefore taking the mischevious looking German females by surprise, but to her own surprise chooses to follow her curiosity, which proves to be somewhat of a blessing as what Laura overhears will come to help fill her confidence levels up toward maximum.

"That is the child that everyone is talking about?" - The first German girl with short blood red hair asks with a surprised and curious tone.

"Ya'vol!" - The second German girl long blonde curly hair replies with an interested tone.

"That little boy managed to take out two of our best IS operators with what looked like extreme ease!?" - The blood red haired German asks with a strict yet impressed tone.

"Ya'vol... and his IS is like... out of this world! I've only ever seen footage of it but... its like something I've never seen before!" - The Blonde German female replies.

"I would say that is why Miss Harfouch and Captain Bodewig are so keen on getting the boy to visit Germany some time soon!" - The third and final German female with simple long blonde hair suddenly puts in with a slightly excited tone.

"If he does visit the fatherland then what do you suppose his purposes will be for?" - The blood red female asks with a deep questioning tone.

"I'd say IS experiment testing... but... according to what I've found out, to involve the youngster in experimental grounds due to some trauma, it would be considered a crime against humanity so I guess Miss Harfouch would use the fluffy bunny act!" - The third German female responds in a low tone as if it is a matter of fact.

"I don't think that would work... because from what I've heard, the child has been so badly effected... that any girl or lady could strip off in front of that child, and he wouldn't get the slightest bit excited!" - The second German female states in a equal tone matching one of fact.

"Well... I guess we would have to try and capture the child's heart, after all... one single simple child should be no problem!" - The third German girl states in a confident tone.

"You aren't one of those so called... shotacons are you!?" - The red haired German female asks in a suspecting tone.

"No, I was stateing how easy it would be to win that child's trust!" - The blonde German girl replies in a flat and normal tone.

"Not only that... but to win that kid's heart, will win Miss Orimura's younger brother's heart!" - The second German female states in a calm and pleasant tone.

"And that is what we are here to do, to help captain Bodewig win her wife's heart!" - The third German blonde states in a friendly tone.

"Ya'vol! And... if we succeede we get to go see the famous Akihabara and discover the famous anime and manga sales they have there!" - The red haired German female states with a hint of pure excitement.

"Ya'vol! Tonight is going to be easy as pie to win that kid's heart!" - The second German female states in an equaly excited tone.

As Laura listens to each and every word that her comrades are saying, the confidence that is so desperately required for tonight fills every last nook and cranny, the determined frown on her face lifts into a determined smile, though deep down, Laura's mind is muttering on a phrase that Ichika would be saying in response to that German girl's confident phrase. Laura's mental phrase being - ( "I wouldn't be so sure of that!, that so called 'Kid' is like a wolf in sheep's clothing, he's far more mature than that of a any schoolboy, highschool or lower, so winning his heart will be a very hard if not impossible struggle!" ).

Thankfuly, in terms of considering Laura's confidence, the silver haired female pays it no heede and instead joins her female friends in peering through the curtains. From a distance away stands the proud looking Clarissa, with arms folded and with a confident smile on her face. The blue haired woman is clearly more than relieved that Laura's spirits have risen, due to the 100% true fact that she will need spirit tonight, which Clarissa mentions in a brief monolouge - "Its great to see the Captain's morale high and mighty, because we perform in three minutes!".

**\- 3 minutes later -**

In a crowded space that is housing over 120 people, making the area in front of the outside stage look like a sea of human beings and heads, a small group sat on some make shift seating areas, the large white seating areas resembling the ones seen at a football game. The seated inhabitants are stareing at the stage, where at the moment lights flash, lighting up the pitch black night sky. The curtains are closed at the moment, but behind there is clearly some commotion underway, thankfuly the sounds rushing around are masked and blotted out by the friendly sounds of female gossip. Most words that fill the dark, cool, night air are friendly comments or simple girl to girl talk, but its clear as day that within a few seconds nothing but silence or at least uproars of praise and cheer will fill the air.

The inhabitants that are sat down in the seating areas are non other than the blue haired Russian sisters Kanzashi and Tatenashi, the dark blue haired princess Tomoe, the shotacons of little Kestrel, some Rozen Maiden cosplaying Australian females and the long black haired Israeli youngster with a blazing red facial scar.

So far there are a few unoccupied seats, but they are filling up bit by bit, but that is the last thing that anybody is paying attention to. The night air is cooler than usual but the summer heat is still radiant in the air. Amoungst the sounds of people gossiping are the sounds of festival games and disco music, but thankfuly the inhabitants that sit in the make shift seating area are able to ignore those types of sounds, and instead focus on sharing pleasantries with each other.

As for Kestrel's group that is sat down, the ten year old is sat pleasantly with his small, soft hands occupied by a female on both is left and right. On his left is the scantaly dressed schoolgirl Rie, whom tenderly holds the scar faced youngster's hand in her own whilst rubbing her soft thigh up against Kestrel's own, the scantaly dressed female clearly trying a butter up tactic whilst pressing her body warmly up against Kestrel's. Tomoe presses her own body up against Kestrel but is taking a more innocent loving approach, as for Kestrel himself, the scar faced youngster is simply confused as hell as to why he suddenly is being crushed together albiet in a soft and careful way.

Never the less the 10 year old boy is comfortable and has no objections, mainly due to the fact that what ever the child faces in Japan, it won't be anywhere as terrifying as what he saw, heard or experianced in Israel. That along with the fact that since coming to the IS academy the child has gotten the slight and somewhat feeling of safety for the first time in his life.

The child blinks and stares at the large stage with a confused as hell expression, the best way to describe Kestrel at the moment is like an animal that has discovered its reflection for the first time. The child remains still and unsure as to who this strange person is looking back and why whenever he moves the strange person does the same at exactaly the same time without falling a second behind out of sync.

Even though that isn't the case, the principals remain the same. Every so often whilst looking at the flashing and colour changing lights the youngster tilts his small head and body slightly to either the left or the right. The child has already seen what such lights look like but never the less is always amazed at such brand new sights.

Leaning forward slightly to look at the youngster, Konoe and Yuno share Rie in blushing furiously and clutching their chests with their left hands. Konoe with deep red flush under the eyes speaks in a low and love struck tone - "So adoreable!".

Yuno places a hand inbetween her legs and begins to fidget, the girl seems to be acting as if she suddenly needs the bathroom, but nothing is wrong with her, a bead of drool comes from a slightly open mouth, and as she mutters her own love struck tone the reactions from the cosplaying Austrailian females is nothing more but a simple sweatdrop - "If I was Moka from Rosario Vampire I would be a pure discrace to the series!".

The dark blue ponytailed beauty Tomoe smiles slightly but can't help but feel the 'Oh boy!' moment weigh heavily in the air, which is matched by a raise of the eyebrow and a sweatdrop of her own. Thankfuly Tomoe's moment of awkward feeling is cut short as a tug on her white dress causes her to blink suddenly and turn her head to the right, meeting her curious eyes are non other than those of the Austrailian beauty Betty Fisher. Tomoe instantly feels an awkward rumble churn and bubble in her gut as Betty's smiling face looks into Tomoe's own face with the look of excitement and mischief.

"So C'mon tell me! Whats all this about Miss Yui and Kaede being Lesbians!?" - Betty whispers in an excited tone, causing Tomoe to roll her eyes and shake her head slightly.

Ever since mentioning the feeling and the guess that there is a strong possibility that little Kestrel's interpreter and the teacher of the IS academy are homosexuals, the Austrailian female has clearly been hanging around the princess dressed female wanting to know more, to say that Tomoe regrets saying such things would be a true 100% correct, but never the less has made the effort to at least show that although it was just a hunch, the girl has to remember the benifit of a doubt.

Speaking in a soft tone as to not allow anybody else the chance to hear what ever it is she is saying, Tomoe leans to the side to allow her head to be close to that of the Austrailian girl, as she speaks it is clear that Tomoe does not want a word of this to get out, the last thing that such a good person like her wants is for a missunderstanding to occur, aswell as be seen as a girl that is the mirror opposite of how she has been seen so far by not only Kestrel but everybody else.

"Look! For god sake's keep it quiet! I've already said that I was only guessing... but even then, that was only due to those stupid fortunes that they were given!".

"So you say but... for real!?" - Betty speaks out in a tittered tone, before letting out a pleasant if mischeivous giggle, trying not to laugh with anticipation. As she is about to speak again, a sudden blast of sound coming in the tune of somebody pressing down on Piano keys suddenly takes everybody by surprise. Tomoe and the Austrailian blonde snap their attention away from each other and look at the stage, and notice that the curtains are beginning to open, a large amount of ground smoke seems to blow up and out as the stage lights dim and a wave of hush washes over every single IS female between the stage and Kestrel's group in the seating area.

Tomoe quickly turns back to the Austrailian girl and with a surprisingly agonised frown on her face hisses the words - "LOOK! I don't want to speak anymore of this! As far as I'm concerned, if Yui and Kaede are lesbians or not, its no concern of ours, its their buisness! As long as they are helping Kestrel here then both women are perfectly okay in my book!".

"Yeah, Yeah I know that and I aggree with you but... the fact is.." - Betty speaks in a tone of normality, closing her eyes and lifting her arms in a form of acceptance and reasurance as Tomoe mentions Kestrel, before lowering her arms, opening her eyes and preparing to speak in a calm and rational tone. However the Austrailian blonde is cut off as the unexpected strict yet very welcome ice tone of the almighty Chifuyu Orimura breaks the moment between both girls.

"Okay you girls, silence please, the German performance is about to start!" - Chifuyu states in a normal tone, mixed with somewhat of a smug and friendly vocal tone.

Nearly every last person in Kestrel's group leaps out of their flesh in surprise, and turns their heads round to look at the cosplaying sister of the popular Ichika Orimura. Nobody had seen Chifuyu or Maya walk up the steps towards the highest seats or for that matter had seen either of the women since leaving them nearly half an hour ago earlier.

Tomoe is about to make this known with an index finger as if explaining something, only to be quickly hushed by the cosplaying Chifuyu. Maya simply smiles and points over to the stage and in the direction of the now growing smoke cloud and bright white glowing light, for at least 2 minutes the group stare as Chifuyu and Maya take their seats behind the IS students, and the only time they turn their heads to look back at the stage is when a piano starts to play a tune.

What greets the group's eyes is the sight of the famous Clarissa Harfouch and her German girls walking out of the smoke slowly, dressed in ww2 German military dress for women, causing eyes to open widely. From behind Kestrel and his group, Maya keeps her eyes focused on the German women as the piano plays a solemn, soft random tune as the German females, each with black eye patches walk forward before coming to a stop, each and every girl is perfectly lined up in a straight row.

Then leaning slightly to her left, Maya mutters in a low voice to the mighty Chifuyu, - "I forgot to ask, whats been done with the two girls that Kestrel put into the hospital wing?"

Chifuyu, with her own eyes fixed soely on the German females replies in an equaly low vocal tone - "Them?... Don't worry... their back stage watching the event, they're quite safe and sane, don't sweat about it!".

Maya lets out a small, gentle sigh of relief, knowing that the matter of concerning the wellfare of her students is in good hands. From this point on, nothing but silence befalls all of the IS ground area as the stage piano, with a German female behind it stops playing, allowing a moment to pass, the silence is being filled in by the moment of Clarissa and her girls making their respective poses.

Then, without warning, 5 large white lights flash down upon the stage, lighting up each and every one of Clarissa's girls. On stage, Clarissa smiles, her heart is cool and collected as the many differant faces of the IS academy inhabitants gaze up at both her and her females with amazement and anticipation.

A few notes leave the piano as the rows of German females dash past Clarissa, forming a vertical row on both the left and right of the blue haired German woman. 2 seconds after the German girls get into position flanking the blue haired woman, each and every one of Clarissa's girls get on one knee, allowing the light to shine over their black stockings and shoes. Then, letting in a deep breath, listening intently as the piano starts to play its respective tune, Clarissa proceedes to sing in a deep, loud and clear voice, whilst opening the top buttons of her uniform, showing some cleevage. The German woman then raises her knee, and pulls the skirt up slightly over her black stocking, giving all in the grounds a good look at her left leg, a very seductive smile is upon Clarissa's face as she sings.

_"They call me naughty Lola, the wisest girl on earth,_

_At home my pianola, it works for all it's worth._

_The boys all love my music, I can't keep them away,_

_So my little pianola keeps working night and day"._

As Clarissa finishes her introductions all the German girls flanking the blue haired woman suddenly dash over to form a circle around the german woman whom now proceedes to stand on a small square like object now forming in the subbsiding ankle height smoke and fog.

Seductive smiles all form on the german girl's faces as some sit whilst others stand, each and every one brushes hair away from their brows before trailing hands seductively over their bodies and legs. Clarissa stands on one leg, sticks out her chest and with a graceful flick of her hand to brush her hair of her brow, continues to sing.

_"They call me naughty Lola, the wisest girl on earth,_

_At home my pianola, it works for all its worth._

_Now I tell you a secret, Don't hammer on the keys,_

_For a little Pianissimo, is always bound to please"._

The piano's tune is upbeat and happy, the atmosphere is causing many of the IS females to take out cameras and snap away, others begin to film what is happening. Some girls are giving out supportive whoops whilst others are merely standing stiff with amazed smiles on their faces. Sure, the song is 1930's, which is practacaly ancient, but never the less... the performance is eye widening, the ankle height fog, the piano melody, the white lighting set on a dark ocean blue back ground on the stage makes Clarissa and her girls stand out in a magnificent and elegant way. Even as Clarissa continues to sing, the performance goes on as the blue haired woman slowly lowers her left foot down past her right knee allowing her body to stand on 2 legs again.

_"Lola, Lola - everybody knows me,_

_Ask the first man you see._

_He knows how to find me._

_Old men, young men, all fall in to my net,_

_there's a reason, you bet!"_

Then, without warning the piano plays even louder, the German girls make flirtuous twirls round, some make a twirling leap into the air falling softly on their feet, allowing their skirts to run up slightly showing white undergarments and black garter belts, causing many of the girls in the area to whistle and hoot. Many clap at how daring Clarissa and her girls are being and have the confidence to do so. As for Clarissa herself the woman places both hands on her hips and enjoys her girls dancing around her, at first glance the woman is merely posing on stage as part of the act, but in truth, the German woman is carefuly and quickly scanning the area for signs of the long haired Israeli child known as Kestrel, after all... the youngster is part of the plan to get Laura and Ichika together.

Then, after reaching the half way point of having the piano playing through a tune, Clarissa finaly locks her eye onto her target. In the stage, sits a straight faced ten year old Kestrel, unsure of what to make of the sight before him. Clarissa does not bother to look at what else is around the child, but simply smiles as she locks onto the child, a confident smirk appears on her face, and in her mind an equaly confident thought rushes through her head - ( "Got'cha!" ).

Then, perfectly on cue, as the piano goes back to its courus, Clarissa's girls gather around her and circle in tight formation. As Clarissa begins to sing again, the German girls suddenly grab one another by the waist and lift each other off the ground, causing over half of the audience to clap and cheer.

_"They call me naughty Lola, the wisest girl on earth,_

_At home my pianola, it works for all it's worth._

_The boys all love my music, I can't keep them away,_

_So my little pianola keeps working night and day"._

At this point, sparklers start to burst open, showering the ends of the stage in a show of showering sparks, but the show is not yet over as the German women begin to walk slowly backwards and towards three large boxes that slowly rise through the stage floor. The German females then grab a partner and begin to tango in a mix of elegance and adrenaline around their leader Clarissa whom opens her arms, stands straight and leans her head back as if basking in a glow of pure magnificance. As Clarissa sings, the German woman lowers her arms slowly and turns around her girls now flip and twirl each other around in perfect sync to each other.

_"They call me naughty Lola, the wisest girl on earth,_

_At home my pianola, it works for all its worth._

_Now I tell you a secret, Don't hammer on the keys,_

_For a little Pianissimo, is always bound to please"._

Now, getting down on a bent knee Clarissa prepares for the finale. Her ears are in open, her muscles are set as if on time fused springs, ready to deploy the finale that should bring the house down. The showers of sparks still burn in bright white fountains that light everywhere up and cause many to stare with amazed looks.

_"They call me naughty Lola, the wisest girl on earth,_

_At home my pianola, it works for all it's worth._

_The boys all love my music, I can't keep them away,_

_So my little pianola keeps working night and day"._

Clarissa practacly sing shouts her words as she leaps to her feet, her girls stop performing and join her in lifting both arms up rapidly, all are in perfect sync, not a single German female is a second ahead or behind. The stage lights freeze from rotating and flashing as the three large boxes suddenly explode open with ear pierceing cracks, from the 3 massive containers deploy 3 Schwarzer Regen IS, with 3 Female operators, a vast shower of fireworks deploy from the 3 IS as they flip in the air and twist round, the 3 IS pose in the air and slowly float down to the stage as a mass of fireworks are fired from railguns and from behind the IS stadium.

Umongst the 3 German females that are piloting the IS is Laura, the German girl has an uncharacteristic smile of joy on her face as she lifts an arm up, hand palm facing the night sky and a knee raised, matching the pose of her 2 comrades.

On the stage the music stops and the German girls suddenly swivel round and fall to one knee, all exactaly the same time, fountainous showers of firework like sparks erupt from behind the stage and at the forward edges of the stage. The performance has concluded as all German girls join their leader, Clarissa in doing a curtsey, arms open and apart from the sides of the body, and head bowed low in respect.

The entire area is a mass of ear piercing cheers, whistles and shouts of praise. From in the make shift stands, every single girl has stood up and is clapping, that including those of Kestrel's group, clapping and cheering is everywhere, its as if the entire academy is celebrating a miracle.

For Maya and Chifuyu, both teachers are smiling, but... Chifuyu's smile is more of an effectionate smirk, the cosplaying ponytailed woman simply shakes her head and attempts to hold in her desire to clap and praise. Maya on the other hand has no problem in doing so, and can't help but blush and act bashful with a hint of nerve as she notices Chifuyu smiling with arms folded, the ponytailed woman is simply smirking at Maya as if the woman is an amusing idiot.

Little Kestrel, whom had been watching the entire event is at loss for words, the youngster is unsure what to think. The youngster has never seen so may differant lights and flashes at once, but thankfuly the youngster is not scared. On the other hand, the scar faced youngster feels very, very warm for some odd reason, as if the youngster has just come to a point in his life that will be remembered as one of the most loved moments of his life.

Timid and innocent, the Israeli youngster lifts up an arm as if trying to somehow reach and grab ahold of the strange flashing and shimmering lights that burst and scatter in the dark, black sky. For at least 5 minutes nothing but cheering fills the childs ears and the sights of nearly every single IS female leaping up and down or clapping is the main sight that little Kestrel looks upon. The youngster smiles slightly and timidly, closes his open hand, and lowers his arm at his side.

Then, looking up, the child looks into the loving and happy eyes of Tomoe, whom sends down a very kind and loving smile. Causing Kestrel to freeze and stare in curiosity, but his face soon changes to one of warmth and happiness and sends back an equaly happy face. Kestrel does however blink as Tomoe offers him a hand to take, the child looks at the hand and then up at Tomoe, the pair seem to be suspended in time as the celebrations go on around them, but... that is about to change... as Kestrel slowly lifts a hand and is about to take the white gloved hand of Tomoe, a blinding white light hits the youngster in the face, causing the child to close his eyes and put his hands and arms to his face to sheild his eyes.

The child hisses in fear and drops to his knees, not daring to unsheild his eyes for a single second, Tomoe and most members of the group also sheild their eyes as the light hits them also, but the centre is clearly aimed at Kestrel.

"WHAT THE F**K IS THAT!" - The Austrailian blonde known as Betty angrily snaps, trying to protect her eyes from the blinding white light.

As if on cue, taking everybody by surprise, a familiar voice belonging to Clarissa breaks the pain stricken moment, the voice comes over a microphone device that is clearly what helped the said woman sing so clearly for all to hear, never the less the voice catches everybody off gaurd just as easily as the light has done, only one word is heard come from the Clarissa whom remains obscured by the blinding white light that is now causing Chifuyu and Maya to snarl and get irritated.

"KESTREL!"

A mere few seconds later, Clarissa's voice comes again... but this time saying someone else's name - "ICHIKA ORIMURA!".

_**Okay, phew! This is currently my longest chapter so far, I appologise if any of you readers didn't find Laura and her friend's performance as you wished it to but... as I've said, its my first fic, so go easy on me, remember if anybody at any point has anything they want to see happen, just give me the Private message with the request. Anyway, this is half of the conclusion of the party over with, I ofcourse cut out some ideas because I want to get the party out of the way a bit sooner, otherwise we would be stuck with just one time period, but... never the less, the final part of the party should be the next chapter so I guess I did better than I expected.**_

_**Thanks for reading this chapter, expect more entertainment to come as the fic goes along. Also remember that coming up with such ideas takes it out of the author so give me the credit okay, *Thumbs up!*, okay... thats it for this chapter, the next will be here ASAP, so don't think I'm going against my word.**_

_**Wishing you readers the best and may your own fics get positive reviews and such.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	63. Chapter 63: The dance

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has made another return to the nest with a fresh chapter, thanks for sticking around for so long, boreing most chapters I know but as I've promised before, there will be a lot of drama and action taking place, and the next chapters coming will be a sure promise that they will be soon enough. This chapter concludes the party and will end the fic's time at the IS academy, because from this point afterwards most action takes place outside the academy, after all this is the summer break that the fic is following. Anyway... as you readers are all aware, its best to get the red tape out of the way, please read and enjoy the last chapter for the IS academy party.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 63:

**\- IS academy grounds, outside stage area -**

Straining to sheild his eyes in his position amoungst a vast crowd of IS females, the famous and popular Ichika Orimura, is taken by surprise and stunned at what is suddenly happening. The said male's rising of an arm to protect his eyes is proof of his dissaproval to whatever it is that the blue haired German woman called Clarissa is up to. However, Ichika is not the only one whom is trying to protect his eyes, from behind him with a snarl of pain on her face is the Chinese brunette named Rin, the Japanese beauty Houki with both hands over her eyes, Cecilia and Charlotte whom no longer wear their cosplay wigs but instead are wearing long brown trench coats over their currently worn clothing.

Joining Ichika and his group are 13 random IS females that also shield their eyes, right now, as far as Ichika is aware the German woman going by the name of Clarissa has just called out his name, indicating that he is for some strange reason wanted on stage. However, even before his eyes were blinded by a powerful unforeseen light, the Japanese male is sure he heard the word 'Kestrel' being mentioned, so as far as Ichika is aware, if the Kestrel that he is thinking of is being called out, then whatever it is that the German girls have in mind tonight, then clearly it involves both boys.

Speaking in a bewildered tone matched with a strained and pain struck face, Ichika loudly asks a question that is clearly over heard by a now silent mass of girls, that had at one point been clapping and cheering. - "What the heck is going on!?".

Thankfuly, Ichika's question is responded to almost instantly as Clarissa's voice breaks the silence once again, the German's voice once again coming over a microphone and being crystal clear for all to hear in the cool yet still humid night air. - "Orimura Ichika, please... step up!".

Ichika's response is one of anger, his voice is clearly pain stricken as he proceedes to turn his back to the direction of Clarissa's voice and kneels down on the ground in order to get some aid and relief for his screaming eyes. Normaly Ichika would like to run and hide somewhere in order to escape being blinded, but because of everywhich way he turns being cut off by now wide eyed and excited IS females, the Japanese male is virtualy an island in an ocean, unable to move and stranded.

Rin and Houki can't help but grumble, both girls are clearly taking full brunt of the blinding white searchlight that shines down upon them, and its clearly making tempers rise, Houki keeps her head buried in her hands, not daring to show her face, whilst Rin, with an arm over her eyes, fist clenched shouts in an angered and irritated tone - "TURN THAT DAMN LIGHT OFF FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!".

Charlotte and Cecilia have already proceeded to kneel down on the ground, before dashing away as a small hole begins to form around the group. Clearly the IS females that are getting the brunt of the light are clearly not stupid enough to stand idle and get blinded, so at least at this point, there are a good number that are following their natural instincts tonight, one of which being to escape pain how and whenever possible.

"Charlotte my dear friend how did it come to all this!?" - Cecilia grumbles in a fit of dissaproval whilst pushing herself out of the group of females, her eyes are closed tight. The british blonde is using her hands to find her way around like a blind woman.

"Your guess is as good as mine! I only came out here because I wanted to see Ichika and instead I get stars in my eyes!" - Charlotte replies back with an equaly dissaproved tone, the French blonde has a tight grip with both hands on Cecilia's long brown overcoat, the French blonde is clinging onto it for dear life, knowing that where ever it is that Cecilia is going, it is the only life line that the French blonde has to heading towards salvation, or prefrably a place where both girls won't get blinded!

Whilst Cecilia and Charlotte begin to slip away to safety, Ichika is still unable to process what is happening, the black haired Japanese male is clearly unaware that a space has opened before him, but that is the last thought on his mind, more importantly, right now what matters the most is his saving of his eyes, that seem to be burning in his skull like balls of fire.

Ichika's tollerance is growing thiner by the second, though its only a few seconds since the light hit him in the face, its already gone on long enough for him. First his ears were almost blown out tonight, and now his eyes are being melted out of their sockets, and if that isn't what one would call a living nightmare then what is!?.

Lowering his head and inhaleing as deep as he can, Ichika then lifts his head up, with both hands now pressed flat and firmly over his eyes... shouts at the top of his lungs - "PUT THAT LIGHT OUT FOR CHRIST SAKES!".

Sadly, Ichika's demand does him no good as Clarissa's voice is heard reply an innocent, unwanted question - "What was that Orimura!? Please step up, everyone is waiting for you!".

Then as Ichika falls to his knees and screams in pain, a female voice belonging to non other than his older sister Chifuyu suddenly shatters the silence, the sounding voice is one of anger, rage and uncontainable levels of fury - **"CLARISSA... PUT THAT LIGHT OUT, NOW!".**

Almost instantly, the search lights that stun both Ichika and Kestrel's group turn off, coming as much needed relief for both parties. For Ichika, the feeling of the white burning sensation going away is bliss. The low light of how everything was before being blinded instantly begins to soothe his eyes, but never the less the pain remains, even as Ichika lowers his hands away from his eyes the Japanese male can feel the horrible feeling of having his chocolate brown eyes being burned out.

Houki and Rin can say the same, both females are still keeping their hands placed firmly on their faces, Houki keeps her eyes closed but rubs both eyes with her index finger and thumb on the left hand. Rin dares not open her eyes, and is no were near ready to move her arm away from her head.

Any of the other IS females that were blinded are either just beginning to recover from being stunned, or are half way there already by opening their eyes only a little amount and then closing them again.

From her position on the stage, Clarissa is looking out in the direction of where Chifuyu's voice came from. What never fails to impress people at the IS academy is how loud the mighty Chifuyu can shout if the situation requires it. The remainder of the IS students, cosplaying, in casual dress or in uniform that are below the stage are also looking in the direction of where Chifuyu's voice came from. From where many stand, they can see the maid cosplaying Chifuyu, standing up strait and rubbing her eyes, what they can't see is the angered snarl on her face.

The green haired Maya Yamada appears to be sharing Chifuyu's emotions, the only differance is that Maya has an uncomfortable face on her instead of anger and irritation. Upon looking at the bodily positions that Chifuyu and Maya are making its as clear as day that both women are clearly not the slightest bit amussed at Clarissa's bright light stunt, and now... the German girls are going to get it in the neck!

The silver haired German girl known as Laura, on the other hand... is far more preoccupied with so called, 'more important matters' than be bothered with the angered fury of Chifuyu. Since the moment the large search light, positioned high on top of the stage hit its mark on Ichika, the silver haired, eye patched beauty has been stareing at the Japanese male that she claims as her 'wife', literaly non-stop.

Laura's facial expression has been a mix of desperation and panic, as far as the said girl is concerned, she has come so far to turn back tonight, she is hell bent on earning forgiveness from the Japanese male that she cares so much for. Every thing had been going so well, Laura had performed perfectly, had appeared to impress Ichika from what she saw... and now... it appears that everything she has done has been in vain, Ichika appears to be in pain, and most of it is due to the actions just done by her comrades.

For Laura it is simply torture, her heart is beating in fear and her eyes are not leaving Ichika. The Japanese male is staggering around and stumbling, holding his eyes and as far as Laura is concerned, she is to be blamed if she does not come to the aid of her so called 'wife'.

The silver haired beauty takes a quick glance to the left, and then back to the right, everybody appears to be looking away from the Germans and towards Chifuyu. Some random girls do look at each other but are clearly leaving the route to Ichika open. For Laura, that is all she needs, the German girl can't stand doing nothing any more and risk jepordising her 'wife's' respect for her. The eye patched female kneels down slightly and with a powerful blue flash, activates her IS, less than a second later before anybody has a chance to react the German girl blasts forward and into the air, making a flying leap towards the staggering Japanese male.

From his position on the ground Ichika clearly hears the blast of wind, the sound is all to familiar, it does not take a rocket scientist to know that the noise is that of an IS. However, as Ichika is about to lift and steady himself, lowering his hand away from his closed eyes, he suddenly feels the cold, metalic feel of an IS arm and hand suddenly grab his person. The feeling of being on the ground leaves his feet, and the feel of being tightly clutched to the side of a random IS travels through his body.

Although Ichika's eyes remain closed, the Japanese male is all to aware of who it is that has ahold of him, after all... Ichika gets this on a daily basis from only one person.

"Laura... Laura what are you doing?" - Ichika speaks in a calm and low tone huffed tone, the voice of the Japanese male matches the irony of the situation.

As Laura blasts back to the stage, the brief blast of freezing wind that rushes through Ichika's hair does not mask Laura's voice, the German girl's voice is one of mixed emotions, yet it remains its normal self. The girl replies back to the Japanese male in a loud and clear voice that causes Ichika to sweatdrop - "I am resposible for your pain, I am also responsible for your happiness, you are my wife and as such I must always perform my duties to ensure your safety and protection!".

In Ichika's mind, one phrase runs through his mind, he dares not to say it for 2 reasons, the first being because if he did say it, nobody would take the slightest bit of notice, the second reason is because if he does say it, Laura wouldn't bother to take his words into a account anyway. - ( "When will you stop it with the wife thing?! You make me sound like I'm the helpless damsel in distress... and to a guy that is very insulting you know!" ).

Less than 2 seconds after Ichika thinks of that remark, he feels the cold IS hands and fingers of Laura's IS begin setting him down on the large black stage, but thankfuly the Japanese male manages to find some comfort in the situation, it is at this point that his eye sight begins to return, Ichika partialy opens one eye and to his relief his optics, despite being dazzeled is managing to regain some normality. Unfortuneatley what ever it is that Laura is saying does not get through to Ichika, the Japanese male is still half deaf, which comes as bit of a nasty shock to Laura when he points to his right ear and in a loud and clear voice speaks the words - "What ever it is you have to say, you'll have to speak up... I've almost had my ears blown out tonight, that damn disco music was turned up too loud... DEAF!".

As Laura deactivates her IS and stumbles backwards in alarm at hearing Ichika's words, the silver haired German girl suddenly surprises her comrades by leaping forward and wrapping her arms around Ichika, the German female yells nearly at the top of her lungs at her now surprised comrades. - "I will see to my wife's needs, all of you... grab the child!".

The german girls hesitate, look at each other, unsure of what to make of the situation... but... as Laura is their captain, and the German girls follow their military instincts and dash away, at least 4 of the ww2 dressed females rush over to the stands in order to seize the long black haired Israeli youngster that for the moment is on his knees trying to overcome the stunning white blotch patters that dazzel his sensitive ocean blue eyes.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Despite having his eyes blinded for a few unpleasant minutes, the long black haired youngster was able to recover surprisingly fast from his eyes being burned, along with the rest of his group, whom for some strange reason suddenly seemed to gain a miraculous eye recovery when the child placed his hands on them. Chifuyu and Maya herself had been subject to some strange recovery, but as the matter of dealing with Clarissa was considered far more important, all Chifuyu did was smirk at the child, gave a single nod and with her usual cool big sister like tone spoke the words - "Looks like my dope of a brother is one I can be proud of, he chose his friends well!".

The German girls that had been sent to grab ahold of the ten year old youngster were suddenly forced to change their objectives, due to the orders of Chifuyu. No matter how one looks at it, Laura may the captain of a military orginisation, but in the end, the one in charge at the IS academy is the black haired beauty known as Chifuyu. The 4 German girls were then the guides that took the mighty woman down to Clarissa.

Maya on the other hand was simply stricken with confusion, but just like Chifuyu had brushed it off with the feeling of belief that her sudden recovery was mere coincidence. After all... a ten year old child whom has suffered a hellish and unspeakable past couldn't have been the reason for her and a few other female's sudden eye recovery... could he?!.

Whatever the reason was, now the group, along with Ichika and hundreds of IS females are preoccupied with other matters at hand, as it is getting close to midnight, a traditonal moment comes forward, the slow dance.

Midnight is the time limit that is set to expire the party, so its no surprise that everybody had flocked to the two male inhabitants at the IS academy. Ichika due to being on stage and managing to recover from his blinded eyes was clearly off limits due to being on stage surrounded by the German beauties whom where shooting the said Japanese male some flirtous winks, smiles and batting of lashes.

For Houki, Rin, Cecilia and Charlotte just seeing Ichika surrounded by the German females was annoying enough, but to see how he was reacting to the German girl's actions was a real cherry on the cake! Never the less, Houki, Charlotte and Cecilia gave Ichika his due, at least he was acting like a sensible person and not taking amusement from the situation, so although Ichika is dense concerning love, nobody has to worry about him running off with some strange female.

Rin on the other hand was obviously steaming with rage, and on the verge of leaping onto the stage in IS, but thankfuly, the partaily deployed IS hands from Cecilia and Houki prevented the Chinese brunette from going beserk at the moment. When Rin looked back at both females, she was greeted with both females with frowns on their faces, followed by slow head shakes, the looks in both girl's eyes was a near plead for Rin not to do something she may regret doing later on.

Surprisingly Rin had taken that moment a lot better than what was expected, but non the less was clearly antagonised by the sight of Ichika being chatted up by the German females, Laura would clearly have the privalidge of having Ichika to herself tonight, even if she does have to allow her girls to dance with the Japanese male every now and then.

But... ofcourse all is not lost, as they say... 'There's still plenty of time' when concerning matters of love that is, so at least the rest of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers, despite being left out in the dark for now, will manage to get their own private time with Ichika later on, after all... tommorrow is the first day of summer break, so in terms of lovey dovey chances, what have the girls got to loose!? Laura may have won this battle, but the war for Ichika's heart is nowhere near over yet!

The opening dance has been been a mere warm up, with Kestrel the child was quickly taken by surprise by one of his shota lovers, the said girl being Konoe, whom was quick to have Kestrel go into a waltz with her. The long black haired child was clearly confused as hell, but maintained eye contact with the Japanese beauty as she guided him around whilst the slow dancing melody was playing.

Ichika's first dance was just as confusing as what Kestrel was experiancing, but thankfuly just like his little Israeli friend, was able to pick himself up as one of Laura's german friends led him around the stage with both hands. Every now and then the German female would press herself up against him, causing the Japanese male to blush furiously and gulp, clearly being in ww2 dress with revealing areas has its advantages in cases like capturing Ichika's heart using the feminine wiles tactic.

Many of the other females of the night have taken the chance to practice with each other, even though Ichika and Kestrel have been pre-occupied by other hands, it doesn't mean that the other girls at the academy are going give up on the only 2 males that academy has to offer.

The first dance was uneventful, but now... with just 2 more dances left untill the big finale at tonight's party occurs, the German girls have surrounded Ichika and are acting like zombies wanting to have this fresh catch for themselves. The same can be said for little Kestrel whom is surrounded by mass numbers of females, the wonderful smells of perfume cause a small yet very timid smile to form on Kestrel's face, which sadly... seems to add more fuel to the fire.

Tomoe, Rie, Yuno along with Austrailian female Betty and her cosplaying friends have wasted no time in forming a tight circle around Kestrel. The females link arms and stand close together in order to ensure that the Israeli youngster is not spooked. The 2 mature beauties Yui and Kaede are ofcourse doing the best they can to calm things down, but as Kestrel is simply to popular, just like Ichika... its impossible to calm such a vast amount of fame hungry beauties down at once, the only way to get out of this is for Kestrel to declare whom he is going to dance with next, or at least which females the 10 year old will have the privalidge of holding his hand for a few minutes tonight before allowing him to be passed to the next girl.

Time is slipping away, its only a matter of time before the next dance begins and the pressure in the air is heavy as hell. From her position the Austrailian female cosplaying the Rozen Maiden Shinku turns her head to look at her friend cosplaying as the Rozen Maiden Souseiseki and in a voice mixed with irritation and dissaproval proceedes to speak - "Some how I've got the feeling that were going to be stuck like this for a while!".

"What do you expect from having to deal with the bluddy Japanese!" - The cosplaying Souseiseki dressed Austrailian replies as if its a matter of fact.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" - The angered yet desperate voice of the Austrailian girl cosplaying as Suiseiseki shouts out in a demanding tone.

"Poor kid, I expect he's down behind us crying his eyes out!" - The Austrailian female cosplaying as Suigintou speaks out in a casual yet huffed tone.

"Is she talking about our Kestrel!?" - The scantaly dressed schoolgirl Rie speaks out in a demanding tone, despite not understanding a word of english, for some strange reason the said female had managed to understand that whatever it was that was just said, it was referred to the scar faced youngster that her heart longs for.

"Well what do you expect us to think! Anyone would be shaken up in a case like this!" - The Austrailian female cosplaying as Kanaria calls out, trying to ignore the hands, pushing and shoving from the many hundreds of girls that want to earn a moment of fame with the ten year old youngster being sheilded behind her back.

"Well why dosen't he just choose whom he's dancing with!?" - The Suigintou cosplaying Austrailian girl asks in a moment of frustration.

"Because if there was just one girl coming at him at a time then I would expect he would dance with that girl then move on to the next!" - The Austrailian female cosplaying as Barashisou speaks out as if its a matter of fact.

"Or else not choose at all because he hardly knows anybody!" - The Austrailian female cosplaying as Kirakishou speaks out in a defeatist tone.

"Nobody has asked the kid, everybody just blunders over and expects the child to choose off by heart!" - The Shinku dressed Austrailian female hisses out in a tone of irritation.

"I would dance with the kid myself and be the first one to do so if it wasn't for all these bluddy crazy sheilas!" - The Suiseiseki cosplaying Austrailian girl barks out, trying to hold back the mass of females that slowly seem to be breaking through the barrier sheilding the nervous 10 year old.

Then, much to everybody's relief, the crowd suddenly seems to ease up, many IS females suddenly go silent and seem to open up a path. Kestrel is aware that something his happening but is clearly unsure of what it is, for the girls that shield him it is a moment of pure rejoicement as the the face and fiqures of Chifuyu, Maya, Yui and Kaede suddenly appear. The moment being one that shows the matriarch coming forward to take control of the situation.

Chifuyu and Maya having finished giving Clarissa a hard speaking to, despite their being no raised voices, never ceases to amaze many of the students at the IS academy, her own younger brother is one that is always impressed, but the again, Ichika sort of models himself of his mighty older sister.

Upon walking upto the group and practacly saving everybody from being suffocated to death, or worse crushed, Chifuyu wears her usual neutral facial expression. Yui and Kaede have a much more pleasant expression on the face, as does Maya. Maya's friendliness always a heart warmer and causes the ring of females surrounding Kestrel to break their arm linked circle and instead turn and face the green haired female with faces of wonder.

"Hello there, is everybody okay?"

"All the better for seeing you come and save us!" - The Austrailian female known as Betty replies with a cheerful vocal tone, matched with an equaly happy face.

Smirking and shaking her head in an affectionate manner, Chifuyu maintains her folded arms, and lets out a sigh. Then, after taking a breath, the maid cosplaying beauty proceedes to look the beautifuly dressed Tomoe in the eyes. Chifuyu's voice is calm and pleasant, as she asks the dark blue ponytailed beauty a question that is almost answered without Tomoe having to speak.

"Looks like you lot are somehow in one piece, is Kestrel okay?"

The long black haired youngster with his blazing red facial scar saves Tomoe the trouble of having to reply, as the youngster suddenly and timidly appears from behind the princess dressed girl with his usual straight and timid expression. From where she stands Yui sends down a careing motherly look, and raises a hand as a friendly wave gesture, but unfortuneately... because of the many thousands of eyes that are drawn onto Kestrel like a schoolgirl eyeing up the tastiest desert in the cafeteria, the youngster dares not respond to Yui, but instead the youngster tends to shift himself slightly backwards and behind the Austrailian female that is cosplaying as the Rozen Maiden Suigintou.

The said Austrailian female does look down with a careing look, her heart is filled with the deepest sympathy, but as she moves her arm to pat the child on the head, the Israeli child suddenly snaps his vision upward to look at the strange female's now approaching hand, Kestrel's ocean blue eyes fill with nerve and the youngster dashes away, running up to and beside the opposite side of Tomoe, the youngster makes only one glance back to look at the face of the strange Austrailian girl, whom is sweatdroping and feeling awkward at the situation.

Observing the moment, Maya is first to speak, the said teacher speaks the obvious with a normal yet regretful tone - "I guess he's still not ready to trust strangers, in fact... I think he barely trusts me!" - Maya rolls her eyes and has a sorrowful look on her face as she mentions Kestrel still being on the razors edge of nerve when around staff at the academy, but of course, knowing and getting only a tiny idea of what Kestrel has endured in his past, nobody can blame the child for being like a wild untamed animal.

Chifuyu attempts to ignore Maya's comment, as it reminds her of when Kestrel fainted in her office when she had her fit of rage, the mighty office woman has felt foul enough as it is when concerning her treatment of a PTSD stricken child, but... now isn't the time to think about that sort of stuff, theres the buisness of enjoying the last few or so hours for tonight, and the great surprise that Chifuyu has had saved for her students will take place.

"Right... I take it, Kestrel is in good condition then!?" - Chifuyu asks in a tone matched with a sweatdrop.

Letting out a girlish titter, Tomoe pulls the youngster into a loving embrace, though Kestrel keeps his arms by his sides and his hands infront and below his hips, the youngster does feel some what more at ease, but the problem still remains that many of the female eyes that stare upon the youngster is causing the youngster's heart to beat in fear. Tomoe's tone is one that gives away the awkward situation of the matter - "Yes, thats right... Ah... Kestrel's alright he's... just not used to these moments!".

"I don't think any of us are!" - Yui mutters to Kaede with a slight turn of the head, causing the cosplaying teacher beside her to smile kindly, but remain silent.

"Hmm... very well, so... are you two ready?" - Chifuyu asks with a calm tone, matched with an effectonate smirk.

For Tomoe, Chifuyu's words are confusing, Tomoe is at loss to speak, what does Chifuyu mean by the words 'Are you two ready?'. Tomoe's reply is instant, and although as far as she herself is concerned, the question directed at Chifuyu makes the Princess dressed female look like she is running on the kindergarden I.Q level. - "Ready?... Ready for what Orimura sensei?".

Chifuyu practacly leans back slightly but quickly in surprise and opens her eyes wide for a few seconds, never the less, Chifuyu manages to regain her composure and regain her usual facial image that is all too popular at the IS academy. As she speaks Chifuyu's voice is a mix of annoyance, yet at the same time its one of bewilderment, as far as Chifuyu is concerned, a girl as smart as Tomoe should be aware that on such a night like this its expected that the male student, or in this case the ONLY two male students at the academy are to choose a female to dance with, as the IS academy is an all girls school, both Ichika and Kestrel are litteraly 2 survivors from a sinking ship stranded in some massive ocean.

For Ichika, everything is taken care of, he will be preoccupied with the German girls for the rest of the night, which seems alright at first, untill one realises that Ichika's duty of swinging the night away with the rest of the females at the academy now has to be taken on by a vulnerable child with PTSD. The risks are clear to even the lowest of students at the academy, if little Kestrel suffers a turn then it in all likely hood be limited to the activity at the party, but... as the old saying goes, 'its too late to turn back'. Which is made clear as Chifuyu speaks the words - "To dance. Its expected that on the leaving night of the party the most highly spoken of male student, or in our case two is ready to socialise with the female student body at Japanese schools, surely you are aware of that fact!?".

Tomoe pauses, rolls her eyes and raises an eyebrow, a few seconds later Tomoe looks at the mighty ponytailed woman and shakes her head, the dark blue haired beauty replies only one phrase to Ichika's older and mighty sister - "No... sorry, I was not aware of that fact".

Chifuyu's response is casual, yet a huffed one as she closes her eyes, puts on a straight face and shrugs her shoulders. The long ponytailed woman huffs an ironic sigh as she opens her eyes and responds to Tomoe's answer - "Oh, you wasn't?... Oh well you know now, anyway... I wan't to see you kids enjoying tonight's festivities, everybody's put their heart and effort into getting things ready for everyone, so I'd appreciate it if you went ahead and took part in the festivites, you think you can manage that?".

Tomoe remains silent, the dark blue haired girl looks Ichika's older sister in the face and is unable to find her words, but thankfuly after a few seconds a warm smile appears on her face, giving Chifuyu the message that her request has been acknowledged. Which comes as a satisfied moment for the almighty Chifuyu Orimura, whom sends back a satisfied smirk and a nod of the head.

Tomoe leans forward and gives a respective bow, as Tomoe straightens herself up the girl replies with a very happy and pleasant - "Sure, will do!".

Nodding with an affectionate smirk, Chifuyu closes her eyes for a brief moment before casting a quick glance down at the long black haired Israeli youngster standing curiously beside Tomoe and looking away at nothing in particular to the right. As Kestrel begins to feel Chifuyu aswell as many other and differant female stares looking at him, the child suddenly snaps his focus away from looking at nothing, and proceedes to look up at the maid cosplaying Chifuyu. Little Kestrel's eyes are merely their normal self, plain, oceanic, calm with a hint of looking troubled.

Chifuyu exchanges eye contact with the youngster for a few minutes, before looking at the dark blue haired Tomoe and in a calm and pleasant tone speaks the words - "Right... well... I'll leave everything to you then, have a nice night".

"Yes, thankyou Orimura sensei" - Tomoe replies with a warm and pleasant tone.

With that, Chifuyu lowers her arms and walks away, Maya closely following behind the long ponytailed female. The green haired teacher in glasses gives the beautifuly dressed Tomoe a pleasant smile, the green haired teacher says only one phrase to the dark blue haired female before following after the mightest woman in Japan. - "Its great to see our troubled Kestrel associating more with the students, I think he and Ichika both do us all some credit".

As Maya walks away, Tomoe smiles warmly to herself, one phrase runs through her head as a bashful blush appears under her eyes - ( "I know... I think that all the time!" ).

As Yui and Kaede walk forward, somehow managing to get the mass of females to back away and ease up on the surrounding of Kestrel and the females that was sheilding him, however... it isn't really convincing, as each and every girl continues to send little Kestrel hopeful looks, even with authority, the natural instincts of the girls wanting either fuss or fame isn't dying no matter what the atmosphere, proving that a girl's engery and spirit levels are not to be underestimated.

The fact being proven as the Moka Akashiya cosplaying Yuno walks over to Kestrel, taking the youngster by surprise and making him leap in startlement slightly, as the child looks up at Yuno with nervous and cautious eyes, the pleasant looking cosplaying female is quick to ask a question that her counter part Rie was on the verge of asking.

"Why don't you take my hand for this dance, what do you say?" - Yuno's voice is warm, kind and tender, but as usaul, its only to be expected when Kestrel blinks and looks confused, unsure as what to make out what Yuno is talking about.

"Heck no! Why don't you take my hand instead" - The Austrailian female cosplaying as the Rozen Maiden Souseiseki suddenly blurts out, making a rapid appearance behind Yuno and looking into Kestrel's confused and curious eyes. The scar faced child leaps in surprise but does manage to quickly recover from being surprised by the friendly Austrailian girl, Yuno shoots an annoyed frown with an irritated glance at the Austrailian female that appears behind her, much to Kestrel's feeling of confusion which suddenly replaces his brief feelings of being startled.

Then, much to inconvienance of the entire group, a female computer voice ressembling the one in the IS stadium suddenly breaks the moment with the words that Kestrel would dread to hear at a time like this if he could understand the Japanese tounge.

"THE NEXT DANCE IS ABOUT TO START IN SIXTY SECONDS, ALL THOSE WHOM ARE ABOUT TO DANCE IN THE IS GROUNDS, PLEASE GRAB YOUR PARTNER".

Confused and oblivious as to what was just said, Kestrel merely looks up at the night sky and at the very many numbers of bright, twinkling stars that are as clear as diamonds. The youngster rolls his ocean blue eyes to the left and then back to the right, the youngter lowers his head and then tilts it slightly to the left, the youngster is unsure of what to make of the situation.

Never the less as the youngster begins to look around him, a nasty shock is laying in wait for his unprepared eyes. Yui and Kaede despite their attempts to calm down and disperse the masses,  
nearly every single IS girl, cosplaying, casualy dressed or in uniform is slowly creeping forward with hopeful stares, causing the child's heart to beat out of control.

Despite the fact that many of the IS females are into Ichika, many are hell bent on getting a full night of fame with the second IS male pilot at the IS academy, there are few exceptions, but never the less... the drive of either trying be seen as an adult or simply to impress Ichika is simply too great.

Thankfuly, though, Tomoe is on hand. The Princess dressed female reacts with lightning speed, suddenly grabbing Kestrel's hand, kneeling down and pulling the youngster into a warm embrace. Even though Kestrel is at first taken by surprise, the youngster is non the less put at ease by Tomoe's friendly and warm loving action. Even though Kestrel does not return the embrace, the youngster is clearly comforted, as Tomoe feels the child's slight tremble ease up and vanish.

Tomoe's heart is warm and fuzzy at this point, the princess dressed girl holds the youngster lovingly and tenderly in her arms, then... in a loud and clear voice, the dark blue haired beauty says some words that nobody was expecting to hear come from the white dressed female - "Let me dance with him, he's more comfortable with me!".

Almost instantly, whilst still holding the curious ten year old, a red flush crawls up Tomoe's neck and forms into a deep blush under her eyes. Deep down Tomoe is screaming with joy, but is still clearly bashful about the situation. Needless to say, amounst the group of females that surround the group, the two mature teachers, Yui and Kaede blink with surprise before smiling in happiness, both women send each other approving looks, clearly both impressed by how brave and honest the dark blue haired beauty was in her move just now.

"She is isn't she?" - Kaede asks in a curious yet proud manner.

"She is!" - Yui replies clearly overjoyed at what is wrong with the dark blue haired female.

"Even though shes only sixteen, she's growing into a mature lady!" - The dark haired cosplaying teacher known as Kaede speaks in a proud tone.

"Its not just the boys that do the academy credit" - The office dressed Yui comments in an equaly proud way.

The mature office dressed female is well aware that although its women that have done every last inch of mind and bodily damage to the troubled Israeli youngster, its girls like Tomoe that can prove that although the child has been abused by them, NOT every female on planet earth is some evil hearted beast.

For the girls that surround the group, many simply cast looks at each other, most looks are surprised, the only understanding ones in the group are the Austrailian blonde named Betty and surprisingly enough, the scantaly dressed Rie, but... as Tomoe stands, straightening herself up, the xxx dressed schoolgirl with orange pigtails dashes up to Tomoe and with arms folded under her exposing cleevage.

Rie smirks, shakes her head, before reaching down to grab the confused right hand of little Kestrel and with a tone of playfulness matched with a smug stare in the eyes, speaks the words -

"Okay, I trust you with our Kes, but... whilst out there you better send him over my way, I've not even the chance to be alone with him tonight and I love him the most!".

Rie places both hands to her face, cupping the sides of her face, raising her shoulders, blushing and proceeding to shake herself from side to side in a lovey dovey fangirling manner. Which comes as an awkward yet admirable moment for the Princess dressed Tomoe, whom can do nothing but sweatdrop and in a calm, pleasant yet awkward bewildered voice replies only with the words - "Ah... yeah... sure thing!".

**\- 2 minutes later -**

Standing face to face, Tomoe and Kestrel stand mere inches away from each other, both looking each other in the eyes. It had been a mere 2 minutes since it was announced that the second out of the three dances is taking place. Both Kestrel and Tomoe are unaware that each other's hearts are beating wildly, the only differance is that Tomoe's heart beats with excitement and Kestrel's heart beats with uncertain nerve.

Not only does the pair feel the anticipation of nerve and excitement, but ever since finding a spot in the grounds, less than 50 yards away from the black make shift stage, both Kestrel and Tomoe have felt the burning gazes from nearly every last IS female in the grounds. Even though Kestrel is taken for tonight, there is still a few exceptions that are not about to take their eyes of the pair, especially if it means getting a few moments of fame with the ever popular growing Israeli youngster with a blazing red facial scar.

A great auror of silence is in the air, everybody is facing their respective partners in silence, suspense lingers as everybody waits for a clicking sound, which will be the signal for the slow dancing to start, as Tomoe stands with her hands placed together at her front in a very lady like manner, the ten year old Kestrel is blinking with curiosity, despite being young and ofcourse a bit naive to understand the signs of Tomoe's excitement, the youngster himself is a mass of nerves, his small heart is almost ice cold with nerve and a terrible feeling of dread is crawling up his already badly scarred back. Thankfuly though, the youngster's nerves seem to drop as Tomoe looks down at the youngster with a very warm and careing expression.

Kestrel looks away for a brief moment and towards the direction of Ichika, whom stands on the large black stage with the silver haired Laura Bodewig, face to face. Ironicaly, Ichika himself is looking in Kestrel's direction and as the two males make eye contact, Ichika sends down an awkward and nervous grin, shrugs his shoulders and gives a quick thumbs up to the youngster.

Kestrel, still heavily nervous and timid, responds by casting back a small but very kind and friendly smile. The youngster lowers his head slowly then raises it in a nod, neither male makes a whisper, but throughout the silence, both males, despite their age differances manage to put each other's hearts at rest.

Its now at this point as Kestrel turns his head away to regain full eye contact with Tomoe, that the youngster sends Tomoe a small but timid smile matched by a small and very brief nod of respect, despite having a nervous face, Tomoe can tell that the child is telling her that he is ready and that everything is perfectly fine. The very combination causes Tomoe's eyes to fill with emotional tears for a brief moment, the said female is overwhelmed by the effort that the child is making, despite having a life that even an adult would hardly even dare begin to imagine with many details still to be uncovered, Tomoe knows that in a case like this, the traumitised youngster is being as brave as possible for 2 reasons... the first because he feels comfortable enough now to trust her, even if its just half level and the second, because of the effort that Ichika is making.

Thankfuly though no tears appear in her eyes for a brief moment, but the fact remains that Tomoe is still a mix of joyful emotions. It takes nearly all her will power to not fall to her knees and embrace the PTSD stricken youngster, but non the less her desires of wanting to be in contact with the child is granted when the clicking sounds that everybody is waiting for suddenly echo through the still air. Tomoe does not hesitate and reaches for the youngster's small soft hands, Kestrel blinks in surprise at first, but calms down completley when Tomoe guides his left to her waist, the dark blue haired beauty places her own left hand on the child's shoulder, although Kestrel is shorter than Tomoe, the youngster still makes a good if 'only just' suitable dancing partner, but... size in this case does not matter when one takes into account how wonderful Tomoe feels right now.

As Kestrel and Tomoe's hands touch and hold each other, almost instantly a soft, careful, yet loud and clear tune breaks the silence and almost instantly everybody takes their partners hands in their own. Less than a second after that the waltz begins, as Kestrel is new to such a new event, the youngster is expected to be nervous and almost instantly has a nervous look on his face as Tomoe leads the youngster in this so called 'New experiance'.

Thankfuly though, Kestrel is quick to learn the movement of Tomoe and simply follows it, the youngster does not break eye contact with the seemingly over joyed princess dressed beauty. For the first 19 seconds of moving left to right and around slowly, the pair make a twirl together, which goes noticed by a fair few IS students.

Dancing 5 couples away is Cecilia and Charlotte, both wear their trench coats, which is amazingly not registered as unusual by the other IS students, instead both blondes give the impression that they have come to the party as private detectives that wear the traditional long brown coat.

Dancing together and maitaining a cool and collected auror is both Houki and Rin, both females see tonight as a chance to at one point get even with the theiving German girl that has Ichika on stage, as Houki grabs Rin's waist and lifts her off the ground during a turn, Houki can already feel the satisfactory of at one point getting her sworn revenge on Laura. As for Rin whom after being set back on her feet and joining Houki in a twirl is secretly already planning a very devious scheme as to how to get Ichika alone on the third and final dance tonight.

As for the said Japanese male, Ichika is obviously at loss for words, even though he is dancing a waltz with the eye patched German girl, he can't quite understand Laura's reason for blushing heavily and acting bashful, yet at the same time happy as hell, as if she has just been reunited with her long lost missing child, or in her case... has just been accepted back into the life of her heartbroken loved one.

As Ichika leads Laura around the stage hand in hand, every occasion switching hand locations in order to keep up with the expected movements, the German female is constantly stareing at Ichika with her one solitary eye, a very uncharacteristic smile is on her face, matching the one she had that time on the beach when Ichika commented that her swimsuit was cute. Only differance this time is that Laura seems to look even more pathetic, and love stricken, a bead of dribble seems to be trying to come out of the German girl's mouth as she gazes into Ichika's eyes.

Ichika on the other hand feels horrible amounts of dread in his gut, but somehow manages to keep his sickness feelings under control as he leads Laura around as casualy as he can manage, but never the less has the horrible feeling that he has added some fuel to an already troublesome fire.

**AU note: - ( If you readers want a good idea of what type of dance I'm talking about please go onto youtube and watch the yule ball scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ) -**

From a distance away from Cecilia and Charlotte, the blue haired Russian sisters Kanzashi and Tatenashi are engaged in a close quarter waltz, despite being of the same gender, both girls are clearly being free hearted tonight, the fact being proven as Tatenashi twirls Kanzashi around with one arm before allowing her sister to lead the way.

Back with Kestrel and Tomoe, the pair begin to loose themselves in the soft melody and soon enough, Kestrel's nervous face begins to fade completley, despite doing his best to control his small foot movements, the youngster is doing much better than what has been expected. Although the youngster is letting Tomoe lead the way, the youngster's movements are improving by the second, even as Tomoe pulls the youngster in a bit closer, causing both to blush slightly... Kestrel still manages to control his footing, but there is the occasion when Kestrel very nearly stumbles, much to the friendly smile of Tomoe, whom manages to show the youngster that there is nothing to be embarrassed about and that his performance is really good for a first timer.

Every now and then the youngster with his star of David pendant shining in the party light looks down trying to hide a bashful flush under his eyes when ever Tomoe sends down a loving smile down to keep the ten year old's spirits up, and for the rest of the dance, the pair remain oblivious that not only do eyes watch them, not only including Ichika's but those of Yui and Kaede, whom watch from the sides.

Kaede is at first oblivious to Kestrel's dancing with Tomoe untill Yui lightly taps the young teacher on the shoulder and in a happy tone whispers the words - "Kaede, look!".

Kaede can only respond with one phrase as she watches the mentaly and spiritualy wounded Kestrel waltz in an elegant manner with Princess Tomoe. Kaede's words of a person impressed and truly amazed. - "If I'm dreaming this, don't wake me up what ever you do!".

**\- 10 minutes later -**

When the dance comes to an end, Kestrel and Tomoe are near Ichika and Laura, the Israeli youngster and the Japanese beauty are near the stage steps, although it does not matter, but Tomoe wants to let Kestrel have the privalidge to twirl his partner round with one arm, which goes well at first... but as the twirl comes to an end, Tomoe accidently losses her footing, the dark blue haired beauty goes wide eyed and falls backwards, but... to her amazement, she comes to a sudden halt in mid air, all that she sees is a quick blue flash that makes her blink as she falls, then, the feeling of hard metal like objects are felt suddenly come into contact with the girl's back.

Tomoe, does not hesitate, the female turns her head to the left and to her amazement, sees non other than Kestrel. The scar faced youngster has stopped Tomoe's fall, the youngster had partialy summoned 'BLACK PHOENIX', and used the IS arms and hands to catch the Japanese beauty, along with partialy deploying his IS wings in case of the sudden need to get in the air.

Everything happens at the same time as the music comes to a stop, and from where many stand, it looks like what just happened was part of the act, and that Kestrel is holding Tomoe like a knight carrying his princess to safety. The IS wings on the youngster's back make Kestrel look like a great angel, which understandably causes some very loud clapping and praise from the other students. Even as Kestrel carefuly sets Tomoe down and deactivates his partialy summoned IS parts, Ichika sends a very proud look over to the confused youngster, whom merely rubs the side of his temple with his right hand palm, unsure of what the fuss is about, Tomoe clutches her chest tightly and feels her heart warm up and flutter as she looks down at the long black haired Kestrel deactivate his Angel wings, the dark blue haired female smiles and looks away for a brief moment, but quickly regains her composure and joins the child in being the centre of attention.

However, before anybody can say or do anything else the female computer voice shatters the moment with a brief and important message - "THANKYOU FOR ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES TONIGHT, FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, AS YOU DANCE, ASWELL AS TO CELEBRATE THE END OF TERM, ORIMURA CHIFUYU WILL NOW REVEAL HER SURPRISE... ENJOY!".

A second after the message is spoken, a large purple streak blazes up into the sky, a resounding 'fwoosh' is heard, Ichika, Kestrel and a sea of eyes turn to the sky as the purple trail suddenly bursts into a large cluster of stars and sparks. A loud resounding bang shatters the night silence in the sky, less than 3 seconds later more streaks erupt and blast into the sky causing more loud mid air exlposions that shimmer differant colours and patters.

On the ground little Kestrel tilts his head, he's seen these lights before night, but at the moment the child is unaware of what they are, but what the child does know, is that a very nasty and powerful force is combinded to make these lights erupt so the child is already aware that if these lights are used incorrectly, then the ressults could be very unpleasant and fatal. So once again, no matter how one looks at it, it proves that Kestrel is indeed wise beyond his years and that although these lights are dangerous, they are dazzeling non the less.

More and more lights burst and erupt in differant colours, this time twirling streaks follow the ones that go upwards in a perfectly straight line. A strange ear piercing whine is now heard amounst the mid air bangs and explosions.

"Cool! Orimura sensei has orginised fireworks for tonight!" - The cheerful voice of the Russian Tatenashi is heard, now walking upto Ichika and the others with her sister at her side.

"Those things have got to be from my homeland!" - The Chinese brunette named Rin proudly exclaims pointing to the sky as the massive air bursts of red, pink, blue, green, purple and yellow fill the sky in a space of sky that seems to engulf the entire IS academy.

"Ofcourse they are! Your Country claims it invented everything doesn't it!?" - The British blonde known as Cecilia comments with arms folded matched with a raised eyebrow, the Chinese brunette responds by folding her own arms and turning her head away with her nose slightly raised in the air, the female is showing that she isn't listening to word that the British blonde is saying.

The lights and flashes are unlike anything that the students at the IS academy have seen, causing many immediately point to the sky, clap or start filming the events on their cameras. Many have open mouthed smiles, others are commenting, but as the sounds of party music start up again for the final time tonight, many begin to start dancing again, this time everybody starts to go all out with their spirits, others simply go into the stands and watch the fireworks, there are a fair few IS students that go back to the stalls to get a bite to eat or drink, but others begin to do something that is only to be expected, the gathering forward to get either Ichika or Kestrel to dance one final number tonight... but... The look of worn out eyes on Ichika is a clear indication that what ever happens for the rest of the last 30 minutes of tonight's party, Ichika is nowhere near about to dance a few more numbers.

Kestrel however is a differant story, and there are a few females that are still wanting to have the honour of Kestrel's company, the main 2 being the youngster's shota lovers, Yuno and Rie, whom waste no time in pulling the ten year old up onto the stage, the third shotacon known as Konoe calmly walks behind after the trio, less than a second after that... the entire group follows and for the last minutes of the night. Nothing but festivity follows as the mass of fireworks shimmer, explode and burst in the sky, the entire display lasts untill midnight to the second, and when it ends... the last few 30 minutes of festivity are observed as such...

Kestrel despite being confused and tired is worn down to the last amounts of his young strength by a love stricken Rie and Yuno, Ichika is forced to tango with Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin and Houki untill he falls to his knees completely exhausted and together with Kestrel spends the last 4 minutes of party time chilling and watching the most spectacular firework display that one could ever hope to imagine, along with the females in the group... and secretly... from their position in the stands, a camera flash goes unnoticed... but thankfuly the culprits are non other than Chifuyu and Maya. Chifuyu turns to Maya and with a smug and proud expression turns to her friend with glasses and speaks the words -

"What!? Whats wrong with gathering memories!?".

However... unbeknowst to Maya, in her mind Chifuyu's mind is the mirror opposite of her smile... one phrase rushes through her head - ( "Yeah, I'm gonna need all the morale I can... Kestrel's Prometheus test starts next week!" ).

_**Phew! Thank god I got through! Not very good these chapters in some areas are they!?, but I think I've made an acceptable effort, screw all readers who can't understand such a hard made effort, but bless you all to heaven for those that enjoy and can understand these chapters... I can honestly say that I'm happy that the IS academy chapters are over, but that doesn't mean that all characters seen at the academy are not going to appear in further chapters, because they will be needed, because from this point on more action should come, and you'll discover more horror's of Kestrel's past. For those that have any future requests just give me the PM and I'll see what I can do.**_

_**Oh... VERY BIG SPECIAL THANKS TO Voltix14 for the Fireworks idea, I think that idea was well worth the time writing, as was the Princess dress Idea from Mr Beaver Buttington. Stick around readers because things maybe getting a bit darker and dramatic, thanks alot all you readers that remind me of spelling errors, its great to know that some remember that my spell check and such is up and down like London's tower bridge!**_

_**Anyway... please read and review... this has been my longest chapter so far so YAY XD!**_

_**Wishing all you readers the best, may your own fics get the best reviews and feedbacks!**_

_**until the next chapter...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	64. Chapter 64: A new face appears

_**Hello everybody again, its been a few days, but I needed it, sorry about the delays, but as you all know... I'm a man of my word. Before you start reading I want to quickly say thanks for reading along all this time, as you know I mentioned that the fic is now taking place outside the IS academy, but I'll do everything I can to make it as entertaining as I can. Most of the cast for the IS academy will appear, which includes Clarissa, Tatenashi, Kanzashi etc, etc... after all, they will all get their roles to play for this fic, because not only does human drama, but more action, horror and romance appear. So I guess it will give me a chance to experiment and make up a summer break that I bet every guy wishes to have, so for those of you whom want to requests or want to see any antics or occurancess appear, feel free to speak and give me the PM.**_

_**So anyway... I don't have much of an introduction to give, thank god XD! I know you readers have been waiting, so please... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 64:

**\- Japanese Urban residential areas, 10:00am, 10 hours after leaving the IS academy -**

Blue sky covers as far as the eye can see, not a cloud in the sky is in sight, which can be seen as a thing of beauty for summer time, but when one looks twice, there is no cloud cover to provide coolness from the sun, for the moment at least that is the least of some people's concerns, for the moment the day is only moderate in terms of heat, but its obviously only a matter of time before the temperatures rise.

Never the less, for some, the last thing on one's mind is the heat. A certain Japanese male with coal black hair going by the name of Ichika Orimura is one such case, the said popular male who is one of the most popular boys in Japan, is up to his neck in other matters, most of those said matters are being exhausted, worn out and demoralised. Ever since last night during the last hours at the IS academy leaving party, the Japanese male has been working his body to the near limit of his endurance. Firstly the troublesome task of dancing and putting up with the female IS students was an obsticle, next was gathering belongings, signing out of the IS academy, going through debriefings with his big sister Chifuyu and then after arriving home, having to take care of trivial matters concerning putting his IS uniform back where it belongs, putting his study guides and books in safe spots and then... just as he was about to change and go to bed, the said Japanese male had gotten an unexpected phone call from non other than Chifuyu.

Ichika had been looking forward to returning home after so long, but in those early hours of the morning the Japanese male had been regretting every last moment of being home, but at least Chifuyu's phone call gave a slight morale boost. The long ponytailed woman had phoned to inform Ichika that she was not returning home for at least 2 days, when Ichika had asked what the reason was for, aswell as other questions of curiosity... Chifuyu had just gave the same answer over and over... her tone was one of frustraition giving Ichika a feeling of unpleasantness in his gut - "Never you mind why... you'll know why soon enough!".

As a ressult, Ichika hardly got enough for the remainder of the summer early hours of darkness, but non the less... Ichika managed to look at the plus side of the matter, at least Ichika will have pleanty of time to decompress and get as much rest as he wants for a few hours, and at least he will get some relief from Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura, as the girls themselves will need time to recover from last night's festivities, Laura will be a definite exception, she will in all likely hood be staying with Clarissa and the visiting German girls, so at least this time Ichika won't have to bar and lock all his doors and windows, therefore denying Laura the chance of sneaking into his home and getting into bed with him.

As Ichika walks along the pure gray pavement of his home street, the Japanese male has dark patches under his eyes, but non the less has a warm small smile on his exhausted face. In both hands he holds a white plastic shopping bag. He wears a plain white shirt, plain dark black joggers, and black sneaks with white patterned stripes. The comfort of his average civilian clothing seems to help brighten his spirits as he carries his cargo of nessary consumables home. Ichika hadn't known of the sudden need to restock his fridgerator pack untill going downstairs for a drink of milk, so in terms of having things ready for Chifuyu's appearance back home, Ichika has had a lucky break.

Nothing seems to be going through Ichika's mind except for seeing his bed, getting his head down and going to sleep, which nobody would blame Ichika for in cases like these, the Japanese male has had a very rough 24 hours, and his hearing is still numb from being at the IS academy leaving party, which strangely adds more desire to Ichika's wanting to go to sleep.

From a distance away Ichika fails to notice a familiar face watering some blood red roses. The person being the dark blue haired Japanese female known as Tomoe, the dark blue haired beauty is dressed in a long white dress, ressembling that which the famous Marilyn Monroe wore. The Japanese beauty despite being a girl of modern era aswell as tomboyish in certain areas is very girly girly, so in terms of dressing for home, the long white dress is one which Tomoe has always worn, but... from showing her feminine beauty, the dress isn't failing. The white dress shows the girl's bombastic curves, her surprisingly large cleavage and beautiful crafted hips is just as easily shown as the night she wore her nightie at Charlotte's sleep over.

From Outside Tomoe's home isn't one of speciality, it looks very average in terms of modern housing, the walls are smooth and white, the roof is redish coloured, and the white wall that lines the front of the house comes up to the height of the shoulders, hiding the roses and multipule coloured flowers on the other side. The window frames on Tomoe's house are a light blue and on the opposite side of the white wall is a golden plate with the surname 'Shizuka' written in Japanese. Tomoe's home also has a garage and drive way with large black drive gates, but both gates are closed. A small patch of green grass is at the front of Tomoe's home, which is just right for the small flower bushes that are straddleing each of the 2 front windows, the front door is a dark blue matching Tomoe's hair.

As for the girl herself watering the roses, the girl holds a medium sized metal watering can, a small smile is upon her face. As she glances to the left, she notices Ichika walking by. The dark blue haired female does at first plan on calling out to the Japanese male, but almost instantly... the said female remembers the fact that Ichika's hearing is not at 100%, not only that but for some odd reason Tomoe wants to spend the day alone with the ten year old youngster that has moved in with her.

Upon remembering the fact that now she shares her home with a troubled yet very special youngster with long black hair and a blazing red face scar, going by the name of Kestrel. Tomoe blushes, her eyes enter a dreamy state and a warm, small smile appears on her face as she slowly turns back and round to the right to look at the said youngster, she can't seem to explain the warmth that fills her chest. From where she stands, the traumitised yet still full of surprises Israeli boy, is stood, leaning left then slowly back to the right, the child clearly hasn't been so close up or for that matter has ever seen such colourful plants before.

Kestrel despite only having his IS uniform as his own owned set of clothing, the youngster has had the privalidge to be gifted with civilian clothing from the staff at the academy, which even for a child has to be considered a full honour, because in Japan, nothing is or is done for free - Litteraly!

As for what Kestrel is wearing, the child still wears his pure silver Star Of David pendant on his silver chain that comfortably hugs the back of his neck, the child wears a black T-shirt with a small red slogan writen in Japanese on the chest, the youngster wears thin dark blue pants ( or trousers - because thats what us British call em! XD! ). As for the child's footwear, the child wears his usual white IS sneaks, as the youngster is yet to get his own at some point.

Tomoe and Kestrel on the other hand from Ichika, have had a more peaceful night, however that doesen't mean that Tomoe has had some obsticles of her own to deal with since her return home. Upon returning home, although Tomoe had wanted to sort out her IS uniform and the Princess dress that she borrowed, the said girl had chose to leave it untill the morning. In terms of sleeping, both Tomoe and Kestrel had both had a very good nights rest, with both waking up at the same time by day light, however... in terms of being 100% activite, for both... that is still 24 hours away. Which understandably is the main reason why nobody is bothering with each other today.

Not only is Ichika drained but so is Tomoe and although he is a youngster whom can find plenty of energy... so is little Kestrel. Needless to say, since this morning the youngster has been very helpful, even though the youngster didn't understand a word that was being said to him, the long black haired Kestrel had given Tomoe some much needed aid in moving various objects around and preparing the atmosphere to being one of comfort for the upcoming days, there has been no vast amounts of cleaning up, but there has been a fair amount of preparation.

Not only that but... since waking up and getting dressed this morning, Tomoe has been waiting for a very important phone call. Even though Tomoe has been given permission from the Interpreter Yui, aswell as Chifuyu and various other staff members for taking care of Kestrel, the well endowned Japanese beauty has been waiting to be granted final permission from the one person that in all fairness is the word of god in her home, and thats non other than her mother.

Yui had explained that she would speak to Tomoe's mother in person, and that when she had done so the said girl's mother had claimed that she would phone Tomoe up first thing in the morning following the leaving party at the IS academy, but for now... its all been silent. Tomoe had checked the messages on the machine this morning but no calls had been missed, which comes a mix of relief and concern, if Tomoe's mother was about to phone up and speak to her directly then surely she would have done so by now.

Even as Tomoe carefuly waters the beautiful set of roses, the girl is all ears, the said female has left her front door open so that if the phone in the hallway is to ring, then the girl can react post haste. Whilst Tomoe waters the plants ahead of her, the ten year old and curious Kestrel is taking the chance to observe the bright mixed up colours on the plant life that is 100% alien to his curious ocean blue eyes.

Every now and then as Kestrel slowly takes baby step paces forward, the youngster is leaning forward, his face is full of bewilderment and his ocean eyes are open and shares the look of being stunned. The child does not take his eyes off the purple, pink, orange, blue and red flower heads that are in full bloom, not a whisper comes from Kestrel, the child is clearly to heavily preoccupied in learning about his surroundings, even as he straightens himself up the youngster gets another surprise as a pair of white butterflies flutter out from behind a coloumn of tall blue and purple flowers growing on long ivy like plant life.

The youngster leaps back in alarm, his ocean blue eyes open wide, blinking rapidly 4 times the troubled boy is at loss for words. The child leans the top half of his body backwards like a wild animal being approached by a strangers hand, but thankfuly... the youngster quickly recovers and watches in interest as the pair of white butterflies flutter close past his face and up into the air. Kestrel watches in curiosity as the butterflies flutter up and out of sight, then... just as quickly as it started, the youngster returns to looking at the flowers.

For at least 4 or 5 minutes, Kestrel slowly and curiously walks around the small but very pretty front garden, untill finaly the youngster makes it upto Tomoe, whom by now has just finished watering the roses, the girl had made multipule trips in and out of her home in order to prolong the watering of the roses, but now... thankfuly, after over 8 minutes of work, the job is finished. The fact being proven as the dark blue haired beauty places a bright and pleasant smile on her face, along with setting the watering can down on the small patch of green. As Kestrel proceedes to look at the roses, Tomoe can't help but cast a pleasant smile down at the youngster whom for some reason looks so innocent and adoreable, despite the blazing facial scar that always looks so horribly fierce and angered.

However, as innocent and as friendly as the atmosphere is... it does not help Tomoe in her wait for the desired phone call from her mother, that she has been promised will come. Every second that Tomoe looks and spends around Kestrel, the girl is gets ever desperate to hear her mother's voice. If anything, no matter what her mother may say... Tomoe is hell bent on having Kestrel stay, with or without her mother's blessings, which for a girl to feel can be very rare... but when concerning a youngster like Kestrel, its no surprise that one wants to be around the child.

Tomoe can't even find the words to think with, the girl is clearly facing too much pressure at once to think straight, if the phone call does not come today, then the girl is going to have difficulty sleeping tonight. In fact, the girl was so heavily preoccupied in moving around and waiting for the phone call that she had forgotten to make breakfast, which normaly by now she would have been aware of, but thankfuly neither she or Kestrel are in a mood or for that matter are interested in eating, Kestrel's reasons for not being hungry is due to being simply over interested in being in and around such a friendly and pleasant enviroment.

Then, as Tomoe looks down at the child, a light breeze blows, helping to soothe the girl's tension, and causing her thin white dress to flutter in a very harmless way. As Kestrel blinks and looks up having gotten the feeling of being stared at, an electronic sound coming out in fast repeated tones, causes both the Japanese female and the Israeli youngster to jump in alarm, both turn their heads to look at the front door and to the direction of the tones. The sound unveiling to be one of a phone, which for Tomoe is practacaly a moment of rejoicement.

Kestrel watches in curiosity as an open excited smile forms on Tomoe's face, then, as Tomoe leans down to pick up the watering can, the child glances to the open front door, a mental question mark forms in his small mind. Then, as Kestrel looks up into the loving face of Tomoe, the child sees the warmth and care that the dark blue haired beauty radiates, the said female holds the watering can in one hand, and although the girl is in a hurry, the said female holds out a hand for the youngster to take.

Although Kestrel blinks with a straight face, looking at Tomoe's hand and then back at her face, the youngster quickly accepts the invitation, and soon enough the pair are quickly heading back into the comfortable looking home of Tomoe, but... as the dark blue haired female leads the way... little Kestrel suddenly has a moment that the youngster could realy do without... from the scar faced Israeli youngster's vision, a sudden flash occurs, the child can feel his hand holding that of someone else, and as he glances to the right slightly, the youngster sees the back of a person leading him to an uncertain location in an eviroment that has now changed into that of a desert scenery. From Kestrel's point of view, the child looks at the back of a young female, the girl's face isn't noticeable but as far as Kestrel is aware, the female is distressed, and whats worse, this girl has long green hair... Kestrel knows whom this girl is, but can't seem to remember who she was althogther, the only thing the child knows... is that this is the girl that was in his nightmare during his night or so at the IS academy.

Everything seems to slow down, another flash occurs, the girl leading Kestrel somewhere in distress is now covered in blood, her green hair is stained in nearly every point from top to bottom, the vast open desert has changed to one of being in a battle ruined and darkened alley way, the smell of burning flesh and un-buried carcasses fill the child's nose, and although it is a brief vision, the child can hear the sounds of people screaming in terror, men, women and children... then, suddenly mixing in with the sounds of distress is the sounds of women, angered... and sounding hell bent on hunting both him and this girl down. Kestrel can only make out 3 Israeli phrases shouted by the unknown women from some uncertain location from behind in the distance.

"FIND THEM NOW!"

"I'M GONNA RIP THAT LITTLE BASTARD'S BALLS CLEAN OFF!"

"GET IN LINE, I'M GONNA EAT THAT LITTLE BITCH THAT'S RAN OFF WITH THAT LITTLE FAG!".

A final flash occurs, causing everything to stop, Kestrel returns to the land of reality, the youngster does not know it, but tears are rolling down his face. The only thing the child does know is that his heart is beating rapidly, his blood seems to have turned to ice and a terrible feeling of sickness churns in his gut. Thankfuly, though, everything has stopped in time... as Kestrel now finds himself coming to a stop in a mahogany wood coloured hallway.

As Kestrel stares into nothingness, with a pale white face and a slight tremble, the youngster snaps his attention to the right as the sound of clattering metal catches his attention, which to his relief turns out to be the watering can that Tomoe was holding.

Kestrel allows his mind, heart and feelings to calm down, the youngster closes his eyes and lifts his hand to his face. Rubbing his forehead and closed eyes better, the youngster feels the cold and apparently terrified tears on the side of his face, which are whipped away almost instantly whilst the white dressed Tomoe picks speaks over the mobile phone to some random person. To little Kestrel, it hardly matters as to who or what it is that Tomoe is doing, the youngster is very shaken and unnerved.

The child shakes his head slowly, opens his eyes to a half open state and attempts to forget what has happened, but it does him no good, the child can't block out the images and noises he just experianced, and his little heart is still beating very quickly.

Kestrel then looses all strength in his legs, the youngster stumbles backwards, hitting the smooth, shinning wooden wall, and then... with the back firmly pressed against the wall, slides down untill landing on his small soft rear. Slowly... the scar faced youngster begins to breath in and out, his small legs are open and an arm is drapped over his waist whilst the other, with the small soft hand on the end of his small wrist is what is supporting him from slidding down the wall any further and onto his back completely.

Neither Tomoe or Kestrel knows it, but by the time Tomoe has finished on the phone, and happily set the white mobile back on its pure white base set... a total of 28 minutes have passed, which seems to long when concerning what little Kestrel has just endured, but when one looks again, those few minutes were just enough for little Kestrel to recover from his brief turn, and for the youngster to regain the feeling of normality in his limbs, allowing him to stand and feel the comfort of what ever security there is in the beautiful Tomoe's home.

Unlike Kestrel whom is an emotional wreck of nerve and illness, Tomoe's emotions are those of joy and happiness. All negative emotions in her body have dissapeared, reasons why don't take a rocket scientist to find out why, Tomoe's discussion with her mother has had some great ressults, the girl has recived her mother's blessing to take care of Kestrel, and if anything its taken all of Tomoe's will power to not start jumping up and down screaming and shouting with joy. In her mind, the girl is speaking in an over excited tone, knowing that if it wasn't for the office woman Yui, then Tomoe's careing of Kestrel would not have been so convincing or for that matter accepting, and the last thing Tomoe wanted to happen to the mentaly and physicaly wounded boy was to see him put in some mental hospital or care home to be seen or made to feel like some human experimental rodent.

( "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SAKURADA-SAN! If it wasn't for Yui then Kestrel wouldn't have stood a chance over here! I've got make it up to her! I've got to get her a thank you gift!" ).

Then, turning to look down at Kestrel, the Japanese beauty is clearly a mass of happiness, as her voice gives away as she leaps forward as if in an excited trance landing in front of Kestrel, kneeling down slightly and placing both her hands on the youngster's shoulders.

"Hey Kestrel, I've got great.. !" - Tomoe stops and pauses, her happy face drops and is soon placed with concern and worry. What greats Tomoe's eyes sends sudden levels of sickness through her stomach, matched with a terrible chill that runs up her spine. Kestrel's face has regained colour, but the child's expression is stunned, his eyes are half closed and glazed, the 1,000 yard stare is set in his eyes, Tomoe does not have to think twice... only a turn could have caused little Kestrel to look like this.

Unable to find any words and with a pure terrible feeling of sympathy, Tomoe follows her instincts of aid, her face looks as though its on the verge of tears as a sorrowful expression appears on her face, the girl closes her eyes, leans forward and takes the long haired Israeli youngster in a deep warm embrace. Kestrel does not even blink, but the child is aware of Tomoe's pressance even though the youngster appears to be stareing into nothingness with his half closed, 1,000 yard gaze, the child responds by doing something that although is considered a heart warming act, but comes close to making Tomoe increase crushing pressure to her embrace. - Kestrel slowly and timidly, not snapping his stare away from into nothing, lifts his small arms and returns Tomoe's embrace. The child making it clear that Tomoe's act is acknowledged and very much welcome.

Together, Tomoe and the scar faced youngster remain holding each other for what seems like an eternity, but in fact it is just 12 minutes, and when the pair part the embrace, it is considered a big sigh of relief when Tomoe notices that the child's eyes have returned to a normal state. Neither say anything next, but instead proceede to walk into Tomoe's living room area, each with a feeling of pleasantry as Tomoe and Kestrel walk together, hand in hand.

**\- 12 minutes later, Tomoe's hallway -**

The blue door swings open 12 minutes later, to reveal a strange female, the face is a good ressemblance to Tomoe, but the female is clearly older than the said girl whom unbeknowst to this strange female has only just gone upstairs with the long haired 10 year old Kestrel in tow. However, as the Japanese have the tradition to always take shoes off at the entrance to the front door, the dark blue ponytailed beauty clearly gives away the fact that she has a guest in the house, as the strange looking female looks down at the floor to see both the foot wear of Tomoe and the young vulnerable Kestrel.

As for the way this female looks, the female has dark blue hair the same as Tomoe, but has her hair long and cascaded down her back, ending half way down her back. Her eyes are emerald green, she has cherry red, thin lipstick, dark blue eye shadow, small gold ear piercing studs with a single tiny shinning blue sapphire in each stud. The female also wears a single gold ring around the ring finger on her right hand, a pair of silver bracelets and a gold wrist watch on her right wrist.

Just like Tomoe, this female has a very good figure to look at, the female whom seems to be a great resemblance to Tomoe has a large bust, well crafted hips, her limbs and arms are just as beautifuly curved as those of Tomoe. If one was to put both Tomoe and this strange female in bikinis and put them on stage, then this female may just beat Tomoe in terms of being the most erotic, as this female has slightly wider hips and bigger breasts. As for what this female is wearing, the female is wearing a thin pinkish dress and a thin fur lined coat. The best way to describe the way this female looks in terms of clothing, the best that can be described is that the female is wearing clothing exactaly the same as the ones that the anime character Ageha Kurono wears from the anime Rosario Vampire - The only differance is that this dark blue haired female's clothing is just a little bit darker, and upon her silver belt that circles her waist there is a set of ruby studs that seem to sparkle, along with a large butterfly accessory that is ironicaly one that has an uncanny resemblance to the butterfly hair clip that Tomoe always wears in her dark blue hair.

As the strange female closes the front door behind her and proceedes to remove her black high heeled shoes, a suspicious eye brow raises on this strange female. Even as she takes off her fur and hooks it onto a set of black coat hooks, its clear that the strange female is thinking in a very suspecting manner, as if she is a detective not buying the alibi of some guilty murderer.

"Strange... I've not seen those small shoes before, Tomoe isn't such a small shoe size... I wonder... " - The unidenitifed female speaks in a low yet clear and suspicious tone. Whilst standing straight with her hands on the hips.

A moment passes, before the strange female rolls her eyes, lowers her head, inhales through her nose, before raising her head and letting out a deep sigh. A smile forms on her face as the thought of Tomoe suddenly appears in her mind. A thought rushes through the females mind - ( "Hmph! Well... what ever it is I guess Tomo' should have the answers, and besides... its been a while since I've had some amusing FUN with her!" ).

A smug smirk appears on the unknown female's face as she slowly walks forward towards the stairs, and proceeding to slowly climb up in a very stealthy and sneaky manner, as not to make any sounds of footsteps, or for that matter allow the wooden steps on the stair case to let out the slightest creak. No matter what obsitcles come this female's way... the said young woman is not about to let anything get in the way of surprising the unsuspecting Tomoe.

**\- Meanwhile with Tomoe and Kestrel -**

Tomoe and Kestrel sit face to face in non other than Tomoe's bedroom. The floor is oak laminated, the walls are white, the Japanese girl's bedroom has 2 large windows with light blue open curtains. Tomoe's bed is a large type with a purple quilt and 4 pillows, 2 on the left side of the bed, 2 on the right. Each pillow is on top of another on each side of the bed, the bottom 2 pillows are white whilst the top 2 pillows are a dark blue, matching the colour of Tomoe's hair. The girl's bed is up against the wall on the left side of Tomoe's bedroom, just underneath one of the 2 windows. To make Tomoe's bed even more decorative, there is a pair of simple white medium sized bears, each have a red ribbon tied around their necks with the ribbon tied at the back.

Included in Tomoe's bedroom is a large oak cupboard with 2 large doors, the cupboard looks very plain but inside it contains a good amount of Tomoe's best 'if favorite' clothes. A large wide dresser drawer at the back of Tomoe's bedroom, reaches from one end of the wall to near the door, the drawer has 5 long wide drawers. The dresser is a black, whilst the drawers are white with black round handles. The dresser no doubtably contains Tomoe's undergarments, socks and a fair amount of feminine beauty products.

A 6 shelf stack is just above Tomoe's dresser, upon that is a mix of soft toys, manga books and anime dvds, whilst on top of the dresser is mostly just photo frames with coloured photographs, the sun shines very clearly on the photos so from where Kestrel and Tomoe are sitting there is no real chance of seeing what is on the glassed frames, the only way to see what the photos are is to simply stand and walk over, or risk getting dazzeled by reflected light!

Finaly, just across from the head of Tomoe's bed and just underneath and at the second window is a computer work station, there is no computer stationed, but never the less the desk is clearly handy for storing paper work, essentials and odd random belongings. The second main reason why there is no computer at the work station is due to the fact that Tomoe does not have a computer monitor and tower, but instead has a laptop. Which is clearly in its case somewhere. Non the less, included is a large black reclining, computer armchair that can swivel, and a small round blue mat with a blazing love heart is set just behind the armchair.

"Here Kestrel, try this... this is called a dog... DOG" - Tomoe speaks out in cheerful manner, whilst holding up a white card with a picture of a dog, the card and style of picture is best suited to that of a very little child, just beginning to learn how to speak and what is what, not that Kestrel is a child that is learning what is what, but only because of Kestrel's need to know how to speak Japanese on children's level. The ponytailed beauty with her butterfly hairclip shinning proudly in the sunlight that radiates through her bedroom windows is sat in a very lady like way with her legs crossed, her white dress seems to show the her beauty, even when sat down the girl's radiance stands out very well.

Kestrel on the other hand, having just managed to complete the first steps being that of 'Train', 'Car', 'Boat', 'Tree', 'Rock', simply stares at the white coloured card which holds a nicely made picture of a dog. The child remains silent, blinks then... after a 2 second pause... the child speaks in his small, soft, timid tone - "..Dog".

Smiling warmly Tomoe makes a soft nod of the head and replies in a kind, pleasant manner - "Thats right".

Tomoe then turns the card round and carefuly sets it down on a small set of upturned cards which little Kestrel has already cleared. Then, looking back at the ten year old youngster sat with legs crossed and hands on lap, pulls out another card, this time with a cat. The dark blue ponytailed beauty looks at the picture, then maintaining her warm, loving gaze, proceedes to look at the little one just mere inches in front of her.

"This one is called a cat.. CAT" - Tomoe explains showing Kestrel the cat card, blinking only once whilst maintaining her warm smile.

Once again, Kestrel shares at the picture, then after a 2 second pause replies in his soft timid tone - "..Cat".

"Well done" - Tomoe replies kindly, once again proceeding to place the children's picture card down on the shinning laminated floor.

Pulling out another card, Tomoe blinks and holds a concerned face for a moment, but the surprised face soon turns back to its usual happy and pleasant look. As Tomoe turns the card round, the Japanese female proceedes to speak in her usual kind and warm tone - "Okay... I think this maybe a bit hard, look... this is called a Skyscraper... Skyscraper".

Kestrel blinks, but responds all the same in his usual timid tone - "Skyscraper".

Smiling in an approving manner, Tomoe sets the card down whilst happily speaking the words - "Thats right, well done".

For at least 5 more minutes, Tomoe manages to guide Kestrel through 12 more cards, being 'House', 'Dinosaur', 'Whale', 'Shark', 'Fish', 'Baseball', 'Light', 'Plane', 'Planet', 'Fire', 'Horse' and 'Flag', with Kestrel managing to clear each and every card, untill... much to Tomoe's dismay, her closed door is suddenly banged upon, causing both Tomoe and Kestrel to leap in surprise, thankfully Tomoe does not drop the rest of the cards that are held in her hand, as Tomoe scrambles to her feet and faces the door, Kestrel merely looks over at the door slightly tilting his head and body to the left in curiosity.

Almost instantly as Tomoe stands to her feet, a sudden female voice causes the said girl to go suddenly pale and a terrible feeling of sickness and dread crawls up her spine, Tomoe knows all to well whom this voice belongs to, the unknown female's voice sends the shivers completley through Tomoe's body - "TOMO' Are you playing a game in there without me!?".

Tomoe, whom just like Kestrel is bare footed at the moment, stands looking at her bedroom door with a sickened and nervous look on her face. Kestrel being his usual curious self is drawn to looking upward at the dark blue haired beauty wearing her silky white dress as the said female hisses some words that Kestrel simply can't understand, and even if he did understand Tomoe's words, the youngster wouldn't understand why she is saying them - "My god its Megumi!".

Less than a second passes after Tomoe's hiss when the other female's voice is heard again, sounding very cheerful, yet mischevious at the same time - "TOMO'.. Did I surprise ya!? Let big sis in and lets have some fun!".

Suddenly blinking and acting panicked, Tomoe turns to look down at the confused Israeli youngster whom remains sat on the floor. To Kestrel everything is very confusing, if very strange, the youngster has only ever seen Ichika act the way Tomoe is acting at the minute, but non the less has a good idea that what ever the girl is doing it for, it has to be for a very good reason. This fact is proven as Tomoe offers a hand for Kestrel to take, to which the long black haired Israeli responds instantly, much to Tomoe's relief.

As Tomoe carefuly pulls Kestrel to his feet, the female seems to be a mass of nerves, which clearly is made ever more intense as the voice of the female now known as Megumi speaks out loud again, this time sounding very annoyed as the sound of a squeaking door handle echoes through Tomoe's bedroom. From where Tomoe is standing the door handle to her bedroom is violently moving up and down, but the door remains shut... thanks to a latch that Tomoe had bolted closed a few minutes earlier.

"TOMO' Have you locked the door!? That ain't a nice thing to do to your dear loving older sister, now let me in for the love of christ!".

( "I knew that lock would come in handy one day!" ) - Tomoe happily thinks to herself for a brief minute before turning back to Kestrel and continuing to act in her nervous state. The girl is keen to have Kestrel hidden from her big sister Megumi, if anything the older sister of Tomoe does not know anything about Kestrel and untill Tomoe or her mother explain the situation to the dark blue haired female that is hell bent on getting into Tomoe's bedroom, the said girl who cares so much for Kestrel is wanting to keep the scar faced youngster a secret, if only for the time being at least.

"AH... Kestrel, ah... I have to hide you, if Megumi sees you... god knows what she'll do!" - Tomoe speaks out in a low but very clear tone of fear, hinted with panic and desperation. The scar faced child simply blinks and casts a look at the closed bedroom door, which is still reciving thumps, knocks and bangs, aswell as the handle behind pulled up and down, letting out ever more metalic squeaks.

Then, as Tomoe turns her head rapidly to the left then to the right, the cupboard suddenly catches her eyes, which comes as a much needed relief. An open smile appears on the ponytailed girl's face as the idea of hiding Kestrel in the cupboard suddenly appears in her head. The girl reacts instantly ignoring the demanding sounds coming from outside her bedroom door, Tomoe leaps forward carefuly pulling Kestrel over to the cupboard, then with a quick rush of the left arm and hand, opens the left door.

"Listen Kestrel, you've got to hide in there for a minute or so okay!?" - Tomoe speaks out in a very desperate tone, which only causes the youngster to look at the open door and at the many differant female clothing that is hanging inside the oak coloured cupboard. The child then looks up at Tomoe and blinks with confusion, which comes like an ice shard of terror through her heart. Its just enough to force Tomoe to push Kestrel into the cupboard, turn him round and press his back against the wood.

For Kestrel, the moment is a real eye opener, the child's heart beats very quickly as a terrible feeling travels through his body, but thankfuly the youngster's nerves are calmed as Tomoe smiles warmly at the youngster, places both hands on his shoulders and looks the youngster in the eyes, and although the scar faced child is unable to understand what Tomoe is saying the youngster does manage to get the hint of staying silent as Tomoe places an index finger to her lips, closes one eye and makes the traditional 'Shush!' sound.

Although Kestrel has a nervous and blown away look of discomfort on his face, the youngster lowers both his head and the top of half of his body forward slowly before slowly raising again. Tomoe lets out sigh of relief and following instincts gives the youngster a quick cuddle, as Tomoe holds the long black haired youngster in her arms the female makes the embrace the warmest and deepest she can in the brief 4 seconds, before releasing the child and saying the words - "I'll be right here, so don't be nervous, and keep quiet okay!?".

Kestrel gives a single slow nod, and watches in silence as Tomoe closes the cupboard door, plunging Kestrel's atmosphere into darkness. Which comes as a big shot of sickening fear to the confused child, but as the youngster somehow understands that Tomoe is trying to keep him hidden, the feeling is not quite so foul. On the other hand when concerning Kestrel's fragile mind, the youngster seems to be more safer feeling as though he has just been thrown back into a confined space like he did when he was being tortured in Israel, than come face to face with a stranger that is in all reality seems to be a ticking time bomb of mischief and trouble.

Meanwhile with Tomoe, the girl hurridley gathers the childrens picture cards of the ground, and proceedes to hide them in one of the desk drawers of her computer work station. Then, casting a look at the cupboard which harbours the hidden little Kestrel, Tomoe rolls her eyes upwards and in a rapid mental prayer thinks the words - ( "God forgive me!" ).

"TOMO' Open the cocking door for gods sake!" - Megumi yells out, her voice being one of irritation mixed in the banging that is undoubtably being done by the back of a fist.

"OKAY! I'm coming for the love of Christ!" - Tomoe replies in an uncharacteristic angered manner, but ofcourse... when concerning family or personal matters, even the kindest of people can show a side that is not often seen in public.

"OI!, OI!, OI!, OI!... Don't you use that tone of voice to me little sister!" - Megumi is heard yell back in a heavily offended tone mixed with irritated anger.

As Tomoe reaches her bedroom door and with her right hand raised pulls back the bolt that latches the door shut, the girl wears an irritated frown on her face. Even as she lowers her right hand grasping the door handle pulling it down, the girl swallows a hard gulp before pulling back on the handle and opening the door, revealing the long blue haired female that was in her hallway just a few minutes ago.

The now revealed older sister of Tomoe immediately folds her arms and casts a triumphant smirk at the long dark blue ponytailed female wearing her butterfly hair clip. The older female known as Megumi leans forward with her arms folded and with a quick change of facial expression from smug to irritated, shoots a raised eye brow at the equaly unamused Tomoe, whom is non but a few inches shorter in height comparission than that of Megumi herself.

"You know you have some nerve keeping me shut out like that sis!" - Megumi speaks out in a tone of disgust matched by a face that looks highly offended, which apparently causes Tomoe to fold her arms herself and shoot back a frown. The dark blue haired female sighs in a frustraited manner before shaking her head for a brief moment.

"You say that but I notice that I wasn't the one banging, yelling and demanding entry as if I owned the place!" - Tomoe replies in an offended tone, one thing that Tomoe clearly does not stand for is rudeness and lack of respect from a person whom is considered not only family... but should also be considered a best friend, that is after all what brothers and sisters are supposed to be to each other is it not?

"Ah... but thats where you fail, I belive I did own this room before you at one point!" - Megumi speaks out, straightening herself up and now replacing her offended facial look back to one of triumph.

"Look Megu, I respect you and all... but do you think you can cut it with the dominating big sister sash! I don't know where you got that from anyway... we were only born 2 years apart... and even then we've never had any social status or ranks keeping us seperate, why for the love of god do you do this!?" - Tomoe asks in a strained frustraited way, placing both the index and middle fingers of her left hand to her forehead as if trying to solve a problem or is lost in thought.

"Oh c'mon Tomo', you know I'm only just having fun! After all the only thing I want is nothing more but the well fare of my favorite sister!". - Megumi exclaims with closed eyes and her arms placed in the 'Wha?' position, the older female seeming attempting to get a point across whilst pushing past Tomoe and walking into the bright sun lit bedroom.

"Thanks for the complement, but I'm your only sister!" - Tomoe replies with half closed eyes and a sweat drop, her tone being low yet loud, clear and near muttered.

As Megumi walks over to Tomoe's bed, Tomoe's heart is constantly beating rapidly, the girl is making every last effort to make herself look natural in the face of her older sister, Megumi maybe a bit of a goof as far as Tomoe is concerned, but just like her, never misses anything, and every second Tomoe spends in her big sister's pressance the more Tomoe feels that Megumi is about to find out about Tomoe's hiding of little Kestrel whom at the moment is a mystery to Megumi, but for now... Megumi seems to be convinced of Tomoe's act out, but... oblivious to Tomoe is the fact that Megumi has already noticed evidence that no matter how she makes it look, Tomoe is not alone in the house.

As Megumi helps herself to sitting down on Tomoe's bed, the long blue haired woman is dying to ask Tomoe the question that she is certain will cause the said female to leap in alarm. However, for now... something more important is on her mind, and that is bonding with the sister that she has not seen in months.

"Well thats all the more reason for me to treasure you isn't it!?" - Megumi speaks out as if its a matter of fact, lowering her head and tilting it to the right, whilst raising her left arm, indicating that she is speaking as a matter of fact. Then as she lowers her arm and sits up straight, the woman proceedes to cross her legs, ignoring the fact that Tomoe may catch a glimpse of her purple silky knickers that flash as she crosses her legs in a slutty manner.

"So... hows the year at the IS academy been? You flown any IS? You do know that I speak proudly of you everytime my friends ask about you, do you not!?" - Megumi continues, looking Tomoe straight in the face as she speaks, which causes the questioned Tomoe to blink in sudden surprise.

"My year at the IS academy? Why do you suddenly mention that?" - Tomoe replies in a normal questioning tone that shows that she was clearly not expecting that question to come out of her sister's mouth, Tomoe's face is one of bewilderment and neutrality but clearly has a hint of surprise.

"Well you do realise that the famous Chifuyu Orimura's younger brother Ichika is there right?" - Megumi states out in a pleasant, questioning tone, causing Tomoe to become ever more confused as to where her big sister is coming from.

"Yeah, So?" - Tomoe replies in a confused manner, her face maintaining its confused facial image.

"So?... Have you spoken to him, have you flown beside him or his big sister in an IS? I would have thought you would have been a close friend of somebody by now, if not one of the other girls that attend that place but at least the only boy at that academy". - Megumi states in a casual tone, the older sister of Tomoe seems to be expecting some good news to come, but that is only to be expected, for as long as Tomoe has known her big sister, the beautiful Megumi is the mirror opposite of Tomoe, whom likes to be the centre of attention, likes to party and drink like any other young woman whom has a lot of engery, and has a party spirit about her.

"Well to be honest... I've only ever flown IS twice this year and even then it was only for a short curcuit, most of the time I've operated IS on the ground, and that was mostly learning to fire weapons, learn to move around and such... and as for Ichika Orimura... well, I've hardly had much chance to speak to him and all, I did get a chance to converse with him... per say... in the last few days at the academy but... apart from that, nothing worth gossiping about". - Tomoe explains in a calm rational tone, maintaining her neutral facial look.

Tomoe dares not to mention that in fact she has been getting very aquinted with the famous Ichika Orimura, or for that matter the exsistance of Kestrel, now would not be the best time. Not because of Tomoe feeling the need to keep Kestrel safe from her sister but because of the fact that her sister always makes the truth sound inncorrect, if Tomoe was to mention that she has been hanging around with Ichika a lot more than what she has said, then its a good bet that before Tomoe knows it... the entire street will be saying that she and Ichika are lovers, and worse... she has been sleeping with him, and thats the last thing that Tomoe wants to have buzzing around her head... false rumors.

So it comes as a big relief when Megumi rolls her eyes and shakes her head, folds her arms and huffs the words - "And I had such hopes for my niave little sister! Tomo', Tomo', Tomo'... at this rate you'll never be the popular beauty and man magnet like me!".

"With the greatest respect Megu, I don't intend to be like you!" - Tomoe retorts in an irritated manner, frowning and folding her arms under her cleevage.

"HMPH! No matter, No matter... Well you know what they say, what you've never had, you've never missed!" - Megumi speaks out in a mocking tone, now putting on smug like expression, the older female seemingly trying to get Tomoe to rise to the bait as she has managed to do so many times over, but thankfuly Tomoe is no mood to turn a critisation into an all out arguemental war, instead all Tomoe does is do what Megumi had not expected, and that's play along.

"Yes, thats right, and like I've said before, this is my body, my mind and soul and as such I will do what ever I choose, and if I don't become the sister you portray me to be to your friends, then so be it" - Tomoe replies, lowering her arms and hands to her sides, but maintains her frown.

"I do belive I've struck a nerve!" - Megumi speaks out in a triumphant manner.

"In your dreams sis! The only thing you've struck this time is nothing more but you're own 'F' string, and belive me... the 'F' on your instrument does not stand for failure, or football!" - Tomoe retorts, putting on a smug like expression of her own, knowing that Megumi will be more than insulted on that one.

"Are you finished talking sister!?" - Megumi asks Tomoe with a temper patch now formed on her temple.

"Look Megu, I'll fight with you some other time alright? But just not now... I'm still blown out after last night's party, so I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me alone for a few hours!" - Tomoe speaks out in a serious, yet friendly manner, the dark blue haired female remembering the fact that little Kestrel is hiding in the cupboard suddenly comes back to play on her mind.

"Ah yeah that reminds me... I think you must have been drinking! Theres a pair of shoes downstairs at the front door that are not yours! You wouldn't have happened to have brought a guest back with you last night would you!?" - Megumi asks in a interested manner, whilst standing to her feet and looking her youngster sister in the eyes with an inquisitive mixed stare.

For Tomoe, the sudden rememberance of little Kestrel's shoes downstairs sends a terrible chill up her spine, her eyes widen and her blood seems to turn to ice, every hair on her body stands up on ends as a terrible feeling of death and dread rushes over her body. Her face looses colour, and to make matters worse Megumi hasn't failed to notice her sister's sudden shocked expression. Smiling with triumph, Megumi now knows the truth and chooses to play the confused person a little further to test how her sister will react.

"I mean I knew there was a big party and celebration on at the IS academy last night because everybody saw the fireworks from my work place but... really... even when I come home a bit Tipsy, I don't bring someone else's shoes home with me, are you positive that you're year at the IS academy has been as silent as you say it has?!" - Megumi asks in a tone that seems to be probbing her younger sister for much wanted answers.

"What are you talking about Megu?" - Tomoe asks with a pale face, although her voice is one that sounds innocent and surprised, her facial expression is one that says differant, and every last word that she speaks seems to make Megumi feel all the more triumphant.

"There are a pair of shoes at the front door next to your own, now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't blame you for accidently taking the shoes of a class mate but surely you would have noticed the things when you got up this morning" - Megumi speaks out in a cocky tone of joy, the long blue haired female seemingly enjoying her sister's facial reactions to her questions. Even though Tomoe isn't acting suspicious, Megumi knows all to well by the look in Tomoe's eyes and by the colour of her face, that she is hiding something from her.

Letting out a frustraited sigh Tomoe, closes her eyes puts her index finger to her forehead, the dark blue haired Japanese beauty takes the chance to regain some nerve, but thankfuly the excuse that Tomoe belives is simple but effective comes into her mind, and as she proceedes to speak the Japanese girl's tone is convincing but all the same still racked with suspicion to the suspecting Megumi.

"Just for information Megu, I did not get drunk or tipsy, and I did not bring those shoes home by mistake last night, I invited a friend over to stay the night" - Tomoe explains folding her arms and casting a frown back to her older sister, Tomoe maintains eye contact with her big sister, not blinking for a single second.

"And she just happened to forget to take her shoes home with her when you both got up this morning?" - Megumi replies in a questioning tone with a smile on her face, Tomoe's excuse may seem purely convincing to her, but its clearly cut no Ice with Megumi herself.

"Well she must have done!" - Tomoe replies with her arms opening as if trying to explain something important, even though Tomoe is managing to protest her innocence, its clear that no matter how good her excuses, Tomoe will never in her entire life time... be much of a liar.

Shaking her head, and smiling with a smug expression, Megumi looks her sister in the eyes, like a cat eyeing up an unsuspecting mouse. For Tomoe that is the worst part when ever Megumi is being suspicious of her or anybody else... those emerald green eyes look very sinister. Its as if Megumi is able to see straight through her victims and above all else, know what the outcome is going to be, no matter what excuse or barrier it is that is thrown up in her face.

One thing is for sure, if Megumi was a questioning copper or private detective, she would get her wanted criminal behind bars no matter what excuse could be made. Her green eyes seem to have a pure demonic auror when she is like this. This ofcourse is not the first time Tomoe has had to endure this, ever since growing up, there has been moments when Tomoe has tried to hide things precious from Megumi, and when questioned like this, Tomoe has always ran off scared stiff with Megumi in hot pursuit, or worse cracked under her sister's interogation, and been forced to share or give up something that is considered priceless to her heart, sure... her mother has always been there to save her hide and give Megumi a hidding, but now... as adults... and with her mother not home, Tomoe is on her own.

"Really, she forgot, well... then she's either got to be backwards or limbless, because any normal person would immediately notice that they don't have shoes on when they walk out of their home and into the outside in just their socks or barefoot" - Megumi states with pleasnat smile on her face, despite knowing that her sister is hiding something, it can be considered an act of kindess when Megumi removes her smug facial expression and replaces it with one of simple friendliness... but... even then... that does not say differant to how smug and triumphant she is feeling deep down.

Responding to Megumi's words, Tomoe hesitates for a moment, rolling her eyes for a second, but... as expected Tomoe comes up with another good excuse which as far as Tomoe is concerned is sure to derail Megumi rigth then and there, as she speaks, the dark blue ponytailed girl goes so far as to place both hands in front of her waist, close her eyes, calms her facial expression, closes her eyes, tilting her head slightly to left, allowing the colour to return to her face and regaining the look of someone whom is innocent - which in many senses... is a very true fact in terms of being innocent in the law abideing citizen role!

"No, she isn't backward for your information, she had two pairs of shoes with her, she came here wearing one pair and left wearing the other, but by the time I realised that she had left her shoes behind she was already long gone!" - Tomoe explains in a calm manner, making herself look like the innocent party member, but... what she doesn't know... is that Megumi has her own ace up the sleeve, which is considered a good counter attack in terms of being inquisitive.

"Ah... I see, well, that answers one question... but... can you explain the fact that the shoes she's left behind are those that a boy would wear!?" - Megumi asks in a very friendly, if very crafty manner, causing Tomoe to go white... yet again.

In her mind, the dark blue haired beauty is screaming, cursing at herself, her heart is beating very rapidly and above all else... she is wishing for the love of god that she had remembered the fact that unlike her absent mother, her big sister Megumi is a part time worker that can come home at random times of the day or night. Unlike people in the west whom are known to walk around in doors with shoes, the Japanese do the opposite and walk around with either just their socks or at the most a pair of slippers. All these facts are making Tomoe wish that right now she could be person that lived in the west other than in the east at times like this.

The dark blue ponytailed female is stunned, unable to find her words, and is on the verge of jumping or running around like a panic striken chicken or duck, and above all else, Megumi knows it. However, despite the fact that Megumi is a person whom sees through a person, the said older sister of Tomoe does have a side of mercy, even if it is only a very small faction that in one way or another makes no differance if either Tomoe spills the beans or not.

Closing her eyes, and shaking her head, Megumi lifts up both hands as a form of reasurance for a brief moment. As she speaks it is clear that Megumi has grown tired of playing around, and that weither Tomoe likes it or not, its best to just come out with it before she sends herself to unmanageable levels of fear and stress, a small smile set on a now friendly face is now upon Megumi's face - "Look Tomo'... take it from me... its pointless to try hiding anything any further, I can tell you have a visitor and that your hiding him... clearly you don't want me to see him for reasons I can't understand why... but belive me when I say, it would be far more better if you just come out and tell me the truth".

Lowering her head and slumping down anime style with her arms dangling down, Tomoe is clearly giving the image that no matter what she tries, she's already been found out. Even as Megumi speaks very slowly, loud and clear, Tomoe has a terrible feeling of defeat in her body, she can now understand what so many hundreds of men and women have felt when being sentanced to death. The feeling is unimaginable, its the worst feeling she has ever felt before, and Megumi's words... although friendly are slightly strict and clear as the said female folds her arms, leans forward, stares at Tomoe's held down head and speaks the words - "Now sister, be a good girl, and tell me, where your hiding him!".

Tomoe lets out a frustraited groan, then as she balls her hands into fists, and straightens herself up, showing a frustraited frown on her face, it is clear that Tomoe is desperate, but at least she manages to get the picture out as to why she is hiding Kestrel from her sister - "Megu, I can't do that! I can't introduce any of my friends to you! Its always so embarrassing! Why the hell don't you just leave me and my personal life alone for once!?".

Shooting back an offended frown, Megumi remains silent, but... what Tomoe does not know, is that Megumi has already calculated where the likeliest of places it is that Tomoe is hiding her young visitor. Megumi's powers of deception and deduction are always a force that Tomoe has hated, and are about to be a force that she will dispise with all her gut as Megumi casts a look at her oak cupboard and then back to her sister.

Tomoe relaxes herself, and is soon filled with a terrible feeling of curiosity as to why it is that Megumi is so silent, normaly the said female would have retorted almost instantly, so why is it that Megumi is silent.

"What?!" - Tomoe asks in a confused manner, a hint of sickened fear is in her tone as she suddenly gets the feeling that Megumi has just discovered the location of Kestrel.

Megumi stays silent, an small excited smile appears on her face as she rolls her eyes to the left at the oak cupboard and then back to her sister, six times over. At first Tomoe fails to catch where her big sister is coming from, but... on Megumi's sixth glance, a mental bullet has just been fired hitting Tomoe's window.

Tomoe's heart seems to stop, as does her breathing as Megumi speaks the words that Tomoe has been praying would NOT be spoken from her big sister - "He's in the cupboard isn't he!?".

"NOOO!" - Tomoe screams in fear, her body reacts with lightning reflex as he begins a desperate attempt to rush over to block her sister's entry, but... as expected Megumi has done the same, both sisters collide into each other, soon ressulting in a desperate grappling match to the end. Tomoe wears a face of a desperate person as a snarl appears on her face, Megumi has the eyes of a person whom is hell bent on getting to the goal, the excited smiley face she has is like looking at the skulled face of the grim reaper.

Tomoe does put up a valiant struggle of resistance that lasts for 2 minutes, but... in the end, Megumi's past experiance of getting the better of her little sister is what chooses the victor. Tomoe is pushed sideways to the floor, landing on her side with a thump, thankfuly the Japanese beauty is not hurt or bruised, but never the less the girl is now feeling hopeless, her mouth opens to let out a desperate yelp - "I'M SORRY!".

Tomoe feels nothing but distress and guilt, everything seems lost as she watches in a helpless state as her sister grabs the oak cupboard door handles with both hands and proceedes to fling them open rapidly, Tomoe closes her eyes tight and braces herself for her sister's reaction. Tomoe is expecting her sister to yelp or say something at any second, but... for some strange reason, to which Tomoe does not catch, due to her feared state... nothing but silence comes from Megumi, the only sound is the silence that fills the bedroom.

A moment passes with Tomoe keeping her eyes tightly shut, the girl is waiting for something to come, but what comes next is clearly unexpected, even though her eyes are shut tight, the dark blue haired beauty is all ears, and what she hears come from her sister is not a yell of surprise or a remark that she has been expecting but instead a surprising question that causes Tomoe's eyes to suddenly open and stare in surprise.

"Where is he Tomo'?" - Megumi asks in a low demanding tone, clearly wishing for an answer.

Tomoe blinks in surprise, and although she is on the floor, the girl still turns her head to the right, to look at her cupboard, her brace eases up to a relaxed posture as a wave of confusion and surprise washes over her entire body.

What Tomoe sees next makes her eyes remain wide, a package of shock and surprise is laying in wait for her unsuspecting eyes. As Tomoe looks up at her sister, she discovers her sister looking down at her with hands on the hips and a disatisfied look on her face, its a face that is demanding answers. However, to make the fire of surprise ever more intense for the confused and surprised Tomoe, as the said female looks down at the open cupboard, what she sees is something that she was not expecting even in her wildest dreams - Apart from her hung up clothing, the cupboard is totaly empty, the scar faced Kestrel has dissapeared!

"Well?... Where is he Tomo'? I'm waiting!" - Megumi speaks in an angered tone, maintaing her gaze down at Tomoe.

Tomoe does not respond, the female is wide eyed and stunned. All the said girl does is proceede to stand up straight and place a hand to her forehead, the girl closes her eyes and rubs her eyes with both an index finger and thumb. Every now and then the girl blinks rapidly and shakes her head, the dark blue haired female is hopeing that she isn't going mad, which is nerve wrecking to her in one sense, but non the less is very welcome in terms of not hearing what ever questions that her big sister is saying to her, instead... all Tomoe does instead of replying to her sister is just stare at the empty interior of the oak cupboard, with its doors remaining wide open.

After a total of 4 minutes, Megumi suddenly smirks, places a hand under chin and rolls her eyes, a suspecting yet very confident smile appears on her face. Her tone is also one of confidence as she suddenly begins to think of the possibility that Tomoe has hidden her missing visitor in some other random location. This is proven as she looks her bewildered younger sister in the face and speaks the words - "Ah... I suspect you've hidden him in our mother's bedroom!".

Tomoe response is a simple few blinks, a bewildered stare and only a low muttered response - "Yeah... I suppose I must have!".

Megumi does not wait, but instead proceedes to dash out of Tomoe's bedroom with an over excited grin on her face, leaving the stunned Tomoe alone in the bright sun lit bedroom. As the sounds of Megumi's running footsteps fade into silence, Tomoe with her eyes still open and stunned, takes baby steps forward towards the open oak cupboard. Only coming to a stop just a mere feet steps from entering the oak cupboard herself.

"Kestrel?" - Tomoe mutters out in a suprised whisper, the girl is obviously on the verge of fainting from the shock that is playing before her eyes.

Then, once again Tomoe is taken by surprise as a resounding electronic buzz and crackle shatters the silence. The dark blue ponytailed female leaps back in alarm as a set of wobbly moving white light begins to create an out line shape, the exact same height as that of the missing ten year old that Tomoe now dreads for.

Looking wide eyed and in surprise, Tomoe is unable to breathe and the out lined shape of Kestrel begins to form around the moving light patterns, then, from dead centre from where Kestrel's rib cage would end, a white blazing star appears, less than a second after that, the star opens up 360%, revealing familiar coloured clothing. The light patters gradully begin to grow smaller, now beginning to reveal a bare of bare feet, bare skinned arms and hands, and the top of a head.

The entire ordeal takes 5 seconds, as the electronic sounds and light patterns fade, and what Tomoe sees next is truly incredible for her stunned and surprised eyes. There... standing with his back pressed firmly against the back of the oak cupboard interior, with his head turned to the right to look in the direction of Tomoe's bedroom door, is little Kestrel. The youngster has reappeared in front of Tomoe like a de-cloaking Predator.

Then, as Kestrel turns his head to look the amazed Tomoe in the eyes, the youngster eases up on looking tense and nervous. Tomoe is breathless, but non the less speaks one phrase in a hushed but very amazed and impressed whisper, matched with an small open smile and amazed eyes - "Kestrel... You have a Cloaking device on your personal IS!?".

_**Okay... phew! Thats that chapter out of the way, not much of a chapter I know so sorry if everybody was expecting something else. I hope that little surprise I thought of saving for the right moment was enough to compensate for everybody. I'm not sure... but as far as I've noticed, this is the first case of an IS appearing in a fanfic with a cloaking device, I may be wrong, and if I am, don't worry anybody else whom has already had that idea, I wasn't copying or anything!**_

_**Thanks a lot you readers that have stuck around, please keep doing so... and hey! This is the longest chapter I've done so far yet again! I'm getting better with these extended chapters I think! XD!**_

_**Please remember readers, if you have any requests or want to see anything happen just give me the PM or just simply message me. Okay... untill the next chapter, stick around and remember I'm wishing you guys and gals the best, and may your own fanfics get the best reviews and positive feedbacks in return!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	65. Chapter 65: News and Drinking

_**Hello everyone, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, its been a few days yeah, yeah... but you readers know the drill. Just to inform you readers this chapter is just a prep chapter but it should also give you readers a chance to learn more about Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, and Ichika's discovery of the matter! Okay... now, not to burden you readers with the red tape, please sit back read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 65:

**\- Ichika Orimura's home, 16:34pm -**

Laying down with his stomach down flat on a dark coloured sofa is non other than Ichika Orimura, ever since this morning the Japanese male has been on the razor's edge of simply slumping down and falling asleep, it almost occured twice whilst out gathering essential items for the house and three times after that when putting things away, but thankfuly, the Japanese male was able to get a much needed break after successfuly completing his tasks. Trouble is ofcourse... that the said male does not want to have to much slumber during the day, otherwise he won't be able to get his head down tonight. Ever since lunch time, and every now and then, Ichika has had a small cup of coffee, sure... its true that he now has to make the extra trip to the bathroom every now and then but never the less, the Japanese male hasn't accidently gone to sleep for long periods of time, and looking on the bright side, although he may not be asleep, it gives his body and more importantly his still damaged hearing a chance to get a well deserved break.

With an arm draped over the edge of the sofa with a hand touching the floor, the relaxing comfort of the cushion which Ichika rests his head upon is like the bossom of heaven. The Japanese male does not open his eyes, he simply enjoys the silence, peace and tranquility. Things concerning food, IS, home or Chifuyu's return home is the last thing on Ichika's mind, all that matters for now is simply getting as much R and R ( rest and relaxation ) as possible.

Ofcourse... if it wasn't for the fact that Ichika has been drinking coffee, then its a fair assumption that he would be long since asleep by now, which that in itself is a life saver. Ichika knows all too well that his dear older sister Chifuyu returns home at some point today, and if anything Chifuyu has got to be worn out just as much - or if even worse than what he is. His heart is full of joy, and a small smile is on his face, its not that Ichika is a sis-con, but more due to the fact that since there is no mother or father, Chifuyu is the only family Ichika can have some quality time with.

Sure Ichika sees Chifuyu all the time at the IS academy, but over at the academy there is a strict set of limitations that the Japanese male is set and expected to follow. Over the past year or two since even before the arrival of his little Israeli friend with a blazing red face scar, its been hard enough having to get into the habit of refering to his sister as Orimura-Sensei, aswell as having just disciplined meetings with her, but back home... there is no restrictions, Ichika can smile, comment and speak freely to his mighty older sister as much as he likes, even if there is the odd times when Ichika feels that his big sister is still wearing her ice-queen image and personality.

Allowing himself to drift into a state of intense relaxation with his eyes still closed, the Japanese male maintains his peaceful smile, although its nothing comparred to a massage or soaking in a hot bath to ease his joints and numb ears, just laying down like this has been wonderful enough for the past hour or so.

Though Ichika does every now and then drift back to the boarders of reality, thinking of what would be a good thing to make for dinner tonight, but just as quickly as he thinks it, Ichika then proceedes to abandon the thought. The reason for being is due to the simple factor that no matter how one looks at it, ever since the antics and moments at the IS academy leaving party, the said black haired male is simply spent from all the activity and chaos, even now... his legs still ache, and his ears are hardly reciving any sound.

Now rolling over to his back and resting his feet on the arm of the sofa, Ichika's happy and relaxed face is a beam of extacy, the said male hasn't felt so heavily relaxed in years, the fact being proven as he thinks one thought to himself - ( "I can now understand how great it must feel to be a cat! Just laying down and taking it easy in life must be aces!" ).

There is a big truth in what Ichika is thinking, indeed its true... that taking it easy WOULD be a great thing for him to do everyday, even in the IS academy... which in a way would be possible if not for the group of females that secretly proclaim themselves as Ichika's lovers, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if Ichika was to have a much more relaxing time at the academy, he would in all possibilty have to remove his friends from the picture, and Ichika is NOT the person to do that.

Tense and awkwardness at the academy is hardly caused by sexual tension because of being surrounded in such a large enviroment filled with girls, Ichika after all is far to dense and celibate for that, if anything another factor in his stress is due to the amount of studies he has to take on, to the said Japanese male its almost as if he is living through primary school, junior high and colledge all at once, and that would surely send such a good hearted guy with an average mind round the twist.

As Ichika begins to think of these reasons to himself, he opens his eyes half way and the aches in his legs seem to fade slightly as a warm leveled wave flows through and over his body. Ichika remains layed down on his back, with his head resting happily on the soft cushion.

( "I guess if I have it hard then I guess Kestrel must be tearing his hair out! Still... I'd rather have Kestrel to talk to at the academy than just the girls!" ) - Ichika thinks happily to himself, closing his eyes and allowing himself to become lost in a deeply relaxed trance.

The Japanese male feels as though he is floating in space, the comfort that his body is getting could never be found at the IS academy, that along with the fact that now for a month or so, he no longer has to worry about studies, even if Chifuyu isn't home... the Japanese male can still see some of his old friends in the neighbourhood. Just the very thought of seeing some of the guys he met during highschool, along with the female friends he has makes Ichika break into a large smile. Their faces seem to flow through his mind as he keeps his eyes shut and drifts further away into his peaceful trance.

Its at this point where the Japanese male feels as though he is in an ocean of luxuary, that the sudden tone of a cell phone catches the Japanese male by surprise, making the said boy open his eyes wide for a second, turn his head rapidly to the right and look across to a newly bought glass coffee table with a cellphone and set sitting directly in the middle of the shinning glass surface.

Though Ichika's hearing is still slightly impared, the Japanese male is still able to pick up the slurred and low echoed tones of the phone. Even though Ichika can summon enough strength to move, the Japanese male has an angered frown on his face, if anyting Ichika can't take this call, no matter who it is, thanks to the mindless cows that blew out his ear drums at the IS academy.

As Ichika sits up straight, stands and then takes a few steps forward, the said male puts the palm of his hand to his face. Ichika closes his eyes and shakes his head in an irritated way, as he thinks to himself, the Japanese male is clearly scowling and cursing to himself, trust his ears to be all but useless at a time like this.

Ichika takes a few seconds to gather his words, the black haired male knows its all but impossible to take this call and if anything the only thing he can do is just pick up the reciver and tell the person whom is on the other end that he can't take this call, and should this person phone back, all Ichika can do is either ignore this person or merely pick up the phone and do the same again.

Reaching down and taking the phone of its set with his right hand and pressing a green reciver button with his thumb, Ichika sighs in frustration. Then, as he lifts the phone to his right ear, the Japanese male speaks in a solemn tone of frustraition.

"Hello, This is the Orimura residence, I'm terribaly sorry but I can't take this call at the moment, do you think you can call back at some point? Thanks a lot!" - Ichika speaks as loud and as clear as he can, trying desperately to get his message clear to whom ever is on the other end of the line. Ichika doesn't even think twice as he lowers the phone from his right ear and presses the red reciver button, ending the call.

Then as Ichika places the phone back down on the set and takes a few steps over to the sofa, the Japanese male is rolling his eyes. He thinks of nothing as he takes his spot back down on the sofa, almost instantly relaxation and comfort soothes his body, soon ressulting the Japanese male closing his eyes and enjoying the peace, even if there was birds singing in the room, Ichika would not be able to hear them due to the damage inflicted on his drums, but at least the said male can rest easy knowing that the damage on his hearing is only temporal, and in a few days or so, his hearing should return... in the mean time for now... Ichika can have the privalidge to relax and have the comfort that he would never have at the IS academy.

**\- Outside and 10,000ft in the air -**

Flying at a height of 10,000ft with a mixed paint scheme of white'ish grey, with an embalzoned emblem of the Grim Reaper on its left side, along with with pitch black letters beside the black emblem which read "MQ-9 REAPER". Now showing itself in full form, the object reveals itself to be exactaly what it says on the side of its bodywork, non other than an MQ-9 Reaper drone. Its propeller buzzes loud in an endless buzzing insect like tone. A grey Amercian airforce roundel is embalzoned on both the left and right side of the drone. Underneath the nose of the drone, whilst letting out a clicking sound, followed by a revolving action, is the operating lens camera.

Underneath both wings is a single 500lb GBU-12 Paveway II bomb, along with 2 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles under each wing. The triangle tail wings help make the grey flying object stand out proud against the clear blue sky. From the view of the Drone's camera, a targeting recticle flashes and zooms in on the residence of Ichika Orimura. Ichika's home is soon enlarged in the Dront's camera revealing his home in every last detail.

Then just as quick the drone's coloured picture of Ichika's home is enlarged, the drone's camera then changes to one of green light, sets of numbers flash in the corner angles of the Drone's camera functioning eye.

From a combatants point of view the drone is merely observing Ichika's home, but from a civilian's point of view whom knows a lot about military weaponry, the strange thing is, what would a military drone belonging to the US air force being doing so far over Japanese urban residential areas, especialy in an area designated as a civilian air traffic fly zone.

Not a single human soul that walks around below looks up or notices the drone flying over head, the grey computer piloted aircraft maintains a straight and level course, only changing course and banking slightly to the left and flying away into the distance after making a successful pass over the Orimura home.

The drone's appearance is over just as quickly as it began, and just as it was before its exsistance was there, nothing but silence lingers in the air space of which the automated aircraft had flown in, with not a single soul human or animal suspecting a thing.

**\- Elsewhere, in a random bar -**

"Same again please" - A familiar female voice speaks in a pleasant yet demanding way.

"Coming right up miss" - A barman replies in a calm and rational manner from behind a mahogany coloured bar desk.

The female reveals herself to be the all mighty Chifuyu Orimura, sat on a red round seat. Sat beside her on the right is the green haired beauty Maya, just proceeding to lower and set down a half full whine glass, with a blood red liquid in the glass, the low light in the bar makes the alcoholic treat look like a half full whine glass of blood. The only light is that of the small individual lights that glow on the bar wall and on the 1st class style bar lamps set on empty yet still shinning, round mahogany painted bar tables.

Chifuyu Orimura sits up straight, a serious frown is set on her features, the woman keeps her eyes fixed on the empty beer glass as it is taken to be cleaned and refilled by the barman. The mighty Chifuyu remains silent, not saying a word, breathing very slowly and silently.

From Maya's position, sitting directly beside the the mighty female, an overwhelming aura of darkness seems to radiate off the almighty female. Ever since the early hours of this morning, the long ponytailed female has done nothing but look at paper work, sign papers and drink, even at one point the almighty Chifuyu had engaged in a long 1 hour phone call to some random person, for Maya, it does not take a rocket scientist to know who it is that Chifuyu has been talking to, if anything its got to have been people that are organising and are behind the wanted test fire of Kestrel's Prometheus.

For Maya, every second that passes by is a second closer to the big event, which to her maybe a heart in the mouth moment, but for Chifuyu deep down... its far more worse. Not due to the fact that a ten year old kid is going to partake in a highly dangerous IS test, but due to the fact that she is going to have to break the news to her 'for the moment' oblivious younger brother and his friends.

Chifuyu may have an ice queen appearance and attitude, but behind the shell the woman is a mass of frustraition, the fact being proven as she rests her elbows on the bar counter and places the palms of her hands to her face.

"Don't you think your taking all this a bit to hard? After all the youngster's test is only to determine the power and potential that his IS holds, for all we know we may even get some good ressults out of it" - Maya speaks in a kind and comforting voice, trying her best to comfort the mighty woman beside her.

"I know that Maya!" - Chifuyu mutters in an irritated tone of anger behind her hands that cover her face. A moment soon passes, with neither female saying a word, Maya suddenly being filled with the horrible feeling that maybe her act of kindess helped make the scenario worse than what it has to be.

The green haired teacher lowers her head and looks down into her red wine that is almost completley still in her crystal clear glass. From behind her thin glasses frames her eyes fill with dread and her face soon harbours a look of depression and saddness, even as she takes a sip of her light alcoholic drink, the woman seems to no longer be able to gain taste of the spirited drink. This in itself is a normal thing to happen when one is feeling missery and depression, and Maya has felt it many times over in her life, but this evening seems to be the worst moment felt so far.

For Maya, everything seems to be falling apart, much like the pieces that fell from the sky when the tragic disaster of Space shuttle Challenger occured. Though Maya enjoys every moment of her job when around Chifuyu, its at times like this that woman wishes she never gotten into the career of IS in the first place.

However, Maya's spirits are about stabilize themselves as Chifuyu lowers her hands from her face, turns her head to the right and casts an appretiated look over, as she speaks.. her vocal tone is one of a cool big sister - "Maya don't worry... I just need time to work things out, and I also need to get my head down... its just the stress of work".

Upon hearing Chifuyu's words, Maya's unhappy face turns into one of relief, its just the perfect motivation for her to turn her head and look the mighty Chifuyu in the face with a smile of pure sympathy.

"I know I shouldn't ask but... did they get back to you when you asked if Ichika or anyone else to tag along and be there if the young one needed them?" - Maya asks in a careful manner, as not to cause any negative reactions.

Chifuyu looks away and straight ahead, looking down again and taking a fresh filled glass of alcohol from the barman. Chifuyu does not open her mouth to thank the bartender, but simply smiles softly and gives a small single nod. Her voice is low and solemn as she replies to Maya's question - "They didn't get back to me on that matter... I think they've already made up their minds".

Maya looks down at her wine glass as Chifuyu carefuly picks up her own glass and raises it to her lips, taking down the beverage in a moderate sized swig. Whom would have thought that such a timid, vulnerable and frail ten year old boy would cause such a big heart ache!.

"I did get some details as to how the test will be set up though" - Chifuyu explains in a low solemn tone, causing Maya to look the ponytailed woman in the face, albiet the side but non the less still in the face. Maya remains silent and simply blinks, though she does at first reply with a slightly surprised - "Hm?" -, the woman chooses to remain silent and in many sense of the words becomes 'All ears' as Chifuyu looks down into her drink and begins to speak in a low, careful, solemn tone. -

"The IS experimental testing site of which the kid will be firing his Prometheus will be at Amami island, the child will be firing at a large set up target, the area is un-inhabited so nobody will see something considered 'Top Secret'. Apart from some of the heads of IS management and Control, will be members of the secretary of defence... a good collection of dummy and stationary targets are going to be set up both on land and at sea, so its going to be like a test site the Americans used at Bikini Atoll for the atomic bomb... Air traffic in that area will be restricted, there's definately going to be a good amount of military aircraft and naval vessels maintaining and patroling the ocean and aerial exclusion zones so if anything... theres going to be a good cover up what ever happens, and if anything beyond our control occurs, then the media will cover anything up... they'll use the excuse that its part of our country's newly set up nuclear test program, but... even then... The risks are clearly going to be high no matter how the test goes".

Maya remains silent, maintaining partialy made eye contact with Chifuyu, but as the mighty ponytailed woman goes silent, Maya asks a question that Chifuyu knows all to well that was coming. Maya speaks clearly and carefuly, her face is a mix of concern and fear - "..And what of Kestrel?".

Chifuyu remains silent, she rolls her eyes in the direction of the green haired teacher in glasses, clearly giving the indication that what ever it is... it has to be bad. Even as she speaks, the woman lowers her head and closes her eyes for a moment before lifting her head again and speaking in a low and solemn tone - "As to what I've been told, Kestrel is considered a high and very dangerous risk if the child is considered pyschologicaly unfit to be in possesion of his IS, and because we can't remove it from him due to the risk of killing him... the child may end up in an detention facility, not that that would do any good because the kid would just break out in all liklihood, but all the same... the child is more or less being treated as a human test rodent... I did speak to Tabane about the matter and she said that she and her reasearch teams and so on would do something about it to ensure that little Kes remains in our care but... what it is they can do... is beyond me, believe me... I know what scumbags exsist in our goverment's power just to get their gold and silver, hence the expression... 'Man cares little for morals and his own species when its in the way of getting what he wants!'".

Maya blinks, half closes her eyes and looks down in a gloomy manner, a horrible feeling of depression lingers in the air around both women as a sickening feeling strikes both females hard in the gut like Thor's Hammer.

But...

Its at this point that both women are taken by surprise by an unexpected visitor, the visitor being purely well known to both women, and one thats been so ever helpful with activities at the IS academy. The visitor has dark blue hair, an eye patch, and wears black uniform, with a silver emblem emblazoned on the top of her hat. It does not take three guesses who this is, its the German female Clarissa, whom upon seeing both Japanese females breaks into a large smile and proceedes to casualy walk over to both troubled women.

As Clarissa speaks her voice is one of high morale, her spirits are high, completely oblivious as to what is wrong. - "Instructor Orimura and Yamada Maya, I had wondered to where you had gone to, I hope I am not intruding on anything!".

Upon hearing the German female, both Maya and Chifuyu turn their heads to look over at the visiting German woman, Maya's facial expression is one of pure surprise, but Chifuyu's is one of utter frustraiton, as if she is a girl being harrassed by a fanboy. Which is proven as she closes her eyes and looks away with a hand resting on her temple, whilst the other holds her glass. Chifuyu huffs in frustraited irritation and mentaly screams in her head for the German female to go away, the black haired woman has got plenty of trouble to deal with as it is, and the last thing she needs is more unnessasary problems.

"Harfouch!? This is a surprise" - Maya cooes in a polite manner, a small smile is on her features as she watches Clarissa walk over with her arms comfortably by her side.

"Ya'vol, Ya'vol... I appologise for my disturbance, but I have a matter of which I must confine to you at once" - Clarissa states in a pleasant tone, holding up a hand with the palm flat facing up towards the ceiling as if she is explaining a matter of fact.

"A matter?" - Maya asks in a confused tone, looking the German female in the face and holding an interested expression on her face.

As Clarissa is about to speak, the ponytailed beauty Chifuyu immediately cuts the German female off with an annoyed tone, the Japanese beauty with a aching head maintains the position of having one of her hands placed on her forehead, her eyes remain closed as she speaks in a tone of irritation. - "No, No, No Clarissa!... I'm not in the mood! I've got enough problems on my hands right now, I don't have the time to tell you where the nearest manga or anime store is, or for that matter tell you were to go to buy schnaps because this country does not sell it!".

Maya can't help but sweat drop and smile awkwardly, whilst Clarissa suddenly stops dead in her tracks, her single solitary eye opens wide and a look of shock appears on her face. Although Maya lifts up both hands and arms in a reasurance manner, aswell as speaking in a calm and kind voice, Clarissa frowns and looks heavily offended non the less.

"Heh,Heh... please... ah... don't feel hurt miss Harfouch, Chifuyu simply has a lot on her mind right now and its not very convienant to talk right now!" - Maya states in the most comforting way she can muster.

Thankfuly... much to the relief of Maya, Clarissa's frown turns up into an affectionate smirk. The German female folds her arms, closes her eye and shakes her head in an affectionate manner, and as she speaks her voice is one of pleasantry - "Nine... Nine, you missunderstand me, I have a matter concerning the child from Israel".

Upon hearing Clarissa's words the green haired Maya's eyes widen with surprise for a brief moment. Her voice is soft as a whisper as she blinks with disbelief, the green haired teacher is hoping that above all else she didn't hear what she thought she just heard - "The child from Israel?... Kestrel?".

Suddenly getting involved and cutting Clarissa off once again from having the chance to speak, Chifuyu speaks with a clear voice, the ponytailed female even goes so far as to turn her head and shoot an angered frown at the German female - "Well it may interest you to know Clarissa, but we are also having a discussion about... the Israeli child, and we do happen to be very busy righ now, so if you don't mind... I would appreciate it if you just left us alone for now".

Clarissa smiles with victory upon hearing Chifuyu's words, the German female apparently seemed to know or at least had the feeling that Chifuyu was going to say those words, or words at least linked and related to that phrase. For the blue haired, eye patched beauty, its the perfect opertunity to lay out a surprise that Chifuyu has not been informed of, not even by the people that she herself answers to.

Clarissa walks forward slowly, the low light seems to make the German female look strangely magnficant, its as if the German woman is a legendary hollywood character making her big appearance on the scene, which for a young woman like Clarissa is hardly surprising, on the other hand it is very fitting, especially if one takes into account that Clarissa is a hard assed military ace.

Clarissa seems to be immune to the bitch glare that Chifuyu sends over as she casualy takes a seat beside Maya. The German female smiles in a victorious manner all the time as she reaches into the pocket of her military coat and pulls out an already opened envelope, the German female remains silent as Maya and Chifuyu watch. Maya with a look of curiosity and Chifuyu with a look of irritation, whilst lifting her glass to her mouth and taking another drink. For at least 2 minutes the sounds of paper rustling is heard as Clarissa takes various folded sheets of letters out of the envelope.

Then, after a another moment or so, Clarissa swivels her round chair to face both Maya and Chifuyu. The German girl speaks with a pleasant and happy tone, as she proceedes to push letters over for Maya and Chifuyu to get a good look at with an index finger.

"Please, trust me instructor Orimura, you HAVE to see these letters!" - Clarissa speaks in a loud and clear tone.

Huffing and snarling, Chifuyu takes another drink from her glass and sets it down on the table before hissing in irritation - "Oh for the love of christ!".

Maya says nothing, but sweat drops non the less... its understandable that Chifuyu is stressed to hell, but upon reading the first out of 3 letters presented before her, her look of anger dissapears, and as she looks upon Clarissa with a raised eyebrow, the German woman says nothing but simply smiles in a friendly manner in return.

Chifuyu remains silent at first, but sure enough... the woman closes her eyes, lets out a big frustraited sigh and then, after a moment in a low, clear and serious tone proceedes to ask a single question to which Clarissa responds instantly to - "And they have accepted these terms?"

"Ya'vol!... and they've also accepted to accept responsibility if any negative ressults occur with the child's IS testing" - Clarissa replies with a happy yet smug smile on her face.

"Clarissa knows about all this?" - Maya suddenly asks, startled by the fact that the German military hard ass, Clarissa has been informed of Kestrel's Prometheus test firing.

Chifuyu takes her eyes off the letter upon hearing of Maya's remark, and sends over an inquisitive look, causing Maya to blink in fear upon feeling hostile anger radiating from the mighty Chifuyu. Thankfuly, what Chifuyu says next helps defuse the green haired teacher's nerves. - "According to this letter, thats thanks to Tabane... and if anything we need all the friendly hands we can get... look, we can't speak freely here, lets go to somewhere more private".

Maya does not hesitate, the said teacher in glasses simply puts on a serious look and nods, Clarissa does the same, and soon enough all three women are walking to a more confined, yet dark and secluded area of the bar, each woman not about to risk letting a word of information leak out into the open, the fact is proven as Clarissa follows close behind the green haired Maya,  
tightly clutching the letters and placing them, along with the envelope in her military coat pocket.

For Maya all this fuss with Kestrel is getting stranger by the second, first the child is the centre of attention by the heads of IS management and control, and now the famous Tabane is getting involved by inviting Clarissa to join the image, but as far as Maya could tell, the look on Chifuyu's face was not one of dispair, frustraition or anything negative, but in that scowl was a pure glimmer of hope and relief, so what ever it is that Tabane is up to, it has to be something good for a change, otherwise Chifuyu wouldn't be so keen as to discuss something so important in private directly on the spot.

As she walks close behind the mighty Chifuyu, Maya's nervous face houses a small hopeful smile, and for some strange reason a feeling of warth rushes through her body, and in her mind, one thought rushes through her head - ( "Tabane... I don't know what you've been up to but, what ever it is it has to be something good, and what ever that may be... I can't start to thank you enough!" ).

**\- Back with Ichika, 21:00pm -**

Stretching himself with his left arm in the air, the other behind his head, eyes closed and a pleasant smile on his face, Ichika Orimura feels great, even though he is still heavily worn out from his past experiance with the IS academy, the Japanese male is still very much in good spirits. Only just recently the Japanese male has just finished eating a very well earned, and very good dinner, sure the food in the IS academy is pretty good, as is the company... but nothing is as good as this. Not that Ichika does not like having company and being around his close if slightly big handful school friends, but every now and then the fact remains that even if he is surrounded by nothing but girls... he still requires time to himself.

Night seems to have taken a long time coming but is non the less very much welcome, even the light provided by the large and powerful light that lights up his living room and kitchen area is hardly enough to hinder Ichika's joy that dusk has finaly seized the sky.

As Ichika lowers his arms and relaxes his muscles, the Japanese male looks down at a silver wash basin. The black haired male then moves his right arm, reaches for the hot water tap and with a brief clutch of the hand followed by the twist of the round glass like handle, proceedes to turn on the hot water to fill the basin.

In no time at all the Japanese male has his hands in basin of bubble thick hot water, the dark bags under his eyes may show the said male's drowsy state in a certain respect, but the Japanese male is clearly soothed and the last ounces of life and spirit that is needed for the closing hours of the day is drawn back into his body as his arms and soak in the hot, lathered water.

Despite the fact that the Japanese male has been alone all day, it does not really matter, on the other hand Ichika has desperately needed the alone time he's desperately required, if any of his friends, including little Kestrel had shown up on his door step today then the Japanese male would have been more worn down than ever right now. The girls as many can imagine would have been expecting to go out and around with Ichika all day, Ichika would have had to have spent a good amount of money and worse... the Japanese male would have felt terrible amounts of pressure when any of the said girls started acting wierd, or from a third person's point of view had started fighting over the black haired male with chocolate brown eyes.

Ichika smiles slighty to himself, looking down at the lathered white plate, along with the silver knife and fork that had one point had been used for eating. In fact the smell of the cooking that Ichika had been doing only an hour or so earlier still lingers in the air. The utensils and materials that Ichika had used for preparing his diner was one of the first things Ichika had tended to, now that those had been put away all that remainded was his dining plate, knife and fork.

At heart, Ichika would have loved to have ate with his older sister Chifuyu, as well as catch up with family matters, but clearly Chifuyu had not made even the slightest appearance, there had been 3 phone calls today, but Ichika was clearly unable to answer, due to his impared hearing, so even if Chifuyu had attempted to make contact today Ichika would have been unable to tell whom it would have been anyway, which in some senses is a real bastard... but thankfuly Ichika is not the person to scowl for hours on end, if it had been Kestrel whos hearing was so badly damaged then Ichika would have been spitting on every last girl in the IS academy, or worse had battered seven bells of crap out of the girls that were so heavily thick in turning up the volume on the loudspeakers at full blast that night... but... as far as the Japanese male is concerned, if his bad luck is going to help his friends, Kestrel or the girls... and keep them safe and protected from damage and pain... then he is willing to forget the entire incident altogether.

Time soon flies past very quickly for Ichika, and before he knows it he has discovered that he has already dried his plate and dining untensils and is just finishing putting them away, which clearly comes as a very big surprise, but non the less is a very nice and pleasant one.

Ichika makes that factor clear as he smiles kindly to himself, stands up straight, closing a cupboard door as he stands. With nothing else to do for tonight, aswell as being utterly exhausted thanks to the last 48 or so hours, Ichika's smile turns into an excited grin, even though his eyes are half open and theres plenty of strength left in his body, Ichika realises that this is the point that he has been waiting for all day, the chance to turn in and get some much needed slumber. Just the very thought of seeing his bed tonight is making Ichika feel like a starving animal finaly being fed, nothing but relief and joy fills his body and that salvation has finaly arrived to aid him with open arms.

Folding a white towel that he was using for drying the dining materials, then setting it down on the side of a counter beside a black cutting board, Ichika closes his eyes and lets out a breath through his nose, the black haired boy's smile does not leave for a moment.

Then, opening his eyes fully, and taking a look around his home with a pleasant expression the Japanese male blinks, then... just as simple as folding the towel used for drying cutlery... the said male walks away, the destination in mind is the stairs that lead upstairs.

However... As Ichika is half way towards the hallway that leads to the stair case, the said male just happens to glance to the right, looking out of the window and out into the dark street, Ichika notices a pair of blazing white leads facing down his home street, passing his window and lighting up the black front gates and white wall of his front yard.

Ichika's smile drops instantly, a wave of curiosity washes over and through his body as he stops dead in his tracks and remains frozen on the spot, like a wild animal caught in some random car's headlights. Ichika stays perfectly still, not making even the slightest whisper as he keeps his tired out eyes fixed on the car headlights that blaze brightly outside his home.

Knowing its impossible to hear what is being said if he was to listen very carefuly, Ichika slowly and carefuly makes his way over towards his front room window. The blinds are open so at least the black haired boy does not have to worry about reaching the cords to open and shut the shades. It takes a total of 15 seconds of careful and stealthy movement untill Ichika makes it up to his open blinds, the chocolate brown eyed boy slowly lifts his left arm and with a slow, careful movement of the hand, pulls down one of the blinds to enable him to look out into the darkness to see what is happening, what greets his half tired and half curious eyes is the pair of women, both of which Ichika knows very well, standing halfway between his front gate and his front door.

Despite it being dark, Ichika can clearly tell whom these females are, a slightly open smile on his face is the give away as to whom these strangers are as Ichika looks outside to see the turned back of his older sister Chifuyu. Excitement and joy fills his gut and his heart leaps in happiness, finally... although its late, the mighty ponytailed woman that Ichika worships so much and tries to impress in endless amounts of respect, has returned home... at last.

Along with Chifuyu is the undoubtless form of Maya Yamada, from where Ichika is standing, Maya looks to have an awkward but pleasant expression on her face, and though Ichika can tell that her mouth is moving, its impossible to understand or figure out what it is that Maya is saying, even if Ichika attempted to read what was being said, it wouldn't get him anywhere... after all, lip reading was never a skill that Ichika had ever gotten into, though he has tried it many times when ever he's caught many numbers of girls looking over at him at the IS academy, he's never managed to work out what the mischeivous females were saying to each other.

The twelve minutes that pass by seem to be an eternity for the Japanese male that is keen to welcome his hard working sister home in the most respectable way he can muster. Even though Ichika is excited and overjoyed that his mighty older sister has returned home, it does not take a rocket scientist to know that Chifuyu will be exhausted... and Ichika of all people has a very good idea of knowing how she feels.

Then, sure enough... upon observing the green haired Maya casting a pleasant bow towards the mighty Chifuyu, Ichika reacts with a lightning reflex and moves away from the blinds. The Japanese male does not immediately leave the blinds though, instead the male reaches for a white beaded cord proceedes to pull on the left cord, closing the blinds shut.

Immediately after doing that, the Japanese male releases the cords and begins to walk to the hallway at a calm and happy pace, ready to welcome his big sister home... but... what Ichika sees next completely shatters his beliefs that Chifuyu has returned home standing strong, a hand on a hip and a smug smile on her face showing her cool big sister image...

Ichika's tired yet happy eyes suddenly change into eyes of shock and awe, his smile vanishes and instead a partialy open mouth on a shocked face is what quickly replaces his happy expression. Chifuyu is seen standing on what to Ichika looks like a jelly leg manner, her legs looks like they are about to give way and the woman is about to fall flat on her face at any second. The woman is slumped forward and her right hand is pressed firmly against the white wall, her head is held low with her hair drooping down with her head. The only thing that seems to show any form of normality is her ponytail that remains perfectly straight down her back.

Though Ichika can't hear very well, his eyes do not lie, neither does his nose in this case... though Ichika can usualy smell perfume on his sister, there is a differance in the scent that is coming off the said ponytailed woman. Mixed in with the fruits and flowers essance is the unmistakeable stench of alcohol, and its a very thick stench at that also.

Ichika is motionless, aswell as speachless as he watches his sister straighten herself up, then turn... close the front door with a loud bang, before leaning down and turning the key that was placed in the door lock ready for locking. Though Ichika's hearing is slurred and limited, the black haired male still manages to make out the faint sound of a click, signaling that his big sister has locked the door.

Ichika can't seem to make out the feeling that is filling his body, its a strange mixed blend of fear and dread, Ichika shouldn't have to feel fear in his own home, in the pressance of his own sister, but for some strange reason Ichika gets the feeling that something really horrible is about to happen tonight, and theres a good bet that he will have to face the problem alone. The last time Ichika felt like this was back in the IS academy, which strangely enough was the night of Charlotte's slumber party, which back then Ichika had chosen to ignore... but that was denial reasons only... surely Ichika has no reason or for that matter even HAVE to feel unpleasant in the face of his own big sister... does he!?.

Ichika watches as his sister turns round again to face his direction, but the woman does not look him in the face instead she looks down, places the palm of her left hand against the wall opposite the one to which she was leaning against she she first came in. The woman crosses her legs, placing one foot slightly behind the other and leans herself to the left, using her hand as a support. What Ichika can not make out is the smile that is on the woman's face, along with the red flush under her eyes, her eyes are half open and above all else, the mighty woman's head feels very, very light.

A moment passes with neither Ichika or Chifuyu saying a word, or making a sound, but thankfuly Chifuyu shows she isn't asleep on the spot... the woman then staggers a few steps, then straightens herself up, soon standing in a neutral manner looking her younger brother in the face with a very happy grin. The look on her face is like she is a woman eager to be embraced by her true love.

For at least 2 minutes both Chifuyu and Ichika stare each other in the eyes, though Chifuyu is blinking and smiling at Ichika with clearly a happy and playful expression, Ichika seems to be unable to respond in the same manner, a very uncomfortable aura is in the air... and all Ichika can do is smile in an awkward manner, shrug his shoulders and chuckle nervously, clearly the moment is hampering his ability to even find the right words to express to the sister of whom he was waited so long to speak to in a formal way.

"Ahh... Welcome home Chifuyu-nee... ahh... would you like to sit down and take the weight of your feet?" - Ichika asks in a nervous yet pleasant way, wanting to break the ice of the awkward moment that fills the air around both him and his older sister.

Chifuyu blinks, and surprises her confused younger brother, by looking down at her feet, less than 3 seconds after looking down, does the woman look up and nods her head in a kind and friendly way, the woman briefly lifts up her left arm and points up with an index finger on the left hand as if she is giving him the hint to wait for a second. Ichika watches in silence as his sister slips off her shoes, at the foot of her front door. Though Chifuyu does lean forward and raises a knee in order to reach down towards her feet, the woman manages to pull both shoes off her feet without stumbling or falling flat on her face, but saying that... this is Chifuyu Orimura... even if she has returned home a BIT drunk, alcohol can't push her down with just a simple push.

"Ah Ichika... My beloved Ichika... I can honestly say its great to be home!" - Chifuyu speaks out in her usual cool big sister tone, which is clearly toned out differantly due to the effects that alcohol is having on her mind. Her smile does not leave her face, and as she speaks the woman seems to stagger and very nearly stumble into a fall as she walks forward, the woman hobbles like an elderly person as she losses her footing on a few steps as she walks forward.

Stepping forward and reaching out to steady his older sister from falling, Ichika smiles in a very caring manner, though his face holds its clear image of feeling awkward... it isn't enough to force Ichika to simply allow his big sister to walk on her own in such a state that she could fall and break something, either an house hold object or worse... a bone in her body, after all... what kind of brother would Ichika be if he allowed something like that to happen?

"Err... not that its any of my buisness but... have you been out drinking all day?" - Ichika asks in a very kind yet careful way, as best to not maybe upset or annoy his big sister, which is a very wise thing to do, because when one sees another drunk... nobody knows what that said person will think or do.

Licking her lips whilst placing an arm around Ichika, allowing her younger brother to guide her to a nearby chair, the mighty Chifuyu maintains her smile, blinks a few times and in her usual yet drunken effected tone, replies very nearly instantly to her younger brother's question, the woman lifts up an index finger as if explaining a matter of fact as her bother guides her to a chair -

"Ah... I knew that you would find me out! Yes... I have been drinking, but... as much as you don't belive me... no... I have not been drinking all day! I just had a few these past few hours to celebrate some good news... ah... good news concerning your kiddie friend!".

"Kestrel? Good news?... What about?" - Ichika asks in a curious way, now heavily interested in what his big sister has to say, even as Ichika helps place his staggering sister down into an arm chair, the Japanese male does not take his now wide open eyes of the drunken Chifuyu.

"Well... didn't I tell you on the phone?... Kestrel aparently... its been accepted that... the wellfare and protection of the kid is to be entrusted to us... thats ahh... me, Maya, Clarissa and Tabane... that way no scumbags that come up and take him off us! surely I told you didn't I?" - Chifuyu replies in her drunken tone, the woman leaning herself back in the arm chair, looking her younger brother in the eyes.

Inside his mind Ichika remembers the muffled dialed tones of the phones that played today, the only differance is that Ichika did NOT take any phone calls, due to his hearing being damaged, and though Chifuyu is drunken, the woman is speaking very loud and clear, and on the plus side Ichika's hearing is improving by the second, so although Ichika can't hear Chifuyu on a normal level, he can still understand what his sister is saying, even without the said woman having to shout beside his head and down his ear.

Though Ichika sweatdrops at remembering the phone matter, his interests quickly change to what news Chifuyu has of Kestrel, its clear as day that what Chifuyu is saying is true, because its in matters like these that even the tightest mouth can open and spill some of his or her's darkest secrets, all it takes is the right words and actions to get the host to move to the guest's tune.

As far as Ichika is aware, Chifuyu is all warmth and smiles, and she seems to be in a good mood. Putting 2 and 2 together Ichika is able to build up the facts that his sister is giving him, though Ichika can clearly see that good news and some much needed good luck is now hovering over little Kestrel's head, it does not explain why or what Chifuyu is celebrating so much about, one reason is the fact that Chifuyu mentioned Tabane... and as far as Ichika is aware, Tabane is only involved in matters concerning IS only... so what does Tabane have to do with Kestrel?

Blinking, looking his sister in the eyes, Ichika suddenly gets a very, very good feeling of confidence rush through every nook and cranny in his body, if Ichika can get info out of his sister when she is in this type of state, then maybe Ichika will be able to build a good picture of what is going on behind his back. Though Ichika maybe dense in terms of love, its a differant story when concerning other matters.

Ichika smiles kindly, looks deeply into Chifuyu's eyes and then... with a pleasant smile on his face asks a question which there is not a chance in hell, Chifuyu will suspect or feel suspicious about, Ichika makes his tone one of pure kindess and understanding as he speaks to his big sister, whom has the unfortunate luck to be in such a state at such times - "Okay, yeah... I did get that call... I remember now thanks for reminding me, but... what does Tabane have to do with anything?".

"Well she's running the test isn't she?" - Chifuyu responds in a calm yet still drunken tone.

"Test?... What Test?" - Ichika asks in an interested, yet calm and confused manner, the male is doing his best to make sure that his sister does not find out that behind his smile, his blood is bubbling with nerves, and a frown would normaly be placed upon his apparently happy stricken face.

_**Okay everybody, thats it for chapter 65, its shorter than recent chapters I know but I want to get the suspense to fill you readers before I let you know what happens next. The next chapter will begin with Chifuyu and Ichika in so don't worry you readers will get to know first hand if Ichika manages to learn of Kestrel's Prometheus test from Chifuyu or not. The next chapter will have more of Kestrel and Tomoe and the brand new Megumi in so you'll be able to see what is happening with them and everything.**_

_**Also I plan to cut a planned chapter out in order to get closer to Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, but don't worry nothing much was going to happen in that chapter, in the mean time you readers just stick around and keep sending the support over. Remember readers if anybody has any requests and such, feel free to speak out... its more fun to know that everything has been a joint effort. The 2 requests given to me about what should be and happen at the IS leaving party should be good evidence of my sincerity eh! *Wink and thumbs up!*.**_

_**Okay... stay frosty you readers, wishing you guys and gals the best and my your own fics get the best reviews and follows in return.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	66. Chapter 66: Chifuyu spills the beans

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned 'As promised' with a fresh new chapter, as you know... the last chapter involved a drunken Chifuyu beginning to open and spill her secrets, With a now suspicous Ichika listening to every word that is being said. Now... you readers can read and find out where this moment goes, and how Ichika will react to the matter at hand, also this chapter should have more family moments with Tomoe, Kestrel and the brand new Megumi. Thanks for sticking around everybody, its great to know that some good and honest people have got my back and giving me cover, you readers need any cover in return feel free to speak out!**_

_**Been a few days I know, but you readers know the drill right?**_

_**Also be warned... this chapter's drunken Chifuyu is down to a now popular growing exercise in fan work and was requested by a friend of mine, so do not be heavily repelled by what little bit extra Chifuyu blurts out in this chapter!**_

_**Okay... thats it for introductions, please... sit back... read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 66:

It had been mere seconds since Ichika had heard his big 'if slighty' drunken sister, mention a set of words that revolve around his ten year old friend with a blazing red face scar. Though Ichika has managed to understand just a bit of his big sister's words, the Japanese male is still at loss as to what it is that Chifuyu is talking about. So far all he has managed to discover is that one of the phone calls that he answered but didn't take was that of his sister, but that was only to be expected due to his impared hearing. Even now the Japanese male has put his head close to another person's face in order to hear what a person is saying. Although Ichika can see that what ever it is that Chifuyu is talking about... it leads to good news, but the fact remains that in order for Ichika to understand why his sister has been in such a wonderful mood to cause her to drink, the full story has to be explained to him.

All Ichika knows at this point is that his childhood friend's older sister Tabane, the very female that created and gave the popular Houki her own personal IS, seems to be at the heart of the matter, but revolving that is his dear little Israeli friend with long black hair, and what ever it is that little Kestrel has to do with Tabane, Chifuyu has the answers, and one thing is for sure, Ichika is not going to hesitate to get as many out of his drunken sister as he can.

Even though seeing Chifuyu in this state is in many ways a dream or idol crusher to the black haired male with chocolate brown eyes, it can in fact be a blessing in desguise as Ichika is already all too aware of. Though Ichika is a good person that would never take advantage of a female of any age in any state, there are acceptions in certain situations... and as far as Ichika is aware of, this is one such reason to break the limitations of his normal self, after all... it is a justified reason if it is for the well fare of a mentaly wounded child is it not?

As Ichika speaks, he maintains his happy, calm and pleasant expression even though behind his calm and happy face, he is frowning and somehow managing to battle the exhaustion with spectacular ressults. - "Test... What do you mean test? Is Kestrel going to be sat in a room writting down stuff related to IS or something?".

Blinking rapidly for a moment, with her drunken flush under eyes as well as her casual and cool big sister smile on her face, Chifuyu shakes her head slowly. The ponytailed woman raises her hands as if she is trying to reasure Ichika of something but says nothing. As she slowly and carefuly slumps sideways, the black haired female's arms are lowered, one arm ends up being draped on her lap whilst the other is used as a support on the right chair arm for the entire right side of her slumped body.

Then, closing her eyes for a moment and lowering her head in order to gather her words, the Japanese female then turns her head to the left and proceedes to look her curious younger brother in the eyes, as she speaks her tone is normal but clearly slurred with traces of being in a drunken manner - "Ah, no... no, no... not paper work and stuff, don't you remember?... I told you on the phone?... Kestrel and I... are going to see Tabane in the Ryu.. Ryu... err... well some stupid set of islands anyway to take part in IS weaponry testing".

As Chifuyu gathers her strength, the woman stands up straight, however... the effect of alcohol on her mind is very strong, Chifuyu is not much of a drinker, but when one is in such a happy and relieved state, and is in such a mood to celebrate, even the most sober of people can become drunken fools, albiet it took a hell of a lot of alcohol to get Chifuyu this heavily drunk to start with, but never the less as she stands... the mighty Japanese female that could still break someone's neck in an angered state, is still stumbling as she gathers the strength in her legs and attempts to stand straight and proud.

"IS weaponry testing?" - Ichika asks in a curious tone, the Japanese male is clearly eager to hear more information come from his big sister, even though his hearing is still attempting to get back to full working order, the Japanese male does not need an interpreter or subtitles to know what it is that Chifuyu is saying.

"Yeah... whats wrong with you for god's sake!?... don't tell me that your memory is going already! Only senile old fags get dementia you know!" - Chifuyu speaks in a very clear tone, stumbling to the side and placing her arm around her younger brother, the Japanese female sniggers and seems to be trying hard not to laugh at her sudden remark.

Rolling his eyes up and raising an eyebrow of confusion, Ichika soon puts an awkward smile on his face and closes his eyes, sweatdropping... but non the less seems to be successfuly playing along with making his big sister feel like she is in control of the situation, Ichika chuckles and places a hand at the back of his head, acting casual and as innocent as he can, after all... so far so good... Chifuyu is successfuly opening her mouth and spilling all the valuable intell that Ichika now seems desperate to require.

"Heh,heh... yeah, 'Course I remember now... How stupid of me, yeah I best go to a doctor shouldn't I Chifuyu-nee!" - Ichika chuckles out the best he can, trying to sound as convincing as he can.

"Ah... Ichika, I've told you many times before... you have to call me... Orimura Sensei!" - Chifuyu replies in her drunken tone, frowning at first and placing a raised index finger on Ichika's lips, before smiling and giving Ichika an effectionate side hug.

As Chifuyu releases Ichika from her grasp, the woman calmly if in a wobbly manner walks over towards the kitchen counter. The woman turns to look Ichika in the face whilst placing both her hands on the top of the kitchen counter and sending over her usual big sister like smirk, though the woman has a slight wobble with her head, arms and body, the woman appears to be in perfect control of what she is doing which is amazing when considering the state that she is in.

"Ya know Ichika... I am just against all this as what you are you know... but... in the end, this is coming from the top, I have no choice... and... to be honest... I'm very happy that you have taken it better than I thought!" - Chifuyu speaks in her usual tone, some how managing to regain control over her body and limb shaking and managing to straighten herself up. Chifuyu maintains her smile and keeps her head low and eyes closed as she straightens herself up.

"Yeah... and so am I!" - Ichika mutters to himself, now clearly heavily concerned with what his big sister is telling him, the Japanese male rolls his eyes and looks away at nothing, but does it fast as he is soon taken by surprise by his big sister's next sudden blurted out phrase.

"Here Ichika, everything is down in these papers... read em and you'll get all the answers you need... ya know.. I've been dreading telling you all this but.. I'm glad I have done, because its been playing on my mind for.. I think its days now!" - Chifuyu states in low but clear tone, reaching into her pocket and pulling out folded pieces of A4 sized paper and placing them on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah.. well, You know you can rely on me sis, ah... do you happen to know when this test is taking place?" - Ichika asks in a very careful and kind tone, keeping eye contact with his big sister as he calmly but quickly walks forward to the kitchen counter to take the folded papers, that from Ichika's view are clearly filled in text, and though paper work is hardly considered a treasure, to Ichika these documents that his sister has just presented to him are the most priceless objects on earth, more valuable than gold as far as the chocolate brown eyed Japanese male is concerned.

Smiling widely, Chifuyu raises a hand, with an index finger raised. The woman places her other hand on her hip, as well as leaning her head and body forward slightly to show Ichika that she has the answers to all his questions, yet her leaning forward lasts only for a few seconds as the woman feels her entire weight dragging her forward to a highly probable fall forwards.

"Ah... I'm glad you asked because... You can come aswell and keep him company, we leave in six days so.. you get all your luggage together and remember to have your passport ready for when we head out to the airport.. Alright!?" - Chifuyu replies in a happy and clear tone, the woman now proceeding to turn her back on her now shocked younger brother and walking calmly around to the other side of the kitchen counter.

Not saying a word and taking his eyes off his almighty sister, Ichika dashes forward and rapidly takes the folded documents of the shinning kitchen counter that seems to gleem like the body work of an IS unit in the light emitted by the room light. Ichika grasps the folded documents and rapidly proceedes to place them in one of his pockets, the Japanese male has the strange feeling that for some reason he has acheived a goal not yet matched by any one on earth, even if it was done in a 'not so' fair and square manner. Ichika lets out a sigh, but despite letting off a bit of pressure, the Japanese male's chest feels very, very heavy, tension fills his body and his his mind is wild with disbelief.

Thankfuly though Ichika manages to quickly recover his calm composure and regains visual contact on his sister, although there is a considerate amount of information now in his hands, Ichika knows that in order to get the full image of what his sister is talking about, he will have to speak to her face to face once again, but only when Chifuyu is in a sober state and in full condition to talk and move around, which in all liklihood would probably be tomorrow afternoon when the woman's hangover has cleared up.

Satasfied that he has enough intel from what can be described as 'the horses mouth', and knowing that his sister isn't in any condition to look after herself, Ichika quickly rolls his eyes up, places his hands together in front of his chest and quietly murmurs the words - "Thank you god!".

Relief is an understatement as to how Ichika feels in terms of getting what he wants from his sister, though its usualy more appropriate to pray and thank the lord almighty when one has just got out of a very sticky situation and managed to keep a serious matter out of unwanted eyes and attention.. Ichika's reasons are considered just as important, although Chifuyu and Ichika are in their own respective home and as such can speak about private and personal matters, Ichika has learned that if anything... its very rare to get a lucky break or be given access to such restricted information, especially if Chifuyu is Ichika's older sister, most of the time Ichika hardly gets any favors and privaledges accepted from Chifuyu, so even if Ichika has used un-conventional methods to get what he wants, he can still consider this matter at hand a very lucky break... because one thing is for sure... Chifuyu would NEVER have spoken these words to Ichika if she was sober.

Now changing the subject and choosing out of strict personal choice to save the matter concerning Kestrel and this 'Test' for afterwards, Ichika turns his full and un-divided attention to his big sister. Ichika now notices that the mighty woman, despite being able to have somehow regained control over her legs, is now walking towards the kitchen taps with a shinning, empty, clear glass in her hand.

"Chifuyu-nee, ah... don't you want to go to bed? If you've been out all night drinking don't you want to lay down for moment?" - Ichika asks in a kind a caring tone.

"Nah, your alright... I can manage!" - Chifuyu replies whilst positioning her drinking glass under a tap and using her other hand to reach for the cold water tap, a brief squeaking sound is heard before the sounds of rushing water is heard following by a filling sound as cold, crystal clear drinking water fills Chifuyu's glass. Ichika rolls his eyes and stares at his sister with a near frown, though the Japanese male has chosen to drop the matter, his mind is filled with instability as he watches his older sister shut off the cold water flowing through her tap, before lifting the drinking glass to her lips and proceedes to take down a small amount of water.

"How long was you out drinking anyway sis?" - Ichika asks in a curious manner, folding his arms and putting on a face of bewilderment with a mix of feeling the 'Oh boy' moment. Clearly Ichika would never have expected to see his big sister like this, even in a thousand years, but never the less... whats done is done, and all that matters right now is how well Ichika manages to deal with the situation, but there should be nothing to worry about after all... Chifuyu is Ichika's sister, and siblings do understand each other better than anybody else... don't they?

"I don't know... I can hardly remember, but... I had good reason to drink didn't I!?" - Chifuyu replies to Ichika at first in a slurred and low annoyed tone before turning into a tone of pride, matched with a small smile.

"Well, Its just if you want to rest then your bed is already ready and everything, I mean... You've obviously been working and been more active than what I've been so... you know?!" - Ichika speaks out in very kind and careful tone, lowering his arms from their folded position and now down to the sides of his body.

"Thanks a lot Ichika but... Not now.. I've not had the chance to talk you yet have I?" - Chifuyu replies in her calm but drunken state, looking over at her brother as she takes another swig of the cold, soothing water that is strangely like near heaven to her alcohol stricken throat.

Quickly casting a look down at the shinning floor of which he and his sister stand upon, Ichika feels a slight amount of bashfulness as Chifuyu gives the hint of having family time with him. Normaly Ichika is the one whom is fond of such matters, so to hear such a thing from Chifuyu is like earning millions, even if it is due to the influance of alcohol Ichika is more than happy to hear such words from his sister.

Then, just as Ichika is about to speak to his sister a sudden memory suddenly turns on a light bulb in his head. As Ichika speaks his voice is the one that is heard from a person simply reminding another of an important matter that has just been forgotten, even though its not much of a subject to talk about... it can be considered a start - "Ah yeah! That reminds me, mail order came round with a package for you, I stamped and signed for it but... they said that you gave strict instructions for it to come round between breakfast and lunch".

"Huh?..." - Chifuyu responds in a confused manner, slightly stumbling to the side as she lowers her glass from her lips, thankfuly the said woman places the fragile object on the counter holding its half full containment of water. A confused frown appears on Chifuyu's face, soon followed by the woman closing her eyes and placing the palms of her hands against the sides of her temple.

"Heh,heh... its true, in fact it came around the time you would normaly be in the house after everyone has left the IS academy" - Ichika puts in, speaking in an awkward but very simple manner with a an awkward smile and chuckle to begin.

"Oh... was that today!?" - Chifuyu replies in a clam but heavily confused voice, holding out her left arm positioned in a 'Wah!?' state. Her confused face does not leave for a single second, and the flush under her eyes has the strange effect of adding comedy to this situation, not that there is anyone to enjoy it, but non the less... the feeling and situation is there. Less than a second later after asking Ichika that very confused question the mighty Chifuyu motions with her arms in a manner that shows that she is not to blame and that fault for the matter is to go to somebody else in a sheepish 'if very' comedy like manner.

"Well I blame it on town planners! Its socialy irresponsible to put so many bars and night clubs on the exact main roads that I use to get home by!" - Chifuyu speaks in a very surprisingly calm if slightly serious manner.

Then, as Chifuyu makes it round the kitchen counter the woman loses her footing, stumbling forward, going wide eyed in shock, but thankfuly the almighty Chifuyu is able to recover very, very quickly, which ironicaly comes as a big boost to her pride at this moment for not falling flat on her face in front of Ichika. As Chifuyu stumbles and straightens herself up, Ichika rolls his eyes, sighs and folds his arms, sweatdropping at the moment.

"You mean?" - Ichika asks in a low and clear tone, the Japanese male apparently seemingly being able to know what his sister is about to say next.

"YES! YES! I have liquidised your assests!" - Chifuyu replies in an apparently happy if proud tone, raising both hands as if trying to reasure someone.

Ichika lowers his arms to his sides and walks upto his staggering sister, clearly the ponytailed beauty is in no position to look after herself tonight, even though Chifuyu is considered well enough to see to her self in terms of going to bed and undressing, she is clearly in no position to be left alone in a room filled with objects that can ressult in falling and injuring in a very unexpected and painful way. Ichika lifts up his hands in an act of showing his sister that he is going to help her, his voice is its usual friendly self but theres clearly a hint of seriousness in his tone - "Chifuyu-nee... why don't you sit down?".

"I am sitting down!" - Chifuyu instantly replies back to her brother in a tone as if she is speaking as a matter of fact, whilst in reality the woman is still staggering left to right on the razor's edge of falling down and injuring herself.

"No your not sis, your swirling around the place like some kind of evil native!" - Ichika replies back in a tone that is just as serious and like a matter of fact as the way Chifuyu has just spoken, but unfortuneatley... for Ichika... its about to get worse as Chifuyu's mind begins to shift unexpectadly in a differant manner, which is proven as Chifuyu shoots a scowl at Ichika, balls her hands into fists, and sticks out her chest as she manages to regain her balance.

"OH! So your calling me a drunk are ya!.. Well you listen here! You can be a little bastard if you want back home, but you will not... NOT show disrespect to me here in the academy... now.. Get back to your home room, I will punish you later myself... BE READY! GOT IT!?" - Chifuyu speaks out in an angered, manner, her voice is slurred in some places but changes to a near but very struggled angered bark as she mentions punishing the Japanese male before her.

"Chifuyu-nee I'm not going back to my home room because we're not IN the academy!" - Ichika replies back to his serious expression faced sister with a serious frown of his own, the said boy hoping that his sister will some how snap out of her sudden change of thought and be able to remember the fact that whatever she is thinking or perciving, its not real, but... once again, Ichika's words do him no good as his sister maintains her scowl and fires a very angered look at the Japanese male, but this time... the ponytailed female raises her balled fists and positions herself as if she is squaring up for a very nasty fist fight.

"OH! So now your calling me a looney as well as drunk are ya!? Right, thats it! Get over here!" - Chifuyu hisses in a tone of anger, thankfuly Ichika is not nerved by his sister's act, which is most likely all thanks to the alcohol that has a hold of his sister's head. That along with the fact that due to Chifuyu's staggering, its highly likely that even if Chifuyu lashed out, there is a good chance that she would miss hitting her brother by over a mile.

Then, before Ichika knows it... Out comes Chifuyu's fist, but... as expected, Chifuyu's swig goes wide and instead the ponytailed woman swirls round in the air after missing her younger brother's face, Chifuyu's attempted punch is heavily sluggish compared to her natural lightning reflex, as is her focus. As Chifuyu swirls round in the air, the drunken woman's eyes go wide slightly in surprise that she should miss. Almost at exactaly the same time Chifuyu completely looses her footing and falls forward upon her swirl, though Ichika steps forward with hands out in an attempt to catch his sister, its already to late as Chifuyu falls forward bewildered and unable to interperate what is happening, but thankfuly the mighty female has a soft landing as the woman falls forward over the back of one of the two sofas.

Chifuyu rolls as she goes over the back of the sofa, landing on her front on the exact sofa that Ichika had been sleeping on virtualy all day. Her face burries itself between two of the sofa cushions, which comes as an utter shock to the black haired Ichika. Though its even more of an idol shattering moment in terms of seeing his older sister in this state, Ichika is thankful in terms of fate, especially due to the fact that his older sister has had a soft landing. Never the less Ichika face palms himself, a sweatdrop appears on his temple, how Chifuyu has let herself get like this... nobody will probably never know... what is it with adults and drinking these days?

"Hey! Nice bit of interior design!" - Chifuyu's muffled voice is heard call out from between the sofa cushions, which causes Ichika to close his eyes and shake his head, place the left hand palm on his face as well as the sweatdrop does not leave for a single moment.

Ichika does not stand idle, the Japanese male walks over takes one of his drunken sister's hands in his own, helping the woman to her feet. Even though Chifuyu could lash or do something else thats unpredictable, the chocolate brown eyed male pays the thought no heed. On the other hand... Chifuyu's tumble seems to have had a positive effect as the woman seems to snap back to reality her face has a calm and pleasant look again, and as Ichika steadies his sister, the woman smiles warmly, which comes as a surprise to the Japanese male as he is used to seeing his sister having nothing but a fierce and gloomy look on her face.

"Ah... Thanks Ichika... Your a good man Ichika, a good man!" - Chifuyu speaks in a kind and pleasant manner, her eyes half open and her face pleasant as Ichika helps his sister stand up straight. Though Ichika smiles, the Japanese male raises an eyebrow, although Ichika is very flattered at his sister's comment, he is all too aware that come morning Chifuyu will be pointing a finger and be verbaly warning him not to speak a word of anything to ANYONE, or risk a serious scolding.

It is at this point that as Ichika is about to speak that his sister cuts him off with an index finger raised, which causes the Japanese boy to blink with surprise and look some what bewildered and completley at loss for words as the wait to see what Chifuyu is about to do or say begins to play. The ponytailed beauty, looks down, closes her eyes and grins in a clearly happy manner, flashing her pearly whites, a titter and snigger leaves Chifuyu as the woman puts her left arm around Ichika and leans herself to the side so that the side of her body is ending up supported on his body. As Chifuyu opens her eyes and raises her head the woman looks at the Japanese male in the eyes, Ichika slightly leans back, a feeling of pure discomfort rolls and churns in his body as his sister looks into his eyes with what looks like 'A dreamy expression'.

"Ichika... I must confess... that when ever I look at you... my heart goes into a flutter! I know that I shouldn't feel this way about you but... I can't help it! Your such a wonderful person!" - Chifuyu speaks out in a drunken yet dreaming manner, batting her lashes at Ichika and tilting her head in what looks like a love stricken manner, apparently making Ichika go wide eyed and lean back in shock.

Ichika begins to sweat cold beads down his temple, a sickened feeling rolls in his gut as Chifuyu gazes into her younger brother's eyes. Ichika is unable to think or speak, he is utterly shocked out of his flesh, its hard enough just being around the girls at the academy... and most of the time they act wierd out of this world, and now if that wasn't bad enough... his big sister seems to be turning just as wierd as they are. Ichika does blush under the eyes as Chifuyu seems to press herself deep into his body and hold her arm round him a bit tighter, but his face is white and pale and his stomach is a wash with mixed feelings, most of which concern - fear, illness, joy, confusion and excitement.

Putting an awkward smile on his face, Ichika titters nervously to himself maintaining clear but nervous eye contact with his big sister, whom now seems to be acting a bit 'Too' wierd, even if she is far more welcoming to be around than the other girls.

"Hey Ichika... do you know... how many times I have had a wet dream or... fingered myself whilst dreaming or thinking about you!?" - Chifuyu asks in her drunken yet dreamy manner.

"NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!" - Ichika yelps in a fearful manner, suddenly feeling a little more sick than usual, the Japanese male shakes his head whilst Chifuyu tightens her grip on him.

"Well I want to tell you!" - Chifuyu replies in a calm and rational manner, her drunken flush is still under her eyes as she speaks, and what is worse for the now nerve stricken Ichika, it is clear as day that Chifuyu is saying is the truth!

"NO! NO! TRUST ME! YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL ME!" - Ichika blurts out, white in the face and nervous as hell, completely and utterly becoming traumitised at what his big sister is saying and doing right now.

"Well I want to tell you, I'm going to tell you!" - Chifuyu replies in her drunken tone, leaning deeper into her younger brother and putter face closer to Ichika's, thankfuly though... Ichika knows what to do... in times like these its best to speak the obvious to the person that is drunk, after all... a bit of rational and clear thought does not harm in cases like these right?

"Listen Chifuyu-nee! If you tell me, you'll wake up in the morning with your hang over and you'll feel like death, then you'll walk up to the mirror look at yourself, remember what you've said and go... AAAAHHHHH!" - Ichika speaks in a calm and rational way, pulling a face and placing both palms of his hands to his face as he reaches the end of his sentance and matching scream. The said Japanese male clearly doing everything he can to aid his older sister in her 'out of this world' moment of drunkeness.

"COUNTLESS TIMES!" - Chifuyu yells in a proud like tone, causing Ichika to go wide eyed and shake in terror, the Japanese male turns his head away from his sister and yelps one word - "DAMN!".

For Ichika it is too much, the Japanese male reacts like a girl, he cringes and then, summoning all his strength, the Japanese male pushes his drunken older sister off him, tears roll down his face as a feeling of illness and disbelief rolls and bubbles in his gut. Ichika clutches himself like a girl that has just been violated as Chifuyu rolls her eyes and places a hand on the side of her temple.

"Alright I give up... what was I saying?" - Chifuyu speaks out in a low and calm tone, her smile gone and her face slightly back to its normal self, much to Ichika's surprise, yet again.

"Chifuyu... how did you get this drunk in one night?" - Ichika asks in a slightly shaken tone, looking at his sister with a suspicious frown, unable to make out what his sister is talking about or for that matter be able to understand what his sister is getting at, but then again... Chifuyu never has been a person that is good with alcohol, so in all likelyhood Chifuyu could say anything in moments like these, so in all likelihood its possible that Chifuyu's nonsense is just information voiced very incorrectly.

Almost instantly after hearing Ichika's question, Chifuyu's frown turns back to its excited and happy look, which causes Ichika to step back in fright slightly and blink as Chifuyu staggers over to her now shaken up younger brother... as she speaks, Chifuyu's tone does not loose its slurred and drunken state, but at least it puts Ichika's nerves at rest when Chifuyu puts her face up to his own, speaks and lets a very powerful chemical smell of alcohol hit him in the face.

"Theres a sale on in the Yukikaze night club!" - Chifuyu speaks out in an excited whisper like manner.

Ichika closes his eyes, turns his head away and coughs, he lifts a hand in front of his face and wafts trying to blow away the alcohol stricken breath that his sister has just subjected him to. Then as Chifuyu walks 'or rather, staggers' away talking about her night out with Maya and Clarissa, Ichika rolls his eyes and does his best to forget his sister's words that have left his mind rolling and churning in an act of panic and disbelief.

Most of Chifuyu's words no longer get to Ichika for at least eight minutes untill the woman stumbles again and lands on the floor on her side slightly. Ichika can only sweatdrop yet again, as Chifuyu speaks one phrase that clearly indicates that no matter what the woman has said, its not worth paying attention to - "Were'd the floor go!?".

Ichika shakes his head and walks away, soon turning his back on his sister, rolls his eyes and looks up as if trying to communicate with the lord almighty, or at least what ever gods may exsist that will take his side. - "Oh lord, is this some kind of joke!?... Why are you always choosing bad fortune to come to me instead of anybody else!?".

Then, after a few seconds, Ichika... now having over come his sisters chat up, as well as being able to regain his power of rational thought, proceedes to monologue to himself... his tone is one of the 'oh boy!' moment, which would clearly make one all the more sympathetic about him as he lets out a worn out sigh before speaking - "Oh well... I shouldn't complain really, she's only ever been drunk once... trouble is... last time mother and father were there to help!".

Then, a cluttering sound from the kitchen area forces Ichika to cease his thoughts and monologue. The Japanese male snaps his focus, swivels and looks towards the direction of the kitchen cupboards. Not long after hearing the sounds of cluttering, the Japanese male then hears the drunken yet excited laughing tone of his big sister Chifuyu, the woman despite being obscured from view is heard speak one phrase - "Hey Ichika... C'mon over here and drink with big sis! Get the glasses and lets celebrate!".

**\- Outside -**

From outside the sound of a desperate and fear stricken Ichika is heard shout nearly at the top of his lungs - **"NO CHIFUYU! THOSE ARE CLEANING PRODUCTS!"**

Almost instantly after Ichika's shout is heard, the playful and drunken laughter of Chifuyu is heard soon followed by one phrase - "Oooh Ichika, be gentle with me! Your so daring!".

For the rest of the night, Ichika battles the odds and the riddiculous moments with his alcohol stricken sister, although Chifuyu would laugh and require Ichika to look after her for the rest of the night, it was in fact, a very special... if slightly or totaly strange reunion with between little brother and big sister.

**\- Meanwhile with Tomoe and Kestrel -**

Unlike the unlucky and unfortunate Ichika tonight, the dark blue ponytailed beauty with a butterfly hair clip, known as Tomoe along with the long black haired ten year old youngster known as Kestrel, have had a relatively more quiet night. At this moment, the pair sit up on Tomoe's large, soft and bouncy bed. The pair are now dressed in night wear, Kestrel wears light gray PJ bottoms with the cord untied, and a plain light blue PJ top. Though the child's arms are left exposed and an odd healed scar can be found on the child's arms when looking carefuly, the youngster looks just like any other random youngster about to go to bed, just like he was when he roomed with Ichika at the IS academy.

Tomoe obviously is wearing another revealing nightie, clearly exposing her surprisingly big cleavage and well crafted hips. The smell of perfume on the female helps to soothe Kestrel's nerves, which would normaly make the fragile youngster smile in a very timid and small way, but the youngster's smile remains upturned tonight, Tomoe's home is still brand new to the scar faced child as is the enviroment, so its going to take a few days for the child to get used to his surroundings.

Both sit on the white matress with the bed sheets already pulled back, each sit with their legs crossed on the matress. The atmosphere is relaxing, and not a sound can be heard throughout the house. Despite the fact that Tomoe's older sister, whom goes by the name of Megumi has made her appearance in the house today, the girl is not present tonight, which comes as a big weight off the shoulders for both Japanese beauty and the Israeli youngster, at least this way... both Tomoe and Kestrel can continue with their quality time together, as well as allowing the dark blue haired female to have the chance to give little Kestrel more Japanese language lessons, which for now has gone very well.

As Kestrel is brand new to Japanese, the dark blue haired beauty has had Kestrel go over and over the same words for the vast majority of the day, though Kestrel has forgotten some words along the way or stumbled, the youngster is back on his feet and for the first time tonight has managed to complete his first day of lessons with no aparent mistakes. Which comes as a surprise for the dark blue haired beauty sat just mere inches away from the timid Israeli youngster.

Even though Tomoe and Kestrel have had to be very silent and stealth like a Kunoichi stalking a young and vulnerable boy, the pair have managed to have a very successful and pleasant day, though during lunch and dinner Tomoe has had to eat relatively small amounts whilst doing her best to sneak food upstairs for both her and Kestrel, the female has not been the slightest bit hungry today, nor has Kestrel... in fact at one point when having a break the dark blue haired female has thought to herself - ( "Are we just eating because we're bored?" ).

Now... however, after such a long day filled with surprises and narrow escapes at being discoverd and found out by Megumi, the pair now have the chance to relax, and more importantly have had the chance to complete the final Japanese lesson for tonight. With nothing but a bedside lamp as light, along with the street lights that shine brightly outside her bedroom window, its clearly time to rest. Even if Tomoe or for that matter Kestrel have the strength to go on for another hour or so, now is the time to decompress, after all... Tomoe has always said to her sister "that even if she has the strength, a girl still needs her beauty sleep".

This is made clear as Tomoe gathers the picture cards used to train Kestrel's Japanese lingo, little Kestrel watches in a curious manner, simply blinking as Tomoe gathers the cards in her hands and stacks them neatly in her hands. As the well endowned female moves off the soft, white, covered matress to put the cards away, the curious Israeli youngster watches in a pure act of timid curiosity.

Its at this point that the child feels a sudden urge to turn his head to look to the right, out of Tomoe's bedroom window and into the darkness of the night just a thin glass pane away. The curtains of Tomoe's bedroom remain open, which allows Kestrel a chance to see anything and everything that is outside, and all that greats the child's ocean blue eyes is just the darkened sky and the white street lights that light up various amounts of the seemingly lifeless street which is 1 floor below and just feet away outside behind the glass pane.

From Tomoe's point of view, just watching the Israeli youngster sat and looking around is nothing to fret or be nervous around, even as she walks over from a chest of drawers and back towards her bed, Tomoe has a small and very loving smile on her face. Even as she proceedes to draw the curtains to apply privacy to her bedroom, the said female is clearly at home and is warm hearted,  
it was at one point assumed that having a boy, even one younger than herself in her bedroom would be a very bashful moment, but to her own amazement, its been a very calm and comforting moment.

Though Tomoe has a warm and loving smile on her face, the girl's expression changes to one of concern as she is about to draw the curtains to the window the Kestrel looks out of. The Japanese female can see that the youngster has his head lowered slightly, a sorrowful and pained expression is on his small face, the child's mouth is open by only a fraction of a few inches or so. The child is not making a whisper and is clearly bothered by something playing on his small and badly wounded mind.

Tomoe puts on a face that matches a person guilty as hell, even though she hasn't done anything wrong, though Tomoe has seen this expression on many people that are effected by PTSD, Kestrel's face is clearly too much for Tomoe to look at, just seeing the youngster troubled by some random thought or memory and being unable to talk about it is like having a knife driven straight through her heart. Even the scar that blazes in a blood red manner on Kestrel's face is looking somewhat more angered than usual, and though Tomoe is in a way looking at the back of the child's head, the youngster's reflection is clearly shinning against the window glass.

Tomoe reacts to a gut feeling that screams that loud in her head, she can't ignore. The dark blue haired female walks slowly forward and upon reaching the youngster whom sits with his head looking away towards the glass window... the said female quickly sits beside the child and proceedes to wrap her arms around the child, which comes as an alarming but welcome surprise to the child whom goes wide eyed, jumps in alarm, turns his head back to the left and lets out a frightened sigh as Tomoe suddenly pulls the child into a warm embrace.

Tomoe places a hand on the back of Kestrel's head, the amazing soft texture of Kestrel's long black hair is like touching some of the finest velvet or material that one could ever hope to touch. The same can be said about Kestrel's body, even though Tomoe has held Kestrel's hand and held him in a tight embrace many times over, its a moment that the girl never gets tired of.

The dark blue haired female closes her eyes, and fights the urge to burst into tears upon feeling Kestrel's nervous tremble in her arms and through her body. Thankfuly the child's nerves last only for a brief second, and as an extra, much to Tomoe's utter joy and happiness... Kestrel places his small and soft arms and hands around the Japanese beauty and returns the embrace, Tomoe breaks into an emotional smile, a tear forms in one of her eyes as the pair remain still, holding tightly to each other for over 10 long minutes, during the moment the pair spend holding each other Tomoe tenderly speaks in a low loving tone to the traumitised scar faced youngster in her grasp - "Kestrel... you are loved, you know that?".

When the pair break the embrace, Kestrel's face holds a small timid smile, the softness and warmth of Tomoe and the smell of her perfume has been a real mind and heart soothing moment. Which comes as big relief for Tomoe herself as she proceedes to draw the curtains, but... it soon becomes a moment she quickly comes to regret.

As Tomoe completes the task of drawing the curtains, the girl with a smile on her face just happens to look down slightly and to her horror, notices something abnormal about Kestrel's small toes on his bare feet. Tomoe whilst on hands and knees on her bed, remains frozen, looking at Kestrel's feet... the girl frowns at first and narrows her eyes as she focuses very carefuly on the Israeli youngster's feet. As she leans forward to take a closer look, a terrible feeling of sickness forms in her gut... the child has no toenails!

From where toenails are expected to be, nothing but pink flesh and healing red scars remain. Tomoe's eyes widen and her heart seems to stop, the Japanese beauty seems to be unable to breathe as she sits up straight, soon ending up on her knees and leaning forward, reaching out with her hands in an attempt to make physical hand contact with the child's small feet.

Unfortuneatley the girl does not get a chance to touch the child's nailless toes, as the child quickly notices what Tomoe is doing and pulls his feet into towards him. The youngster quickly forms a fetal position, looking down in what looks like shame, using his hands to cover his small toes. Tomoe, with a feeling of sickness in her gut and horrible taste forming in her mouth, now looks the scar faced boy in the mouth with a shocked expression, her face suddenly turns to one of rescue as she observes tears forming in Kestrel's eyes.

Tomoe does not hesitate, the girl dashes forward and quickly brings the ten year old into another loving embrace, the Japanese beauty feels the shivers and trembles as Kestrel holds her tight which in turn causes Tomoe to pull the child ever deeper into her body. The Japanese female even goes so far as to use her large cleavage as a pillow to cushion the child's head. As Tomoe holds Kestrel a set of tears of pure and un-contained pity roll down her checks as her heavy heart beats softly in her chest. Though Tomoe has the feeling of sorrow and pity for the scar faced youngster that is now forced into crying silently in her arms, another emotion forms in her heart... anger... rage and blood lust. Though she does not show it on her face... deep down the female is praying to what ever god will listen, her thoughts are along the lines of -

( "God, or whom ever is there... Kestrel here is someone whom I will never let go of, and if you will not aid the law in finding the people responsible for doing this to him... then grant me the privalidge of seeing that justice is done... I know to murder another is a ticket to hell, but if you are with me, will you make an acception to grant me forgiveness?... Because if I DO find the people that have done these things to my Kestrel here, there is a chance I will happily kill them if I get the chance!" ).

Together, Tomoe and Kestrel hold each other for over 16 minutes, and when they part, they do not take the matter any further... instead both the scar faced youngster and the ponytailed beauty just pull back the bed sheets, snuggle into each other, face each other - holding each other firmly in each other's arms and remain that way untill exhaustion and stress forces both to close their eyes and go into the empty silence of a long dreamless slumber.

**\- Elsewhere -**

Sat down at a normal oak wooden table, with her single solitary eye trained on a laptop screen is non other than the dark blue haired German woman known as Clarissa. The lone white glow that comes from the laptop lights up the 22 year old female's face with clear ease. The woman holds a serious looking scowl on her face, not a breath is heard come from the woman as she types on the laptop keyboard. The clicking of the woman's thin feminine fingers on the word keys is the only sound that fills the darkened room. Though Clarissa blinks every now and then with her one single solitary eye the female shows no sign of emotion change.

Of course, in a case like this... nobody would blame the German female for her reasons for being so silent and apparently working at all hours with nobody around. Playing on the mind of the said German woman is a certain ten year old youngster whom wears a silver Star of David pendant round his neck. Though this time, unlike Ichika and Tomoe... Clarissa isn't just thinking of little Kestrel, but rather his IS and what the ressults could be like during his firing test in just a few days.

Clarissa's heart is beating very steady, but her mind is a mass of nerves and fear, although Kestrel shows promise as a sign of peace, his IS unfortuneatley does not. The power that child's IS holds is only partialy known and as for what secrets the Israeli generation six weapon has contained behind its black exo-skeleton, thats just about as fully known as the past that Kestrel has endured... virtualy nothing known!

Though Clarissa has data readout on Kestrel's BLACK PHOENIX, and calculations for possible ressults as to what is going occur during Kestrel's firing test, everything is just guess work... or in short, nobody has a clue as to what is going to happen, and that is what has been up Clarissa's nose for days. Ever since knowing that its impossible to remove the IS from Kestrel without killing the said youngster, the German woman has been determined to crack every last detail of what the youngster's IS is capeable of. As far as the German woman is concerned, if Kestrel can't be parted from his IS... then why not try to learn its potential? After all... its worth trying to determine the child's IS weaknesses and abilities should the youngster suddenly pose a threat to the known world.

Though that possibility is considered ridiculous by those whom know Kestrel, there is simply to many that don't know the youngster and they would see Kestrel as a very dangerous threat, which is understandable when one takes into account the fact that Kestrel is vulnerable and mentaly wounded, and to put an emotionaly hurt and mentaly wounded youngster in possesion of what could be a very powerful and unpredictable weapon... that would be considered scheer stupidity. In fact one big question is still playing on everybody's mind, including Chifuyu and everybody else that has seen or experianced the BLACK PHOENIX capeabilities, 'Just how has Kestrel managed to be in possesion of such a powerful weapon so easily?' and why is it that nobody was able to know of this IS and its transportation to the IS academy in the first place?.

These questions along many thousands more are rushing around Clarissa's mind as she scrolls down on the Laptop sceens and types differant forms of calculations into a 3D holographic model test system. The 3D test system is brand new, one of a kind and brand new from Germany, normaly such a system would be used for testing newly developed military weaponry, but... it can also be used for testing nuclear explosions, and the damage inflicted.

So far Clarissa has studied 2 possibilities, both have been based on passed atomic bomb tests, but now... after studying every possible aspect, and taking into account the fact that what has been currently discovered, Clarissa begins to imput various data text and numbers, so far the German woman has calculated that in all likelihood... even though its just a rough guess, Kestrel's Prometheus beam could have the explosive power of at least 2 of the most powerful nuclear bombs ever deployed on test ranges, the Russian 'Tsar' bomba. Even though there will be no need to fear about the threat of nuclear radiation, due to the fact that Kestrel's Prometheus does not give off nuclear signature or radiation signals, just the explosion and blast alone is enough to keep Clarissa on the razor's edge of running to Chifuyu and shouting out a demand to 'Stop the whole thing!'.

Thankfuly though the German woman keeps her cool, but non the less is clearly nerve stricken as she enters in her current calculations for the possible ressults of Kestrel's 'for the moment' unseen Prometheus beam. The German woman places her hands together and in front of her mouth, her elbows rest on the table as she looks intently at the laptop screen as the a loading symbol shows Clarissa the reality that the test engine is loading. What is soon showed to the German woman, is litteraly an eye widening moment!

Displayed before the German female is a full 3D diagram, though the image is an over head satalite view of Amami island, the 3D ressult data is displayed in clear letters and colours. The clearest image on a data layout is a large 360% blue circle, a blood red bullseye is directly in the centre of the image and between the blue and red bullseye is a series of green, and yellow circles.

Though Clarissa is compelled to press a play button and see the 3D model test, the German woman choses to look at the data readout first. Even though the laptop screen is providing the only light in the darkened room, its clear from a third person's point of view that the German woman's face has gone white, and a look of utter nerve is now presented on her face. Her mouth is partialy open and her single solitary eye is wide open in shock and awe.

Clarissa whispers one phrase in very nervous manner, her eye does not leave the laptop screen for a single second - "What.. the hell!".

_**Okay everybody... thank you for waiting a few days... just to let all you readers know, that if I don't upload any chapters or such that is due to being obstructed by domestic work, or other reasons like maybe an accident or something... BUT, the chances of that are 1 in a million, so don't fret! I am a man of my word as you guys and gals know all to well! and I'm always happy to get PMs and requests. Okay... I hope you readers found the drunken Chifuyu moment very humourous, in fact I based it on an actual event that I saw when I used to go to colledge at one point! - How's that for a short interesting tale!?**_

_**Right well... Thanks for sticking around, next chapter is underway as we speak and remember readers, I'm wishing you guys and gals the best, lets hope your own fics get the best reviews back in return, stay frosty everybody!**_

_**until the next chapter... ...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	67. Chapter 67: Discovery

_**Hello everybody again, its been a few days i know but Black Falcon 01 is back again as promised, and once again back with a fresh new chapter, thanks a lot everybody for sticking around for so long, it all helps with the morale and everything... right... to cut a long story short and to cut to the chase, I think its time to reintroduce to some action to the following chapters, its been a few since the last action scrape moments, this chapter can help get everyone in the mood to be prepared for when the big chapter comes, Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, which... will be soon...**_  
_**VERY soon! So keep your imaginations and suspense nerves running high okay!?**_

_**Also, I'm sorry to say it but... expect further delays because I'm currently having some work done on my home, its a big job, so for the moment at least... future chapters are to be delayed by just that small amount more.**_

_**Oh, Also I'd like to say that as we all know, the west coast of America has been hit by Hurricane Patricia, so for any readers whom read this fic that live out in the parts that have been hit, I'd like to say I'm sorry about that, and also to remind everyone that Britian has experianced some of the remnants that have blown over from the states, so for any readers that live in the USA, **__**don't worry, us Brits understand what you guys and gals experiance and that we have your backs in any problem.**_

_**Okay... thats it for introductions... so... please, relax, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 67:

**\- Tomoe's house, 03:20am, upstairs corridor -**

Utter darkness befalls and holds the home of the Japanese beauty Tomoe and her older sister Megumi in a silent embrace. Not a whisper or twitch can be heard in the still darkness of the twin girl's home. In truth there is no way to describe the stillness and solitude of the japanese home, the only way for one to understand such a lifeless atmosphere is to experiance it for themselves first hand.

The silence and solitude is the perfect heaven for anyone whom wishes to have a good night slumber, not even the ticking of a clock can be heard in any part of the house, even outside, not even the sound of wind can be heard, just perfect silence, ressembling the lifeless silence of space itself, an endless void of silent solitude.

From a third person's point of view the sound can seemingly go on forever, but the silence is quickly brought to an end in the most quiet possible way as the sound of a bedroom door handle is heard click. From a view point, outside a pure white painted bedroom door against a cream painted wall, a golden brass handle is pulled downwards from some unknown force. Despite the fact that no colours of the doors and walls can be made out due to the darkness that hugs the entire home and atmosphere, the said dusk and lack of light is hardly enough to stop life from exsisting in the apparently lifeless and still home, which at the moment is occupied by 3 people, 2 Japanese female youths and 1 Israeli male child.

The brass door handle pulls down as far as it will go and then, without a squeak from the brass door hinges or a creak from the wood, the white bedroom door is suddenly pulled inwards, not a whisper is echoed from the door as it is pulled inward to reveal a black and shadowed fiqure barefooted and with back turned against an equaly darkened bedroom. The random figure steps forward slowly, and calmly, untill the figure walks out of the bedroom and onto the laminated mahogany coloured floor, though no sound is heard come from this random figure, the sounds of barefeet stepping and walking along the laminated floor can be heard, but even then... that is no where near enough to shatter the solitude that has a firm grip on the household.

The figure turns to the left upon exiting the bedroom and walks down the darknened bedroom corridor for at least a few seconds before coming to another white painted door, along with another brass door handle that would normaly shine with radiance in daylight. The figure immediately reaches for the handle, pulling it down, causing yet another clicking noise to escape from the door frame, the figure causaly pushes the door forward, not stopping for a second untill entering the unknown room.

As the figure enters the small unknown room, a cord with a white bead handle on the end is pulled downwards, letting out yet another but slightly louder clicking noise. Instantly after the cord is pulled by the unknown figure, a light suddenly blazes in a blinding manner, killing some of the darkness in less than a second, and illuminating the outside of the upstairs corridor. The light, large, white and bright reveals the small room to have pitch white tiles that coat the walls, a white gleaming bathtub with pure silver taps, just above on the end of the wall that houses the side of the bathtub with the taps is a white object with 3 dial knobs, matched with a silver hose like object. The entire unit reveals itself to be a shower system, and the bathtub helps reveal that the room is non other than that of a bathroom.

The figure's shadow stands out well in the now blazing white light that shines out of the bathroom door, soon followed by the figure walking forward towards a grey bathroom cabinet with a crystal clear mirror fixed on the very front of the cabinet door. The figure reaveals itself to be non other than the dark blue ponytailed beauty known as Tomoe, her butterfly hair clip at this moment is not in her hair, yet her hair remains perfectly fixed in the ponytail position. The Japanese beauty with narrowed eyes quickly looks herself in the mirror, whilst placing the top of her hand to her forehead as if looking far into the distance at a far away object or person, the said female with her eyes screaming in protest against the sudden brightness of the light, proceedes to close one eye and lower her head, yet her partialy open eye that is shielded by the hand on her forehead remains fixed on the cabinet mirror as she looks herself over in a highly curious manner.

Though nothing is expected to look differant, there is always no harm in checking one's reflection every now and then. Tomoe looks at her reflection for at least 10 seconds before letting out a small satisfied smile, nothing differant and her beauty always remains the same. Then, still slightly shielding her eyes, the said female shifts her attention down to look at the white pan of a lavatory. The female then shifts her attention back to the bathroom door, then... without letting out a whisper or sigh of frustraition, the female takes a step forward, lowers her hand from her forehead, reaches out and proceedes to close the bathroom door, from outside the sound of a click and the disappearance of the light returns the corridor back to its blackened solitude.

Even though Tomoe always goes to the bathroom before bed time, the said girl is the same as anybody else, only human... but... that is not the only reason for the girl's reasons for waking up so early in the morning. Just moments earlier the Japanese beauty, whilst in the empty silence of a dreamless slumber was suddenly awoken by a flash of image that suddenly appeared in her head, causing her to wake up. The image was unfortuneatley not a pleasant one, it was the sudden memory of seeing a certain and mentaly wounded youngster's feet just hours earlier.

The youngster being the scar faced ten year old child named Kestrel, whom's feet has revealed yet another disturbing factor in his past. No toenails apparenly exsist on the child's feet, all that takes their place is exposed pink flesh and blood red healing scars, on the plus side of course the child won't have to worry about ever clipping his toenails, but... on the negative side... the child has obviously been tortured, and most likely had his nails pulled out whilst being awake! Though there is no evidence to suggest this fact, it is a very likely fact... after all... Tomoe has seen it happen in horror movies and war movies that her big sister has forced her to watch in the past, and just seeing Kestrel's feet has caused a very nasty churn of feelings and emotions to roll inside her stomach, it was that combination of feeling that caused the girl to feel the urge of nature to suddenly let out an all to familiar spark inside her bladder, which has led to her unwanted venture to the bathroom, but... after all... all Tomoe has to do is do what she must and then she can have the reward of going back to bed and embracing the traumitised Kestrel in her arms.

However... Tomoe is not the only person that is awake at the moment. Just next door from her own bedroom, is non other than her big sister Megumi, whom at this very moment appears from behind a now opening bedroom door. The older Japanese beauty had been in a half awakened slumber when ironicaly, at exactaly the same time as Tomoe herself, Megumi had sturred back into the world of being awake. Despite having a relatively silent evening before going to bed, the older Japanese beauty had been suspecting something of her younger sister, like at dinner for instance, the girl had noticed that her sister had been relatively evasive of her questions and seemed to be in a hurry to get out of her sight.

For the moment at least, Megumi knows nothing of the scar faced Kestrel, or for that matter the fact that not only does Tomoe, but her own mother herself has blessed the child's exsistance in the house. Unbeknowst to the Japanese beauty, the girl's mother does plan on making either a phone call or turn up in person to tell the said female of the matter. Many would simply say that Tomoe should simply tell Megumi of the matter and introduce Kestrel to her just like that... but... what many don't know... is that with Megumi, its best to have a more mature and experianced person discuss things considered important and sensible to the said female. Tomoe has tried it herself many times in the past but unfortuneatley with Megumi, sometimes its like talking to a brick wall or at the most, Megumi does not seem to get into her head the seriousness of the situation, not that the said female is heartless and cruel, but more to the fact that Japanese beauty with dark blue hair is just too much of a goof when it comes to serious matters concerning other people.

Even now, standing at her now white and open bedroom door, standing and staring at down the corridor at the closed bathroom door that has a narrow trail of light emitting from the narrow gap between door and floor, Megumi is frowning with utter suspicion, then... slowly and stealthly taking a step out of her bedroom door the Japanese beauty with her long dark blue hair cascaded down her back, proceedes to slowly close her bedroom door behind her, her narrowed and angered eyes remain fixed on the closed bathroom door every second.

Irritated and suspicious at the fact that her little sister is hiding something that seems to be important, the older and curious female proceedes to sneak down the bedroom corridor and towards the bathroom, ready to give her sister a very stern shock and to confront her once and for all about what.. 'as far as Megumi is concerned'.. a very serious if trivial matter. However... as the said female proceedes to walk very slowly and silently down the corridor at baby step pace, now opening her eyes to their normal state and maitaining her frown, Megumi just happens to glance to the right and notice that Tomoe's bedroom door is ajar.

Though the dark blue haired female has this overwhelming feeling to change course and go inside the girl's bedroom, the said female pays it no heed, and instead continues on her heading towards the bathroom. Unfortuneately Megumi's feelings of suspicion are ever deepened as she walks past Tomoe's ajar bedroom door, where she hears an unfamiliar stirring mutter, the sound is not like that of an oject, on the other hand, it souded as though it came from something alive.

Megumi's frown disappears, the Japanese female comes to sudden stop. The dark blue haired beauty stares at the ajar bedroom door on her right and blinks with bewilderment and curiosity, the said female becomes all ears as she listens intently for more noise and to her amazement, what greats her ears is the sounds of bed covers rustling. For Megumi it is the perfect motivation to abandon her venture to surprise her youngster sister and instead to investigate those quiet if sligthtly very clear sounds.

Megumi turns her body and head and walks over towards Tomoe's door, upon getting to the ajar door the Japanese beauty glances to her left and takes one final look at the closed bathroom door. The door is still closed, which is no surprise... it always takes a girl longer to get ready for something or finish in the bathroom than it does for a guy, is that not so!?

Now, turning her head away from the closed bathroom door, Megumi takes one step forward her eyes fixed firmly on the darkness that engulfs her younger sister's bedroom, upon taking quiet baby steps into her younger sister's bedroom another stir is heard yet again, this time the sound of a timid squeak like whimper is heard follow the familiar sounds of body movement in a bed. Megumi blinks, her heart races with nerve, but she does not panic, if it was a break in to the house, then Tomoe wouldn't have been allowed to leave the room so peacefuly, the sounds of cluttering would be everywhere and the sounds of voices would be heard, so it does not take a rocket scientist to know that what ever it is that is inside Tomoe's bedroom... its not a thief on the steal.

Megumi leans forward, places her right hand on Tomoe's door and gently pushes it open as not to make a noise, then... just as quickly as that the Japanese female walks into Tomoe's bedroom, but what meets the girl's eyes is pitch blackness, for some odd reason its always very dark over in the corner where Tomoe's bed is set, but from what Megumi can see, she can see that there is indeed something moving in Tomoe's bed. The curious Japanese female not fearing that its anything dangerous makes a quick dash around Tomoe's bedroom door, and reaches for a nearby lightswitch.

In a stroke of fate, at exactly the same time as Megumi flicks on Tomoe's bedroom light switch, the sounds of a lavatory flushing shatters the silence in the house. Though Megumi has to place a hand over her face to shield her eyes from the light, as well as close her left eye, what she sees next causes the girl to go as wide eyed as possible with the eye that is able to remain open.

Just beginning to sit up right in Tomoe's bed is the long black haired child known as Kestrel. The youngster placing both hands over his eyes as the sudden brightness of light causes a terrible feeling of agony to rush through every sensitive area on his small oceananic blue eyes. Megumi opens her mouth in surprise, but no feelings of panic or anger churn or activate in the girl's mind or body.

In the now lit up bedroom, Megumi's full figure stands out proud, just like Tomoe, Megumi wears a very revealing nightie, its dark blue just like her hair colour and just like Tomoe, it does not do enough to show the female's beautiful curved figure. Megumi's breats and hips seem to be the most standing out part on the female as she stands frozen on the spot looking in suspense at the scar faced youngster that is rubbing his eyes and quietly muttering in some strange foreign tongue.

For Kestrel it takes a few minutes longer for him to lower his hands from the blinding power of Tomoe's bedroom light, and when the youngster is finaly able to see normaly again, what greets his sight is an utter surprise, standing... looking like coloured ice is non other than the strange female that he heard and saw earlier this morning but thankfuly the youngster does not get the chance to be nervous, almost instantly with a voice of fear, followed by the sounds of rushing footsteps on the laminet floor, is non other than Tomoe.

"MEGUMI NO!"

Almost instantly after hearing those words shouted, the dark blue ponytailed beauty suddenly appears, dashing into her bedroom with a face full of panic. Tomoe is quick to speak just the same as a desperate person would as she suddenly dashes infront of her bewildered older sister and opens her arms wide, like a person shielding another, the Japanese female holds a fierce glare on her face as she gets between her older sister and young Kestrel, whom sits upright and blinks in shock and surprise as Tome suddenly dashes in front of him, obscureing the view of the older female that has a vaige ressemblance to the said ponytailed beauty ahead of him.

"Megumi leave Kestrel alone, if you want to know why he is here you'll have to speak to me about it!" - Tomoe speaks in a very demanding tone mixed with clear volumes of anger like a mother about to protect its young in an inevitable fight to the death.

Megumi's response is silence, the girl is clearly to heavily bewildered at the sight that is before her, but at least Tomoe's sudden dash and act in front of her is enough to bring Megumi back to the realm of realisim. Causing the girl to blink in surprise and look at her sister with a shocked expression, Megumi has seen Tomoe show anger and stress before, but the look in the girl's eyes is differant. Tomoe's eyes have the look of a person that is prepared to pull out her enemy's teeth with her bare fingers if she has to, which no doubtably comes as a great amount of shock and awe in some small manner.

For Tomoe, the Japanese female's heart is beating rapidly, everything seems all but lost... Tomoe had been hoping to save Kestrel as a surprise for when her mother had returned home which as far as Tomoe knew was going to be in either the next 12 or 24 hours, but now... that possibility is impossible, the secret is dashed.

However... much to Tomoe's surprise her older sister places her hands on her hips, closes her eyes and shakes her head, a warm smile appears on her face, which comes as a unexpected surprise, causing Tomoe to lower her arms to her sides and soften the look of anger and hardness on her face, replacing the serious look on Tomoe's face with that of confusion, even as Tomoe watches her sister suddenly point an index finger at her and speak in a joyful manner, Tomoe is at loss for words at how welcoming Megumi appears to be about the whole situation, even as Megumi speaks one phrase, Tomoe is bewildered at Megumi's look of approval of the matter.

"I F**king knew it!" - Megumi suddenly speaks out in a joyful and happy manner, briefly pointing an index finger at her younger sister and smiling in a goofy and happy way during and after speaking her mind. Causing Tomoe to blink in surprise and slowly turn to look behind her at the curious ten year old that sits upright in her bed with a curious head tilt to the left.

**\- 08:00am, Tomoe's house, living room -**

To say that the two dark blue haired beauties and the long haired youngster got no further rest for the night would be untrue, all three of the house inhabitants DID get enough shut eye despite the early morning set back, but non the less got the rest of their needed slumber in a far more... 'Differant' matter. By the word 'differant' the meaning was more in the confines of all three having to share the same bed, much to the annoyance of Tomoe! Kestrel being his usual unsure and clueless self was in no way ready to voice an opinion, sure... it is true that the youngster was nervous at having to be so close to a stranger that one would consider 'Rowdy'... but non the less the child was quick to fall asleep when being embraced from both the left and the right by both females, even if the youngster was attempting to be closer to Tomoe despite being firmly held by both Japanese beauties in what is known as a 'Girl sandwich' - In the cleanest possible way of course!.

Even though Megumi was perfectly able to go back into her own bedroom and sleep after Tomoe gave a breif explination of Kestrel's reasons for being in the house, Megumi was unfortuneatley in no hurry to leave her younger sister's bedroom, even though Megumi has the ability to tell a liar from a person whom is honest, as well as being a goof in some respects, the girl has a very big sense of humor, so its a fair assumption that Megumi's reasons for not leaving Tomoe's bedroom was out of a case of what can be described as 'This I got to see!'.

Even as the trio woke up this morning, Megumi had been smirking at Tomoe with a playful face, getting some ammusement from Tomoe's frowning and shooting back angered scowls, but at least Megumi for all her negative points hasn't been frowning or has been like a person demanding answers which in many cases can be considered very remarkable when concerning the policy of 'Don't have anything to do with strangers', but then again... Megumi has always been a very out going person with a bouncy side so maybe as far as Megumi is concerned, if Tomoe and mother are okay with Kestrel being a guest in the house, then thats enough to earn Megumi's blessing.

Now... fully dressed and downstairs in the main living room, consisting of a large white walled room, with a laminated floor that shines in the sunlight, 2 large cream coloured sofas, 1 large leather armchair a small black metal table with a glass surface housing 2 tv remotes for a large wide screen TV, and a round patterned matt on the floor. The smell of air freshener lingers in the air, from a third person's point of view, the room is a perfect example of a home well kept, in a very feminine atmoshere as 2 large vasses stand in the left and right corners of the living room, the vases are plain light blue with large mulituple coloured flowers in each vase. The curtains in the room are plain cream with no patters and some dark brown blinds hang down, tiny white beads are upon the base of each blind.

2 large lamps stand in the living room, one stands proud on the right side of the living room, just beside the lamp hangs a large painting set in a silver frame, despite Tomoe's home being just a 2 floor home, it is surprisingly roomy, with the only narrow spaces being a hallway that leads to the stairs which was used by Tomoe just hours earlier to be in contact with her mother on a phone.

Now... the living room is inhabited by three human beings, the leather armchair is inhabited by Tomoe, whom sits in her nightie, legs crossed, ignoring the fact that she is showing a good amount of leg and cleavage, an annoyed frown is set on her face as she watches her older sister sat calmly on the floor stareing at the scar faced Kestrel with an eager look on her face as if expecting something good or interesting to happen.

As for the certain 10 year old Israeli boy, just like the two older females before him, he is still clad in his night wear. His star of David pendant seems to gleem in the early morning sunlight, the child is sat legs crossed on the smooth laminet floor looking as confused and curious as hell, simply blinking every few seconds... simply being himself as he looks into the eyes of Tomoe's big sister. However, placed in front of the child... is a light blue kitchen tray, and on it is a small white bowl with ceral and milk, a small silver spoon is set neatly just beside the bowl.

Its been just 1 minute since Megumi pulled this round for Kestrel, but... as Tomoe had tried to explain, Kestrel isn't used to uttensils, the fact is proven when one remembers that the child man handles his food, unless its something that can be eaten out of a carton like Ramen, or something to hold like a sandwich or toast, the youngster's ability to eat a meal simply falls apart, but that isn't Kestrel's fault, the child's past has prevented him from eating normaly like most people do, so in all likelihood the people that are to be blamed are the scumbags that have done god knows what to the mentaly wounded youngster.

Megumi clearly is too heavily pre-occupied in her kind thought to not understand the reason why Kestrel isn't eating, but rather looking up at the girl as if she is dribbling on her feet. Its at this point that Tomoe, with her arms folded, closes her eyes, shakes her head and huffs in frustraition for a few seconds, and as she speaks its clear that what Tomoe is saying is a true fact, only for it to go through one ear and out of the other.

"Megumi... I know its the thought that counts, but don't you think all you've done is waste your time like I said you would?"

Megumi simply stares happily at the scar faced youngster sat in front of her, every now and then the girl looks down at the breakfast ceral then back at the child, trying to get the youngster to acknowledge that theres food in front of him and that its okay to eat. Even when the girl gestures with her head, and coughs lightly in an attempt to give Kestrel the message, all Kestrel does is simply tilt his head in a timid way, causing the older female to blush under the eyes.

Then, balling a hand into a fist the older sister of Tomoe lifts her hand to her mouth and coughs lightly in an attempt to throw off a feeling of joy, before looking the youngster in the eyes and making another gesture with her hand in an attempt to say 'it's okay... go ahead and eat' which this time to the girl's relief the child manages to understand, but... as expected by Tomoe, the child moves his small hands of his lap, looks down at the bowl, reaches with his small hands and proceedes to pick up the bowl, the youngster's face is a wash with curiosity as his hands pick up the bowl. Megumi's smile drops as she watches Kestrel lift his bowl to his small mouth, as the edge of the bowl reaches his small pale lips, Megumi reaches out with her hand, a surprised expression is on her face as she attempts to stop the youngster from doing what he's doing.

However, before Megumi can touch the youngster's wrist, a surprising clasp of a familiar hand on her shoulder causes the dark blue haired female to suddenly stop what she is doing. As Megumi looks over her right shoulder, meeting her surprised gaze is non other than Tomoe. The younger sister of Megumi has a serious expression on her face, and as she shakes her head Tomoe sends a message of 'Don't do it, don't even try doing it'. Which causes Megumi to suddenly frown and shoot a look of annoyance at her younger sister.

"Oi sis! Just what is your game!?" - Megumi exclaims in a tone mixed with surprise and disgust.

However, before Tomoe can respond a slow tapping noise causes both females to snap their focus from each other and look at the 10 year old before them. What the 2 girls see is a sight that causes both to blink with concern. Kestrel's small ocean blue eyes roll up slightly, but the child is blinking calmly so the youngster isn't suffering a fit or turn. The child's colour is normal, but the look on the child's face is one of low emotions.

"Kestrel?... Are you okay Kestrel?" - Tomoe ask in her usual kind and soft tone, looking down at the long haired youngster whomm has just lowered his ceral bowl down onto the kitchen tray, and now has his small hands placed softly on his lap, the child's exposed sleeveless arms seem to look somewhat tense as does the youngster's body.

Kestrel does not respond, but the look on his face is a clear indication that something is very wrong. Fortuneatley it does not take look for Tomoe to work out what is wrong, as Kestrel begins to tremble, his face begins to take on the look of someone that looks very unwell. The child slowly begins to stand, trembling as he stands upright, it is then that Tomoe with her concerned look on her face finaly understands what is wrong, which is made clear as she looks at Kestrel with a face of nerve and in a slightly alarmed tone speaks the words - "I think he's going to be sick!".

Almost instantly the child's eyes widen, a desperate look appears on his face when at the same time the child's body trembles, Kestrel does not hesitate, the child places his left hand over his small mouth as a bulking noise is heard come from inside the child's stomach and mouth. Then as fast as person with their clothes on fire, the child reacts with lightning reflex and attempts to dash to the front door, the child moves as fast as his small limbs will carry him, his stomach and mouth feels as though they are about to burst open, though the child attempts to rush for the door, the youngster is suddenly stopped when a hand clutches his left arm, causing the child to nearly fall backwards.

Its non other than Megumi, whom now has a seriously concerned face on her features and is wanting to know what is wrong with the long haired little one in her pressance. As Megumi speaks, its clear that the girl has very good intentions in mind, the Japanese beauty is wanting to aid this child, but... now isn't the right time, which Tomoe makes clear by trying to pry her sister's grip of the sick looking Israeli boy.

Suddenly running with desperation on the spot, the child is both frightened and confused as to what the Japanese female is doing, the child's stomach is churning heavily and his ability to control his stomach is fading rapidly. Its feeling that the child is all too familiar with, but like all humans its just a matter of seconds before he is unable to hold it in any longer.

"Megumi what the hell do you think your doing!? Let him go, He's sick!" - Tomoe practacly yells in fear and panic leaping forward in an attempt to get her big sister to let go of the child's arm.

"Oi! Oi! Oi! I was just going to take him to the kitchen sink thats all!" - Megumi replies in an annoyed tone, turning her head and frowing at her sister when making eye contact.

"WELL GO ON!" - Tomoe yells in panic summoning all her strength and causing her big sister to release the child from her grip.

For Megumi however, what happens next can only be considered a pure act of stupidity as she breaks her focus on the Israeli child and instead stands up to look at her little sister in the face with an angered glare. Kestrel stops running on the spot and rapidly slumps forward bending his small knees slightly, half closing his eyes and then... losing his strength, the child shuts his eyes, places a hand over his stomach as feeling of release travels through his body like a bolt of lightning.

Tomoe's eyes widen and the female reacts with lightning reflex, leaping to the side and out of the way with just a fraction of a second to spare as the child looses grip on his mouth... in just 1 second, the child feels a realy disgusting and hot painful substance leave and exit his nose and through his throat and out of his mouth. The youngster closes his eyes tightly as very foul and stinging substance is released from his stomach and out of his mouth and nose as the child throws up.

For Megumi, its more than too late as a warm, wet liquid is felt land on her bare feet. The Japanese female turns her head to look ahead of her at the open window, a look of horrible dread is on her face and her mouth is partialy open and her eyes roll up as a look of negativity is set on her face. Standing frozen on the spot, the sound of wet fluid landing on the floor and the warmth of that said liquid landing on her feet and around her ankles... matched with the 'Gak' sound that came from the youngster is calculated in her head... although mind denies it, it quickly corrects itself by speaking in a low... deflated tone with a mental sigh - ( " *Sigh*.. Yeah... he has... the kid has just vomited on me!" ).

For Kestrel, a great feeling of relief is screaming from his stomach, the child's gut is still letting out whines of protest, but its clear that no matter how one looks at it, the child's gut realy had to let out that horrible substance. The scar faced boy however is not yet out of the woods, as his eyes close to a half open state, the child virtualy goes jelly legged and falls back onto his small rear before rolling on his side, using an arm to keep the upper half of his body stable. The youngster feels a horrible amount of dizziness in his head, the youngster feels as though every part of his body as well as his head is spinning heavily, but that is only to be expected... its just the after symptoms of vomiting.

Megumi blinks to herself before slowly looking down, what she sees confirms her expectations, the Japanese female merely rolls her eyes and slowly, and carefuly begins to move away from the spot where Kestrel has just been sick at. Whilst Tomoe dashes forward and helps the now weary youngster to his feet, soon guiding him to a nearby sofa to lie down, however... for Tomoe, the moment is far from horrible as the Japanese beauty lets out a brief titter when looking at her sister awkardly walk away from the spot where Kestrel just vomited trying not to make a mess, though Tomoe holds some pity for her big sister it can't be denied... Megumi may have had that coming to her, if she hadn't have stopped Kestrel from running off to another location, then this wouldn't have happened, and besides... it gives Tomoe the chance to get some good personal revenge, in some odd child like way.

Ever since being a little girl Tomoe has been made fun of for her small mistakes and accidents, the previous one was when Tomoe was just 5 years old and accidenly wetting herself when being at a fair ground with both Megumi and her mother, soon followed by a accidently standing into some dog mess... Megumi seemed to laugh so hard that day, and even now... even when feeling depressed Tomoe can still hear her older sister's howls of laughter, but now... its time for some revenge!

Placing a hand to her mouth and letting out a brief held in giggle, Tomoe now standing to tend to the mess matter, can't help but say in a tone that is struggling not to find this moment funny - "A..Are you okay sis!?".

Megumi's response is one that causes Tomoe to suddenly burst out with laughter, as Megumi turns her head to look her little sister in the eyes, a serious frown is on her face, and the look of ill disgust is on her features, that and along with the way that Megumi speaks her phrase is enough to cause Tomoe to suddenly howl with laughter - "How the f**k d'you think I feel!?".

Tomoe does not hold it in, even as she stands to tend to the floor, the girl has a hand on her stomach, her eyes are closed and she is laughing out loud, much to the annoyed response of her big sister, clearly feeling humiliated at what has just happened.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

Despite Kestrel's unfortunate accident, not all has been a disaster, and at least Tomoe has been able to determine what it is that caused Kestrel to chuck in the first place. Non other than the milk that Megumi placed over the child's ceral!

Now, 20 minutes after the accident, the floor is clean again after a quick wipe down, thankfuly Kestrel wasn't that horribaly sick and the mess the youngster brought up was just a small amount so it was relatively easy to clean up, normaly Tomoe would be feeling ill herself when having clear up a mess of that type, but this time its a differant matter, every second of doing the clean up was filled with feelings of humor, every now and then Tomoe would titter and laugh slightly, closing her eyes and shaking her head with amusement while mopping up the mess with some hot water and a kitchen mop.

Megumi for the moment is sat on the second sofa bathing her feet in some hot soapy water in a bright yellow washing up bowl, trying not to snarl or shoot her little sister an annoyed glance. As for little Kestrel the youngster is sat pleasantly on the first of the 2 sofas, holding a small glass of water in his hands, every now and then taking a small gulp of of the cold, crystal clear water that soothes his burning throat and tends to put his spinning head at ease.

"I told you that milk was off Megumi!" - Tomoe speaks in calm and happy tone, grinning with amusement while sending over an amused glance to her still heavily embarrassed sister.

"Oh shut it Tomo'!" - Megumi responds in an annoyed tone, trying to regain her composure, thankfuly.. Megumi holds nothing about the matter towards Kestrel, after all... Kestrel did at least try to make a good escape to safety and spare the Japanese girl's feet from that horrible moment, so at least Megumi... despite being a bit immiture for her age at times... is adult enough to at least give the troubled Israeli boy the credit for his attempt anyway, in fact... strangely enough... its left the Japanese beauty some what flattered, but then again... Megumi despite being a cool and collected female has always had a very wierd way of seeing things from differant perspectives.

A moment passes, before Tomoe places the kitchen mop back into a metal bucket, and in a tone of triumph, matched by a soft and loving smile speaks the words - "All done".

Upon hearing Tomoe's voice, young Kestrel turns his small head to look up at the Japanese beauty and simply blinks in curiosity, Tomoe responds to Kestrel by smiling warmly back at the youngster before leaning down to pick up the metal bucket by the handle, as the Japanese female picks the bucket and mop up, Kestrel tilts his head to one side and remains silent. Tomoe can't help but blush upon seeing little Kestrel being his usual curious self again, her heart leaps in joy whenever she sees the scar faced youngster... but of course, as everybody knows... 'We have no time to stand and stare!', which is made clear as Tomoe reluctantly looks away from the curious child and over to her older sister whom despite being sour is gradualy getting her previously lost positive emotions back.

"Okay Megu', I'm going to put this stuff back and then I'm going to get both me and Kestrel something safe to eat for breakfast okay!?" - Tomoe explains, smirking upon getting to the word 'Safe', and causing her big sister to cast up a look that goes along the lines of 'Yeah, laugh for now, but this is not yet over between us!'.

Shaking her head and smirking back in a challenging manner, Megumi replies instantly to her sister's remark, - "Yeah, Yeah my dear sister... scoff away if you must, after all you don't get much to laugh at these days do you?!".

Tomoe does not reply but closes her eyes and shakes her head before looking over to the scar faced Kestrel and in a very kind and warm voice speaks the words - "Okay Kestrel, just wait there I'll be right back okay?".

Kestrel's response is silence, but at least the child lowers his head in a form of a confirming nod even though the youngster hasn't got a clue what the ponytailed beauty is saying. Never the less its a perfect response for Tomoe, to which the girl responds with a warm and loving smile before turning and walking out of the living room with the mop and bucket in one hand, leaving the Israeli youngster alone with her big sister.

However Tomoe's amusement of the matter is nowhere near over, as the sounds of the girl howling with laughter echoes from outside the living room and away through the corridor untill the said female gets to the kitchen which at this moment is unknown of to that of Kestrel, but... even then, Tomoe's laughter is clearly heard echo loud and proud, much to the irritation of her older sister, whom merely looks to the right at the open living room door with a raised eye brow, a small smile on her face and a temper patch on her temple.

"How my dear little sister managed to get her school awards... I'll never know!" - Megumi remarks, to nobody in particular, but clearly in a manner that shows she is not going to forget her sister having the nerve to laugh so heavily at her misfortunes, but... on the other hand, and on the plus side, whilst Tomoe is away, It'll give Megumi a chance to get better aqquainted with the vulnerable Kestrel.

Casting a straight faced look over towards the strange youngster sat just a few feet across from her, Megumi's lips turn into a seductive smile, yet her face has a very natural and pleasant facial expression. Kestrel catches Megumi's look almost instantly and merely acts his usual timid, curious self... along with raising the small glass in his hands to his lips and taking down another light swig of the cold, refreshing water. Despite the strange few hours that the Japanese beauty has known this youngster, Megumi hasn't failed to notice something, and thats the way her little sister looks and acts around this strange scar faced child, Megumi has seen it many times on many of her female friends and her little sister is no exception.

( "I don't know what it is about this child thats captured Tomo's heart, but... still... I guess if he's got something about him to make him capture Tomo's heart, I guess he's got to be some ace of a kid! After all... how many kid boys these days capture the heart of a girl nearly ten years older than themselves!? Still I guess I can see one reason... he is very adoreable though!" ) - Megumi thinks to herself, with a confident yet challenging smile forming on her face.

As Megumi is thinking these words to herself, she maintains a steady and firm eye contact with Kestrel, the Japanese beauty notices Kestrel's aura of mystery flowing and emitting from him, even though this aura is invisible to both the naked eye and even the sharpest of computer sensors, it can be felt in the air, which comes as some strange form of aphrodisiac to the Japanese female making her blush furiously for a moment.

"Hmph! There's no doubt that both me and Tomo' are sisters my dear, both of us are equaly insane!" - Megumi exclaims in a jokeful manner whilst shrugging with a playful and happy facial expression, which Kestrel unfortuneately does not understand, and even if he did, he certainly would not have gotten the joke. Instead all the scar faced youngster does is just blink in a confused manner, causing the beautiful Megumi to sweatdrop.

A moment soon passess with silence being the only form of sound in the air, but it soon comes to an end when Megumi looks down at her feet that are still soaking in the hot water. It has been over 20 minutes since Megumi had begun to bathe her feet in the hot water following Kestrels small mishap, so they must be clean by now. Though there is the fact that Kestrel has consumed milk that has gone off, it can be considered a miracle that his gut reacted very quickly to the white substance that he drank, otherwise by now the child could have been suffering very badly from food poison.

Megumi is all too aware of that fact and has felt foul enough as it is, and in many ways has seen Kestrel's vomiting on her feet as some form of punishment, which in a way... is very remarkable when one considers the fact that many get heavily offended when been thrown up on, however... whats done is done, and as far as Megumi is concerned everything is over and done with. That along with the fact that unlike elephants, Megumi is easily able to forget such incidents with her bouncy if 'slighty up and down at times' personality. This is made clear as the girl lifts a foot slowly out of the warm water in the bowl that her feet bathe in, and proceedes to smile with pride looking at how clean her foot now is, when compared to earlier... if anything Megumi has a lot of vanity in her personality.

"Ahhh... That is good, and my skin is still soft and smooth... perfect!" - Megumi speaks in a proud if slightly relieved manner, causing Kestrel to have a mental question mark appear over his small head.

Then, turning her head towards the window with a smile still on her face, the girl sees something that makes her pause. From outside the front room window one can easily see the flowers blooming proud infront of the window glass, the yellow, blue and red flower heads seem to stand proud in the morning light that fills every nook and cranny of the house that all three inhabitants currently occupy. However, that is not what it is that makes the female pause, its whats on the flowers that causes the girl to frown... perched upon one of the long light green stalks is a large black and white Magpie, the bird is apparently plucking the plant for small insects, or at least is trying to gather things for a nest... but non the less its pressance is enough to cause the dark blue haired Megumi to scowl proceede to lift her other foot out of the bowl of warm water.

Kestrel, oblivious to the situation merely blinks and watches with a curious gaze as the Japanese beauty moves the bowl of warm water out of the way of her entrance and exit to her spot on the sofa. The Israeli youngster watches, turning his small head, following the female's movements, wondering what is going to happen next. The only time the child takes his eyes of the Japanese beauty is when he finishes the last of the water in his small drinking glass.

Ironicaly at the same time as the Israeli places his drinking glass down on the small metalic glass covered table ahead of him, the Japanese beauty, still dressed only in her revealing nightie, opens one out of two windows to the large clear glass window. The clicking sound of the handle soon followed by sounds of a window opening, is quickly followed by the angered whisper of Megumi telling one of the most hated birds in the world to 'Shoo'.

As Kestrel sits upright and looks over at the Japanese beauty, the youngster is greeted with the sight of Megumi suddenly ducking and letting out a startled yelp as the black and white bird suddenly does something that not even Kestrel had expected, instead of flying away, the bird lunges forward at the Japanese beauty, dashing past her face and into the living room. Megumi quickly recovers and turns around, but her face is a mix of fear and irritation as an angered scowl appears on her face.

Kestrel only looks at the Japanese beauty for just a brief second before looking up into the air and joins the Japanese female in looking up at the shrieking bird fluttering and dashing around in living room. The scar faced youngster remains still and silent, unsure of what to make of the sight before him where as Megumi is cringing at the sight, the girl never has been a fan of birds that fly around, non the least a Magpie that has a really horrible reputation as being a murderous species of animal and a theif.

For at least 3 minutes the black and white bird flutters violently in the air, Megumi remains knelt on the floor now with an expression of surprise and nerve, her eyes are wide... stareing up the Magpie non stop until... the bird suddenly lands on the stand of TV shelves of which the large wide screen TV is set upon. The bird lands directly in front of the TV screen and proceedes to hop around, the animal rapidly turning its head left to right, looking around in alarm at the alien enviroment around it. Megumi stares over at the animal, still knelt down beside the right sofa arm, not moving an inch, whilst little Kestrel merely stares in his usual curious manner.

The Mapie then proceedes to hop over towards one end of the TV, where a small green light is flashing, it is there that the Magpie freezes and then... just like any ordinary animal, the bird begins to peck and jab at the flashing green light, much to the surprise of Megumi, whom dares not to move, even though Megumi is much larger than that of the feathered animal, it would sound completley daft to the said Japanese female if one was to say that the bird is more nervous of her than what she is of the black and white Magpie.

The tapping sounds of the Magpie's beak rapidly tapping at the flashing green light fill the entire living room, lasting for a total of just 3 minutes, before the black and white animal hops away and from the flashing green light. Letting out small chirping sounds, the Magpie does not get airbourne, but has very good jumping skills as the bird springs off the TV stand and down on to the shinning laminated floor, upon landing the bird looks to the left and then to the right before walking away forward, its small head bobbing back and fore as it walks. As the bird walks up to the small matt on the floor, the bird comes to a stop before leaning forward and beginning to make attempted plucking of the matt, much to Megumi's dismay whom wants more than anything to get rid of the bird that appears to be trying to pull her house apart.

Kestrel on the other hand watches in curious interest as the Magpie abandon's its pulling at the black matt, before turning its attention to the sofa of which Megumi was sat on just moments earlier. However the Magpie's time on the sofa is just as short as it was when invesitagting the flashing TV light, as in just 4 seconds of landing on the sofa the black and white bird flutters its wings rapidly, making a quick and successful flight over towards the small black table ahead of Kestrel. Soon landing and then beginning to investigate one of the TV remotes, soon causing the sounds of clattering to echo throughout the living room all over again.

"Why the hell doesn't that thing just go away!?" - Megumi speaks to herself out loud, placing the palm of her left hand to her face and closing her eyes.

Fortuneatley, Kestrel overhears the Japanese female's comment, though the child does not understand what the girl is saying, the youngster can clearly say that the female wants the bird that he is watching out of the house. The child turns his head to the right and to his amazement, the youngster notices that the Japanese female has her head placed against the side of the sofa arm and is what Kestrel can see is 'Cowering' at the fact that a such wild and untamed animal is loose about the home. Little Kestrel, silent as the grave, with his under eye scar blazing in the morning light as well as his Star of David pendant gleeming, turns his focus backs to the Magpie that is turning the TV remotes over and knocking them around with the side of its head and its beak.

The youngster looks down, silent, for just a moment or two before looking calmly at the wild animal foraging around on the living room table and then... very calmly in a carefuly way, the Israeli child raises his arm like a falconer, the Israeli child's hand palm is relaxed and down in a natural manner. Kestrel does not blink, his heart is beating calmly and steady, not an inch of nerve or excitement is in his bodily nerves as the child looks calmly over at the black and white bird with a pitch of blue on its back and at the tail feathers.

The Mapie suddenly stops what its doing and stands up straight, sticking its chest out and slightly puffing out its feathers, then, after making eye contact with the young Israeli, leans forward and springs over to the child. In just a fraction of a second the wild bird is on Kestrel's arm, perched calmly and looking at the youngster with its own small, black eyes. Its a pity in a way, the Magpie is a beautiful looking bird, and yet its an animal that is seen 'and rightly so' as a villinous evil creature, but as far as Kestrel is concerned... the Magpie is just a strange new creature that is sharing the gift of life with him.

Kestrel then remains still and turns his head to the right to look over at Megumi, whom for the moment is unaware of the Magpie now perched on the arm of the scar faced youngster whom Tomoe is so heavily attracted towards... and when Megumi does look over towards Kestrel... the look on the girls face is just like those at the IS academy that have seen little Kes with other species of birds on his arm, though Kestrel has seen the look that appears on Megumi's face many times over on differant female faces, it never ceases to confuse him... not amaze... confuse, after all... the child isn't like most people isn't he?

As Megumi lifts her head up over the sofa arm like a timid and curious animal, or a child being introduced to a stranger, her eyes widen with and her mouth opens to a partialy open state as the sight of little Kestrel appears with the wild untamed bird happily perched on his arm, Megumi merely remains in her knelt down position but straightens herself up, lifting her head over the sofa arm.

For at least 5 minutes the Japanese female remains silent, awe struck at the sight. Until eventualy the child moves his small arm, pointing his arm towards the open window... Megumi watches like a person watching a miracle as Kestrel sends a very timid, small and friendly smile down to the Magpie perched on his arm, which suddenly seems to turn to face the youngster with an equally happy look, even though animals don't show much emotions, the bird clearly seems to have a very pleasant look about it as it turns to face Kestrel, it looks the youngster in the eyes and lets out a very quiet purring noise, before turning its back to the child and taking flight out of the living room window.

As Kestrel lowers his small left arm and tilts his head to the left, with a small timid smile on his face, Megumi... with her large cleavage jiggling as she stands up straight, maintains focused on the wild animal as it dissapears over some nearby houses and out of sight. As the curvy voluptous female turns to look the child in the face, a look of extreme amazement, like a parent praising its child is set happily on her face.

"Okay... not only does this make up for the vomiting but... Now I can see what my little sis sees in this kid!" - Megumi exclaims in an overjoyed and excited tone.

**\- Outside and at 10,000ft in the air -**

Unbeknowst to nobody in particular at an altitude of 10,000ft flying circles over Tomoe's home is the exact same MQ-Reaper that has flown over Ichika Orimura's home, its gray bodywork, wide wings and single tail prop makes the flying object stand out proud in the clear blue morning sky. A metalic whirr is heard come from the drone as its under nose camera lense zoom in on Tomoe's home, its hellfire missiles and paveway bombs gleem in a very sinsiter way in the morning sunlight, which for a drone is surprisingly very suitable when one considers the fact that a drone, despite looking like some child's toy could spill blood and cause such horrific damage at just the flick of a button or switch.

However, the drone does not do anything out of the ordinary, except for simply flying on and out of sight, until the sounds of the propeller engined aircraft fades and nothing but the sounds of silence and the sounds of a windy breeze fills the air.

_**Right then, thats all I can do for chapter 67, I know its not much of a chapter that everyone was expecting but... fret not. Also I want to explain that the reason I included Kestrel's sickness is down to one thing... this week I accidently had the misfortune to consume something that was off, just like Kestrel, and just like him was sick... embarrassing I know but... anyone can make a mistake and no real harm has been done. So, the reason I've included someting similar is due to a friendly reminder to all readers to always check what is in their fridges and freezers. - Author to reader friendly message you all understand!? -**_

_**Also I wanted to get Megumi's discovery of Kestrel out of the way fast so that I can start on some more action scenes, just to give everyone some sugar before the main event comes, and we all know what that is!**_

_**So... I guess I've explained all I need too in both intro and exit of this chapter, except for hands up all those whom have ever experianced such a horrible moment of sickness due to food or drink!? So... the next chapter will come as soon as possible, remember I am a man of my word... I'm wishing all you boys and girls the best and may your own fics get the best reviews and follow ons and such... okay, till the next chapter.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	68. Chapter 68: Hang over and chase down

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh new chapter, its been a few days but I have my reasons as you know, but anyway... I'm back as I promised and I'm ready to provide with yet more words of this writen fic.**_

_**Oh... Also I hope everybody had a very amusing Halloween, take from me you readers, if you don't want to have any of those F***ing trick or treaters bothering you all night for next year, follow these instructions carefuly... 1. Keep your curtains or blinds shut tight, 2. Keep the light in your house down to a minimum, 3. If you have gates that allow guests to your home, go out and lock them up, or do everything you can to keep them shut tight, 4. Do not make any loud noises, make outsiders think that your staying for the night... and 5. If you have guests coming over and you need to let them in, do it quickly and then go out and bar your gates and doors before anyone can have the chance to come up to you.**_

_**Okay... please keep these instructions noted down and remember to stay frosty, okay... without further ado, please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 68:

**\- Ichika Orimura's home, Living room, 08:20am -**

Sat down on one of his large bouncy sofa's is the black haired, Japanese male, Ichika Orimura. The Japanese male at last has managed to soothe his tired eyes with a much needed good slumber even though the said boy was subject to a very interesting night before getting his much needed slumber. Need less to say, Ichika is feeling pampered and refreshed, his acheing body and worn out joint areas are now soothed back to full natural working capacity, which proves that the saying of 'Sleep is the best healer' is all too real.

Now, Ichika is sat on one of his two sofa's, legs crossed, a plate on his lap, munching on a slice of toast, watching the morning news. The aroma of fresh toast fills the whole of Ichika's home, and the taste of the butter on Ichika's toast is like the sweetest treat ever tasted in ages, even the sounds of the crunch of Ichika's toast in his mouth is absolutely heavenly to the Japanese male. Though Ichika has every reason to be happy for a good night's rest and well deserved breakfast, the said male is at the same time... got every reason to be concerned. Last night when his big sister came home in a drunken manner, Ichika managed to aqquire some realy valuable information, concerning his 10 year old little Israeli friend whom is living with a schoolmate of his just doors away on his home street.

In Ichika's P.J pockets is folded sheets of paper with various text set in computer black letters, though Ichika has already read the papers twice, he is still compelled to take look, after look, after look at the words that meet his eyes, hoping that they are just a horrible set of dream words appearing before his eyes. Now... however Ichika pays it no heed, which can be considered a very wise thing to do due to the fact that Ichika needs to fully recover stomach wise and bodily wise.

Despite still recovering from the past 48 hours, Ichika is bright and breezy, looking at the large black wide screen TV with the image of news woman behind a white desk, hands placed together, resting on the white desk, behind the news woman on a large blue screen is a photographic image of non other than a US MQ-Reaper drone, which catches Ichika's full attention. Ichika keeps his chocolate brown eyes fixed firmly on the TV screen whilst lifting a half eaten slice of toast to his mouth, blinking twice as he proceedes to take another bite of his breakfast, keeping eyes fixed on the TV news woman, his ears are litteraly all open, allowing the news woman's words to be fully filtered from ear to brain. -

_"In other news today, U.S military officials have denied the possibility that a missing number of at least seventy Reaper drones, similar to the image shown here, were in fact stolen from a high security base facility on the island of Okinawa less than 2 weeks ago. The U.S military base was in fact infultrated by a belived IS operating terrorist orginastion known as Phantom task but nothing of any military value was recorded misplaced or missing, and the terrorist operatives were quickly placed in U.S military custody. However, following the incident a series of unmarked military transport vehicles arrived at the U.S Military base with armed escort and are belived to have taken part in the dissapearance of the drone aircraft, the U.S military claim that the unmarked transports were part of an authorised transport program destined to bring the drones to Self Defence Forces of Japan, but following Self Defence Forces claims that the drones were not scheduled for arrival or were ordered.."_

It is at this moment as Ichika stares at the TV screen, the sudden blast ring tone of a nearby black mobile phone set on a black stand causes Ichika to suddenly jump in startled surprise, very nearly dropping un-eaten slices of toast onto the floor. The Japanese male blinks in startlement, his heart leaps in near shock as the ringing tone echoes across and throughout the entire Orimura house.

Scrambling to his feet, Ichika completely ignores the TV and dashes over to a nearby shelf to grab the black phone that tones away in a loud and clear tone. Taking care not to allow his white plate to fall to the floor and shatter. In just 20 seconds Ichika has made it to the shelf and quickly proceedes to grab the phone from its stand, pressing the reciver button with the thumb on his right hand and placing it to his right ear.

Swallowing a mouthful of munched, half eaten toast with butter, Ichika quickly prepares himself for a conversation, as soon as he swallows the food in his mouth, the Japanese male rolls his eyes relieved at being able to be eating one second before changing to that of being able to converse on the phone the next. As Ichika speaks, his voice is loud, clear and as usual... its usual kind and friendly self - "Hello, Orimura residence".

A moment passes, with the sounds of a cheerful sounding man's voice being heard over the receiver, only to soon be silenced by Ichika whom proceedes to speak the words - "I'm real sorry, but we already made it clear, no salesmen" - and with that, Ichika presses the receiver button on the phone, terminating the phone call.

Though Ichika is a cheerful person with a good heart, the damn salesmen that keep sending calls will always get up the Japanese male's nose, and just when the said male's imparred hearing had just gotten back to half strength. If anything Ichika was hopeing this morning that the first person that would speak to him would be his big sister. Even though Ichika's hearing is still not at full 100% its getting better by the hour, which once again can relate to the saying that sleep is the best healer.

Even when Ichika woke up this morning, it was faint, but he could hear the muffled sounds of birds singing, and the volume on the TV didn't have to be turned up as loud as he had expected it to be, and still... Ichika's great feelings of relief had to be spolied by damn vulture scumbags desperate to flog off cheap untrustworthy crap, and to add fuel to Ichika's huffed irritation of the moment, the Japanese male has missed a good part of some news that seemed to be very interesting. The fact being proven as Ichika looks back the TV and seeing that the news woman has now finished on the subject by smiling kindly at the viewers and in a cheeful friendly voice matched by a respectful bow at her desk speaks the words - _"More details on this topic at nine, over to you Aoi"._

Face palming himself, Ichika sweatdrops as the face of another news reporter appears on the TV, this time being one of a young male with hort blonde hair and green eyes, a microphone held in one hand and wearing a black suit with a matching plain black tie.

Ichika shakes his head in frustration but smiles in a slight affectionate manner before walking slowly back to the sofa, sitting down and proceedeing to finish eating his morning round of toast which amazingly is still very warm despite the fact that Ichika has had to abandon the warm crunchy treat just a few minutes earlier, so in terms of fate, its a good assumption that Ichika has earned some compensation from the moment. Ichika does not cross his legs but maintains an interested face whilst looking at the male news reporter on his TV screen.

Ichika's ears despite still being damaged manage to pick up every word the TV news reporter speaks with rough but very clear accuracy, which soon becomes a blessing in disguse as an image that appears before him on the TV screen makes his chocolate brown eyes widen and causes the said male to sit up straight with a clear face of interest. In the corner of the TV screen is set of letters emblazoned in red and highlighted by a white box, reading the word - "LIVE".

Just behind the presented news reporter is a sight that Ichika will always remember untill the day he dies, which causes the said male to smile deep down to himself and shout in joy. Familiar white buildings standing out against a clear blue sky... a place that Ichika will always know, love and smile at no matter what happens in his life, non other than the IS academy. Though the sight is enough to get Ichika's full attention, it also causes the Japanese male to become filled with curiosity. As far as Ichika is concerned everyone has left for summer break, so why is the media so big on filming the place where Ichika goes to get education in an girl's only enviroment.

Even as the news reporter speaks with a pleasant and friendly smile on his face, Ichika remains sat up straight with an excited like expression on his face, like a dog or a cat being offered or having food prepared, even as Ichika stares at the TV screen with an happy look on his face, the said Japanese male casualy proceedes to finish one of his toast slices, his brown eyes do not leave the TV screen for a single second.

_"Yes Hello, this is Aoi Kenji reporting to you live from Japan's famous IS academy with breaking news, last night it was believed that the IS is piloted by just one male pilot... but now there is a strong rumor in the air that now, a Second male pilot has been living behind these white walls.."_

"What... the hell!?" - Ichika responds in a flabbergasted manner, his mouth only just being able to speak such clear, awe stricken words due to having taken a fresh bite out of the last 2 toast slices on his white plate, Ichika's eyes are wide, the Japanese male is constantly wondering if his ears and eyes are playing games with him.

_"So far neither the headmistress, the well respected and envied Orimura Chifuyu, or any of the staff have confirmed if this rumor is true or false but from what is being said so far, there is in fact a possibility that not only does one... but now two male IS pilots exsist in this country, non the least... the world.."_ \- The news reporter speaks in a happy and from what Ichika can tell, an excited manner in a calm and pleasant tone.

Swallowing his mouthful of toast, Ichika frowns with amazement, the Japanese male can't belive a word that he is hearing, although his ears are not a full capacity, the Japanese male can still hear what the news reporter is saying. In fact, as Ichika leans forward looking intently at the TV screen, the Japanese male's hearing seems to become far more better, which comes as some relief in one respect to the Japanese male, but in the other a moment of dread... because as far as Ichika is concerned, little Kestrel's exsistance is supposed to be a secret, and not a word is to be spoken of him outside the walls of the academy.

However, Ichika does not think of any possibilities or theories as to how word has got out yet, instead Ichika just looks at the screen and listens with intent as video footage of his mighty older sister when she was younger appears on screen, just the sight of her blazing around in IS and battling it out is just perfect to get Ichika's spirits of joy and excitement set up to eleven. However as a female reporters voice speaks over the video footage, Ichika's frown returns, this time mixed with a look of nerve as he hears non other than his own name being mentioned.

\- _"Yes this is in fact very exciting news Aoi, as we now the first male pilot ever to pilot the IS was non other than the younger brother of Orimura Chifuyu, and we immediately assume that it will be impossible for another male pilot to exsist in this world, but according to word on the streets, there is indeed a second, much younger male pilot working along side the famous Orimura Chifuyu's younger brother at the IS academy"._

Ichika remains silent, slowly raising his toast to his mouth and taking a small, very silent bit out of the crispy buttered treat, his eyes do not leave the screen and his ears, despite being damaged, remain perfectly open. The Japanese male thinks of nothing as he looks at the TV screen, watching the footage of his big sister in her younger years apparently putting even the thought of the finest ballet dancers to shame with how gracefull and free she looks.

\- _"The identification of this second male pilot is indeed for the moment remains un-certain, but according to information we have so far the second male pilot is indeed younger than that of Orimura Ichika, and apparently suffering from what we belive is post traumtic stress, the cause of it has not yet been told or been confirmed, but... according to further sources, this young male pilot is very skilled and apparently far better than that of what a person of his age should be, so weither my gender likes it or not, it looks like the boys are proving that although the girls seem to rule the roost, there will always be challenges approaching... and some with very big surprises"._

Ichika remains silent, blown away at what he is hearing. Still munching on his toast and swallowing small amounts, the shocked look on his face does not go away for a single second, as he watches the screen the footage of his sister changes to that of other female IS operators, this time appearing in un-certain locations, but ironicaly in similar looking buildings to that of those at the IS academy.

_\- "As we know there are over 10,000 IS training academy centres on earth, the country with the biggest amount of those academies is the United states of America, after that comes China, and then Russia, and we have been under the belief that if any other male pilots were to ever exsist it would be in those countries, but instead... yet again Japan seems to be ahead of those nations, coming out with surprises and exceeding an aura of magic about its nation"._

_\- "Okay, now... we've been told that this secondary male pilot is not Japanese, is that true Sakai?"_ \- The TV news host is heard replay to the cheerful sounding female news reporter's voice.

_\- "Yes thats right, from what we've been told this second pilot is an Israeli, but apparently his age and name remains unclear, we haven't yet got a good description of the pilot nor anything of value, but if this is a true fact and not a rumor then all I can say to that factor is... C'mon down Israel!"._

With that, the sounds of cheerful mixed male and female laughter and chuckles fill the TV. Ichika on the other hand quickly finishes his toast as the news continues, though Ichika is eating, the said male is breathless at what he is hearing. Even as he swallows the last parts of his third toast slice before starting on his forth and final, a terrible seems to run up his spine, Ichika is all too aware of what pressure the news and the press is capeable of doing, when Ichika was first discovered to have the ability to pilot the IS, it was constant press shots, questions and video footage, most of it seemed to scare the living hell out of him, so if the press is capeable of going to that limit for a simple teenage boy, then god knows what they will possibaly do if they find out that this second pilot is just a ten year old boy rocked with PTSD.

Not only that, but it will be press shots, questioning and idolising for Ichika himself all over again, and one thing is for sure, Ichika isn't prepared to go through all that again. Even as the image on the TV goes back to the male news reporter, Ichika rolls his eyes and proceedes to lean back on the sofa, in his mind the Japanese male has a good idea as to how word has gotten out about Kestrel, and he wouldn't hesitate to put it down to that of one 'if not' a few of the schoolgirls that attend the academy. Which wouldn't be surprising, most of the time it is the female gender that shoot their mouths off when it comes to matters concerning company or matters that demand personal secrecy, but Ichika has to admit... he is grateful that nobody has mentioned Kestrel's name or his age, otherwise a real storm would be on its way to his vulnerable scar faced friend.

Even though Ichika is a straight guy that likes the opposite gender, erotic wise... the Japanese male looks upon his long black haired Israeli friend like a vulnerable and troubled brother in arms, 'if in some odd school life drama scenario'.

Ichika soon straightens himself up again, and silently watches the rest of the news in silence, but much to his dismay... nothing more comes through about Kestrel, instead mere information that concerns Chifuyu and himself. Though there is some news that catches Ichika's attention revolving around the media wanting to speak or discover Kestrel's identity, nothing of any real value is heard, and for the rest of the morning news, Ichika remains silent and frustraited, the Japanese male does not move from the sofa for minutes, and when ever the images or words spoken by the reporters replay in his head, all Ichika does is close his eyes, place a hand plam to his face, placing the tips of his index finger and thumb over his closed eye lids... and in a frustraited huff, speaks only one phrase in a deflated tone - "Stupid, demented girls!".

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Despite Ichika's unpleasant discovery of the matter concerning that his small, long haired Israeli friend has been partialy expossed to the outside world, the Japanese male has had a very nice and well deserved breakfast. Laying in his PJs on one of his sofas, hands resting on his stomach and legs crossed, feet resting on the arm of his sofa, Ichika's mind is a mass with worries. First of all it was the discovery of Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, now its highly likely that Kestrel is becoming a media event that could involve a mass gang hunt just for a moment of glory in the youngster's pressance.

Every last ounce of dread, sickness and every negative emotion that Ichika can think of is rushing around in his mind as he lays on his back staring at the ceiling, blinking every now and then in a desperate attempt to swallow his nerves, if Ichika is feeling this guilty and responsible when just thinking about Kestrel, then god knows how bad it will be to look the child in the face. Ichika is a good hearted soul that would not ask anyone for anything if it ment the jepordy of that person's safety or mental wellfare, and though Ichika has been able to sleep on the matter, eat breakfast then wash, dry and put away his plate, the Japanese male has been 'in a manner of speaking' sick with fear and worry.

Even the papers that confirm Kestrel's usage for the up coming IS experimental firing test, seem to be like death warrants or papers that confirm the execution of a prisoner. Though Ichika has never felt blood on his hands, the said male is feeling guilty as hell.

As Ichika lays on the sofa in a daze of misery, the Japanese male despite his recovering hearing, is unable to hear the sounds of footsteps coming downstairs. After a few moments, whilst Ichika stares at the ceiling with a slight sorrowful look on his face, his heart whinning with stress... non other than Ichika's older sister, Chifuyu appears in the living room. The black haired female with her long ponytail looking very unwell.

Chifuyu's appearance is not one would say sexy, but merely casual as the woman is wearing simple female PJs, a T-shirt style pink top with the words 'I love my brother' writen in Japanese, and a light blue pair of PJ bottoms, the smell of perfume still lingers on Chifuyu's neck and hands, but mixed in with that... is the foul after scent of alcohol on her breath.

Chifuyu places a hand on her forehead, her eyes are half open, and a very sick look is on her face. It is just as Ichika had said earlier the night previous, Chifuyu has woken up with a very nasty hangover, feeling like death, all thats left is for Chifuyu to remember the things she told Ichika the night before... Ironicaly as Chifuyu slowly and silently walks into the living room with a very nasty and painful headache, mixed with various other illness feelings the ponytailed woman just begining to remember everything last night!

In Chifuyu's mind a quick flash of replay of when she was staggering around the living room very nearly falling over various furniture causes the woman to suddenly go wide eyed, frown and then close eyes and sweatdrop. Chifuyu quickly overcomes the thought, closes her eyes, shrugs with a head tilt to one side before quietly proceeding on to the kitchen area.

However... Chifuyu's flashbacks are far from over, after walking just a few feet onwards, another flash hits her in the head... this time the memory of her handing over the documents confirming IS testing for Kestrel plays in her mind, causing Chifuyu to snarl to herself, close her eyes and face palm. A terrible feeling of illness churns in her stomach and a scheer hatred for herself now crawling up her spine and engulfing her heart with anger and irritation, though mentaly Chifuyu is cursing to herself at how stupid she was to let out such a deep secret, what comes next causes the said female to stare into nothingness as the memory of trying to hit Ichika with a fist and missing comes into play.

Chifuyu blinks, shakes her head, ignoring the headache that grips her tightly. A streak of worry hits her in the heart, though Chifuyu has struck Ichika many times before, she has never tried to slam a fist into Ichika's head, sure... its true that Chifuyu hits Ichika on the back of the head and in the face with the back of a hand or the spine of a book, but thats only to make sure that Ichika is paying attention in class, never... has Chifuyu tried to deck her own little brother with a fist of rage, and to make matters worse it gives Chifuyu a quick reminder of when she pointed her Katana at Kestrel, causing the scar faced child with PTSD to faint, and its already clear that even though Chifuyu has appologised for that incident, Kestrel still hasn't forgiven her for what happened... and who is to blame him?

Chifuyu briefly holds a face of pure guilt as she begins to dread what she could have done to her younger brother so carelessly last night. An un-characteristic look of worry, guilt and despair forms on Chifuyu's face. She hasn't seen Ichika this morning and she hasn't noticed him on the sofa yet, and most of the time Chifuyu is the last person to wake up when she is at home. Two words play over and over in Chifuyu's mind as the young woman seems to panic - ("Oh God!, Oh God!, Oh God!" ) - before changing to one phrase - ( "What have I done!?" ).

It is at this point as Chifuyu places both hands on the top of her head and stares fearfuly into space, that the last flashback takes place, and the flashback that Chifuyu really would wish was just a bizarre unlikely daydream... when she informed Ichika of her secret fantasies and desires towards him, especially when she told Ichika how much she's dreamt and played with herself over thoughts of him!

Chifuyu's eyes widen, a terrified look appears and a blush so powerful you could mistake it for sunburn appears on her face, followed once again... by what Ichika would say she would do... the woman places her face in both of her hand palms and silently screams to herself. Unable to think of nothing other than how stupid she was last night, its considered a good thing that Chifuyu is screaming silently, if she was in her normal state its highly likely that she would be screaming at the top of her lungs shattering the windows with the scheer volume.

As Chifuyu staggers backwards, face tucked firmly in the palms of her hands, shaking her head rapidly at the memory of last night, the mighty Japanese female fails to remember that the Kitchen counter is right behind her, soon ressulting in the woman crashing into the back of the Kitchen counter very nearly falling backwards... but even as the Japanese beauty comes to a stop and slides down the side of the kitchen counter with her back pressed against the counter wall, the said female does not take her face out of her hand palms for a single second.

Though Chifuyu pays no attention to hitting the kitchen counter, her younger brother does, the cluttering sound of plastic washing up products in plastic bottles cause Ichika to go wide eyed and leap in surprise, ressulting in Ichika springing up right and looking over the back of the sofa.

What meets Ichika's eyes is the sight of Chifuyu sat on the floor with her legs tightly pressed together, knees up, holding her face tightly in her palms, slowly shaking her head. In some respect if Chifuyu was an andriod then her damage control report by now would be - Dehydration level - 45%, Recall of previous evening - 10%, Embarassment factor - 91%!

"Chifuyu-nee?" - Ichika asks in a concerned tone.

Upon hearing Ichika's voice, Chifuyu leaps in alarm her face still bright red comes as nasty surprise to Ichika, causing the Japanese male to blink. Chifuyu remains silent as the grave, trembling like a person sick with fear, slight amounts of tears fill the edges of her eyes.

"Chifuyu-nee?" - Ichika asks again in a worried manner.

The response that Chifuyu gives is very irrational, mere mumbling, and whispering in a low tone, impossible for Ichika to hear or understand. Had Ichika heard what it was that Chifuyu was saying the Japanese male would have heard Chifuyu mentioning the words - "I'm ruined! I'll have to marry him... Oh my god! Please God help me! What have I done!?, What have I done!?".

Chifuyu maintains an anxious eye contact with Ichika, not blinking for a single second, even as she stands... blood red and embarassed, the woman maitains her tremble. Her mind unable to maintain any rational level of thought. The woman's mind is virtualy blank, all she does is run on her emotions, which is understandable when one considers the fact that Chifuyu is in the middle of a crisis, and yes... its true... Chifuyu for all her wrath and scaryness is in 'a manner of speaking' somewhat of a closet brocon, not that she would admit it otherwise she would tear apart the unfortunate person that has discovered the truth.

"Ah... Chifuyu-nee... what are you doing?" - Ichika asks in a now nervous tone, a very nervous look is set on his face, his eyes filling un-controllable levels of fear. Ichika eyes look at the cold, emotionless face of his big sister, the black haired Japanese beauty has a negative look of dread, desperation and un-characteristic panic, yet Chifuyu's eyes seem to be harbouring another emotion... and that's anger, and very powerful and un-controllable anger at that.

Chifuyu balls her hands into fists and shakes from head to foot, nothing but non-exsistant language comes from out of her mouth... nothing but jiberish is being blurted in a rapid manner, and the blood red flush on her face and neck remains fixed firmly on her features.

"Ch..Chifuyu-nee... why are you looking at me like that?... what have I done?" - Ichika stutters in a nervous manner, his legs seem to turn to jelly as he slowly and carefuly crawls from off the sofa and proceedes to stand, now trembling himself.

Chifuyu takes zombie steps forward her gaze not leaving Ichika for a single second, even as Ichika proceedes to slowly takes steps backward, his big sister merely takes a few more steps forward, the Japanese female following her younger brother's movements every single step of the way, her evil looking ice cold bitch gaze not leaves the black haired Japanese male for a single second.

Mere seconds that pass seem to be the worst eternity ever felt by the Japanese male as he timidly shifts around the sofas, and armchair in the living room his nervous and confused face not daring to break eye contact with Chifuyu's predatory tiger or lion gaze. From what Ichika can tell, his sister now ressembles some bloodthirsty and violent flesh hungry meat eater, ready to pounce or lunge ready to deal the fatal blow. Ichika feels compelled to activiate his IS, but he dares not to, after all Chifuyu has made it clear that Ichika is not to activate Byakushiki unless he really needs to, and to go against that rule may cause even worse ressults.

If anything Ichika has learned that unless he is holding all the cards, he must NEVER challenge Chifuyu, so instead of taking a challenging warrior approach and attempt self defence, Ichika has no option but to take the route of a terrified animal running for its life.

Even as Ichika leaps over a sofa, adrenaline rushing through his body, Chifuyu looks like she is on the razors edge of pouncing and ripping her younger brother apart, the Japanese female does not blink, a small predatory snarl forms on her face, and tears of humiliation roll down her blushing red face, even as she opens her arms as if gesturing a loving cuddle, a terrible aura of demonic power in the form of blue flames roars and engulfs Chifuyu's body. Even as she speaks in a chilling tone, matched with a twitching smile with gored hungry eyes, Ichika trembles in a deep panicked manner. - "I..Ichika... Come to big sister! L..Let me hold you!".

**\- Outside -**

From outside Ichika's home, a terrified male shriek almost coming in the form a girlish scream, shatters the silence of the neighbourhood - **"KYYYYAAAAAAAAA!".**

Less than 2 seconds after that, the front door to Ichika's home opens rapidly... and non other than Ichika himself dashes out of the house, tears of utter terror roll down his face as he rushes towards his frontgate, still in his PJs and barefooted, ignoreing what ever rough ground he runs over. Ichika's face is white with fear and although Ichika is not the most athletic of people, he would get a gold medal in the olympics at the speed he is running at, even as Ichika gets to his front gate, the Japanese male does not stop or slow down, instead Ichika surprises even himself as he summons all the strength in his legs and springs forward, making an incredible leap over the front gate, landing and making a forward roll on the ground on the opposite side.

However Ichika is not alone, hot on his tail with a firey blush on her face, an irritated snarl and tears of embarrassment in her eyes, is non other than Ichika's older sister Chifuyu, the Japanese female is simply too emotional to think rationaly right now, and nothing is going to stop her untill she gets her hands on her younger brother, but on the positive side... at least running outside and seeing her younger brother terrified is enough to put her anger at ease, all that motivates the woman now is just fear that her younger brother is about to spill one of her deepest and darkest secrets.

"ICHIKA! WAIT A MINUTE!" - Chifuyu roars as loud as she can in a slightly angered manner, whilst leaping over the front wall of her home and proceedeing to chase her terrified younger brother down their home street, though Chifuyu does not intend to harm her younger brother any more, the woman still intends to terrify her brother in a manner of swearing him to secrecy, and with that... the pair dash away from their home, Ichika running for his life with Chifuyu in close pursuit. Ironicaly... the pair head for non other than the home of Tomoe and Megumi, which currently houses non other than the scar faced Kestrel.

"I'M SORRY IF I UPSET YOU OVER SOMETHING CHIFUYU! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT! JUST PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" - Ichika shrieks in panic as he tries desperately to out pace his big and very scary sister whom for some strange reason is angered over a matter which Ichika can't explain, however... where Ichika is heading might just be the ultimate salvation that he could ever hope to find, yet at the same time... may also become a place that will make him suffer the most awkward of emotions, with a conscience thats finding it difficult just to keep matters concerning his vulnerable and troubled Israeli friend out the back of his mind.

**\- With Tomoe and Kestrel -**

Despite having a slightly sickly start to breakfast, Kestrel's morning has been successfuly salvaged, even though the youngster is still in his PJs, it makes no differance in terms of how the child should appear, especialy on days like this when its nobody else's buisness as to how one is living.

Along side the scar faced youngster is the two Japanese beauties Tomoe and Megumi, as for where the trio is, its the front garden. Though Megumi herself is like a tomboy, the older sister to Tomoe has a feminine streak more than a mile wide, though Megumi would say differant its clear that its there, and though Tomoe knows that she can point it out... the dark blue ponytailed female chooses to remain silent, after all... though she would take the chance when she is alone, to point fingers and mock her own sister would be seen as a very bad role model to the long haired Israeli youngster that now observes some blue and purple flowers that bloom, the child's face is full of curiosity whilst kneeling down on the soft, cool grass in the warm morning sunlight.

Megumi despite pretending to not be interested looks down with a casual face at the many differant types of plants that bloom infront of the girl's home, every now and then caressing the flower heads with her soft hand palms. For Tomoe on the otherhand, flowers and wildlife is a lot more important than what it means to most people, and though many would say that is old fasioned and unbefitting of a girl like her, Tomoe will always say differant.

Megumi and Tomoe for one have not even changed out of their nighties, it is early in the morning and it is their home... and after all, there is something keeping both females from running around or pulling vast amounts of weight, the fact proven when both Tomoe and Megumi had only done light house work this morning. That 'Something' being Kestrel, in a good matter of fact of course, Megumi having noticed that Tomoe seems to be a lot more talkative, bouncy and cheerful than what she has been whenever its just been her and Megumi.

Tomoe herself has noticed a differance in Megumi, since 'in a way' introducing Kestrel to the female, Megumi appears to be a lot more tollerant in the things she says and does in the pressance of both her and Kestrel. Normaly Megumi would whistle or torment Tomoe with 'as far as she is concerned' playful jokes, mainly revolving around phrases and physical contact like goosing Tomoe's thigh or tripping her up. Even when it was halloween one time, Megumi would take every chance in the book to humiliate her younger sister with annoying jokes. Those such jokes revolving around when Tomoe... under pressure from her mother... was once forced to go to a Halloween cospaly party as a Succubus.

That was the trigger for Megumi to jeer and say jokes along the lines of 'Speak of the devil!', and of course the most notirous joke was when Megumi pointed at the cosplay horns on Tomoe's head and in a jokeful tone spoke the words "Hi sis! Feeling horny!". Now... with Kestrel in the pressance of both females, Megumi is surprisingly silent, normaly when ever Tomoe would bend over and water flowers or pet the head of a flower, Megumi would either trip, or kick Tomoe up and merely smirk and act as though she never did anything.

Now... Tomoe is very stunned at how silent Megumi is, all the older sister is doing is just looking at the flowers and apparently trying to mimick Tomoe's actions, which is comes as very, very confusing moment to the dark blue haired beauty whom holds a small jug in her hand and pours water onto the base of a small rose bush.

Even as Tomoe finishes her task of just touching up the rose bush, stands and looks at her older sister, the dark blue ponytailed beauty is at loss for words at how tollerant her sister is, Megumi does not smirk or jeer at her sister as she normaly would, but instead the female just keeps herself to herself. Every now and then shooting a curious glance down at Kestrel and smiling in a very soft and careful manner.

Tomoe however thinks nothing of it and merely shrugs off her sister's behavoir, after all... Tomoe is a lot more interested in Kestrel, whom by now is standing straight and looking at the many differant colours of the plants, with a look of bewilderment.

Feeling like enough has been done outside, and eager to for some strange reason to get Kestrel out of Megumi's pressance, Tomoe in a cheerful and friendly tone looks down at the scar faced youngster and speaks the words - "I think everything is delt with out here, you want to go back inside Kestrel?".

The Israeli youngster snaps his focus from the plants and sends up a confused look back at the Japanese beauty, blinking in a very innocent and curious manner, slightly tilting his head to the left and causing Tomoe to blush.

"I wouldn't go inside yet sis! Take a look and see whats coming our way!" - Megumi suddenly speaks in an interested tone, now standing at the front wall of the pair's home leaning forward, and allowing her slender figure, large breasts and crafted hips to look somewhat very attractive to Tomoe, which causes a terrible feeling of envy and jealousy to spark in her heart for a moment. Thankfully Tomoe does not pay much heed to the feeling and with Kestrel at her side, soon joins her older sister in walking towards the wall to look in the direction that Megumi is gazing.

What greets Tomoe and Kestrel's curious gaze is the sight of a terrified Ichika rushing towards them, and just behind him appears to be non other than his older sister Chifuyu, apparently from Ichika's point of view the familiar face of Tomoe is like a becon of hope, because where Tomoe is then Kestrel has to be not far away, if not directly beside the Japanese beauty.

"Isn't that Ichika Orimura?" - Megumi asks in a questioning tone. Tomoe does reply but opens her mouth in a small excited smile and turns to look down at Kestrel, and in an eager if very curious manner asks in her friendly and kind tone - "Hey Kestrel, Ichika's here... lets go see him!" - Kestrel's response is just curious blinking and a confused gaze, a tiny and timid - "Hm?" - is heard come from the scar faced child.

Amazingly, in just a matter of seconds, Ichika has arrived at the wall that seperates Tomoe's home from the rest of the street, and in an equaly amazing streak, Megumi has just realised that the person that is rushing towards her is non other than THEE Ichika Orimura, first male and ONLY known Japanese male to ever pilot an IS, ressulting Megumi rushing over to the black gates on her wall and attempting to overcome the lock that keeps the gates locked. If anything... Megumi never lets the opertunity for fame pass by very easily, ironicaly as Megumi begins to yelp the words - "Let me out, Let me out!" - as Ichika flashes upto the wall, the Japanese male is heard reply one phrase in a repeated and terrifyed tone -

"LET ME IN! LET ME IN!"

Almost instantly, upon reaching Tomoe's house wall, the Japanese male places a hand flat on the top of the waist height white wall, and proceedes to make a side jump over the wall at a very impressive speed. Landing on his bare feet on the cool, green grass that is like the softest and greatest cusion to his feet that have practacly been subject to rushing over hard, rough and solid pavement.

In just 2 seconds of looking at the curious face of his small Israeli friend, Ichika hears the furious sounding voice of his big sister whom suddenly appears with a blood drunken expression on her face, Chifuyu's voice is loud, angered and from what Ichika can tell... on the edge of murder - "GET OUTTA THAT GARDEN!".

Though Ichika is in trouble at this point, what happens next spreads that trouble to Kestrel, as Chifuyu... with her angered expression suddenly appears, leaping over the wall of Tomoe's garden and towards both him and Tomoe, had Kestrel continued to look in the direction of the street and the direction of Chifuyu's voice, and not turned to look at his Japanese friend, the youngster would have been prepared for Chifuyu's sudden appearance, but unfortuneatley... as Kestrel's curiosity is always a factor in matters like these, a nasty shock greets Kestrel's ocean blue eyes as the blood drunken face, body and motion of Chifuyu appears.

As quick as a flash Chifuyu's appearance has changed, from what Kestrel can see, Chifuyu's face, hair, and bodywear has changed instantly. From what Kestrel can see, Chifuyu's face has changed to one of middle eastern origins, a black hood is over her head and the woman is wearing black robes. The woman's face is covered in blood, gushing from claw like slashes on her face that start at the top of the right side of her face and go down towards the bottom left of her face, across the nose and over the upper lip. A terrified expression is on the woman's face and though this vision lasts for just a second or two, Kestrel can make out a choked word come from this woman's torn open face, the tone being that of a weak and dying person - "Run!".

With that, the vision ends just as quickly as it began, causing Kestrel to go wide eyed and white with fear in the face, a terrifyed gasp comes from the youngster, soon followed by the Israeli child leaping backwards in alarm. The youngster's heart beats in rapid succession, the child closes his eyes and places both hands to his face, clutching his face as tight as he can, trying desperately to forget what he just seen in his mind.

Thankfuly, this does not go un-noticed as Chifuyu notices Kestrel's eyes widen and leaping backward, and though Chifuyu has been on a mission of pursuit to catch her younger brother, its a fair assumption that one instinct will get the better of the other as Chifuyu, still dressed in her female PJs comes to sudden halt upon landing on the grass, her ponytail fluttering and returning to its natural and everyday position, in a straight line down the woman's back.

Chifuyu's tone changes from angered to calm, her feelings of embarrassment and rage seem to melt away upon seeing Kestrel's alarmed face, matched with the youngster leaping backwards and making a stumble backwards, her feelings of murder change to curiousness as the woman looks down at the alarmed expression on Kestrel's face, her tone is a clear give away - "Is he okay?".

Upon hearing Chifuyu's words, Ichika's attention is instantly snapped towards Kestrel, the Japanese male's panic stricken expression changes to one of surprise as his eyes are greeted with the sight of Kestrel holding his face in his hands, stumbling backwards.

Tomoe snaps her focus off Chifuyu and Ichika, what she sees causes her eyes to widen, and the ressult is instant as the girl kneels down, wraps her arms around Kestrel, drawing the youngster into a loving embrace, the embrace seems to have a very powerful affect as Kestrel lowers one hand from his face and places it round Tomoe's neck in an act of returning Tomoe's loving cuddle. However Kestrel keeps one hand fixed on his face, the palm moving up to his forehead.

Ichika and Chifuyu cast one look at each other, the pair sending other the signal along the lines of 'we'll sort this out later', before regaining neutral emotions and calmly walking forward and up to the nerve struck youngster, Megumi soon following, her face being heavily confused due to not being informed of the fact that Kestrel has PTSD. All that Megumi makes of the situation is just a mental question mark appearing above her head, and in a confused, yet concerned tone speaking the words - "Is something wrong with Kestrel?".

Nobody responds to Megumi's question, which causes the Japanese beauty to suddenly become ever more concerned with the sight playing before her eyes. Tomoe and Kestrel remain in the embrace for at least 2 minutes, allowing Ichika and Chifuyu to get up close to the youngster to see if they can lend a hand, each with their own independent reasons for wanting to be close to the scar faced youngster with a wounded mind. Ichika's reasons due to having a big brother instinct to protect and aid the youngster in his moment of distress, and Chifuyu due to Kestrel being her student and going under the reactive instincts of a teacher wanting to know if her student is in good hands. However, Tomoe seems to have the biggest priority over the child, her heart is at ease as she embraces Kestrel, and though her face has a concerned and worried look with closed eyes, her heart is warm and basking in joy while holding onto the youngster as the Israeli boy's trembling fades away.

On bent knee with a slight concerned frown on her face, Chifuyu looks intently at Kestrel as Tomoe releases the child from her grip. Her frown disappears as Kestrel lowers his hand from his forehead, but maintains a slightly shaken expression, even as the child slowly opens his ocean blue eyes, the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu glances at Tomoe and in her usual cool big sister tone asks a question that Ichika was on the verge of asking - "Is he okay?".

"I think so" - Tomoe replies with a relived tone as Kestrel shakes his small head and hair like an animal, the youngster's Star of David pendant flutters and rattles with just a tiny whisper as the child shakes himself free of his troubled emotions.

Now, with his feelings and heart beat back on a very stable level, Kestrel blinks, eyes going wide slightly as he discovers the concerned faces of Chifuyu and Ichika being so close to his own. However the youngster smiles a very timid and small smile as Ichika shoots Kestrel an affectionate big brother style smile, and Chifuyu a cool, small satisfied smirk.

"I am I missing something?" - Megumi asks in a slightly offended manner, dissapointed that the fact that she seems to be missing something important. Upon hearing the Japanese female's voice, everybody including Kestrel, casts curious looks up at the Japanese beauty. Almost a second after making eye contact with her big sister, Tomoe closes her eyes, looks down and lets out a deep frustraited sigh.

"Oh yeah... you don't know do you Megu'?" - Tomoe responds in a questioning manner, suddenly remembering that her big sister is unaware of the fact of Kestrel having PTSD.

"Know?... Know what? What the hell are you going on about for god sakes sis!?" - Megumi replies with a playful smirk, hands on hips and a raised eyebrow.

Chifuyu breaks her focus on Megumi, rolls her eyes and proceedes to stand to her feet, folding her arms and in a calm voice speaking as its purely a matter of fact - "Kestrel has post traumatic stress".

Megumi response is a sharp blurted - "EH!?" -, instantly after blurting her response, the Japanese beauty turns her head to face Chifuyu. A bewildered look is on her face as Chifuyu shakes her head in her cool big sister manner before begining to explain the situation to the confused Japanese beauty, allowing Ichika to establish pleasntries with Kestrel, much to the youngster's relief and happiness.

"Oh... and Tomoe" - Chifuyu speaks in a low, solemn tone, the ponytailed woman looking down and letting out a frustraited sigh, catching Tomoe's attention. A moment of silence passes by before Chifuyu continues in her low, serious yet solemn tone - "I know I'm not suitably dressed, but I have something very important to discuss with you".

Tomoe's reaction is that of surprise mixed with a fair amount of curiosity, her tone is a perfect match as the dark blue ponytailed beauty makes eye contact with Ichika's mighty older sister, whom stands ridgedly in her night wear - "Oh?... Okay... What is it?".

**\- 20 minutes later -**

Twenty minutes pass, with Chifuyu speaking to both Tomoe and Megumi like a parent strictly educating their young. Though most of Chifuyu's words revolve around Kestrel with PTSD directed at Megumi, the mighty Japanese female sees her chance to break the ice on the matter on Kestrel's certain Prometheus firing test, though Chifuyu does not nessarily mention the nature of Kestrel's upcoming test, the ponytailed woman does however mention the fact concerning Kestrel being needed to test IS weaponry and that she herself would be supervising.

Though that does not mean that Chifuyu has been speaking the truth, it can at the same time been seen as though the woman has NOT been lying either, after all... just telling one of her students about a confidential matter does help take some of the pressure of Chifuyu's chest, and besides... its been ages since Chifuyu has had a propper girl to girl conversation, and it also helps the woman decompress, even to a point where she forgets that she is wearing her female PJs, and as a bonus helps to fully eradicate her aching head from her mild case of hang over.

Whilst Chifuyu converses with Tomoe and Megumi, Ichika sits beside his troubled Israeli friend. However, for Ichika... every second that the said male spends with Kestrel is like a nail being hammered into a coffin of guilt, then... as Ichika sits in front of Tomoe's front door, in a daze of misery a mental lightbulb activates in his head, and his depressed frown suddenly turns up into a excited smile.

Turning his head down to face his small Israeli friend, Ichika speaks in a cheerful manner - "Hey Kes?".

Kestrel immediately turns his head away from looking at the three females ahead of him, and with the blink of his ocean blue eyes, looks up at his Japanese friend. A simple timid and confused - "Hm?" - is heard from the long black haired youngster.

"How about we take a walk in the sky?" - Ichika says in a friendly manner, whilst pointing up at the blue sky. Though Kestrel follows Ichika's finger and looks up, it is clear that the ten year old male is unable to understand what Ichika is saying, all Kestrel does is tilt his head to one side and blinks in confusion.

Ichika sweatdrops for just a brief moment, before another mental lightbulb switches on in his head. The Japanese male stands and then walks over towards Tomoe's front gate, the Japanese male then opens the gate and with a small but very friendly and excited smile, turns to look his curious faced friend in the face. Ichika then turns to look back at Kestrel as he walks into the middle of the street road, just mere feet away from Tomoe's front yard wall. Then, as Ichika reaches the middle of the road, the Japanese male comes to a stop, and then swivels round to face his small Israeli friend.

Kestrel remains silent, as does the three females whom stop their discussion to watch and see what is going on. Everything is silent, not a whisper is spoken, Ichika is smiling in a very friendly manner, causing everybody to cast looks at the Japanese male and then, with slow turns of the head... looks over at Kestrel. Then, as everyone turns to look at Ichika, the Japanese male rapidly opens and closes his hands, causing Chifuyu to blink for a second before frowning.

Then, a sudden bright blue flash washes over Ichika as the Japanese male fully activates Byakushiki. Everyone, including Kestrel is taken by surprise and though Megumi is wide eyed at the fact that she is seeing the famous Ichika in full IS form, not a word escapes her lips.

Kestrel despite being confused at what Ichika is getting at, is quickly given an idea as Ichika makes a gesture with his hand and arm for Kestrel to come over, and as Ichika points to the sky... a small, yet very excited smile forms on the Israeli youngster's face.

Less than a few seconds later, Kestrel springs to his face, rushing forward the child's long black hair blowing and fluttering elegantly as he runs out of Tomoe's garden and out towards Ichika.  
As Kestrel makes it to Ichika, a much brighter, and more powerful blast of blue light, making Kestrel look like a large blue star that burns on the surface of the earth, washes over the said boy as Kestrel fully activates his own personal IS, Black Phoenix.

"Ichika!"

"Kestrel!"

Both Tomoe and Chifuyu yelp out in surprise, causing both to look at each other after feeling the irony of the situation of how both spoke at exactaly the same time. Less than a few seconds after, Chifuyu shoots Ichika a very suspicious frown, and in a very strict tone speaks the words - "Ichika, what are you doing!?".

Instantly, despite wearing his PJs and in full IS form, Ichika smiles affectionatley and shakes his head, and with the raising of an arm, showing Chifuyu the palm of his IS left hand, replies one phrase - "I'll explain later okay Chifuyu-nee!?".

"But wait! Where and what are you two planning to do?" - Tomoe asks in a very concerned and curious manner.

"We're just going for a walk in the sky, don't worry... we won't do anything we musn't" - Ichika replies in a very friendly manner.

Then, as Chifuyu is about to shout a demand to 'Stop what your doing', both boys kneel down and with a resounding blast of wind, and jet sounds, rocket and blaze upwards into the sky at rapid speed, then... just briefly dissapearing over some homes, both Ichika and Kestrel make a perfect flyby past Tomoe's home in perfect flying formation side by side, at comfortable cruise flight speed, the white transparent Angel wings on Kestrel's Black Phoenix are set in the positioned form of a soaring eagle.

As both Ichika and Kestrel cruise past and out of sight, both Chifuyu and Tomoe's faces are a mass of worry, but as Megumi speaks, her tone is one of comfort and pleasntry. A comforting and pleasant smile is on the face of Tomoe's older sister, the Japanese girl speaks in a tone explaining a matter of fact in a soft and careing way. - "I wouldn't worry, Ichika and Kestrel are just decompressing".

"Huh?" - Tomoe and Chifuyu respond, once again at exactaly the same time, turning to face Chifuyu with confused faces.

"Ichika is just showing Kestrel that there is nothing to worry about, and that he's in good hands, he and Kestrel need to blow off some steam... that's what I would do if I was in their shoes, and to be honest Orimura-san, I would be proud of your brother at times like this" - Megumi explains in a kind and comforting tone.

Chifuyu pauses for a moment with a surprised face, before smiling in a smug manner, nodding her head and closing her eyes in a very affectionate manner. Though as far as Ichika is concerned, yes its true that Ichika can be a dope, and at times he can be seen as a gulible fool, but one thing that can't be denied... he is indeed, a very, very good person, and though the Japanese are at the most socialy isolated in terms of accepting and looking a foreigners, Ichika is a perfect example of human kindess, and that race is no obsticle. Which is one reason why Chifuyu is always proud of her younger brother, of course she would not let Ichika know, but she won't say against it, she is indeed the luckiest woman in Japan to have a brother like Ichika.

"I am... I'm always proud of Ichika... he's a far better person than what I am!" - Chifuyu replies, first in a loud and clear tone, before lowering her volume down to a mutter as she begins to think of what could happen during Kestrel's firing test, a serious frown is on her face, matched by a troubled expression, and though many Chifuyu-fans would say she would never feel it, a very human emotion is burning inside the woman's heart, though its just a tiny flame, Chifuyu knows its there and what emotion it is she feels... ... ... fear.

_**Okay, thats all I can think of for chapter 68, before you readers go away I want to explain that I'm going to skip 2 days from this fic, but don't worry you won't be missing anything important, all the most important parts will remain, including Kestrel's mental status and the preparations for Prometheus firing. So thats a second reason why I'm skipping 2 days, I want to get to the Prometheus firing as fast as I can, and even before that happens, the some of the chapters needed will be used for getting ready for the firing, and then... the event I hope everyone is waiting and is eager to see will come.**_

_**I know everybody's tastes are differant and many may not find the Prometheus firing test very interesting and will point and curse at me but... as I've said before, If you don't like this fic, don't read it!**_

_**I also want to thank everybody for their waiting and support given, and to please keep it coming, please remember if anybody has any requests just speak out, don't feel held back. Okay... that's it for now... I'm still wishing everyone the best and may your own fics get the best reviews and support in return.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	69. Chapter 69: The bathtub incident

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised with another fresh chapter, as I said in the last chapter I was going to skip 2 days, and as I also said... nothing important is going to be missed out, and it will also get us closer to Kestrel's Prometheus firing test. Now, I realise that this comes as a slight change to the plot, but the basics and main storyline remain so do not fret. Have faith in me you readers, and remember that I am true to my word.**_

_**Okay, for the next few chapters most of things you read will just be preparations, but never the less nothing important will be left out. Also... as a bonus, now I need you readers votes, if or not the character Tomoe should tag along to this Prometheus firing test? If so or not... then please let me know, the idea just came to mind last night but as I like to hear outside opinion, I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask you guys and gals.**_

_**Also I want you readers to read carefuly, you may learn how to keep your house cool next year during summer time, because belive it or not... not many know how to keep their home cool!**_

_**Anyway, thats enough for the introductions, please sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 69:

**\- Tomoe's home, bathroom, 19:00pm -**

Sitting in a full bathtub, soaking in hot water with large amounts of bubbles, his long black hair wet and sticking together, a blazing red scar looking like its blood reddness is maximised by the hot water, is non other than the ten year old Israeli youngster known as Kestrel. Two days have passed since Chifuyu had spilled the beans on the secret matter of Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, though Chifuyu had not exactlay mentioned the nature of Kestrel's IS testing the woman had managed to get the message out that it is a highly secret matter and that Ichika alone is more than enough to know what is going on, so though Ichika is the only one apart from Chifuyu and Kestrel's absent interpreter Yui, whom knows about the scale of the test that Kestrel will be taking part in... Chifuyu has indeed kept her part of the bargin in the green by keeping Kestrel's IS firing test a secret.

Kestrel however remains oblivious to all this, but mabye in a case like this, that is for the best. Even if Kestrel did understand what was being said to him, and if it was explained on adult level intelligence to the youngster, Kestrel would not understand a word or for that matter understand the serious risks that he and so many others would be taking. Up untill now Kestrel's IS has been as nothing but a death star to others that have seen it operate, Ichika is one of them included, and the intelligence that many have on this IS of Kestrel's is just a fraction. So its a good bet that when Kestrel's firing test takes place, a significant amount of data will be obtained and maybe the full secrets of Kestrel's IS will be unlocked.

Kestrel for one has other things to think about now, for the past 2 days Kestrel has been learning Japanese with Tomoe, but since Megumi has gotten involved lessons have been very difficult, the Japanese beauty despite having a good heart has been very distracting, and has seemed to have had fun in making jokes and making Tomoe look like a fool, much to the other's girl's irritation and anger, but never the less Kestrel has been making good progress.

As a bonus Ichika has been coming over, and though both boys have been doing nothing but flying around the sky in their IS, its kept Kestrel happy which for one is considered very vital when it comes to the objective of trying to forget his past and trying to build happy memories. Had Kestrel been in Ichika's flesh, the youngster would have understood the terrible feelings of guilt and panic in Ichika's gut, so its a good assumption that being very kind and friendly around Kestrel is a way to prove to the youngster that no matter what happens, Ichika will always be there to aid and pat him on the back if he needs company or a friend.

Now, having just finished joining both the stunning Tomoe and Megumi in a light snack, Kestrel takes the chance to relax in the hot water that fills the pure white bathtub, though Kestrel would have perfered to shower the youngster has gone along with the bath due to two reasons, one the system for which Kestrel needs to turn the water on and off is too high for the youngster to reach and the second is due to the fact that when Kestrel was guided kindly to the bathroom, Megumi had already drawn it for him... and as Kestrel is just like Ichika, Kind and good hearted, the said Israeli boy was simply unable to refuse the generous offer.

Thankfuly, despite the youngster being surprised and unsure of what it would be like to be surrounded by water, especially hot water for the first time in his life... the ressult has surprised even Kestrel, everything has been rather pleasant. Though Kestrel leaped in pain and alarm when he first placed his small, soft hand in the bath water for the first time, the child has quickly gotten over the pain and the heat, when considering that for a child with sensitive nerves, is very amazing. On the other hand being surrounded by the water reminds Kestrel of being back in Israel. In a good way of course, as an image of sandy and rocky ground comes into his small head, and the sounds of the Israeli national anthem plays in his small head, the white flag with the blue stripe bars and star of david flutters in his head, though Kestrel has no idea where he saw that flag or heard that song, its only good things that Kestrel can remember of his home land.

Smiling in a small and timid manner to himself and blinking a few times, Kestrel leans back in the white bathtub and allows a wonderful feeling of relaxation to wash over him. Just as Kestrel puts the back of his head on the edge of the bathtub and looks down the child comes to notice the many amounts of bubbles in the tub around him.

Kestrel slowly moves one of his small arms down scooping up some of the bubbles, the youngster blinks as he brigs the handful of bubbles up to his face. The youngster stares at the white soapy substance in his right hand before taking in a breath and blowing the bubbles away out of his hand, causing many differant amounts of bubbles to flutter and float back down into the water. The Israeli youngster then lowers his right arm and hand down into the water, rolls his eyes upwards and looks at the white ceiling. For that moment, Kestrel seems to have no heartbeat, the feeling of relaxation is one that Kestrel has never experianced before, the only other soothing feeling Kestrel has ever experianced is just laying down and falling asleep in a comfortable bed.

Even as Kestrel slowly lifts his right leg out of the bath water slowly like a girl, the child's small timid smile does not leave his face for a single second. Kestrel keeps his small leg in the air for just a few seconds before the cool air forces the youngster to lower his leg back down into the warm, relaxing water. The child feels his bare, smooth, expossed skin being soothed in the hot water.

**\- Meanwhile downstairs in the living room -**

Sitting down on a sofa each, Tomoe and Megumi look at the large wide TV screen, both girls dressed in light summer time clothing. Tomoe wearing a white T-shirt and a small black mini skirt, both the upstairs and downstairs clothing parts not failing to show the girl's nicely endowned body. The dark blue ponytailed beauty is bare footed and stares at the TV screen, its been a hot day, so its only natural that the Japanese female is dressed in light clothing, the only other thing Tomoe is wearing apart from her white T-shirt and black mini-skirt is nothing more than her butterfly hair clip.

Megumi on the other hand is dressed in a far more exposed manner, the girl is virtualy naked. As the girl lays down on the sofa, looking at the TV screen Tomoe can't help but sweatdrop and feel somewhat un-well at the sight. All her big sister is wearing in the darkened room is nothing but her silky black bra and knickers. The long dark blue Japanese beauty has no shame in being seen in this manner due to the curtains being drawn. After all this is their home, and if Megumi wishes to walk around in a naked state, who's to stop her!?.

Though the real reason as to why the curtains are drawn is not because of Megumi's lack of clothing, its due to the summer heat. These days its a well known fact that during summer, one of the main reasons you MUST NOT do when its hot is leave your windows open, instead close your curtains or blinds and darken your home, leave passage doors open and if you have a cooler keep it switched on for a while, let the cool air vent around your house... but as Tomoe and Megumi do not have a cooler all the girls can do is just take other methods.

Ironicaly, Megumi... despite being very girly girly despite her tomboyish side has always had no problem showing her body to her sister, of course, when visitors come the Japanese female will cover herself up, but as far as Tomoe is concerned, it would be far better if Megumi did that when ever Kestrel is around!

All day when ever Megumi has walked up to Kestrel, Tomoe has dashed forward with a fire red blush on her face, kneeling down and persuading Kestrel to be with her all day, to whick Kestrel was all too happy to do, much to Tomoe's joy... but non the less Tomoe has been very embarrassed around her sister today. The ponytailed Japanese beauty still is as she frowns and casts a quick glance over to her big sister, whom lays flat on her back on the sofa opposite Tomoe's, the said female's large breasts, and beautifuly crafted legs and hips stand out proud, and the scantaly underwear that Megumi wears is like showing off to her bodily beauty to her younger sister.

"Megu'... do you think you could possibly cover up!?" - Tomoe asks in an annoyed tone, rolling her eyes to the right and looking at her big sister, whom turns her head to left and responds with a triumphant smirk.

"Oh... and why?" - Megumi replies, rolling and shifting her 'almost' fully exposed body to the left to face her sister. The Japanese beauty seems to pose like a model laying on her side, yet her smirk and jokeful expression does not leave her face for a second, her tone is a good indication of how much the woman likes making fun of her younger sister, whom maitains an irritated scowl on her face and an annoyed eye twitch.

"Well for a start, we have Kestrel living with us!" - Tomoe hisses in an irritated whisper, motioning with her arms towards the open living room door in an attempt to get her big sister to get the image or at least understand a small fraction that Tomoe is talking about.

Megumi's face is one of jokeful playfulness, and her vocal tone is one of ammusement as she smirks playfuly at her younger sister and replies with a plain and simple - "So!?".

It is at this point that a brief temper patch appears on the left side of Tomoe's temple, soon being replaced by a sweatdrop as Tomoe face palms herself with her left hand, closing her eyes and shaking her head in an irritated manner. A moment passes before the Japanese female stops shaking her head, leaning her head back, opening and rolling her eyes, letting out a frustraited sigh. As Tomoe lowers her head, the Japanese beauty glares, making piercing eye contact with her big sister before replying in a slightly angered tone, a seriously annoyed look is on Tomoe's face as she speaks - "I don't belive you sis, really I don't! I mean look at you!... Your full of chaos, mayhem, destruction, sadisim and exibition!".

Unfortunatley... Megumi does not take offence from her little sister, but instead strangely seem to take some form of pride from her younger sister's comments. Her tone is a clear example as she replies with the words - "Yeah I know sis! Mother raised me well!".

Tomoe shakes her head again, but keeps her eyes open and rolls her eyes before regaining eye contact with her big sister and responding back with the words - "Look Megu' I don't object to you laying around in your under yummies when we're on our own, but I do object to you doing it when in the pressance of Kestrel!".

"Oh? Realy? Thats a shame Tomo' I thought Kestrel was flatterd to see such a beautiful goddess showing her precious naked body to him!" - Megumi replies, striking a pose that ressembles that which the famous actress Kate Winslet made during the drawing scene from the 1996 movie Titanic. Megumi's voice is its usual jokeful self, as is her facial expression as Megumi shoots Tomoe a victorious smirk, knowing that Tomoe hates it when she shows the fact that her body is further endowned than that of Tomoe's.

Getting a temper patch appear on her temple yet again, Tomoe breaks eye contact from her big sister and looks away, facing the TV, Tomoe places the palm of her right hand on her right cheeck as she slumps forward, placing her right elbow on one of her thighs. An irritated huff comes from the dark blue ponytailed beauty, and as she speaks, her tone is that of annoyance, yet her voice is kept to a low level, yet at the same time, just loud enough for her sister to hear - "I suppose sometimes, the sane person's life is a lonely one!".

Megumi smirks and rolls over onto her back, looking up at the ceiling, the Japanese beauty seemingly basking in a moment of pure glory or in Megumi's case, luxury. The Japanese beauty, a eye widening sight in her scanty underwear shakes her head affectionately. However the conversation is far from over as Tomoe rolls her eyes and proceedes to shift her posterior, lifting her feet up and laying herself out in an affectionate manner.

As Tomoe speaks, the said female's tone is one of casual yet a mix of huffed frustraition, the dark blue haired beauty rolls her eyes as she changes the subject slighty in an attempt to get Megumi to realise her surprising 'if clear to the point' slightly child like habits that is seen in her methods of decompression and hobbies.

"So... Megu', I didn't see you at dinner today, where have you been? Don't tell me... you and your friends where playing mud-hill snow boarding again!?" - Tomoe asks in a tone of huff, a clear sweatdrop appears on the side of her temple as a wash of slight embarrassment engulfs every nook and cranny on the girl's body. Though Tomoe never goes to these 'so called' "Events" with Megumi just the very memory of seeing her big sister wearing nothing but a one piece swimsuit, standing on top of a large steep dirt hill soaked with high pressure hose water, followed by her big sister's shouting of the word "CONTACT!", then by the girl leaping forward with a flat surf board then proceeding to zip down the muddy soaked hill and dashing past her on the day she discovered her sister's hobby was one of real humiliation.

Just seeing Megumi standing like a surfer, zipping past and causing mud to fly in her wake was a real face palm moment, and whats more shocking, the girl's friends seem to be just as eager and comfortable at doing such events, which non the less has caused Tomoe to be one of the most embarrassed females on earth non the less. As far as Tomoe was concerned her big sister looked like one of the biggest immature kids she has ever seen, even as Megumi replies to Tomoe's question with a tone of pride, Tomoe feels like putting a paper bag on her head and living 2 or 3 hours of her life in shame.

"Ah! You should have been there today Tomo'! I think I set a new world record!" - Megumi stays layed perfectly flat on her back, all the girl does is turn her head to the left and look over at her sister with a proud, excited and mischievous smile.

Tomoe shakes her head and rolls her eyes up for a brief moment before the girl's attention is grabbed once again by her big sister Megumi, whom once again speaks in a tone of pride and joy - "Hey, as a bonus, you'll never guess what I found in that mud when I reached the finish line!".

Tomoe turns her head to the right to face her big sister, the dark blue ponytailed beauty replies in a tone that clearly gives the indication of the 'Oh boy!' moment, matched by a brief sigh before she speaks - "No Megu', what did you find?".

"A Diamond ring! Looks like someone must have had cold feet and thrown it away! Shame I can't get the marks off other wise I could get a good bit of money for it!" - Megumi replies in a tone of pure pride and excitement, the older Japanese female not breaking eye contact with her younger sister, and the smile of excitement and pride remains on her face.

"A Diamond ring? Where is it?" - Tomoe asks, now slightly interested, but the raised eye brow on her face is a clear indication that the girl can't believe her ears.

"Up stairs in my room, I'll show it to you later if you like?" - Megumi replies instantly to her little sister's question, the Japanese beauty closes her eyes to a half open state as she speaks.

"Yeah right, look... don't take this the wrong way Megu' but... its not that I don't respect and understand your efforts, but don't you think that what you say, do and get up to may have a bad influence on Kestrel?" - Tomoe asks in a calm and careful tone, trying not to upset her big sister with careless talk, which in many cases is a very adult thing to do when trying to get a family member get into the habit of trying to set a good example to a guest.

"A bad influence? The things I do?" - Megumi replies in a confused, manner, her smile dropping and her joyful look being replaced with one of confusion. The older Japanese female rolls her eyes from left to right before blinking in a confused manner.

A moment passes before the Japanese beauty suddenly goes wide eyed and springs upward, the said female looks tense as she sits up and looks her younger sister in the face with a stunned and very heavily shocked face, a brief look of worry seems to take hold of the girl's face as she makes piercing eye contact with her younger sister.

"Wait! You said the things I do!... You don't mean?... Has Kestrel repainted the next door neighbour's Dalmatian!?" - Megumi asks in a very concerned manner, leaning forward and to the left slightly, not blinking as she asks Tomoe her question, the look on her face looks as if she is dreading the answer.

Just like Megumi, Tomoe does not blink, but unlike her big sister, the girl holds a shocked expression on her face. Fortuneatley the shocked expression lasts for a mere few seconds before Tomoe replaces the shocked expression with a look of suspicion, matched by the raising of an eyebrow - Spock from Star Trek style.

Tomoe's reply is casual, straight and flat, the girl does not bother to ask questions, though she feels compelled to do so anyway - "...No".

Upon hearing Tomoe's reply, Megumi's facial expression changes to its cheerful and friendly state, a bright smile appears on her face as her tone goes back to its usual cheery self, and her reply once again is enough to cause Tomoe to blink in surprise - "Too bad, he looks so good in green!".

Now wide eyed for a moment, Tomoe glances away from her sister but does not turn her head, the girl rolls her eyes from left to right and as she speaks its clear as day that although she is about to overlook what he sister has just said, Tomoe is not about to forget what has just been said in a hurry, the fact being made by the low tone on Tomoe's voice and the half closed eyes and frown on her face - "I'll ignore that Megu'!".

"So whats the problem anyway?" - Megumi replies with a friendly yet confused smile on her face, the japanese beauty virtualy naked maintains eye contact with her little sister.

Tomoe huffs again, closes her eyes, lowers and shakes her head for a few moments before opening her eyes and looking at her big sister with a tired and stressed expression, her tone and facial look goes along the lines of 'Why do I bother' as she speaks to her big sister - "(Sigh) - The problem is... I'm concerned, ever since coming to live with us Kestrel has virtualy nothing good worthy of killing time over. He enjoys spending time with Ichika who comes over, he's okay when I try teaching him Japanese, but I've not once seen him smile brightly when we.."

"Okay! Okay then Tomo'! I get the image! Your trying to say that the things I do and say aren't the right things that SHOULD be done or said in front of a kid like Kes right!? - Megumi replies cutting Tomoe off with a hand raised as if to trying to reasure her younger sister whilst at the same time, trying to get her point across, which comes as somewhat of a surprise to Tomoe.

"Its not just that Megu', I meant to say that what we do isn't enough to make Kestrel feel at home and.." - Tomoe speaks in manner that is like that of a concerned mother, though deep down the girl is desperate to see the long haired boy that causes her heart to flutter smile very warmly, Tomoe is also desperate to prove that what ever it is that Kestrel has suffered in his past, she and her sister are adult enough to heal the damage in the youngster's heart, however... before Tomoe has the chance to fully explain herself, Megumi once again cuts her off.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah I know sis! I get the image! I tell you what, how about tommorrow I take Kestrel outside and teach him a game of street hockey!?" - Megumi speaks in a tone of happiness and excitement, a small and very playful smile is on her face. However, what Megumi may think is a good idea can be once again seen as a the Japanese beauty missing the basic point of the matter yet again - Which Tomoe makes clear with a face palm and a shake of the head.

"Megu'... like I said earlier... I respect and understand your effort, but I still think your missing the basic point!" - Tomoe replies in a careful manner, trying not to upset her big sister with the indication that she is snapping in anger or critising her.

"Eh?.. What?!... What's wrong with street hockey!?" - Megumi responds with an angered frown, the girl remains sat upright and places her hands on her hips in a form of irritation.

"Ah... Well for a start you don't use a puck?" - Tomoe responds, successfuly managing to prevent her big sister from knowing the truth that as far as she is concerned, Megumi looks like a big kid playing around like a child in middle grade school when she's having fun.

"So!?... I use alternative objects?" - Megumi replies with her angered frown and offended tone.

"Like what?" - Tomoe replies to her big sister with a challenging tone, matched by a frown of her own, folding her arms under her cleevage to counter Megumi's hands on the hips.

"Like my a pair or two of my old under yummies wraped around a tennis ball, that incresses the speed of when I take a straight shot into the next door neighbour's garage!" - Megumi replies with a pround expression on her face, motioning with her arms as if she is swinging a hockey stick and taking the shot into a goal. The look on Megumi's face then changes to one of looking eager and excited as she lowers her arms and relaxes.

Tomoe on the other hand shifts her eyes to look upward, the Japanese female shakes her head, the girl is feeling the 'Oh boy!' moment again. As she lowers her head the Japanese beauty losses her ability to even think in a kind and friendly manner like she usualy does, instead the female goes with the flow and speaks what her mind is saying, but then again... that was going to happen sooner or later, it always is like this when Tomoe attempts to make a rational conversation with Megumi.

"I don't know why I attempted a conversation with you Megu', I really don't!" - Tomoe speaks in a low, huffed tone, the girl then beginning to shift her body and proceeding to lay down, resting her head on a cusion and closing her eyes in an attempt to quel a screaming headache that has just begun to sound.

Every second Tomoe has with Megumi makes the girl want her mother to come home ever more sooner, although the said mother of both girls is yet to make her appearance and come home from her buisness trip, it can be considered a very good effort that Tomoe has made so far in managing with Megumi, because normally the girl would be screaming in rage and virtualy ripping her hair out.

From this point on, the pair remain silent, and instead turns their heads to face the images that play and flash on the TV screen before them, Tomoe layed down chooses not to take the discussion any further with Megumi, the frustraited look on her face is a clear give away of how stressed the girl has gotten, Megumi on the other hand has an amused smirk on her face, but just like Tomoe chooses to remain silent, and instead watch the TV.

However, as she lays down on her sofa, layed on her side in a model position, Megumi blushes slightly... an image of Kestrel appears in her mind, nothing abnormal... just an average image of the scar faced Israeli boy looking at her with a curious expression. For some strange reason Megumi can't get Kestrel's eyes, long pitch black hair and small curious face out of her head... Megumi has only just noticed, that looking Kestrel in the face, looking into the child's eyes, there is something inside them... a horrible, gut ripping reality in those eyes, Kestrel has the eyes of a wounded wild animal, and an animal who's tears of natural sorrow have dried up, turning his black pupils into endless dark abyssm of space itself, and turning his fear and sorrow forrests into that of the dry, blazing deserts from which he was born, tortured and came from.

However, what easily overlaps those haunting facts is the colour of Kestrel's eyes, and the soft face of the youngster, despite having a nasty red scar. When Megumi looks at the youngster's eyes the female notices an endless deep ocean, like looking into the bottomless depths of the Pacific ocean of which many ships have found their final and deep resting place. Mesmorised by Kestrel's image in her head, Megumi suddenly speaks a phrase that Tomoe would never belive she would hear come from her older sister.

"Kestrel... he has the most adoreable eyes, don't you think?!" - Megumi asks in a cheerful, bashful and calm manner.

Tomoe's reaction is one of utter shock, the Japanese female instantly comes out of her stressed trance, turns her head to look at her sister and replies with a loud and powerful ear piercing - "EEeeehhhhhhh!?"

**\- Back with Kestrel -**

Meanwhile, soaking, laying back in the white enamel bathtub, the scar faced Israeli youngster known as Kestrel stares at the white bathroom ceiling with a blank and plain expression, despite his small, young and scar layden body being in a relaxed state, it does not mean his mind is in the exact same status. Since laying back and slowly moving his small arms left to right above his body, the youngster's mind has been wandering, though Kestrel does not think of his past before the IS academy, the youngster does continue to remember the day he first arrived at the academy, meeting Ichika and flying for the first time in his personal IS.

Every now and then Kestrel's smiles timidly before the smile turns upward again as the memory changes and nothing but emptyness fills the youngster's mind, to say that Kestrel's mind is blank all the time would be only partialy true, 92% of all memories in the youngster are of a life that no adult, man or woman would have ever imagined to endure, so its due to the will power of Kestrel that those memories remain buried as much as possible, so in terms of imagination and independent lifestyle, Kestrel can't be blamed for staying silent, keeping himself to himself and trying not to mix with people.

Most youngster's are known to grab ahold of the closest adult to them, but Kestrel is one that does not, so for a youngster willing to take on the world alone and un-loved is something one would rarely ever see, if not never. However, Kestrel's darkness and misery may yet be clenasable and the hole and un-imaginable damage to the the child's mind and spirit may be repairable... and though Kestrel does not know it yet, the youngster's recovery of his pain is already starting, which is likely thanks to the Japanese male known as Ichika and more importantly the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe.

Kestrel's feelings soon change to one of getting himself free of the bath water, the youngster's body is relaxed and his mind is at ease... that is... untill something catches the child's eye in the bathtub.

As Kestrel sits up, the water leaving the scars on his chest that are YET to be seen by Ichika, the youngster pauses, and stares at an unsual mound of bubbles that remain in the bath water. Kestrel's chest unlike his back has fewer but equaly unpleasant looking scars. What look like tiger or lion claw slashes run from the youngster's left breast all the way down to his waist, a large X cross is directly in the middle of the youngster's body and finaly, even more nasty, dark red scars in curved moon shapes are set on where the child's nipples should be. So far nobody has seen these scars, but is plainly clear that its only a matter of time, the only question is when.

Kestrel is silent, the long haired youngster blinks with a closed mouth and reaches forward slowly and cautiously towards the white mound of bubbles just a few feet from him. As Kestrel places his small right hand into the bubbles, the child feels nothing and begins to think nothing more about it... but... as Kestrel is about to pull his hand free of the bubble mound the child feels an usual and thin amount of strange, thin fibres touch his small fingers.

Kestrel blinks, the youngster leans forward slowly, moving his small fingers around trying to figure out what is underneath the mound of bubbles, the fibre like feeling that Kestrel feels seem to snake and tangle round his small fingers. This is enough motivation for the child to lift his small hand out of the hot water and to his shock finds black hair around his fingers.

At first Kestrel merely blinks with a slightly widened gaze and has a look of surprise about his face and is about to place his hand back in the water to shake the bothersome loose hair of his small fingers, but... as Kestrel looks again carefuly, the child notices that the hair is leading down into the bubble mound, as if the hair does not stop there. Kestrel blinks and slowly, and surely moves lifts his small hand up a fraction further and notices that the hair in his hand does not end there.

Kestrel, curious and surprised moves his free left hand forward towards the bubble mound, while he lowers his right hand back into the water in order to free himself of the hair that snakes his small right hand fingers. Its a act of curiousity that Kestrel soon comes to regret as the youngster with a small open mouth proceedes to move and shift bubbles away and around from where the source of the hair has come from.

What Kestrel sees next drives a knife of utter terror into his small heart as the cold greyish pale, wide open eyed face of a woman's severed head suddenly floats out of the bubble mound!

Kestrel's eyes widen, the colour from the child's face drains instantly, a terrible chill, colder than ice crawls up Kestrel's spine in under 2 seconds. Kestrel lets out a terrified yelp and leaps back in alarm, every nerve in the scar faced boy is causing his small body to tremble in terror, Kestrel's small heart beats rapidly in alarm and all the air in Kestrel's lungs seems to disapear in an instant.

Kestrel remains petrified, his small back pressed against the end of the enamel white bathtub. Kestrel's eyes are wide, his teeth are clenched, as a look of terror and panic takes grip on the youngster. The best way to describe Kestrel's expression is one that a woman or a girl would do if she was suddenly surrounded by or approached by mice, the look of the anime character Haru from the cat returns held a similar expression when live mice appeared out of gift boxes before being resuced by pouncing cats, but for Kestrel... nobody is about to appear and save him.

As the severed head bobs up and down in the water, drifting closer to Kestrel's body, the child's eyes fill with tears of terror and the youngster is shaking violently. However, for Kestrel... its about to get worse, as Kestrel blinks again, a pure gut churning sight that sends alarming volts of terror through every nook and cranny in his body. In less than a second, the clear bath water has changed, to a full tub of blood, warm, fresh and clearly recently spilt.

Kestrel with his small heart, beating alarmingly out of control in his chest, his mouth now open in shock does not even dare to check if the blood is real, instead all Kestrel does is look at the severed head inching closer and closer to his small torso. Kestrel wants to scream and call for help, but its no good... Kestrel is petrified, stunned by fear, unable to find his voice. The only thing Kestrel does seem to be able to do is stare at the severed head that drifts closer and closer to his torso, it is only when the head finaly gets upto Kestrel's body, nudging against Kestrel's torso that the child is able to find his voice.

Kestrel takes in a deep 1 second gasp, in just a fraction of a second all at once, terrified, sickness in his stomach, tears of terror rolling down his face, shaking heavily and eyes wide, all come together to make the perfect concoction, and with the brief closure of the his terror stricken eyes, Kestrel lets out one of the loudest screaches in terror he can manage.

**"KKKKYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!"**

**\- With Tomoe and Megumi -**

From downstairs Kestrel's terror stricken screach causes both Tomoe and Megumi to instantly go wide eyed, hearts leap out of their chests in sudden alarm, Megumi whom is laying on her side is taken by such sudden surprise that she rolls over the side of her sofa, landing face first on the floor, Tomoe layed on her back springs up instantly. Together both females look at each other with fast beating hearts and wide eyes for at least 2 seconds before the pair look up at the ceiling, allowing reality to wash over and hit home.

Tomoe, sat up looking at the ceiling goes white in the face, the terror ridden scream filters in her mind. In just a matter of seconds, just like any other normal rational minded person, Tomoe whispers only one thing in a frightened whisper - "Kestrel!".

Less than a second after whispering in shock, Tomoe leaps from the sofa and dashes towards the open living room door, Megumi scrambling to her feet after laying flat on her front for a few seconds, and giving chase after her younger sister whom dashes out of sight.

Tomoe's face is full of fear, her ponytail, well endowned breasts sway, jiggle and flutter as she dashes into her hallway bare footed and proceeding to dash up her oak coloured stairs, Megumi following close behind, only the sounds of desperate panting can be heard come from both females as they rush as fast as their limbs can carry them. The sounds of thumping from the girl's feet charging up the stairs become the loudest sounds of drumming that the house has ever heard as the girls dash up towards the bathroom which harbours the scar faced youngster that both girls are hell bent on aiding.

Both females think of nothing as they reach the top of the stairs and dash towards the bathroom, the speed that both females make would give them both a gold medal in the olympics. Even as they reach the bathroom, the speed that Tomoe makes as she pulls down the bathroom handle is one that would cause all too be impressed with, but then again... when one is scared or worried, they can do some really amazing things, as one has no doubt experianced if they themselves have been in that position.

As both Tomoe and her sister flash into the bathroom, what they see makes both females blink in confusion and surprise... the bathroom is empty, the bathtub is full of water but there is no Kestrel, the Israeli youngster has vanished into thin air.

Thankfuly though, the confusion lasts for a mere few seconds as both females whilst looking around, just happen to look down and notice small, wet foot prints on the floor. Leading towards the bathroom door. Megumi blinks, a serious expression appears on her face as she pushes Tomoe into the bathroom, causing her younger sister to huff and frown, turning her head round to shoot an annoyed glance at her big sister.

Megumi then places her right hand on the bathroom door, leaps into the bathroom and slams it shut, looking down all the while she is moving, Tomoe does the same, and then... greeting both females, sat down on his small rear in the fetal position, wet, bare and shaking, tears of terror in his small, tormented ocean blue eyes... is non other than Kestrel, squeezed tightly into the corner that seperates door from fully closing and the wall.

"GET ME A TOWEL!" - Megumi snaps in serious manner, wanting to cover Kestrel up and get the youngster out of the bathroom in case theres something serious afoot.

As Tomoe scrambles to the nearby wash basin, to grab ahold of a folded towel... in the brief 12 seconds that pass, Megumi notices something that makes her go white in the face. The girl has noticed the scars on Kestrel's arms, legs and though most of it is covered, the girl notices the scars on the boy's body and chest. Tomoe soon gets an eye full herself as she rushes forward, kneels down and places the large, white, soft towel around the shaking Israeli youngster whom cries silently with a terrified and distressed look on his face.

"What... the... hell!" - Megumi whispers, pausing for 2 seconds between each word, now having acknowledged the situation in her mind. As she turns her head to face her younger sister, Tomoe sighs in a moment of frustraition as she embraces the crying scar faced youngster on the bathroom floor. Not a word comes from Tomoe as she holds Kestrel as tight as she can manage in her arms pressing the right side of the shaking youngster's head and face into her large soft breasts.

Kestrel's tears continue to roll down his small face, making the blazing red scar on the side of his face look ever more fierce than usual. The child's long, black, wet hair sticks to the youngster's back as he shakes and cries silently, a 1,000 yard stare forms in his ocean blue eyes, causing Tomoe to become hell bent on not letting go of the shaking youngster. Tomoe's arms wrapped around Kestrel form the perfect embrace as the girl places a hand on the back of Kestrel's head, pressing him ever deeper into Tomoe's chest.

Megumi on the other hand is white in the face like Kestrel, the girl looks at the white, terrified face of the Israeli youngster whom stares into nothingness with a wide eyed 1,000 yard stare. The child holds his knees close to his chest as he shakes, gradualy easing up as the softness, warmth and familiar scent of Tomoe's perfume comes back to great him in the world of reality. Even as Kestrel shakes, the familiar feeling of Tomoe is soothing the child's terror stricken heart.

"Did you see... what I saw?" - Megumi asks in a nervous manner, looking her younger sister square in the face, hoping that what she saw on the youngster was not her imagination.

"I did, but I wish I hadn't!" - Tomoe replies in a low, mixed emotional tone.

"And... that was?" - Megumi asks in a fearful tone, looking into the eyes of her younger sister whom only lowers her head slowly and then rises it, Tomoe's reply is short and brief to the point as she responds to her big sister's question - "Yeah... that was one of Kestrel's turns".

**\- 1 hour later, Tomoe's living room again -**

Despite the incident in the bathroom, Kestrel had successfuly managed to bring himself round, though it took a great deal of effort from not only himself but from Tomoe and Megumi. Now sat down in a light grey PJ bottoms and a light blue PJ t-shirt top, Kestrel is still clearly affected by what he saw in the bathroom, though Tomoe and Megumi do not yet know what it was the pair have managed to get Kestrel dressed and his hair dried - which came as big surprise to both sisters as Kestrel smiled nervously and timidly when Megumi used her hair drier on his long black hair.

Now dried off and in PJs, Kestrel sits on one of the living room sofas, but... still in the fetal position, every now and then a loose, warm tear rolls down his face as he looks down at his small knees that are raised to his chest. However, the child quickly forms a normal sat down position when ever Megumi and Tomoe walk up and sit down beside him. This time the first to take a spot beside him is Megumi, while Tomoe takes the chance to contact her mother.

As Tomoe walks into the hallway in order to overhear what her mother is saying to her, Megumi looks down at the Israeli youngster with a sorrowful look. The Japanese beauty with her long dark blue hair cascaded down her back does not take her eyes off the child's emotional pain stricken face for a single second. The heart of the Japanese female seems to ache terrible with guilt and saddness as she looks at the distressed eyes of Kestrel, though Megumi does not make direct eye contact with the youngster, the next tear that rolls out of the child's left eye and down his face is enough motivation for Megumi to loose control of her bodily actions, causing the Japanese female to shift herself directly over to Kestrel's side, soon leaning down, wrapping her arms around the emotional battled Israeli youngster and pulling him into the deepest and most loving, warm embrace that she can manage.

Kestrel is taken by surprise and goes wide eyed as Megumi places her arms around him, his heart does beat fast for a second but quickly calms when he realises that the older Japanese female is showing him no threat or danger. Kestrel, timid and confused, rolls his eyes up in a glance and remains silent as the grave, unsure what to make of the situation as the softness and warmth similar to that of Tomoe soothes his troubles away like a fire melting ice.

Though its slightly differant to feel of Tomoe's embrace, its still very much welcome, and more importantly it does the job of easing away Kestrel's fear and negative emotions that swirl and battle for supremacy in his small heart. On the other hand ofcourse for Megumi, doing this is also doing her some good, its helping to quell the desperate feelings of wanting to form a single body with Kestrel, just to prove that he is as safe as can be.

For at least 12 minutes, both Kestrel and Megumi remain in that position, neither wanting to break the embrace even though both know they will at some point, but for the time being Megumi's efforts are not in vain as Kestrel's nerves calm to a settled state and the tears in his eyes seem to cease all at once, but all the same... Kestrel's troubled expression does not leave his small face, the fact being proven as he rolls his small eyes to look down.

When the pair do break their embrace Megumi has a sweet, loving smile on her face as she looks down at the troubled Israeli boy, whom sends up a confused and curious gaze in return, which in its turn causes Megumi to blush under the eyes and causing the Japanese beauty to loose her ability to talk. Placing a hand at the back of her head, and the other behind her back, Megumi makes a small giggle, the said female is clearly gripped by the awkwardness of the moment, how it is Kestrel can deflect such moments and thoughts is anyone's guess, but in all liklihood, its down to what he's experianced in his life and very continously at that, and Megumi knows it.

Unable to come up with any phrases or anything helpful at all, Megumi for at least 20 seconds is virtualy twiddling her tumbs in an awkward moment of feeling stupid, even as she moves and places both arms in front of her and begins to fidget like a schoolgirl, Megumi is rapidly feeling more and more like a complete idiot. Her eye contact with Kestrel does not break even when the said youngster tilts his head slightly and blinks in confusion. Megumi does want to do something nice for Kestrel before Tomoe comes back into the living room, and the sounds of her sister's voice that echoes into the living room is adding more fuel to the fire, however... Megumi's saviour is going to come in the form of the one thing that many say is bad for the human mind.

Just glancing up to look at the TV, the Japanese beauty notices an advertisment for soft drinks, mainly in the form of a yellow carton with blue and green symbols and writing in Japanese, though Megumi does not have the clue as to what it is on TV, nor does she or Tomoe have anything of what is on TV, it still activates the mental lightbulb in the Japanese girl's head. Sure enough, a bright and cheerful smile appears on Megumi's face, the Japanese beauty balls her left hand into a fist, lifts and slams it down into the palm of her right hand, one phrase comes from the Japanese beauty in a cheerful and excited manner - "Thats it!".

Kestrel remains silent, a mental question mark is above his head, as Megumi looks down at the curious Israeli proceedes to speak in a cheerful tone - "Hey Kes, I'll get us something to drink, wait here for me okay!".

Kestrel merely blinks, not replying to the Japanese girl's words and simply watches as the girl rapidly dashes out of the living room, the patting sounds of the girl's bare feet against the laminet floor echo in some welcoming manner to Kestrel's small ears. As Megumi leaves the living room, the sounds of the TV draw Kestrel's attention towards the screen, and though Kestrel does not have the slightest clue about what to think about the TV, or if it is anyway interesting... the youngster looks at the TV screen anyway.

Though Kestrel has seen what a TV is, and what it does, it is still very alien to him... the sights and sounds are very confusing and the child hardly understands a word what anyone is saying or what they are doing. Sure... there is some things that Kestrel has seen that make some sense to him, but apart from watching people cooking, watching people on the phone in some scenes and some people running around, Kestrel still finds TV very confusing. In Kestrel's case the only way Kestrel can understand something is if he is in contact or is there in the flesh to understand the situation, on the TV its a differant matter, the voices are at a differant tone and state than what one finds in reality.

The music however is another thing, and though some music sounds very nice to the youngster and others are very bad, the curious Israeli keeps his focus on the screen, blinking and holding his curious facial expression, occasionaly tilting his head every now and then. The Israeli stays very still as advert after advert flies past, soon returning to the main programe that both Tomoe and Megumi have chosen to play before Kestrel's young eyes.

**\- 2 minutes later -**

Returning with a clear plastic bottle of blackcurrent juice in each hand, its fair to say that Megumi is back in a flash, which when considering the fact that a girl sometimes takes longer than a boy in many areas, its very remarkable at how quick Megumi has been after taking her brief trip to her kitchen.

"Hey Kes, I got us some drinks!" - Megumi exclaims in a happy and excited tone, causing Kestrel to turn his head away from the TV screen and to look up at the smiling face of Megumi.

However, before Megumi gets her chance to leap over towards Kestrel and join him for a much needed drink, Tomoe herself appears at the open living room door with a bewildered look on her face, as Tomoe speaks, its clear that what ever it is that Tomoe has been told during her phone conversation, it was unforeseen. - "Megu', have you heard what our mother has just told me?".

"Heard what?" - Megumi replies in a casual tone whilst walking over to the sofa where Kestrel sits, as the Japanese female gets up to the Israeli youngster, the girl looks to be in a hurry to take her spot beside the confused and curious ten year old IS ace. As Megumi offers one of the bottles to Kestrel, the child seems to pause for a moment... looking at the bottle that holds the blackish purple drinking substance and then over to the cheerful smiling face of Megumi.

"About what mother said she's doing tommorrow?" - Tomoe continues, now walking into the living room, now with a small and happy smile on her face.

"What?... What's mother doing tommorrow?" - Megumi replies in a confused voice before turning her attention back to Kestrel and smiling openly and excitedly as Kestrel timidly takes one of the bottles from her hands.

Kestrel's face becomes one of confusion and caution as he looks intently at the dark coloured liquid in the clear plastic bottle. Kestrel holds the bottle with both of his small hands, clearly showing his ability to being careful not to accidently spill the strange coloured substance. Kestrel remains silent, as does Tomoe whom now watches the pair with interest, the evening warmth that slightly fills the living room seems to dissapear as Kestrel lifts and turns his head away from the plastic bottle and up at Megumi.

Megumi balls a hand into fist and places it to her chest in some form of lovey dovey manner, a blush is forming under her hands as Kestrel looks her in the eyes and blinks in confusion. Megumi dares not close her eyes and instead merely rapidly lowers and raises her head in a form of excited fangirl lovey dovey nod.

Then, after a pause, looking at the open bottle top... Kestrel, slowly raises the plastic bottle to his lips and proceedes to carefuly take a sip of the blackcurrent juice in the plastic bottle. Megumi closes her eyes and fangirls at the sight, which comes as some surprise to Tomoe whom has never seen this from her big sister before, but then again... since Kestrel arrived, everybody's life has brightend up in some strange and unforeseen way.

"KYAA! Kestrel looks so adoreable when he drinks!" - Megumi exclaims, trying not to crush her own bottled drink with a grip stronger than a vice.

Tomoe simply sweat drops and instead rolls her eyes up and shakes her head for a moment. After just 8 seconds, Tomoe looks at her big sister and in her usual kind and cheerful voice says a phrase that Megumi misses all together.

"Mother's coming home" - Tomoe speaks in a calm and happy way.

"YYESSS... Uh? Pardon?" - Megumi replies, first in her fangirlish tone due to watching Kestrel, before blinking in surprise and turning her head to face her younger sister with confused face.

"I said... Mother is coming home" - Tomoe repeats in a calm and cheerful tone, a small and excited smile is on her face as she speaks.

Megumi's response is silence, all Megumi does in return is stare with a wide eyed expression. Gradualy after 12 seconds Megumi's face turns into an equaly excited smile, happy at the news that finaly... after such a time of waiting, it has been confirmed by the woman herself... the mother of Tomoe and Megumi is on her way home, and her estimated time of appearance is tommorrow.

_**Okay everyone, thats all I can do for now... I hope these chapters are enjoyable, I know that sometimes I bore you readers but after all it is my first fic so cut me some slack okay! Right, to cut a long closing address short, after this chapter its the begginning of the preparations towards Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, you readers have stuck around long enough gritting your teeth and finaly... the beginning of the treat is on the doorstep.**_

_**Please remember that if anyone has any requests to make this fic more enjoyable to their tastes, don't hesitate to message me. Also please remember my own request to you readers, that if Tomoe should be allowed to tag along legaly or not to Kestrel's Prometheus test, I know its my fic but in the end, I like to hear outside opinion every now and then. After all you readers follow me all the time so its the least I can do every once in a while to hear outside voices.**_

_**Quick personal message to fellow British people that read my fic, I know its too late to say it but... happy bonfire night! Its been real wild my side with fireworks this november 5th, and to say that one's pets are at risk from the noises, I think I've managed to out do myself this year by keeping my dogs and my Harris Hawk happy. - Yeah, you heard that right! Harris Hawk! I own a bird of prey!, HOW'S THAT!**_

_**Okay... that's it, please remember readers I'm wishing you all the best, may your own fics get the best reviews and such, I'll see you readers soon okay! I'm a man of my word and the next chapter should be along soon.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	70. Chapter 70: Megumi and Kestrel

**_Hello again readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned after a few days with a fresh chapter. I do heavily appologise for the wait, if you want an idea as to why I've been delayed in the way that I have, imagine having to paint and renovate a large chunck of your home, having to deal with pets and having only a fraction of time allowing you to write, GOD! Its very hard to explain and try to forget so take it easy on me okay!?_**

**_Also you readers will know now when Ichika and Kestrel leave for the Ryukyu islands and what time it will be so... think of it as my way of saying sorry for the delays, another factor is that I've sort of bogged down in my progress of writing, please remember that writing so much does take it out of you when you promise to try and entertain so many readers as you can, and my ideas are starting burn out, I WILL have enough untill, during and after the Prometheus firing test but after that I may need to take a short break, I may last untill December but from then on untill we get to December 19th, I will continue to send as many chapters as I can._**

**_However, there is some good news... the works on my house is virtualy all but done, so untill it gets to December 19th, I can post as many chapters as I can without being burdened with house work, so YAY for me!._**

**_It Does not mean that this fic is coming to an end, just that untill December 19th to January 3rd 2016, expect a long break to take wing, no problems or inconvience intended you all understand?_**

**_Right... anyway... as a matter of compensation, I won't burden you all any more with the red tape introductions... so please... sit back read and enjoy._**

Taming Kestrel Chapter 70:

**\- City Centre 10 miles from Ichika Orimura's home / 10:10am -**

Walking side by side dressed in average civilian clothing is a small group of people, though this group walks through a large crowded city area, the particular people in this group would stick out like sore thumbs if every last person in this city was aware of their identities. The group consists of 2 males and 4 females, one of the said males is tall and has bushy black hair while the other is small and has long girlish hair. The females in the group are not that differant in terms of age and hair colour, 2 of the 4 females are considered adults with black hair, one of the said females has her hair in a bun at the back of her head whilst the other has her hair in a long ponytail. The other 2 remaining females have dark blue hair, one has her hair set in a ponytail while the other has her hair simply let down altogether.

It doesn't take one to look twice, this small but very pleasant looking group is non other than Ichika, his older sister Chifuyu and their newly made friends, the 2 female beauties Tomoe and Megumi, the office woman Yui and lastly the scar faced and troubled youngster with a Star of David pendant - Kestrel.

To say that Ichika and Kestrel have never been to the city at any point this season since they've been at the IS academy would be totaly and utterly untrue, Ichika had ventured out into the city no less than 15 times before his small Israeli friend appeared at the IS academy, and Kestrel... despite his misfortunes suffered, had been in the city twice since his time in the IS academy, though back then both boys had to wear uniform when told to do so, but now... just like when male pair had ventured to the sea life centre, both males could wear normal civilian clothing. Not for one to misunderstand, wearing the IS uniform was a lot more comfortable than one would think, its softer and easier to move around in than most uniforms, which for a youngster like Kestrel is considered vital when one remembers that he has soft fleshy skin despite being a thin young boy.

Ichika wears dark blue pants and a white T-shirt, Kestrel wears black pants and a dark blue T-shirt with a white star emblem on the chest area, both boys wear their normal IS footwear. Chifuyu wears a dark blue mini skirt, black leather boots that stretch over the ankles and up the shin, the boots are high heeled, Chifuyu also wears a sleeveless red T-shirt. Tomoe wears a purple T-shirt with a playboy bunny symbol on the back and a long dark blue skirt, Tomoe's footwear is normal IS footwear also.

The dark haired Yui, whom would normaly be seen wearing office lady like attire, wears a yellow sleeveless shirt and a short black skirt, the woman would normaly be seen wearing stockings but as today is another scorcher, the woman has not bothered to wear such garments, Yui's foot wear on the other hand is black high heeled shoes. As for Tomoe's older sister Megumi, the said female is wearing practacly revealing clothing, the girl wears a vest like shirt with a good opening, showing a very good amount of cleevage. Megumi's skirt is very short, so short you can very nearly see the female's underwear if you knelt down. Megumi's mini skirt is dark blue with love heart shapes on the pockets, also... just like Chifuyu, Megumi wears black leather boots that very nearly go up to her knees.

For the group, the start of their day out in the city is that of one which has had a tired or overheated start, mainly coming in the form of Ichika accidently falling asleep on the sofa last night and waking up by accidently rolling and falling off the said soft furnishing this morning, though Chifuyu would call that scheer stupidity, she herself has something embarrassing to hide, she herself fell asleep downstairs also, the only differance is that she simply woke up a bit earlier than that of Ichika and had retreated upstairs to make sure that Ichika did not see her in an improper state.

In regards of the overheated start of the day, that too is easily explained, the summer morning sun. What never fails to amaze Ichika these days is the scheer brightness and heat that the summer sun is able to provide these early summer mornings, and whats worse... that said sun is going to get hotter and hotter as the day goes on, which comes as somewhat of a ignition for Chifuyu's anger this morning, thankfuly Kestrel's interpreter Yui can best be described as Chifuyu's fail safe switch, preventing the Japanese female from exploding in a fit of rage due to the summer heat.

As the group walks 2 by 2 across a pedestrian crossing along with various amounts of other men, women and children, Ichika has a bright and cheery smile on his face, the Japanese male casts a friendly look down at his small Israeli friend whom is oblivious to Ichika looking at him, the long black haired Kestrel merely looks away to the left and then back ahead of him, clearly the child is still overwhelmed by the scheer scale of such a large populated area, which is only to be expected given the fact that Kestrel is a child of wide open lands and mild or moderate areas of population.

Ichika and Kestrel are directly between the 4 females whom also walk 2 by 2, with Tomoe and Megumi leading the group and Chifuyu and Yui bringing up the rear. Naturaly this morning, the ones that were first to come up and be insistant of the idea of heading out to the city was Megumi and Tomoe. Though Megumi was 75% the mastermind, Tomoe was eventualy dragged along with the idea due to the fact that since Kestrel has moved in with both females, the child has hardly ventured outside the girl's home street. Sure, Ichika does come over and both boys cruise in the sky with IS but apart from that, Kestrel is limited to moving around on the ground, and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that Kestrel is interested in moving around and venturing out like a wild animal, if anything Kestrel has been confined to caged life of hell, so if the child is to recover, the best way to do it is by venturing out with the child as much as possible.

Too say that boys are the chatty kind, then whom ever says it is more than wrong, especialy in cases like this. Kestrel hardly says a word and appears to be a silent human being with no emotions and is confused 3/4 of all his time, Ichika keeps himself to himself and only speaks when he feels the time is right, so in terms of gossip and chatter its the girls whom break the records, with Megumi and Tomoe discussing where best to take the mentaly wounded Kestrel today, and of course Chifuyu and Yui, discussing more... secret matters.

For as much as 8 minutes of walking across the pedestrian crossings and towards a large shopping centre the only sounds that fill both Ichika and Kestrel's ears is just the sounds of other people moving around and chatting, the sounds of electronic sounds from nearby electronic sources like arcade machines, mobile phones and such, the third and final sounds that fill both Ichika and his little friends ears are gossiping sounds of Megumi and Tomoe, whom inadvertantly seem to cause an awkward aura to hang in the air over both boys as they are the only ones that remain silent, its as if both boys are invited to a special occasion and have turned out to be nothing but a couple of spare ones at a wedding.

This is proven as Ichika looks down again at Kestrel, briefly places a hand on the back of his head and sends down an awkward grin, Kestrel whom catches the grin responds with something a bit brand new, a shrug of the shoulders and lifting of the arms to match the moment of 'Wha!?'. An innocent, timid and confused expression is on his face, even as he lowers his small arms back to his sides and continues to walk ahead normaly, yet both boys do not take their eyes off each other for a second as a cool styled brotherly moment seems to hang over both boys.

However the moment is broken when both boys are suddenly taken by surprise when the Japanese beauty Megumi looks over her shoulders shooting both boys a friendly look, her tone is one of wonder and excitement as she speaks - "Hey Ichika, what do plan on having for dinner tonight?".

Ichika's first response is one of startled curiosity, matched by a blink. Clearly Ichika didn't catch what Megumi has just said to him and to show it, Ichika replies with a confused yet kind spoken voice - "I'm sorry what was that? I didn't catch that".

Megumi with her pleasant expression responds almost instantly, her facial expression remaining the same and leaving a frowning Tomoe to do what should be Megumi's job of paying attention as to what is ahead of her. - "I said what do you plan on having for dinner tonight?".

"Um... well..." - Ichika replies with a confused voice and expression, the said Japanese male was clearly not expecting a question of that nature to come from the older sister of his schoolmate Tomoe. However as Ichika rolls his eyes up and pauses, Megumi causes the black haired male to share a moment of surprise with Kestrel as Megumi turns her head to look head of her, holding up her arms to form the the 'Wha!?' position, and speaking in a tone of a person whom is leading the way and making all the choices for him, but that is to be expected as this is whom Megumi is, not that its bad thing as the female has a heart of gold, her trouble being that the female tends to act before she thinks. -

"Never mind, never mind Ichika, me and Tomo' can treat you, your sister and Kestrel's interpreter to something real good tonight! Think of it as us all getting to know each other better!".

"Sorry about this boys" - Tomoe suddenly puts in, turning briefly to look at both Ichika and Kestrel with a face which harbours traces of guilt.

"Ah... don't worry about it" - Ichika replies with a sweatdrop appearing on the side of his temple, a terrible awkward feeling washing over his head as he suddenly gets the familiar feeling that for some strange reason he and little Kestrel have just gotten caught up in something very, very awkward and difficult.

As the group walk up towards the entrance of the large shopping mall, resembling that of which Tatenashi had taken both Kestrel and Yui just a week or so earlier, Ichika shakes off the awkward feeling and the sweatdrop vanishes, the Israeli youngster known as Kestrel merely blinks in a confused manner and looks at the back of the head of Megumi as both he and Kestrel follow close behind the two leading Japanese beauties, Chifuyu and Yui keeping close behind both him and Ichika and talking in near whispered manner.

( "How it is me and Kestrel got so easily dragged into going shopping with girls, I'll never know!" ) - Ichika thinks to himself in a slight self affectionate manner, though Ichika would rather not be around the female gender all the time and end up in wierd situations, the Japanese male's own ability for being too kind, pleasant and polite is no doubt the said male's downfall when it comes to matters that boarder peace and solitude male time, and mixing with females.

However, as Ichika and Kestrel follow the two sisters, both are unaware of the angered frown that Tomoe is now shooting her older sister, causing Megumi to smirk and turn her head away with her eyes closed in some form of affectionate tormenting of her younger sister. As the group enter the shopping mall, a pair of silver automatic doors slide open allowing the group to enter, however even then, after a moment, Megumi's affectionate playful smirk has not left her face, causing Tomoe to glare in anger.

Barely less than 2 minutes after entering the shopping mall and walking down a white, wide open ground corridor with shops and stores on both sides, Tomoe losses her ability to hold in her anger and proceedes to point an index finger on her left hand in irritated rage at her big sister, Tomoe's voice is one of an angered hiss, causing Megumi to turn her head slightly to look at her younger sister with half closed eyes and an effectionate smirk on her face.

"Megu' you better not be planning on causing trouble for Kestrel!" - Tomoe hisses in a form of aggression, causing Megumi to close her eyes fully and shake her head.

"As if I would!" - Megumi replies in a jokeful tone of somebody feeling very offended, surprised and hurt at her younger sister's suggestion. Megumi folds her arms and raises her head, nose in the air like a proud cat, as she walks, yet she keeps her eyes open in order to see what is in front of her. However this causes Tomoe's levels of discomfort and anger to raise ever higher, the fact being proven as Tomoe folds her arms, lowers her head a slight fraction and glares in rage at her big sister.

Megumi does not fail to notice her younger sister's act and responds with an effectoinate "Hmph!", the young woman's smirk does not leave her face for a second, and though Megumi lowers her head and opens her eyes to a normal state to focus on what is ahead of her, the smirk which is slowly turning into an excited smile is causing Tomoe to frown ever more, and end up on edge. Tomoe's reasons for being like this is no surprise when one takes into a account Megumi's past records of tormenting her younger sister in some irritating manner as far as Tomoe is concerned, its a true saying that "A joke is a joke", but sadly Megumi never knows when to stop, so its clearly no surprise as to why Tomoe is feeling like a viper with fangs barred at her big sister.

"Megu' I'm warning you, if you so much as cause Kestrel to jump, trick him into ingesting a single drop of alcohol, or dress him in girl clothes I promise you this... mother won't be seeing you at home tonight, she'll be seeing you in the hospital!" - Tomoe hisses in a very deep, low and surprisingly scary manner, the dark blue ponytailed female lowers her arms to her sides, balls both hands into fists and aggressively points the index finger on her left hand, very close to Megumi's face! Causing the said older sister's smirk and look of affectionate joy to dissapear and to be replaced with one of a frown also.

"Are you threatening me dearest Tomo'!?" - Megumi replies in a low angered tone, glancing her eyes to the right to look at the scowling face of her younger sister.

"No Megu'... I'm **WARNING** you!" - Tomoe replies in a very low hissed and angered tone, causing Megumi to frown ever deeper turn her head away fully from her younger sister like a cat turning its nose up at a presented bowl of cat food. Ironicaly Tomoe does the same, in some strange comedy manner, as far as Tomoe is concerned... Megumi gets away with her jokes far too many times, she is always been the target of Megumi's antics and now after hearing her sister comment on how adoreable Kestrel looks, it seems Kestrel maybe the next target and one thing is for sure... since Kestrel arrived, Tomoe has become far more energetic than what she normaly has been and more importantly, Tomoe has gained far much more spirit for her self confidence, so though Tomoe may not say it directly, Tomoe seems to have the spirit to take on the world for some strange reason.

Meanwhile behind the two females Ichika and Kestrel notice the silent commotion playing before them, causing both boys to look at each other in a confused manner, the mental question marks appear above both Ichika and Kestrel's heads as the walk calmly on and behind directly behind the two females. Directly behind Ichika and Kestrel, Chifuyu smirks, Yui blinks in curiosity and just like Ichika and Kestrel, both stay silent.

"I guess Kestrel is now in the same boat as my dopey brother!" - Chifuyu exclaims in an affectionate tone, matched with the shake of the head.

"How do you mean?" - The mature and black haired Yui asks in an confused tone, turning her head to the right slightly to look at Ichika's older sister. Chifuyu's response is one of calmness and playful joy as she smirks at the sight ahead of her. Chifuyu pauses at first but upon turning her head slightly to the left to make eye contact with Yui, the mighty older sister of Ichika paints an image in Yui's mind that not even Ichika or Kestrel has will ever be able to notice at times like this.

Chifuyu smiles softly, yet her cool big sister image does not drop, and as she speaks its clear that although Chifuyu herself seems to be beyond matters concerning love, the said woman clearly looks suportive of what she says next -

"Tomoe is not the ONLY one that loves lil' Kestrel, and I'm not talking about family like love!".

Yui's response is a confused yet impressed - "Hm?".

Then, just as quick as she speaks, Chifuyu's voice changes to one of solemn depression, the smirk on her face vanishes and a serious frown now takes the place of her cool big sister facial look. The ponytailed female lowers her head which comes as some form of nasty shock to the Japanese beauty whom has the job of being Kestrel's interpreter. Though Yui remains silent, the womans' very concerned mental signals seem to get through to Ichika's mighty older sister anyway.

"Yui... I know I should have said it earlier... but... I couldn't find the nerve to speak... untill now..." - Chifuyu speaks in a low, depressed like manner, frowning at the floor with a head low.

"O..Okay" - Yui replies in a voice of surprise mix with startlement, even the look on the woman's face is one of confusion and bewilderment.

"There's been a change of plan concerning when we leave for the Ryukyu islands..." - Chifuyu continues, her head is still low and her voice is still one of depression.

Yui's heart beats rapidly, a terrible and sick feeling of fear and nerve rolls and churns in the woman's stomach as she continues to look at the now nervous face of Ichika's mighty older sister, Yui blinks, remaining totaly silent, not daring to speak unless for some reason Chifuyu sends over a death glare like what she does to Ichika. Chifuyu rolls her eyes to the left, her depressed frown does not leave for a single second. Chifuyu's response is at first a deflated sigh matched by the closing of the eyes, the huff that Chifuyu sends is a clear indication that something is overwhelmingly wrong.

Yui is nowhere near mentaly ready for what comes next from Chifuyu's mouth, Chifuyu takes in a deep breath, raises her head and then, turning her head to face Yui, Chifuyu speaks the answer to a question that Yui is mentaly screaming in her head - "We leave at 01:00am tommorrow morning".

Yui's heart and mind virtualy shatter in shock, as if a bullet has struck her at point blank range through her heart, all the colour drains from her face and blood seems to turn to ice as the explosion and shock of the moment hit harder than what has ever been felt, its as if she is a mother just informed of, or worse... has seen her son get shot dead in some horrible all out gun battle in some foreign warzone.

**\- 10 minutes later / Grocery store area -**

Stepping through the dark green and open automatic doors and into a cream floored, white walled and very strange and new alien area, Kestrel with his ocean blue eyes open and in a neutral state is clearly bewildered at the size, sight and sounds of this brand new and alien enviroment, although Kestrel has been in a shopping mall once already, the scheer volume of everything at once never ceases to amaze the curious long haired Israeli youngster.

With Kestrel is everybody but Chifuyu and Yui, whom remain outside to discuss something which Chifuyu has claimed a 'Rather private and important' conversation with Yui. Though this has caused Ichika to blink in stunned surprise, the Japanese male has not questioned his sister's choice, after all... too do that would be considered near insanity as far as Ichika is concerned, and the last thing he needs is to upset his big sister with reckless curiosity. Kestrel may get away with it but that is due to the fact that Kestrel hardly understands anything that is going on and what is said.

On the other hand, Chifuyu did give Ichika a pat on the right shoulder and an affectionate smirk, so at least Chifuyu has taken the friendly route to tell Ichika to leave her alone for a while, which has to be respected. So Ichika has not asked or thought twice, which has a positive and negative effect on him all the same, the negative one is that Ichika feels left out of something important, the positive however is that Ichika gets to spend some brotherly time with his curious little friend whom is as frail and wounded to some extent like a puppy with a hurt leg, where as deep down, Kestrel can also... in a manner of speaking, best be described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing" when one takes into account his hidden tallents to fight and pilot IS.

Fortuneatley Ichika thinks nothing of any negativatey and simply smiles to himself as he takes a light green coloured basket from a nearby basket stack, the Japanese male looks down at the curious scar faced youngster whom merely stares unsure of what to make of the situation. Both Tomoe and Megumi are already walking away down one of the super market isles closely side by side each other, both girls don't look back at the two boys whom just look at the backs of the two females as they walk away past random strangers that are either looking or gathering food from the white food isles.

Smiling happily to himself, Ichika casts a happy look down at Kestrel and in a cheerful tone speaks the words - "Heh, lets leave the girls to do what they want, we can go get what we need solo, right Kes?".

Kestrel, with his usuall curious and confused face only looks back up at Ichika confused as hell, the child leans forward by just a fraction and tilts his head to the right, his Star of David pendant seems to shine ever more beautifuly in supermarket light. Clearly Kestrel is unsure of what Ichika is saying, but non the less is paying very good attention despite not understanding a word, which for a 10 year old youngster is something to be impressed by.

Though Ichika is aware of the fact that Kestrel does not understand a word that he is saying, the Japanese male swallows the awkwardness of the moment instantly and with a cheerful smile with a gesture of the hand manages to get Kestrel to understand that he wants to be followed, to which the child responds instantly, soon following close next to the Japanese male on his right hand side. With Megumi and Tomoe taking the very first isle on the left, Ichika guides Kestrel over to the fourth, white and long isle of the super market, and to say that seeing a foreign boy with long black hair and a facial scar would cause people to point and stare, NOBODY does anything of the sort.

As Ichika and Kestrel, side by side, walk over and down one of the food isles, the Israeli youngster continues to turn his head from left to right, up and down, clearly not wanting to forget a single piece of detail that this strange looking place has to offer, and all is normal for at least 5 minutes as Ichika places packaged and packed food into his green basket. However as the boys reach the cold food area, Ichika is soon distracted by a sight that makes him pause.

It occurs as Ichika peers into a long freeze cooler at red packaged frozen shrimp, the Japanese male blinks happily as he peers into the freezer, and reaches for a red packet of shrimp. A cheerful and pleasant expression is on his face as he speaks - "Almost forgot, I need to refill the frozen stuff".

Then, as Ichika looks over to his left, the said male notices a sight that makes him blink for a second. Stacked in colourful green, blue and red boxes are bunches of ice pops, a mental light sparks on in Ichika's head, and a paused expression gives way to a cheerful smile as he looks at the ice pop boxes. Ichika does not stop to think, but instead turns to look down at his small Israeli friend with his friendly and cheerful expression, as he speaks... the said male does not get the chance to finish his kind suggestion to the scar faced Kestrel - "Hey Kes, you want to try some of..".

What Ichika sees next causes his smile to drop and his happiness to freeze up for a moment, as the Japanese male sees his small long black haired friend holding himself tightly, and making tip toe jogging on the spot, the child holds his head low and his star of david pendant rattles and jingles in some elegant manner. Little Kestrel does not say a word, the youngster merely breathes rapidly in an attempt to ensure the heat in his body does not slip away. The sight alone causes a mental hand slap to the forehead in some ironic manner, a sweatdrop is on his temple as Ichika suddenly remembers something that he had all but forgotten.

( "Oh yeah, stupid me... Kestrel isn't used to being in such cold areas... guess it'll take a while for Kes to get used to places like this" ) - Ichika thinks pleasantly to himself, looking down at his shivering Israeli friend with a sympathetic yet friendly look.

Ichika does not hesitate, the Japanese male takes one final glance at the Ice pops and quickly proceedes to grab a box and place it in his basket, then, after looking down at the Israeli child Ichika motions with his hand for the youngster to follow, which to Kestrel comes as some overwhelming relief, which is made clear as Kestrel releases his arms from his embrace and walks after the much larger and older Japanese male, though the first stop in this journey to shop for groceries has gotten off to a rough start, both boys have it relatively easy as the pair walk on together through the food isles and past the many differant male and female strangers, every now and then, both boys come to a stop to exchange friendly looks at each other when Ichika begins to select what to buy and take home with him.

Soon after leaving the frozen food section, both Ichika and Kestrel come to another stop. This time at the boxed food area containing cereal and treats, Ichika's face is one of calm pleasantry as he reaches towards a top shelf with his right hand and pulling out a box of chocolate flavoured cereal. The said Japanese male looks calmly at the box with straight expression, a moment passes as the said black haired male is unsure of if to buy this cereal or not for his small long black haired friend. Upon suddenly gaining a feeling of wonder and curiosity, Ichika blinks and turns his head to the right looking down to see his small scar faced friend.

What Ichika sees next causes a small smile to form on his face as he looks to see Kestrel standing perfectly calm and idle, looking away at nothing in particular with a distant expression on his face, mostly suiting a person whom is miles away in a world of their own. Kestrel does not seem to be paying attention or stareing at the many differant coloured bags, boxes or packages that are upon the isle shelves, but merely standing perfectly innocent and true with his arms by his side. Ichika smiles kindly and after a brief moment of distant thought places the box into the green basket held comfortably in his left hand.

Throughout the entire 20 minutes that Ichika and Kestrel spend shopping for food, both boys have it very easy, while on the other hand... Megumi and Tomoe have a more turbulent time with each other, mostly concerning a heated argument about what to buy for tonight's dinner, which comes as a very awkward moment for an observant Ichika and Kestrel, whom join a fair quality of strangers that sweat drop at the sight, in all... it takes a full 40 minutes for Tomoe and Megumi to shop for essential items for tonight's dinner, which for a pair of guys like Ichika and Kestrel is considered a vital victory when it comes to setting a good example to a nerve stricken Chifuyu and Yui.

**\- Shortly afterwards -**

Despite the fact that the shopping trip for food had gone on a bit longer than expected, Ichika, Kestrel and the others were finaly ressembled together in the hallways of the shopping mall, once again walking through and past the crowds of differant aged males and females, sharing gossip and pleasant conversation. Unlike before when every one was walking in rows of 2 by 2, the group now walks in a duo row of 3. With Ichika, Kestrel and Tomoe taking the lead and with Chifuyu, Yui and Megumi bringing up the rear close behind. In one hand Ichika carries 2 white shopping bags loaded with food, Tomoe has her hands placed in front of her carrying a single shopping bag, Megumi whom walks behind the group carries just a single food bag in her left hand. Amazingly... joining the group is Kestrel whom is carrying a bag with both hands in front of him also. Kestrel's food bag is the lightest of the bunch so therefore the youngster has the easiest of jobs.

Though the scar faced youngster remains silent as the grave, the child occasionaly rolls and shifts his eyes up to the left and then to the right as Ichika, Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Chifuyu explain pleasantries. To say that Kestrel pays no attention to his surroundings would be untrue, the youngster is after all like a wild untamed animal trying to survive in the wild, and as such... to survive, a rule exsists that states that 'one must pay attention to one's surroundings'.

Even as the group walk towards the shopping mall entrance and exit the scar faced Israeli is clearly paying clear attention to his surroundings. With Ichika, as far as he is concerned, the day out is complete, but that soon turns out to be untrue as Yui suddenly stops the group by stating in a clear and kind voice - "Hey wait a moment everybody... the jewelers is coming up, can everybody wait a moment? I... Have a ring that I want looking at, thats okay with everyone isn't it?".

Suddenly coming to a full stop, everybody halts in their tracks and turns to look Yui in the face, Chifuyu's face is one of pleasantry, her voice is one of her usual cool big sister tone as she lifts an arm up and in a friendly gesture to feel free replies the words - "Yeah, sure go ahead".

"Jewelers? Oh... you don't mind if I look with you miss Yui?" - Tomoe asks in a calm and friendly tone, a friendly and pleasnt smile is on her face as she speaks.

"Not at all, the more the merrier I say" - Yui responds with a cheerful facial expression, her tone being welcome and warm.

For Megumi, the scene is more of a moment to smirk and take some personal fun out of her younger sister by speaking in a playful manner with a raised eyebrow - "I don't know why you bother going to look for jewelry little sis, you can hardly afford a plastic ear ring!"

Almost immediately after speaking those words to her younger sister, Megumi begins to laugh in a moderate manner upon finding her sense of humor priceless. Tomoe however stops dead in her tracks and puts on a very angered and insulted frown, the dark blue ponytailed beauty with a scowl on her face shoots a deathly bitch glare at her big sister and proceedes to hold the white shopping bag in just her left hand, her hands are balled into fists and the girl is shaking in a mild but very frustraited manner.

Ichika, Chifuyu and Kestrel blink with surprise upon seeing Tomoe act this way, Yui whom stands behind the blue haired beauty simply stands in silence, oblivious as to what the younger female does next. Tomoe's bitch glare is surprisingly strong to even Megumi as a moment of silence envelops the group, however it is the perfect mix for Tomoe to send her big sister a piercing insult back in return.

Tomoe assumes the index and middle finger on her right hand to form a V sign, and then strong and pround, raises her hand to flag off her older sister, causing Megumi to titter in ammusement to herself, but what Tomoe does next causes Megumi to frown in an angered manner as Tomoe then points to between her legs, the index finger on her right hand position upon her skirt just above where her nether regions would be and in a fierce and challenging hiss speaks the words - "Lick it bitch!".

Megumi's ammused face drops instantly as a dark and demonic look takes hold of her face, even as Tomoe turns her back with a small demonic smile on her face, Megumi is clearly in the mood for a really nasty rumble with her little sister whom now dissapears into the Jewelers shop. The large shop having a large blue sign with a cartoon picture of diamonds at either side of large white letters which read the words - "Kazama Jewelry". In the large shop windows on glass shelves are various sets of watches, rings and necklaces in silver or gold. The reddish pink and emerald green jewelry that is set in the gold and silver makes the entire shop look like a priceless treasure house.

Yui bewildered by Tomoe's actions, pauses and watches as the said female enters the jewelers shop. Yui remains silent and merely shrugs upon looking at Chifuyu, whom wears an un-characteristic surprised look on her face. Then, after at least 20 seconds, Yui puts on an awkward smile and follows after the younger Japanese female and into the jewelers herself.

Megumi with a temper patch on the side of her temple, along with a slight smile that twitches manages to overcome her anger problem, which in many cases is considered very vital when one takes into account that the last place where one would dare to make a scene is in a shopping mall. As Megumi folds her arms, a shopping bag still tightly clutched in one hand, the girl closes her eyes and lowers her head. Chifuyu smirks, rolls her eyes and shakes her head in an affectionate manner before speaking in her usual cool tone.

"I think I better go with Yui, if anything Tomoe needs all the restraint she can get, why don't you come as well Ichika? You may learn what I want for my birthday!".

Blinking in surprise, Ichika is now in two differant minds, one mind is screaming with joy at the prospect of following his big and mighty older sister where as the other is concerned for a certain young friend of his, which is made clear as the black haired male looks down to his curious Israeli friend with a facial scar which always seems to be roaring or glaring with rage in bright light.

Ichika maintains good eye contact with his big sister and with the narrowing of an eye matched with the shifting of his head as a means of getting his now confused big sister to look down at Kestrel, the Japanese male in a now concerned tone speaks only one response to Chifuyu - "What... what about... Kestrel? I can't leave him alone out here".

Kestrel upon hearing his name casts a curious look up to Ichika with a plain and calm expression. Chifuyu with motioning of a hand causes Ichika to now look at a calmed and now collected Megumi whom is now looking at Ichika and then back to Chifuyu in an act of dead silence. Ichika blinks and with a single arm motions to show that he can't see where his big sister is coming from, or in other words, can't understand what she means... which natuaraly causes an awkward sweatdrop to form on Chifuyu's temple, and though she is motivated to hiss or insult her younger brother at this moment, the said older female chooses not to take that course and merely folds her arms and with a small, cool smile forming on her face speaks in her usual big sister tone -

"Megumi can take care of Kes can't she?... That is alright with you isn't it?" - Chifuyu speaks, now looking at Megumi with a straight expression, her vocal tone changes to one of concern as she looks at Tomoe's older 'if slightly' more dazzeling sister. Though Megumi's response as it first one of confusion with an occasional blink, the Japanese female eventualy changes her facial expression to one of excitement as she glanes to look down at the scar faced Kestrel.

As Megumi makes eye contact with Chifuyu, the said female replies to the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu with a tone that speaks her emotions, which are a mix of excitement and joyful nerve - "Yeah! That's perfectly okay with me!".

"See Ichika? Nothing to worry about, now C'mon!" - Chifuyu puts in with a vocal tone and look of triumph, the woman folds her arms as she looks at her younger brother whom seems to stutter and look down at Kestrel yet again with a look of concern, thankfuly Megumi manages to defuse Ichika's concerns by placing the white bag grocery bag on the floor, getting on her knees and wrapping her bare arms around the long black haired youngster, Kestrel's eyes widen and the youngster turns his head rapidly to the right upon feeling and discovering Megumi placing her arms around him.  
Thankfuly nothing negative occurs despite being taken by surprise, and more importantly the cheerful smiling face of Megumi is enough to cause Kestrel's nerve struck eyes and face to calm almost instantly.

Megumi even goes so far as to look up at the straight face of Ichika and in a sweet, kind and careing tone speaks the words - "Its okay Ichika, don't worry about Kes, I'll take very good care of him".

Seeing as though he has no other option in this case, Ichika smiles kindly at Megumi and Kestrel and in a tone of gratitude mixed with relief speaks only one word to the dark blue Japanese beauty - "Thanks!".

As Ichika turns and walks over to his older sister whom places an arm over his shoulder dragging him into a careing and playful embrace Megumi begins to blush furiously as she holds Kestrel from behind, even when the said scar faced youngster turns his head to the left to look at the Japanese beauty, just making eye contact with Kestrel is enough to cause Megumi's heart to flutter for some strange reason.

As Ichika and Chifuyu open and walk into the Jewelers, leaving Megumi alone with Kestrel, the scantaly dressed female seems to become overwhelmed with a feeling of excitement, even as she stands, Megumi gets the feeling of a little girl love stricken and bouncing around a bedroom, off the floor and off the walls with sparkling stars flowing around and out of her. One thing is for sure Kestrel, despite his age and it being un-intentional is quite the girl bait!

Megumi now unable to speak and can feel Kestrel's innocent and nervous gaze burning into her face and head dares not to make eye contact unless for some strange reason she losses the ability to talk. Thankfuly upon looking to the right the female notices the entrance/exit to the shopping mall shinning bright and proud causing a wonderful idea to form in Megumi's mind. The said female then proceedes to take Kestrel's hand and with the bashful action of closing her eyes, facing the youngster by looking down and placing a hand to the side of her cheek... then begins to guide Kestrel to the exit. A very good feeling of comfort is in the air as the pair exit the shopping mall.

**\- A few seconds later / Outside the shopping mall -**

Though the summer heat is considered intense as morning turns to day, the amount of people that crowd and walk around in the city streets never ceases to impress people. For those that find dealing with such heavy heat unbearable, the those said people would give the Japanese beauty Megumi and vulnerable Kestrel a handsome sum of money for what they do as soon as they walk into the sunlight which to Megumi is like walking into an oven, her bare skin seems to scream in pain as the blazing brightness of the early day sun hits her exposed face, arms, cleevage and legs. For Kestrel, everything is as normal as what normal can be, as one must remember that in Israel the temperatures in summer a far more intense than what they are in Japan.

Megumi still hand in hand with Kestrel does not hesitate when she sees some seating areas sheltered by a large section of trees, the green leaves that help provide the shade look like the ultimate heaven to the vast hundreds of people that scramble around attempting to get out of the heat while at the same time go about their daily buisness. Thankfuly, the seating area is relatively empty with just a small handful of people being the occupants, which in weather like this is considered very rare, and if anything Megumi is a female that knows all too well, that when one gets an opertunity to do something that will ressult and promise the chance of a good break, its best to take it.

The fact is proven as Megumi rushes towards a oak coloured bench in the cool looking shade, virtualy lifting Kestrel off his feet and dragging him behind her, which comes as a surprise if not a total eye widening moment for the youngster whom is nearly floating off his feet as Megumi pulls him towards a nearby bench as fast as her legs can manage.

It happens in seconds, but non the less is all very welcome to Megumi as the girl pulls Kestrel with her into the cool soothing shade which today feels like the ultimate heaven that one could ever feel in such hot weather like this. The seated area is square shaped with a large oak tree in the middle providing a good 360 degree radius of cool space for people wishing to rest their feet or escape the sunlight. Across from Megumi and Kestrel is a young couple looking at a travel magazine in a exact duplicate of the seating area that Megumi and Kestrel now stand at, however in some ironic stroke, although the couple which take no notice of the scantaly dressed Megumi and now curious blinking Kestrel, Megumi is first to notice THEM.

A smirk forms on Megumi's face as she proceedes to sit down on the oak bench, the girl does not take her eyes off the summer dressed male and female that look and smile happily at each other, in her mind Megumi is howling with laughter as she stares at the couple. Kestrel whom notices the Japanese beauty stareing at something simply blinks before turning his small head to the left to try and find out what it is that Megumi finds so interesting.

However, what the curious Kestrel sees next isn't the same as what Megumi is stareing upon. Instead Kestrel's ocean blue eyes rest on a random pair of females that sit side by side each other in a shaded area just across the main road that bussels with activity. What catches Kestrel's eyes about these random females is the fact that for some strange reason they are dressed in a totaly differant manner from everybody else. The two females wear black gothic lolita dresses, with black bonnets. The two females seem to be conversing with each other in some peaceful manner though Kestrel can hardly understand what they are saying or even hear them due to the city noises, the child blinks and in an act of curiosity tilts his head to the right slightly in a form of wondering if THAT is what Megumi is finding so interesting.

However the child's attention is brought back as Megumi calls his name, causing the said youngster to straighten up and turn his head back to face Megumi, whom patts the oak bench in a gesture for Kestrel to take a seat. Though Kestrel blinks in hesitation for a few seconds, the child quickly accepts Megumi's offer... which obviously is a wonderful moment for the said Japanese female whom does all she can not to cheer with pride as little Kestrel calmly walks over, places the white shopping back in his hands at his side and comfortably proceedes to sit.

Megumi's face changes to one of interest as she looks in the direction where Kestrel was looking and with a cheerful and pleasant tone speaks the words - "I see you were looking at those girls Kes, I know... they do look strange don't they? But don't worry, its only their choice of fashion, they have spirit in weather like this so they won't let simple heat like this beat them!".

Kestrel's response is silence, but the scar faced child does however turn his head to face the Japanese beauty as she speaks, which is only natural when one gets the impression that they are being spoken too, even if they can't understand the lingo that is being fired at them.

"Its differant than what it is at the IS academy isn't it? Everybody wears the same clothes, but don't worry... that does not mean that everybody is the same, if they were then there would be no point in living!" - Megumi then puts in, an affectionate closed eye in a form of a long wink is on her face as she looks down at Kestrel in a pleasant manner.

Then... just as Kestrel lets out a small timid "Hm?" with a plain and confused expression, a strange and unknown female voice suddenly breaks the moment. Causing Kestrel and Megumi to suddenly shift their attention to their left, both turn their heads at exactaly the same, not a second apart as they acknowledge the strange female voice that suddenly speaks to them both.

"I thought I could smell piss around here!"

As Megumi and Kestrel turn their heads to the left, what greats their sight is the sight of a dark tanned female with purple eye shadow, red finger nails, white lipstick is glosed on her lips, a gold ring is on the female's ring finger on her right hand and 3 silver coloured bracelets are on the female's left wrist. This strange female has short white hair that goes down towards her shoulders, as for what this female is wearing, the female wears short red but tight thigh shorts. The female wears white knee shocks, dark blue high heels, and a orange coloured T-shirt like top, the top however does not cover the female's navel and though this female does not have much of a cleevage, the female seems to be proud of showing as much skin as she can manage whilst staying perfectly modest and covered.

This strange white haired female also wears a tiger stripped headband and golden ear rings, however, Kestrel and Megumi hardly seem to pay much attention as to what this female is wearing, instead both seem to be paying more attention to this strange woman's face. Though Kestrel has never seen this female before and maintains his usual curious facial image, Megumi on the other hand is smirking with a look of smug triumph on her face, causing this strange looking woman to scowl and raise her upper lip a fraction to flash her teeth in irritated rage.

After a matter of seconds, the female walks into the shade and out of the sunlight, yet it does not seem to phase this female's angered scowl. The strange female seems to shoot Megumi a nasty bitch glare, causing Megumi to smile in a very triumphant manner. A sick level of silence befalls the area that the trio are present in as raising levels of hostility are exchanged by the random female and Megumi, though Megumi's aura is more of mockery and free spirit, if one was in a rational minded person's shoes, it would be clear that a very nasty and turbulent relation is shared by these two females, which in Kestrel's case is considered a good thing when one takes into account that auras and supernatural powers do NOT work on him, if they did then god can only know how Kestrel would be affected.

"Yeah... I knew I was right, there was an overwhelming stentch of piss around. Megumi... don't you think you ought to get a life for once!?" - The female hisses in an irritated manner, shooting her bitch glare at Tomoe's big and apparently scoffing older sister whom says nothing but merely smirks at the moment.

Megumi suddenly causes Kestrel to blink and turn his head to face her in surprise as she places her left hand on the top of the youngster's head. What Kestrel sees is the usual cheerful looking face of the Japanese female whom speaks in a very confident manner, the way she speaks and the words she uses is as if she is speaking as a matter of fact - "You see Kestrel, I told you, if we were all the same life would not be worth living, and if you were in dear Rika's shoes... exsistance would not be worth living!".

"What d'you just say!?" - The tanned female now known as Rika hisses in an angered manner.

Megumi merely takes her hand of little Kestrel's head and proceedes to stand to her feet, Kestrel with is usual facial look of curiosity does not take his innocent looking ocean blue eyes off the Japanese beauty for a single second. Megumi's face on the other hand maintains its usual clever, jokeful and playful manner, just the very word 'Confidence' is enough to describe Megumi right now, the calm expression and smile on her face is a perfect example of the word.

"Look at her Kes, she looks like a porn star whom couldn't say no to a prisoner!" - Megumi speaks out in a proud and scoff like manner, which causes the tanned Rika to snarl in anger. The said female balls her hands into fists before pointing an index finger at the confused and silent Kestrel.

"What d'you call me!? Anyway more importantly, what the hell are saying in front of a this... kid!?" - The tanned Rika hisses in a heavily offended tone, pausing and forming a raised eyebrow upon looking at Kestrel, whom does nothing but simply blinks and remains silent in front of the female stranger known as Rika.

"Hmph! This is Kestrel, and before you accuse me of vulgar words, this so called 'kid' can't understand a word were saying, or had you not noticed that he isn't Japanese!?" - Megumi replies in a confident manner, her confident smiling facial image not dropping for a single second. Kestrel's actions just the usual of looking up at Megumi with a plain and cautious expression upon hearing his name being mentioned.

"Well 'Hmph' back at you!... This kid isn't Japanese you say? Then where did you find him I wonder... Don't tell me you abducted him! Well... I wouldn't put it past you, your standards have always been low, taken a taste in kiddie molesting and murder have you!?" - The tanned Rika retorts back at the dark blue haired Japanese beauty with a smirk on her face, now relaxing her shoulders.

A temper patch forms on Megumi's temple but the said female maintains her smile, but the angered frown that forms on Megumi's face is a good indication that what the tanned female has just said has gone down badly and caused a nasty churn of rage and anger to boil in her head and gut, but that is only to be expected... after all Megumi and Rika appear and clearly hate each other's guts, for reasons unknown, 'for now that is'.

Fortuneatley Megumi is no where near finished with the tanned female, and though the angered scowl on her face remains, the smile does not leave her features. As Megumi speaks a cool, smug and collected tone mixed with that of challenge is evident -

"For information no... I'm looking after Kestrel, which is something hardly applicable to you, but its your own fault after all... you can't even keep a weed alive with a watering can!".

The white haired, tanned skinned Rika's smug expression drops, soon replacing her smug look with one of challenge just like that of Megumi's. A very powerful aura of rage, and trouble lingers in the air as the two females exchange death glares at each other, the scar faced Kestrel merely blinks in confusion and stays silent, as the now growing possibility of a nasty catfight begins to form and linger in the air.

_**Alright readers, thats it for now, sorry if I've caused a lot of anger and irritation in my delays and everything, but on the plus side I am now open to messages again and requests, due to the house work I was talking about being completed. I know I have defects but I can't help that, but then again NOBODY is perfect are they not?... Okay... as I was saying, thanks for reading, please review, remember it all helps brings things to light and raises morale and all... so... untill the next chapter, stay frosty readers.**_

_**Remember I'm wishing you all the best with your own fics!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	71. Chapter 71: Blood in the streets

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised with a fresh new chapter. Firstly I'd like to thank everyone for following on for so long, and I hope that everyone is getting ready for Kestrel's Prometheus firing test because after this chapter I believe... its off to the Ryukyu Islands for Kestrel's firinig test, so for you readers I'd like to say that I'll do my very best to make things as impressive as possible, though I can't promise anything because after all it is my first fic, but I seem to be doing well so... hey ho!**_

_**Anyway, thats enough with the introductions, please, sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 71:

**\- With Kestrel and Megumi -**

It had been mere seconds since Megumi had stood up to face off in a fierce glare to glare confrontation with a Japanese tanned beauty known as Rika. The scar faced and mentaly wounded Kestrel, remains sat down on an oak coloured bench, watching with confusion as the two Japanese beauties stare and glare each other down. From where Kestrel is sat, the youngster can make out a very confident and challenging smirk on Megumi's face, yet her face itself is a mix of anger and rage. The girl standing just inches ahead of her has a simple angered and challenging look on her face, and just like Tomoe... is not blinking as the pair engage in a furious glare down to the finish.

A moment of silence passes by, little Kestrel with his ocean blue eyes full of confusion and neutral emotions simply looks at both females in silence, blinking innocently to himself. Unsure of what to think or make of the situation.

Anime style temper patches are fixed firmly on both Megumi and Rika's temples as both females stare at each other in a furious manner, auras of fire burn around both females, but despite the atmosphere being tense, and with lots of people still walking around, nobody seems to paying much attention to the two Japanese females, even if somebody does see something happening, nobody is likely to do anything... for one reason, in Japan its very common to 'NOT get involved'.

However, never the less... there are a few stares from people that walk and rush around in the intense summer heat, but even then, they are stares that last for only a brief moment as many people choose to simply continue on their way, rather than get involved in what could be a furious all out cat fight.

Thankfuly the intense and nerve wrecking silence that lasts for a near etternity as far as Megumi and her rival Rika are concerned, comes to an end when the dark haired Japanese beauty with her bombastic curves looks down and after noticing the tanned white haired female's hands, comes up with what many can say as a 'Crafty comment', in order to shatter the silence, but at the same time take the seriousness of the situation to a whole new horrifying level.

"Those finger nails are the type a hussy would have, don't tell me... you have a new depraved lover don't you!?" - Megumi speaks in a confident manner, her angered scowl and challenging smirk does not drop for a single second.

"These nails of mine are fake for your information, or have you not got the I.Q of an adult to tell what is real or fake!?" - The tanned Rika retorts in a equaly challenging manner.

"Oh, so can't grow nails can you!? I simply don't bother and keep mine short, but for you... I feel such pity, you can't grow your own can't you!?" - Megumi replies instantly, placing her hands on her hips and flashing a pearly white and challenging snarl.

"No! I wear my false nails are because my real ones broke!" - Rika hisses in anger, balling her hands into fists and beginning to shake from irritation.

"Oh, so you had a fight with your lover, how horrible... but then again, you always have been an evil cow!" - Megumi replies, leaning the top half of her body forward to put her face up a lot more closer to her tanned rival, a smile forms on Megumi's face as she speaks in a challenging yet confident manner.

As Megumi straightens herself up, the tanned Rika's right eye twitches in rage, a twig in her mind snaps, ressulting in the angered female to snarl in fury, lunge forward and suddenly grab Megumi's top tightly with both balled fists. Though Megumi goes wide eyed at first, the said female quickly regains her cool, maintaining her smirk and confident expression. Though Megumi's heart beats a little faster than usual as a wave of uncertain nerve travels through her body. Even as the tanned Rika pulls Megumi up towards her and places her face close to that of the said dark blue haired Japanese female... Megumi does not appear to flinch, making the said female look a confident lioness ready to fight to the death against some wild rival lioness, or even larger and lethal animal of whatever species.

"YOU are the most foul, disgusting and depraved hussy that has ever walked this planet MEGUMI!" - The tanned Rika snarls with a fierce scowl, tightly clutching Megumi's top in her fists. Megumi on the other hand maintains a cool and collected look, a confident and pleasant look is set kindly on her face.

"Go on... tell me more!" - Megumi replies in a calm and pleasant manner, the Japanese female resting her arms calmly by her sides, not trembling or looking as though they are prepared to fight for a single second.

"OH so you want to hear more!? Good! Because I'm nowhere near finished with you! I don't think anyone in this country has to suffer being in the pressance of a whore!" - Rika replies in a tone of pure anger, clearly being restaining in a valiant attempt to not shout at the top of her lungs.

"Just because you've had seven boys stolen off you, don't take it out on me, I had nothing to do with you loosing lovers" - Megumi speaks out calmly with her calm and cheery smile, her tone being one that states not only a matter of fact, but also one of a girl that is peacefuly and happily protesting her innocence.

Upon hearing Megumi's words, Rika effectively looses it, the white haired, tanned skinned Japanese female hisses and in an angered tone replies one word - "LIAR!".

As all this is going on, the 10 year old, mentaly wounded Kestrel simply watches with openly confused and stunned eyes. The blazing red facial scar under the youngster's right eye appears to look a little less fierce while in the shade that what it does when in a bright room or in sunlight. Kestrel simply looks up at the two Japanese females confused as hell, blinking twice with his mouth open by just a fraction of an inch. The said youngster is completely bewildered at the sight, yet utterly at loss for words. Everything that Megumi and her rival say goes through Kestrel's ears. The youngster is unable to understand a word thats being said, sure Tomoe has been giving Kestrel lessons, but most of the words that Kestrel is learning is on a level one would be taught on a kindergarden level, so no matter how one looks at it... its going to be a hell of a long time untill Kestrel is able to understand the Japanese tounge.

"You know perfectly well that YOU was responsible for the loss of my last two break ups!" - Rika speaks in a stern manner, looking furiously into the eyes of the smiling and happy faced Megumi.

"No, No... I tell you I wasn't, I WAS responsible for your third and fourth break ups, but not your recent ones" - Megumi replies in a cool and collected manner, not breaking eye contact with the tanned Rika whom remains looking deep into Megumi's eyes with a pure angered expression.

"Well... Fat lot of good you was with the boys you stole from me! You only had my fourth lover for two days and then tossed him aside!" - Rika retorts in her angered manner, now attempting to demonise Megumi in an attempt to cause Megumi to become angered also. Which to her dismay fails as Megumi merely maintains her cheery facial expression.

"Those boys you got merely wasn't any use or any good to me, I know that you like to tell others that I don't... but I DO have my tastes and standards!" - Megumi replies in a happy tone, briefly closing her eyes, tilting her head to the left and shrugging her shoulders in a manner that clearly shows that Rika's words are not getting through to her.

"Well at least my standards don't include gold digging and exploiting of what they have!" - Rika replies back to Megumi in her angered tone, the clutch that the female holds on Megumi's top looks as if it is about to rip Megumi's clothing open, even though that is hardly likely to happen.

"Oh, what are you talking about!?" - Megumi responds in a jokeful and pleasant manner, her vocal tone is one of a person that is playfuly feeling offended.

"Don't act innocent bitch!" - Rika replies in her angered tone, the snarl on her face does not leave for a single second.

"Well... they are the ones that chose me in the first place, so don't blame me for your picking up of guys that think with their dicks!" - Megumi responds back to the angered tanned Rika.

"YOUR The one that enticed them with that slut body of yours!" - Rika retorts in an angered manner, this time her voice raises to a higher and deeper volume as she tugs on Megumi's top.

By now for the scar faced Kestrel, things are beyond strange. The scar faced youngster slowly and carefuly shifts himself off the oak coloured bench and onto his small feet. A second or so passes with Kestrel standing full of curiosity, blinking and remaining silent as Megumi replies something in Japanese back to the strange tanned female that holds her virtualy by the scruff of the neck. Even when the tanned female replies in Japanese, Kestrel's curiosity is placed further on the rise, causing the child to do something that was unforeseen, instead of remaining frozen on the spot, Kestrel timidly takes a baby step forward, then... Kestrel pauses, the long black hair on the youngster seems to blow gently to the side as a cooling breeze hits the trio.

Ironicaly that is the perfect motivation for Kestrel to take another step forward, then another... untill before Kestrel knows it, the youngster has come to a stop directly at the side and in between both Megumi and the tanned Rika. The Israeli youngster's heart is beating calmly and steady, not a hint of nerve is in the scar faced boy's body. Even as Kestrel speaks in his timid and small soft voice the child clearly shows no hint of nerve in the pressance of this strange female that seems to be abusing Megumi -

"Ma nish-ma? Ma ho-lekh?" - Israeli phrase for 'What's wrong?, What's going on?'.

Upon hearing that soft voice of Kestrel, Megumi's cheerful smile drops and her jokeful expression changes to one of amazement and shock, the dark blue haired Japanese female blinks in stunned surprise, she's not heard Kestrel speak before, not in his native and natural tounge anyway... sure there was the exceptions of aiding in teaching Kestrel Japanese, but apart from teaching the said scar faced boy Japanese words, Megumi has not once heard Kestrel speak so clearly, not the least to her, which causes a large amount of flattery to fill the Japanese female's chest.

Another twist of irony occurs as both Megumi and Rika turn their heads and look down at exactaly the same time, Megumi's face has the look of surprise while the tanned Rika maitains her fierce and angered scowl.

As both Japanese females look down, they see non other than the curious and vulnerable Kestrel, the Israeli youngster stares up at both females with a blank and neutral expression. Megumi's bewildered expression suddenly lifts up into a nervous yet pleasant expression. The dark blue Japanese female in a calm and cheerful tone turns her head to look down at the scar faced youngster ignoring Rika's grasping of her top. - "Don't worry Kessie, everything's fine, just go sit down on the bench okay?".

However, Megumi is not the only to speak, virtualy five seconds after Megumi speaks, the tanned Rika is the next to speak, but... the vocal tone and angered scowl makes the tanned female's words appear to make the female look low... REAL low - "Get lost you! Go bug someone else runt!".

Though Kestrel blinks and snaps his focus off Megumi to Rika, at exactaly the same time Megumi's cheerful expression changes instantly to one of fury, the Japanese female with dark blue hair goes wild eyed as an uncontrolable level of blood thusting fury seems to set every nook and cranny of her body aflame with rage. It happens before Megumi's mind can calculate what is happening what she is doing, as Megumi with her arms by her side begins to shake with rage, her hands ball into fists, and the snarl on Megumi's face, and the look in the female's eyes is a pure mix of fire, blood drunken anger and rage.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO HIM!?" - Megumi spits out in a tone of fury.

As Rika turns to make eye contact with Megumi, the tanned Japanese female's eye twitches and a horrible hint of nerve strikes the female hard in the face and chest as the female makes eye to eye contact with a blazing eyed Megumi. Rika is quickly stunned, but non the less makes her grip on Megumi's top as tight as possible, both females are quickly locked in a death glare that now seems to be evident to the outside world, as random but few numbers of people now slow down walking, or stop altogether to look at the sight before them. Kestrel for one takes a step back but only out of confusion, the youngster continously turns his ocean blue eyes to the left and then to the right, clearly unable to understand the situation.

"WHAT!? You got a problem!?" - Rika replies in her usual angered manner.

"What did you just say to him!?" - Megumi repeats in a low hissed and demonic manner.

From a distance away and outside a resturant, numbers of people sat at tables with summer umbrellas begin to leave their food and drink and gaze over at the sight of Megumi and Rika glaring fiercely at each other with what looks like explosive expressions, when the handful of males and females witness the explosive Megumi raise her hands and suddenly grab Rika's own top, its the perfect motivation for a young teenage male with short brown hair and brown eyes to suddenly pull out an Iphone like object with his left hand, begin to press away at the small screen rapidly with the index finger on his right hand and in a nervous and tense voice speaks rapidly as he lifts and holds the Iphone to his left ear - "Yeah, theres a fight happening, I need the police!".

Ironicaly at the same time, in numberous other places in the vacinity, other males and females are pulling out phones and dialing for help as Megumi and Rika begin to struggle with each other, causing the young couple that where on the bench opposite Megumi and Kestrel's to leap up in alarm and rush to safety behind a nearby tree on the side walk.

Megumi and Rika struggle with what look like a death grapple, each of the two female's looking at the other with a furious expression as they stumble. Kestrel although confused as hell chooses to back away, blinking as Megumi and Rika hiss and spit at one another, the Israeli youngster hears both females speaking in anger in their native Japanese tongues but can hardly understand a word that is being said, but mabye in a time like this... not understanding what the two females are saying is most likely for the best.

However, the situation is going to get far more worse, as Kestrel observes Rika suddely release Megumi from her grasp and then, before anyone can react the white haired female with a balled fist slams a punch into Megumi's face. The sound of fist hitting face, aswell as the moment causes Kestrel to go wide eyed and jump in stratlement, though Kestrel was not on the receiving end of the punch, the youngster still didn't see it coming, nobody did, even the numbers of people that where watching the two females grappling did not see the punch coming.

Megumi reacts quickly from being struck and replies with a rapid swivel, the dark blue female replies to Rika's punch by driving a fist of her own into the tanned girl's stomach. Kestrel seems to remain frozen on the spot, simply stareing at both females with a stunned expression.

**"GO TO F**KING HELL WHORE!"** \- Megumi screams in a fit of anger, now recovering from a sidewards roll that came from her being flung to the ground, a red mark on the side of her face is evidence from where she was struck on the jaw, however Rika can't say that she is in even better condition, the white haired female has a bloody nose after being punched from point blank range by Megumi,  
and bruise on her chin.

Megumi charges in rage at Rika whom is less than a few feet away and coming towards Megumi in a fit of anger also. Rika with blood streaming from her nose and dripping off her top lip and chin, replies with an equal tone of fury - **"F**K YOU!".**

Both females crash into each other, hair on both females flutters and blows from the motion of both female's heads and bodily movement as the pair slam into each other and fall sideways to the ground, both females grappling fiercely again like animals in a fierce fight to the death. One thing is for sure, if Megumi and this Rika girl were wild animals, its a good bet to say that both would be lionessess from rival prides clashing for prey, claws, teeth, blood spilling and roars would put even the strongest male lions to shame.

Both Megumi and Rika struggle, roll, grab and pull on each other's hair, shrieking, scratching and bitting each other for no less than 3 minutes, and in that time, nearly every single eye apart from those that are in buildings, are watching the specticle in shock and awe, some people stand frozen solid like coloured ice while others are on their Iphones calling for help, those that do take a few steps closer to the action merely pull out their Iphones to photograph or film the confrontation.

The fighting Megumi and Rika clearly indicate that neither are backing down when both break free of each other's clutches and stand to their feet, Rika charges forward with her hands open in an attempt to grab Megumi, Megumi reacts fast and in a rapid move, snarls with scratch marks that bleed on the left side of her face. Megumi quickly stands on one leg, leans to the side, lifts up her other leg, bends her knee and slams a martial artist kick into Rika's chest knocking her backwards and causing the girl to land hard on her back, but the fight is far from over.

Kestrel whom is pulled back to safety by a bystanding Japanese woman with a terrifyied look on her face, merely watches in disbelief as Rika recovers from her kick, but... causes everyone to go wide eyed in terror as the said female reaches into one of her pockets and then, as quick as a flash, pulls out a knife.

Megumi, with her hair a mess and with scratches and bruises on her arms, legs and face... freezes, her furious eyes go into a calm state, but not fully as a mental lightbulb turns on above her head. Rika tightly clutches the gleeming knife in her right hand and confidently points the sharp object at Megumi, Rika's face is a mix of panic and rage, as blood continues to rush from her nose, there are multipule bruises on the female's arms, legs and body, and now... just recently, a nasty bite wound on the left side of her neck.

A male's voice from the bystanders clearly causes a terrible feeling of dead silence to fill no less than a mile radius of where the females are standing - "Watch out she has a knife!".

The silence and pause from the fighting lasts for a few seconds, before Megumi with a hiss of rage swings her arms to the left, grabbing Rika's hand and wrist. Rika is unable to react and goes wide eyed as Megumi proceedes to slam a nast kick in between the female's legs, less than a second later Megumi rushes forward, grabbing Rika by her sides using every last ounce of strength in her body, lifts Rika off her feet and sends her flying off her feet in a fall backwards, the knife in Rika's hand falls free from Rika's loss of grip.

Rika however quickly recovers and scrambles on her knees towards the dropped blade, but... although Rika manages to grab ahold of the knife that is on the ground, the girl does not get a chance to lift it from the pavement, Megumi reacts fast and with a stomp of her left foot, pins Rika's hand on the ground. Rika screams in pain as her knuckles crack from Megumi stomping on the palm of her hand and forcing the back of her hand into the pavement, but... even then... Megumi isn't finished.

Rika's scream in pain, and closing of the eyes lasts a few seconds as Megumi places her left hand over Rika's mouth, and balls her right hand into a fist. Rika opens her eyes just in time to see Megumi slam a fist straight into her face. The sound of bone hitting bone matched by the smash of fist on face is heard by all bystanders. However, even then... Megumi STILL isn't finished as she grabs Rika from the shoulders and in a sidewards throw, tosses the female forwards, Rika lands hard on her face and shoulders and rolls over, crashing into the shopping bag that Kestrel was carrying a few minutes earlier.

Amazingly, despite blood oozing from a cut on the side of her temple, Rika's furious eyes do not let up, the girl glances down as she begins to pick herself up. There the girl just happens to notice a glass bottle rolling on the pavement, Megumi does the one thing she should NOT do, the female takes her eyes off Rika to check the wounds on her body, what happens next is considered very painful as the dark coloured glass bottle suddenly flies and smashes into the front of her right shoulder, glass shards, orange liquid flies wide, soaking Megumi's front, and causing terrible pain to shoot through her upper body faster than lightning.

Rika sees her chance and rushes forward grabbing a stunned Megumi by the shoulders and slams a fist into her face, Megumi falls backward, but... as Rika rushes forward to pin Megumi to the floor, Megumi manages to place both legs and feet under the white haired female and with all the strength she can muster, kicks the wild white haired female off her. As Rika falls back, Megumi dashes forward now with blood gushing from the left side of her bottom lip, Megumi quickly grabs Rika by the shirt and then once again with her left fist, slams another punch into Rika's face. This time the sound of fist hitting face is lounder than usual, causing all bystanders including Kestrel to leap in surprise and blink in shock.

However... the sounds of fighting and the sight of Megumi and Rika at each other's throat is about to become the last of Kestrel's worries, as from a short distance away appears five unfamiliar people, 3 young Japanese males and 2 Japanese females. One male has short red hair, wears a dark blue shirt and black pants, gold ear studs are in each ear and a tattoo of the Grim Reaper is on his left arm. The second male has tan skin coloured hair, wears a black shirt with a skill emblazoned on the back and wears Orange pants, the jewelry that this male wears make his him look like a pure punk. The last male has a white shirt with red short sleeves and light blue jeans, the last male also has blonde hair, he too looks like a punk.

As for the 2 females, one of which has long black hair, wears a white shirt and a short jean like skirt, her make up is just cherry red lipstick. The second female has shoulder height blonde hair and wears a purple summer frock, although nothing suspicious is about the two females, one can't escape the possibility that both mean trouble. As the five people appear from across the road of the main street where Megumi and Rika brawl in the midst of a now growing crowded circle, the punkish male with tanned colour hair frowns at the sight. His voice is a sneereed hiss as he observes the messy looking Megumi beating seven bells out of the tanned Rika -

"Look, its that whore that upset my sister yesterday!"

"Isn't that Rika!?" - The red haired male asks in a voice of concern and anger, also frowning and scowling with a mix of worry.

The tanned haired male hisses and snarls, his hand balls into a fist, yet he does not move immediately - "Is that F**cking slag assualting Rika!?".

Next to speak is the black haired female whom with a fierce scowls and snarls at the sight, her cattish green eyes do not leave or shift off Megumi whom is beating and hammering away at the tanned Rika whom apparently is now putting up a fierce catfight back in return. As both Megumi and Rika fall and collapse to the ground and begin to roll around scrambling and brawling away, the black haired female with her angered face speaks in an equaly angered manner - "Who the hell does that blue haired slag think she is!?".

"Its like she's trying her best to make herself look stronger than what she is!" - The black haired Japanese female soon adds, frowning and glareing at the sight after a moment of pause.

"F**king bitch! I'm gonna go over there and knock her out!" - The blonde haired female hisses with an angered frown.

Just as quickly as they appear, the five strangers dash over across the 'apparently' empty road and towards Megumi whom by now is on top of the tanned and bleeding Rika, her hands clasped firmly over the girls face with the thumbs over Rika's closed eyes. Both Rika and Megumi have really nasty facial wounds, along with other wounds on the arms, legs and on the neck. Both Rika and Megumi snarl, hiss and scream at each other in a very hysterical manner, the very sounds that both females make would put even the wildest catfights to shame.

As the five strangers dash towards Megumi and Rika, the blonde female with her angered scowl speaks yet again in a furious manner - "I just remembered, that bitch is the one that used my big brother as a gold mine and tossed him away afterwards, I'm gonna rip her tits off for that!".

In less than twenty seconds the five strangers suddenly appear at the sight, the 3 males push and shove bystanders out of their way, forcing many to fall to the floor in a hard manner. Kestrel however is not umongst the bystanders that get shoved to the ground, but non the less is able to be free of the grip that a Japanese woman holds him in. Unfortunetaley, what Kestrel sees next causes an horrific level of sickness, rage and unpleasantry to roll churn and bubble in his chest, stomach and body as the five strangers flash past. The Japanese male with tanned hair is first to make a strike by without warning... sending his right foot into Megumi's ribs in a sharp and painful kick. Megumi's eyes close, a coughed gak escapes her lips as the painful feeling of a hard solid object impacts her ribs.

Megumi is kicked of Rika and rolls on her side, the messed up Japanese female rolls as she lands on her side and rolls away from Rika, whom is helped to her feet by the black haired Japanese female. Kestrel meanwhile goes wide eyed with shock as the three males suddenly begin to over run and take turns in grabbing Megumi and joining the abuse. Kestrel's heart seems to turn to ice as Megumi is lifted up by both arms by the tanned haired and blonde haired males whilst the red haired male proceedes to send punch after punch into Megumi's stomach, the Japanese female goes wide eyed, tears of agony are already rolling down her face due to being kicked in the ribs.

Megumi's abuse does not end as she is then thrown to the ground, nobody amoungst the bystanders dares move when the blonde haired female pulls out a carving knife, points it at the groups of men and women and in an angered voice matched with a threatening glare shouts in a loud voice - "DON'T NOBODY DARE MOVE OR YOU'LL BE DEAD!" - Many men, women and children that are unomngst the bystanders gasp in terror and take steps back in alarm... except for one!

Kestrel's ocean blue eyes go wide in shock, in his mind the youngster is beginning to calculate the situation and for once, this time it not taking a turn, begins to feel an emotion that the youngster has not yet recognised... a blended mix of rage, fire and anger. The child is unaware of it... but upon his face, a very, nasty looking scowl of anger is forming on Kestrel's face, the youngster's eyes seem to loose sanity and become like those of a blood drunken wild animal. Kestrel remains frozen on the spot, but if the youngster had hackles, each and every one would be up and raised by now, a toothy snarl that shows the side fang on the left side of his teeth begins to form, although this isn't Tomoe or Ichika that is in trouble... for some strange reason Kestrel can't seem to understand this feeling, why does his blood feel so hot? why does his head feel like its going to explode? and why does he feel such levels of power surging through his body?.

As Kestrel's snarl begins to drop and raising anger begins to direct itself to his bodily systems, Kestrel's focus goes back to Megumi, whom know is laying body down on the pavement having every last ounce of strength beaten out of her body, the Japanese female seems so helpless, and nobody is doing anything to stop it. Even the tanned Rika is joining the assualt on Megumi, she has a tight grip on Megumi's hair, lifting her head and doing her best to slam Megumi's face into the pavement over and over again.

What seems like an eternity passes, even though it is just 3 minutes, but in that time... the blonde haired female whom notices Kestrel with a wild eyeexpression, pauses and snarls. She points the shinning silver knife blade at Kestrel's face and begins to walk forward in an angered march. The blonde haired female in her purple summer dress gets within mere feet of Kestrel whom is frozen stiff and has tiny pupils in a pair of wild white eyes, the child remains frozen solid, stareing at the Japanese people that rush and assault Megumi.

"You! Shitter! Get over there with the others!" - The blonde haired female hisses in an angered yet confident manner.

A bystanding male attempts a daring move to walk forward to try and grab Kestrel, but as soon as the male takes a step forward, the blonde haired Japanese female looks over and directs her blade towards the Japanese male, whom begins to take slow and timid steps backward.

"YOU! I told you to go over there with the others!" - The blonde haired female now barks in an furious tone.

Silence... Kestrel remains stiff, frozen, but his wild and blood drunken eyes shift from Megumi whom is being polverised on a massive scale, and at the female whom is now just inches away from Kestrel, the Knife blade is alarmingly close to his small face, and close to the bridge of his nose, directly between his eyes. The blonde haired female's right eye twitches as Kestrel remains silent. Kestrel's lack of acknowledging the female's demands does not go down well. Its the perfect motivation for the girl to lower her knife, raise her other hand to make a downwards swing with her free hand to suddenly smash Kestrel in the side of the face with the back of her hand, but... ... as the girl sends down her other hand to hit Kestrel in the face, what happens next is considered beyond anyone's expectations.

Her hand does not get the chance to even touch Kestrel's face as non-other than Kestrel himself suddenly intercepts the girl's arm with his own small hand. A resounding whack is heard as Kestrel suddenly grabs ahold of the girl's rapid downward swinging arm in the air, the back of the girl's hand stops inches away from Kestrel's face. The girl's eyes widden in shock and surprise as to how fast Kestrel just reacted, it was if lightning had struck. Its the same with the bystanders whom all blink at how fast Kestrel just moved, many have their hearts in their mouth now thinking that things are going to get a lot more messy.

After just a few seconds the girl herself glares in rage, pulls and strains in an attempt to get her arm free of Kestrel's grip, but it does her no good, her arm won't budge from Kestrel's grip. As the blonde haired female places the knife in her mouth, bitting and clenching down on the blade between her teeth, closes her eyes and uses her hand to grab ahold of Kestrel's hand, she fails to notice that a blue glow is now appearing around Kestrel's hand and arm that grips the blone female's wrist as the said youngster partialy summons BLACK PHOENIX.

Silence and shock befalls the bystanders as they take their eyes off Megumi getting beaten to a pulp and instead gaze in shock at the sight of the blonde female straining to break free of little Kestrel's grip. After as many as 2 more minutes of struggle the female in angered rage opens her eyes, reaches to her mouth and takes the knife in her free hand, she screams in fury, raises her free hand high above her head, preparing to make a powerful and fast downward slash of the knife blade towards Kestrel's face. At this moment, Kestrel's ocean blue eyes, wild and angered look up slightly, paying attention to this girl's movements. As the female makes her angered roar, Kestrel reacts fast, the blood drunken youngster suddenly releases the girl's wrist from his grip, leaps backward and with a quick blue flash activates a cylinder object in his IS hand.

Less than 2 micro seconds after that before anybody can react, Kestrel activates Nosferatu, the red glowing blade in an electronic activating sound suddenly appears from the cylinder as Kestrel makes a 360 degree rapid spin just a second after leaping backwards rapidly. Kestrel reacts fast as lightning, as he kneels slightly, and in a fast flash like move suddenly makes an upwards slash to the right with Nosferatu. The red blade of Nosferatu wizzes and hums fast like a star wars lightsaber as Kestrel in a reflex of utter fury slashes at the blonde female. It all happens in seconds, the blonde haired female has no time to react, she hasn't even got the chance to move her arms out of the way. Though the knife in the girl's hand misses Kestrel's head, the same can't be said for Kestrel's Nosferatu that scythes instantly through the girl's arms like a hot knife through butter.

**"KKKYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"**

Blood erupts and flies in a mass manner as Kestrel spins round, resting on one knee upon finishing his sidewards slash. His long black hair flutters elegantly in a sidewards momentum and his star of david pendant rides the air in a strange heroic manner. The edge of the tip of Nosferatu slashes the pavement, causing a deep burning yellow glowing gouge in the gray pavement. Bystanders scream in terror and break the now growing circle, running in terror for cover. A young woman's voice is heard shriek in a tone of disbelief - "JESUS CHRIST THAT KID'S GOT AN IS!".

The blonde female's severed arms land on the pavement on Kestrel's right, the blonde female falls backwards and flat on her back, landing on the pavement wide eyed, the loss of feeling in both arms is gone, and her own blood splatters on her purple summer dress, on the pavement and more frighteningly, on Kestrel's face... making Kestrel's wild animal expression look horrificaly and purely psychopathic.

The terror and pain ridden screaming in aggony forces the beating on Megumi to come to a sudden halt, the three Japanese male's despite frowning with disbelief go wide eyed in shock as they see their female friend laying flat on her back screaming as loud as her lungs will allow. Blood gushes from the female's severed arms and spreads rapidly across the pavement, the beaten Rika seems to feel her blood turn to ice as she shifts her focus on to Kestrel, whom now stands normaly back on his own two feet, just inches away from the bleeding Japanese blonde whom screams and begins to thrash in hysterical terror on the ground, the female looks to the left and then to the right in panic striken terror as she notices her arms are severed and missing, Kestrel's blade have severed the female's arms just above the elbow area, so in terms of having arms, this female's future of ever feeling things with her arms and hands is well and truly over.

Even the knife that the female tried to slash Kestrel with is covered in splatters of blood, its a mess in terms of blood and gore. Kestrel however seems uneffected, a strange iconic breeze seems to blow at the side of Kestrel, making his hair blow gently sideways as he stands legs apart slightly, standing face forward at the remaining punks that have been beating the life out of Tomoe's older sister. The red Nosferatu is pointed downwards making Kestrel look like an iconic posed action figure or simple display figurine.

"O.. Oh christ!" - The red haired male suddenly stutters in a tone of sickened fear, unable to take his now terror stricken eyes of Kestrel, whom with blood splattered on his face, looks like he's on the razor's edge of slaughter.

Nobody else dare says a word, the bystanders that surrounded Kestrel and the punks have all but completley vanished due to running for their lives. Kestrel however blinks and proceedes to fully deactivate his Nosferatu, the red blade retracts and goes back into its cylinder soon a followed by a blue flash of light as the cylinder, as well as the IS hand deactivates... but Kestrel has another horror to unleash!

The child lifts his left arm, blue light surrounds and englufs the youngster's hand, wrist and arm as the child activates the left arm of BLACK PHOENIX. Kestrel's left fist remains balled, back of IS hand facing up straight and true, then... as if from another dimension, just above Kestrel's left wrist, a rapid black spinning top ressembling a beyblade suddenly appears. A loud sounding 'Vvvwwwiiisssss' shatters the terrified silence, less than a second after the beyblade object appears, what looks like a black record player arm suddenly appears from behind the beyblade object which begins to glow pure white, sparks begin to form and flash around the spinning object as the record playing arm like object rears up like a Cobra, a razor pointed needle is at the head of of the arm. The arm itself is postioned like a human arm that makes a bodily impression of a swan or snake during a shadow puppet show.

The stunned and frozen stiff punks as well as Rika do not follow their insticts to run for their lives, and when they do... its too late. The black arm with its razor blade like needle suddenly slams down onto the beyblade spinning object. What happens next is something that nobody could ever imagine as dark blue'ish purple volts of lightning ressembling the Star wars force power 'Force lightning' suddenly erupts from the beyblade object as the black arm needle impacts the spinner. Once again, this time joining the yell in terror and agony of the blonde Japanese female, the remaining punks including the wounded Rika suddenly begin to thrash in very un-natural ways. Loud screaming once again fills the air as Kestrel's volts of blue lightning smash into the faces of the 3 Japanese males, 1 female and wounded Rika, Megumi is left untouched.

The 3 Japanese males and 2 females wrythe, thrash and scream as loud as they can in pain, falling off the still body of Megumi whom isn't dead but is very badly beaten up. The sounds of rushing lightning echo through the city, as does the screams in agony, the screaming is unlike anything ever heard before as all 5 guilty Japanese persons fall to the floor and wrthye, squirm and thrash in agony, as the lightning volts spark and rush over their bodies, it gets far worse as all 5 people begin to muscular micro-seizures all over their bodies causing ever more pain and agony, less than a second later the skeletal systems on all 5 people begin to be seen through the bodies.

Kestrel does not blink, but his wild blood drunken eyes begin to subside, which can be considered a miracle as his natural senses begin to return. The lighting directed by Kestrel suddenly stops as the needle and arm slowly and calmly lifts off the black spinner above Kestrel's IS wrist. The white glow fades and the spinner begins to rapidly slow down, Kestrel's torture of the punks is over. - All in less than 15 seconds! -

The arm and needle calmly deactivate and the spinner upon very nearly completing its task of coming to a stop is next to deactivate in a flash of blue light, along with the rest of his partialy summoned IS arm. Kestrel's anger seems to dowse itself and fade, his heart seems to beat normaly again and his blood temperature returns to its normal state, leaving the youngster awash with a nasty feeling of sudden dizziness that makes the now curious and now back to normal Kestrel stagger backwards for a second, placing a hand to the side of his temple and blinking with half open eyes, as fast as it begins Kestrel's rage seems to drain every ounce of strength from his body as a wave of tiredness hits him hard. Leaving the still screaming and thrashing punks clutching themselves tightly and laying on their sides or on their backs in agony.

"KESTREL!" - An all too familiar voice is heard shout in fear.

Kestrel blinks and turns round to the right, meeting his now curious and surprised eyes is non other that the black haired Japanese male known as Ichika Orimura, whom rushes up to the scar faced youngster as if his life depended on it. Just behind him is non other than Chifuyu, Yui and Tomoe, each and every one of the trio has the looks of worry and sickened fear on their faces. Yui and Tomoe clutch white shopping bags as they run as carefuly as they can in some comedy like manner. However when all four of the gang get to Kestrel, what greets their eyes is a truly horrible sight that causes Tomoe to go wide eyed in shock and drop everything in her hands, Yui does the same, Ichika and Chifuyu pause and get a terrible feeling of sickness hit their guts when they see the blood that is splatterd on Kestrel's face and the sight of what looks like a near murder scene.

Almost at the same time two lots of police cars appear on the scene, and when the officers see whats happened before them, the rallying call out is soon made, and whats worse... Kestrel looks like the culprit... however... unbeknowst to Kestrel... his saviour may yet come in the form of the CCTV cameras on in no less than 30 places, and of course the numberous eye wittnessess that had been watching the whole incident.

_**Well... everything seems to be going downhill for our young hero, but in life there is always hope... anyway... as promised, the next chapter will have Kestrel leaving for his firing test, so lets see how he manages to cope when under death glares and stares, it will also give Megumi the chance to speak the truth about what has happened, but WILL it be enough to prove that Kestrel was just as much a victim of everything thats happened as what she was? It will also give as a good idea of what its like to be a fugitive under heavy law and military gaurd.**_

_**Okay... Please remember to read and review, if anyone has any requests, please feel free to speak out. Right... thats it for now, stick around everyone and stay frosty. Remember I wish you all the best and may your own fics get the best reviews in return.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	72. Chapter 72: Hospital visit

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned with a fresh chapter, its been a few days I know but you readers all know the drill. Okay... as I promised, this chapter sees the beginning of our little Kestrel's Promethus firing test, though it does not show the actual firing yet... it is a good start to prepare for the big event, All right, now I won't bother everyone with introductions please read away.**_

_**You know... writing all this does take it out of you! So I don't every now and then appreciate some acknowledgement - like a thanks! - ( Author's exhausted yawn to follow ).**_

_**Also, thanks a bunch to you guys that follow me, its good for morale.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 72:

**\- C-17 Globemaster, 04:40am, 20,000ft over the pacific ocean, 34 miles south west off mainland Japan -**

Flying in a diamond formation is a twin pair of silver shinning F-22 Raptor fighter jets, in the middle of all four aircraft that make the diamond formation is a large military grey coloured C-17 Globemaster III, the roar of the military aircraft engines would put even the greatest sounding car engine to shame and make it un-hearable if one was outside and heard the noise. The sky is clear blue with scattered white clouds, typical of a beautiful summer day. All five military aircraft remain in close formation, looking like noisy phantoms, not flinching or changing course, even when faced with light or moderate cross winds or turbulance.

However, its not the external view of the sight that makes this flight look so heavily important, its was within it. Inside the large C-17 Globemaster, can be what many would say... "Is the most powerful and unstable youngster's ever born on planet earth", and in many ways, that statement would right, but only up to a point. True... umongst the passengers that this large military transport carries, is a youngster that is strong but to say mentaly unstable would be a criminal accusation.

**\- C-17 Interior, cargo bay -**

Sat at the front of a large strapped down canvas crate in light blue airliner passenger seats directly in the centre of the aircraft cargo bay is the mighty Japanese female Chifuyu Orimura, sat directly to her on her left is the female German ace, Clarissa Harfouch, both females sitting in a very strict manner and apparently discussing what can only be described as vital and important IS buisness. Nobody else sits with the two females at the very front of the cargo bay, but behind the pair in equal rows of 4 seats sit, numberous men and women wearing very important looking office attire, clearly being members of authority, whom too look and quietly discuss what can only be described as 'Buisness matters'.

The black haired Ichika Orimura sits on is own at the very back of the forward row and in front of the canvas crates, a glum and sorrowful look is on his face as he looks down at the back of the light blue airliner seats in front of him. Multipule thoughts rush through his mind, and his heart is heavy with sorrow and worry, not for his own welfare, but for his small scar faced friend whom seems to be taking the brunt of bad luck recently. Every now and then Ichika with his sorrowful gaze would sigh with frustraition and close his eyes, the Japanese male would shake his head and slowly turn his head to the left to try and look behind the canvas crate behind him.

As Ichika is aware of, recently his small scar faced Israeli friend has been involved in what looked like a very serious incident that in many ways looked like a murder scene on a mass scale. Every time Ichika closes his chocolate brown eyes, the sight of seeing Kestrel's confused and 'what looked like' distressed face covered with a splatter of blood appears in his mind. To counter it Ichika has attempted not to blink or close his eyes, the Japenese male's heart is a mass of fear in hopes that he won't fall asleep on this flight, the last thing he needs is to have a real bad nightmare of the sight.

As Ichika strains to look behind the canvas crate with a worried face, he can't belive for a second that Kestrel was a villian in this matter, the child maybe many things, but he is not - and more importantly - does NOT seem to have the ability to simply spill blood and badly hurt somebody for no reason... he CAN'T be the villian and deep down Ichika is screaming these words, though he would really like to unbuckle his saftey belt and rush up to his big sister and object to Kestrel's innocence, he knows painfuly, that it would not get him anywhere. Chifuyu seems to have washed her hands clean of the matter and has declared Kestrel the villian in this matter, but maybe... unbeknownst to Ichika, the ponytailed female had no choice but to do that, not that Ichika would understand, due to the said male being so good hearted, but Chifuyu is a responsible female, and with responsibility comes painful choices that have to be followed, and if making Kestrel look like the bad guy was the only way to stop any further nasty ressults from happening, Chifuyu has lived up to her title.

Serious as it was, it can be considered a miracle that Kestrel was in the position he was in, his vulnerabilty, medical records, mental diagnossis, and powerful IS kept him out of being in the possibility of being thrown into a young offender's prison for months... or worse... gone to court and being placed under the terrorist or serious criminal charges. So as horrible as it was for Kestrel to be on the reciving end of the Japanese law, the kid has had a lucky break, but even then... its come at a price, as a ressult, Chifuyu has been forced to take legal actions in having to allow for law enforcement agents to tag along with her and Ichika to Kestrel's Prometheus firing test.

Whats worse, Kestrel is now under heavy armed gaurd, sure... Yui is permitted to be with Kestrel, but if the law had its way, Kestrel would now probably be in a detention facility, but on the plus side... Kestrel is hardly considered a person that can be beaten, his IS and fighting skill is proof of it, and as a bonus to some good news, the firing test was considered priority one, so in terms of freedom, little Kestrel still has it. If only that incident had not occured... Ichika would now be allowed to sit with Kestrel and enjoy the flight together, the fact of Ichika's stress is proven as the Japanese male gives up from trying to look behind him and with yet another stressful sigh, looks forward and places his face in his hands.

As Ichika takes his face from out of his hands, the said male proceedes to close his eyes, lean his head back against the fabric of his seat and before he knows, the feeling of relaxation, matched by the humming sounds that the C-17 produces sends the said Japanese male into a dreamless slumber, but that can't be considered Ichika's fault, after all... ever since Kestrel's unfortuneate scrap along with the timming schedual on when to leave house, Ichika has hardly gotten any sleep, but when one is stressed... loosing sleep is a common thing to happen.

Meanwhile with Chifuyu and Clarissa the discussion that is occuring is one that Ichika would sure as hell be relieved not to hear, so it can be considered a very good thing that the said male is sat on his own all the way at the back of the front row, otherwise more stress and sorrow would surely take hold. The discussion revolves around non other than the scar faced Kestrel himself, and above all else, his BLACK PHOENIX IS. In many ways its a chance for Clarissa and Chifuyu to personaly prepare themselves for what they may see during Kestrel's firing test, and with serious look that Clarissa holds on her face as she pulls out a black laptop, its a very, very bad one.

Clarissa's face is a mix of fear, worry and seriousness, the frown itself does not fail to hide away all her fears and axiousness, though her serious facial expression is one of a person whom is cool and collected to some extent, the German woman is a mass with nerve. Even as Clarissa types away on the laptop keys, the said German female ends up every now and then coming to a complete halt, then going back to correct and error that was just made. Chifuyu herself easily notices Clarissa's slip ups and knows all too well that something is bugging her old German friend, for all the time she has known Clarissa, Chifuyu has come to notice that when ever Clarissa is on edge, she stubbles on things such as typing. As far as the blue haired German woman is concerned, for Chifuyu to be sat so cool and collected is beyond anybody's guess.

Though Chifuyu frowns and casts a glance to her right at the German female before her, Chifuyu's vocal tone is low, cool and as usual, straight to the point - "Clarissa you've been acting like a bride on her wedding night since we boarded this thing this morning, are you going to tell me what it is that's got you on edge?".

Clarissa leps and very nearly lets out an un-characteristic yelp as Chifuyu speaks, her single solitary opens wide for a brief second as she snaps her eye off her laptop screen and now straight ahead at the foreward walled fusealage of the aircraft. Clarissa does however rapidly turn her head to the left to make eye contact with Chifuyu, her thin slender fingers come to a stop, the typing stops instantly as Clarissa is taken by surprise by Chifuyu's rather very well worded remarked question.

"Hm? Oh... of course how foolish of me" - Clarissa titters in a nervous manner, closing her single solitary eye and playfuly and carefuly hitting herself in the forehead with a fist as if knocking on someone's door. Though Clarissa is able to make light of the situation, Chifuyu is unable to see the humor, and merely responds by turning her head to look the eye patched Clarissa in the face, frowning and remaining silent.

"Ahh... right... ahh... Of course, please look at what I've discovered!" - Clarissa speaks in a nervous and awkward manner, the laptop that the German female owns is placed neatly on her lap, and is soon taken back in the German woman's hands. The ponytailed Chifuyu maintains her serious frown, her arms are folded and her legs are crossed as the mighty Japanese female looks down at the German woman's laptop.

Clarissa now with a slightly anxious look on her face looks down at her laptop, numberous box icons, highlighted images, flashes and sounds of clicks echo and occur as Clarissa selects and types away on her laptop key pad. After a total of 10 minutes, Clarissa, leans her head back, rolls her single solitary eye upwards and lets out a nervous huff. Silence follows onwards with the German woman saying nothing, until after a moment... Clarissa lowers head back to its natural position, looks at Chifuyu with a mixed emotional look which is very un-befitting of her character and in a low, solemn tone speaks the words -

"Okay Instructor Orimura, what I'm about to tell you is something that I know MUST be told, but I warn you... you won't like what I have to say!".

"Let me be the one to worry about any bad news, anything you've found out about the kid's IS, I need to know about!" - Chifuyu replies in her usual strict tone of authority.

Clarissa turns her head away and looks at the 3D diagram that was on her screen just days earlier, various data boxes are playing and displayed before the German woman's face. From where she is sitting, Chifuyu can see the red 360 degree circles presented over what looks like a satellite image of Amami Island, and though Chifuyu hasn't been told anything of what Clarissa has discovered her heart seems to freeze as an aura of grimness seems to radiate off the eye patched German woman on her right.

Clarissa takes a moment to compose herself, before blinking with her single solitary eye, as she turns her head to the left to look at Chifuyu, a very strict and serious look is on her face, but beneath the serious expression, Chifuyu can see the terror that washes and rolls in the German female's eye, and even though Clarissa seems to remain still, Chifuyu notices a twitch of terror that causes the German female's fingers to jink and twitch slightly, even a slight tremble is noticed by Chifuyu.

"Okay Instructor... I won't waste time, but I feel this firing test of the Israeli boy must not take place!" - Clarissa explains in a serious manner.

"Why?" - Chifuyu replies in a flat and equal strict manner, maintaining eye contact with the German female on her right.

"The data that I've managed to gather on this child's IS weaponry is unlike anything that I've ever seen before, I don't like to say it but... I feel that the power that this child's IS weapon holds has the potential to utterly wipe out the city of New York city in just one blast!". - Clarissa responds in a serious yet highly nervous manner.

"So I believe already... but that doesn't get us anywhere... If there is any real data that we can rely on, I want to hear it!" - Chifuyu states back in return with a tone that clearly gives away growing levels of irritated anger.

"Please... let me explain properly instructor Orimura" - Clarissa replies in a tone of authority but clearly has hints of desperation, which turns out to be Clarissa's ace up the sleeve that allows her to speak freely as Chifuyu indicates with the rapid raise of the eyebrows but remains silent, clearly showing her strict nature, but also the image that she is interested in what Clarissa has to say, which Clarissa responds to litteraly instantly.

Clarissa says nothing at first and shifts her attention towards her laptop, the sounds of the woman's slender fingers typing away on the keypad is the only sounds that Chifuyu can hear for the best part of two minutes, before finaly, after making one last glance at the mighty Japanese female on her left, Clarissa turns her Laptop round slightly on her lap to give the ponytailed Chifuyu a chance to get a good view of the rough but well prepared data and animated graph feed back. The first thing that Chifuyu is greeted with is a black, blank laptop screen with a flashing Play icon, after 20 seconds of bleeping a round loading icon appears in the middle of the screen, followed shortly by large white Japanese letters that translate as 'Play back started'. Clarissa begins to talk in a very calm explination tone as her laptop plays back what she has been dreading to show Ichika's older, strict and serious sister.

"Its not just a major city that this child's IS could destroy, but surrounding landscape... the power calculated indicates that the child's IS weaponry has the combined energy of over two of the most powerful nuclear bombs that this planet has ever experianced. The destruction that just a test shot could inflict could totaly wipe the island of Amami off the map!" - Clarissa explains in a cold, grim and nervous manner.

Less than a few seconds later, as soon as the laptop screen begins to show graphs and pie charts in differant colours, Clarissa continues in her cold, un-characteristic nervous tone -

"Look... I've studied every last scrap of available information that I managed to retrieve from the child's IS, and this is total calculated ressults that I've managed to form... firstly just the sound of the explosion that the child's IS weapon will produce will be amoungst the loudest noises that world will ever know, so loud that it will be heard in Russia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, the Philipines and even Australia, anything living thing within a fifteen hundred mile radius of the sound waves will be deafened, from that point on, it will be the vibrations of the sound waves and distant sounding crack that will cause the most disruptions and maybe even damage, that will travel for over six thousand miles before fading".

As Clarissa speaks, a satellite view of Amami island appears before Chifuyu's eyes, a 360 degree dotted circle forms above the satellite photograph. Data bars matched with red lines that point to numberous points on the dotted circle, the inside and even outside radius appear. Any small words are noted in small red letters, but Chifuyu chooses not to red them, what catches the said female's attention is a pitch white circle that completley engulfs Amami island and the nearby two smaller flanking islands, Chifuyu says nothing as Clarissa gulps nervously and continues her explinations -

"Secondly... The flash of light that the explosion will produce, will be visible for over one thousand, two hundred miles, anyone nearby who's hearing is protected will need sunglasses just to try and see the ressulting blast, or risk getting permanent blindness".

Once again, as Clarissa speaks, another round circle appears over the satellite image of the Ryukyu islands, this time coloured in blue and covering an equal calculated radius that is presented before Chifuyu over the satellite imaged map. Still... Chifuyu says nothing and remains silent as Clarissa continues to explain after a brief pause.

"Thirdly... I've calculated that the child's IS weapon will destroy anything on a thirty mile radius, Third degree burns will be spread on a one hundred and twenty eight mile radius, The centre of the explosion will have heat so intense, it would be hotter than the surface of the sun. On a radius of twenty miles, the wind generated will reach over six hundred miles per hour, on a radius of one hundred and eighty miles the shock waves and wind will knock anyone off their feet and cause windows to shatter, also a blast front of flame and power will spread for two thousand miles on a three hundred and sixty degree radius, that will move at over two hundred times the spead of sound".

Yet again, as Clarissa speaks, more coloured circles appear over the satellite image of the Ryuku islands. Chifuyu herself now becomes stunned with silence, her scowl has grudaly begun lifting as the presented images and Clarissa's words hit home like nuclear warheads, causing the woman to go white with a very pale and nervous expression, not a whisper escapes her lips, even as Clarissa ends her explinations.

"Lastly... The last hazard that this test produces is the possibility of a tsunami, one with a wave that could messure nearly fifty or sixty feet. Mainland Japan will be effected, and those whom are not warned of the incoming wave will surely perish. If you want my opinion instructor Orimura, this child's IS has the power that can best be compared to an asteriod from outer space, does not matter where it hits, if its powerful enough, nothing would survive in its blast area, not even bacteria!"

As Clarissa finishes speaking, nothing but silence is exchanged between both females, Chifuyu's face has a very un-characteristic expression of terror, her colour has drained. Clarissa merely holds her head low and swallows a gulp, and though Clarissa does not do it pyshicaly, deep down in her heart and in her mind the German female is running around hands on head, screaming at the top of her lungs. Never the less, the closed eyes, and the look on her shows her feelings that ressemble a moment known as 'I can't look!', its a perfect indicatation as into the seriousness of the situation.

"...My god!" - Chifuyu whispers with a now wide eyed expression, her heart seems to stop beating and her breathing ability seems to cease in an instant as she looks at the data readouts being presented before her eyes. All colour in her face is gone, and though Chifuyu maintains a slight serious expression, its hopeless for the woman to deny that for the first time in years, since when she heard that her younger brother had been abducted, one large emotional flame is burning and screaming in the woman's body... and that's fear.

"I.. I...its all a calculated theory, but as to what is going to happen, I.. I c.. can't tell for sure" - Clarissa stutters, allowing Chifuyu to take the laptop from her lap. As the ponytailed female takes Clarissa's laptop and with a serious but worried face, matched with beads of pure anticipation and fright, begins to type away and study the data that Clarissa has gathered.

As the sounds of clicking on laptop keys echo and fill the German woman's ears, a terrible god awful feeling of wanting to vomit churns and rolls in her stomach and throat. Its as if Clarissa is wanting to be sick, but as much as she wishes to do so, her body and internal organs will not respond to her mind's commands. Instead all Clarissa does is let out a heavy frustraited sigh, the woman leans her head back and presses her back into her seat in a stressed manner.

However, just a few seconds later as Chifuyu proceedes to focus on the laptop, glareing and stareing in an intense and intent manner at the laptop screen to read and scan the data readouts that the laptop has to show, Clarissa... stressed with worry and panic, matched with a worried expression, leans her body to one side, the said German female strains with her head to look down the row of seats that lead towards the scar faced Kestrel. Though Clarissa can't see Kestrel, the German woman is clearly a mass of nerves, however... just like Chifuyu... the said German female manages to keep it remarkably under control, but of course that is only to some extent, as Clarissa's hands tremble slightly, and her right leg begins to jiggle up and down rapidly, her nerves seem to have full control over her body, and one thing is for sure... if the blue haired, eye patched woman had her way, was not in the military and was not at her current military rank, Clarissa would be screaming at the top of her lungs and running around like chicken on fire or worse... has just lost its head.

As Clarissa looks straight ahead again, the woman closes her eye and in a motion of stress, lifts her hands to her face, soon proceeding to cover her face with her hands, the German woman leans her head back and proceedes to slump backwards as much as possible. If the seats reclined, Clarissa would be laying perfectly flat on her back by now.

For Chifuyu however, her world seems to be coming to an end... her heart seems to be frozen stiff, a cold chill has crawlen up her spine, it can be considered all but impossible by her fans to get the all mighty Chifuyu on edge, but that would be fan propaganda, in the end... Chifuyu is the same as anybody, ONLY human, and as such can never turn off her human emotions no matter how much she says that she can.

"A.. Actually... I can't be sure... but according to the data that I managed to pick up, but its a rough possibility that the child's IS weapon may go beyond even that!" - Clarissa stutters, the military German female looks down at the floor of the C-17, her hands are clasped together, fingers of one hand between the gaps of the others on the other hand.

"That isn't for sure! According to the data what we may see will be as far as it goes!" - Chifuyu replies whilst keeping her eyes narrowed and fixed on the laptop screen.

To think that a simple ten year old boy with mental trauma would be able to cause this much heart ache and fear would be totally unbelieveable to the outside world, first of all the scar faced Kestrel had came to the IS academy an emotional and mental nervous wreck, then the said child having being discovered to not only have PTSD but a pyschologic battle beserk button was given a generation six IS, then the said youngster's IS was found to have a death star killing potential... and now... its possible that this child not only may end up being a threat to humanity, but also may end up having to live an even more misserable life under custody of the authorities.

Everything is unbelieveable... if only little Kestrel's IS could be removed from him without risking his life, that would be a huge weight of Chifuyu's chest, and if that isn't bad enough the said scar faced youngster is already in trouble for causing horrific bodily harm to some civilians back in mainland Japan. If Kestrel causes a national catastrophe, even if it is un-intentional then its a good bet that the child may end up sealed away in some experimental facility, and if the child was to break out then the little one would be declared public enemy number one. Not only would Ichika refuse to speak to Chifuyu ever again, but maybe even go over the edge himself like a broken hearted parent.

Chifuyu has noticed many things about Ichika, and though he never says it, Chifuyu can see it in Ichika's eyes. Her younger brother really cares for Kestrel, cares for him as if he's his own younger brother. Yui herself cares for Kestrel, but like a true caring mother and though Tomoe and Megumi are not with the group, both females are romanticaly interested in the youngster. In truth there is a lot of horrible factors to take in, and Chifuyu is all too aware of it, but for the moment at least... everything is completley out of her hands. Though Chifuyu has been very cold and done nothing but cast serious glares at him... Chifuyu, just like Ichika... can't believe for a second that Kestrel was to blame for what happened with those people in the city just hours earlier, but untill this problem is cleared up... all Chifuyu can do is wait, and focus on one crisis at a time.

On the plus side, there is some hope for the scar faced boy, if Kestrel can prove that he can understand the laws and rules of Japan, and is pyschologicaly fit for being a free person umongst the Japanese people, then maybe... just maybe... everything thats happened with Kestrel can be wipped clean, all the youngster has to do is just pass this firing test and respond in a way that the people of IS management and of national safety believe is acceptable... but with Kestrel having PTSD and a nervous reaction problem to certain situations, everything is looking very, very bleak.

For the rest of the flight, Chifuyu does or says nothing aloud, but instead engages in very low verbal conversation with the eye patched Clarissa whom responds to Chifuyu's words in a very low and solemn manner, both females converse with very serious expressions on their faces, being as clear but as silent as possible, trying to make sure the wrong ears don't pick up their words.

**\- With Kestrel and Yui -**

Just like Ichika and Chifuyu, The black haired beauty known as Yui is a mass with nerves, and just like Ichika and Chifuyu is concerned for the scar faced Kestrel whom looks down at the floor of the C-17 with a sorrowful expression, the child's head is low and a sad and depressed look is on his face, as if he's just lost someone very important to him from a sudden death. Though no tears roll down his face, the child's eyes are clearly filled with flooding emotions. Not a whisper is heard come from Kestrel, the child seems to be nothing more than a depressed living corpse, but thats only to be expected, being treated in this way is all very confusing and hurtful at once.

Just like Chifuyu and Ichika, Yui herself can't believe that Kestrel's attack on those young Japanese men and women was un-provoked. Even though Kestrel had blood on his hands and face, and had left plenty of evidence suggesting that he was the sole culprit in the incident, but as she once tried to explain to Chifuyu... Kestrel hasn't even had the chance to explain his version of the tale. Had Chifuyu been in Yui's shoes, the said ponytailed female would be feeling like a complete idiot right now for the way she is acting, because unlike many... Yui has tried to find out the full story of what happened in the city yesterday, and more importantly... her questioning has payed off, Kestrel has spoken, and whats more... everything he says is the same, over and over again.

What Yui has gathered paints a very believeable story, from what Kestrel has explained... 'Megumi got into a fight with a stranger, he stayed out of the fight, then more strangers appeared and started to really hurt Megumi, he felt rage and fear at seeing Megumi getting hurt, one of the strangers walked up to him with a knife and was about to slash him when something happened which he can't understand, he suddenly became unable to think and then when he came round, he had done what he had done to those strangers, and thats it'.

From what Yui can calculate with serious frown on her face, Kestrel was attempting to protect Megumi, though Yui has only ever seen Kestrel react in a mallicious way when coming under attack in an IS stadium, the said woman can clearly believe Kestrel's reaction to when coming under attack by a stranger, after all... that is what a wild animal does, and from what she has noticed, the said long haired child is like a wild animal, un-tamed, nervous and willing to fight when cornered, or to protect its young or even family group.

Another factor in this case is that if Kestrel was guilty of being the criminal, the child would have run from the scene, and the child did NOT run from the scene, and if anything... although Kestrel is mature for his age, he isn't old enough to know how to act like the victim if guilty, another clue to help reinforce this theory is the fact that Kestrel's emotions, responses and acting is perfect of a distraut victim, so if Kestrel was guilty of attacking those people in the city yesterday, then he would not of done it unless being pushed to that point from the start.

However, just like Ichika, Yui dares not say a word nor moves from her spot for the moment, and with good reason, firstly... anything Yui would say would be a waste of breath and time, and it wouldn't be a good subject to continue discussing at a time like this. Secondly... Yui is considered a very important piece of the IS experiment that Kestrel is about to take part in, and if anything both she and the scar faced youngster are under heavily armed gaurd. Lastly... there isn't enough evidence to suggest Kestrel's innocence of the incident... for the moment at least.

All Yui can do for the moment is place a her right hand lovingly on Kestrel's smaller left hand. The pair sit side by side, Kestrel sits with his small hands on his lap. The scar-faced youngster lifts his head fairly instantly, turns to look at the older woman's hand placed on his own, soon followed by the youngster lifting his head in a turn to the left to look up at Yui. Meeting his somewhat surprised face is non other than the cheerful comforting face of his office dressed translator. Yui and Kestrel stare eye to eye, neither makes the slightest whisper, but the eye contact alone is the perfect antidote for the distress poision that both feel utterly distressed by.

Neither Yui or Kestrel look anywhere else, not to the left and not to the right due to the fact that what meets them is rows of U.S and Japanese Self defence troops, each armed with submachine guns and in full military dress, including helmets. Every time Kestrel and Yui make the slightest movement its either one or a number of troops that raise their firearms to their faces, face masks cover each and every single soldier's nose and mouth, leaving only the eyes expossed. Each and every single gun on Kestrel's right is trained on the youngster's head, its the same on Yui's left, everytime she moves the clicking sound of a safety catch being pulled down or hammer on the back of a handgun echoes throughout the C-17 interior. Pitch black gun barrels shine and gleam in the light that is inside the C-17 interior.

Many SDF troops are dressed in black combat dress, whilst U.S marines are dressed in green combat camoflage, it does not take a rocket scientist to realise that these men are NOT amature people in combat uniform but real, conventional, fully trained and equiped combat troops. Ready to pull the trigger and put a bullet into Kestrel's head in an instant, but that is only half of all troops on board the C-17, the other half is military escort. Those that are doing the escort are sat weapons in hand, many remain frozen on the spot like statues, showing the intense discipline that has been delt to these men. One thing is for sure, if Kestrel was considered a cargo of gold, then he would be the ultimate spoils of war, and to get to him would mean having to deal with some of the most heavily trained and disciplined people on earth.

Sat behind both Yui and Kestrel are numberous people in black suits, many wear sunglasses ressembling those that many would consider being called goverment agents or U.S CIA. Each and every single one of those people are sat behind both Yui and Kestrel in the after rows of seats, ahead of them is three more rows of slightly indenitical people, apart from the differance of not wearing any sunglasses and appear to be just people of buisness, but in truth, those adult men and women are maybe far more than that. Three men whom appear middle aged and are of Japanese origin wear brown trench coats and bear a striking ressemblance to what one would expect a detective to wear. All three males have serious scowls on their faces, if they are part of the law enforcement, then they haven't come alone, a total of 5 more office like people are sat umongst them, 4 of which look like buisness women.

In all truth, whom ever they are, they haven't been the best of company for both the scar faced and traumitised Kestrel and his beautiful translator, some sent the troubled Kestrel fierce looking glares, nobody said a thing to either Kestrel or Yui, so the mood has been along the lines of 'Not Welcome'.

Deep down Yui is screaming in anger and distress, this is more than incorrect, Kestrel is a ten year old child with PTSD, his mind is in the fragile state of healing from torture and horrors, and instead all that the child is getting is more and more distress and negative pressure. Sure... Kestrel is a formidable foe when it comes to fighting with IS or coming down to any other form of fighting, but the child is vulnerable... confused, does not know any better and above all else only reacts defensively... in other words, unless the child isn't coming under attack, the youngster is harmless.

Kestrel can say the same when it comes down to currant emotional feeling, the child's small heart is beating rapidly in fear, the child has had a gun trained and fired upon him before, and is constantly waiting to hear the ear piercing bang that will surely mean the death of somebody or worse, the end of his life. Kestrel's mind is a blur with multipule thoughts, above all the main thought that is rushing through his small head is the cheerful and friendly face of Ichika, then changing to the face of Tomoe. The youngster lowers his head to look down upon the ground again, a horrible and sickening feeling of worry and distress forms in the Israeli youngster's gut, a slight tremble runs up Kestrel's small arm.

Yui's comforting smile drops instantly and a worried look once again forms on her face, the woman keeps her sorrowful and worried facial look as Kestrel leans his head back and proceedes to close his ocean blue eyes. The youngster does not make the slightest whisper as he attempts to relax in the most comfortable way possible. Yui makes a brief smile upon looking at the child lean back and attempt to relax. Yui's smile however does not last for long as the woman sighs in frustraition, blinks, briefly closes her eyes and looks away, but her hand remains placed upon that of Kestrel's.

As Yui straightens her posture and leans back in her seat, a surprisingly fierce scowl appears on her face as she turns to her left and proceedes to fiercely glare down the rows of sat down U.S marines and SDF troops whom remain frozen on the spot, but at least they lower their weapons, but that is only because of seeing Kestrel lean back in his seat and close his eyes. Inside Yui is roaring and screaching in bloodthirsty anger, as far as the office woman is concerned, Kestrel is being held like a caged animal, totaly NON-befitting of another human being whom hasn't even had a chance to show his true colours, and from what Yui has seen, the youngster's true colours are non-hostile to anybody on this aircraft that both she and Kestrel travel upon.

Yui does not keep her fierce glare upon these troops for long, just the very sight of their military uniform, helmets, goggles, gloves, combat vests and firearms is causing the said woman to become ever more enraged. Eventualy the office female leans her head back also and attempts to follow Kestrel's example, for the rest of the flight both Yui and Kestrel suffer the horrible,  
and maddening silence due to lack of conversation, all that fills the pair's ears is nothing but the humming sound of the C-17 itself.

**\- Six hours later - Back in Japan, Metropolitan District Hospital, 8th floor, women's accident and emergency ward, 10:40am -**

Sat down on a soft padded light green chair, the dark blue haired Tomoe sits looking down at the floor with a worried expression on her face. The girl sits just mere inches away from a pair of large white doors with clear square window panes. A silver plate rests on the edges of each door where both come close to contact, only the thin space seperates the doors from touching. On Tomoe's right, as many as 10 more people sit, backs pressed against green padded seating, the metal seat frames bolted against the pure white wall. Each person stareing into space or looking at a nearby silver clock above the entrance doors to the medical ward to which Tomoe's big sister rests.

Nothing but the sounds of footsteps on the floor, light chatter from medical staff and the newly introduced sound from a desk phone fills the air. Tomoe remains silent as the grave, the said female is dressed in a long white summer dress, a wicker summer hat is upon her head. Amazingly, despite the summer heat, the hospital always seems to be the coolest place in summer and warmest in the winter, but that is likely due to good coolers and heaters. Though the comfortable temperatures maybe soothing for Tomoe's output... the comfort of temperatures can't do the same for the girl's IN. Ever since yesterday Tomoe has been a misserable as a dog which has just had its testicles removed.

The Japanese beauty keeps her head low and a depressed expression is on her face. Though Tomoe sits in a very lady like manner, the girl's facial expression is of a woman with a broken heart, but that is only to be expected, yesterday was a very eventful day filled with shock and awe. The Japanese female had reacted to the sight very badly, the said female feel to her knees and screamed as loud as her lungs would allow when she saw her big sister laying flat on the pavement outside the shopping mall yesterday, the screaming punks crying and begging for relief from the pain that they had been subjected to by Kestrel as well as the girl that lay on her back covered in blood with severed arms, continues to replay, over and over again in her mind.

To say that Tomoe thought before she acted would be un-true, sadly. In her haste and in her mind's eye, she immediately came to believe that Kestrel himself had done something and was in all truth responsible for what had happened yesterday, as a ressult Tomoe had kept her distance away from Kestrel, had even avoided eye contact and was more than happy to see a office attire dressed officer of the law lead him to a nearby police car, Ichika and Yui were the only ones that followed and accompanied the youngster. Since yesterday, Tomoe has had question after question fired at her in regards of Kestrel by officers and inspectors of the law... and only NOW... does Tomoe begin to see the possibility of what happened yesterday.

The first image and belief that Kestrel had probably had a turn brought upon him by strangers was first to hit home, but it was only when Tomoe realised that the white haired Rika was a part of what happened, did Tomoe finally smell some of the perfume. Now putting her mind to it... Tomoe clearly begins to remember that the people that Kestrel had attacked yesterday were Rika's friends and that when Megumi has always had the worst of relations with those people, so maybe its no surprise that an incident like this has taken place. Though Tomoe is in two minds as to what could have happened, the said Japanese female feels like stabbing herself in the face with a railroad spike. The blood smeared on Kestrel's face and confused look the child had when he was convinced to head away with officers of the law... everything... begins to fall into place, and though Tomoe still does not know what to believe... the female now begins to think of a possibility that yesterday... she would NOT have believed, Kestrel was a victim, NOT the culprit.

Just like Yui, Tomoe begins to notice clear things as she replays the incident in her head over and over again, Kestrel's lack of running from the scene, the confused and surprised face, the works! Deep down Tomoe is screaming in two versions, one is that Kestrel was guilty, another... that Kestrel was innocent. This is one of the reasons as to why Tomoe is in such a hurry to visit her sister so early in the morning. According to hospital staff, Megumi's treatment was not considered vital and serious, so the said female shouldn't take long to leave hospital care, and if anything Megumi will be perfectly capeable of talking, and as she was a victim in this case, what she says will be considered a vital piece of evidence and a first hand account to tell Tomoe for sure, if the Israeli youngster she now slightly doubts, was infact the victim... or not.

It seems to be an eternity before eventualy, a white uniformed nurse with a kind, sweet and careing expression on her face opens the doors to Megumi's ward in and in a cheerful tone speaks the words - "Okay, Visitors are welcome!".

Tomoe springs to her feet fast as lightning, surprising not only the white dressed nurse with black hair in a short ponytail, but also some of the visitors, whom have never seen a person spring to their feet so fast. Ironicaly, at the same time, Tomoe's concerns shift slightly from yesterday towards the concern for her older sister, but as the said Japanese walks into the white walled ward, in which one of the green sheeted beds rests her big sister, Tomoe begins to think of how Megumi is going to look, last she saw her big sister, she looked a nasty mess... and though Tomoe was compelled to accompany the said female to the hospital, Tomoe was that shocked that she was unable to find the strength to follow on. Which in all reality, is understandable and Tomoe can't be blamed for her emotional state, it is after all human nature.

As Tomoe slows her approach down to a rapid walking pace as she quickly glances to the left and to the right, scanning the many differant women and young females that look at her with neutral expressions of wonder, thoughts begin to rush through her mind, ironicaly, one of which is when she last came to the hospital. Tomoe remembers it very well, at the time she was only six years old and it was just a few weeks after Megumi's tenth birthday. Megumi had the misfortune to eat something which in a terrible stroke of fortune contained mild hazardous ingrediants, which in turn had ressulted in Megumi suffering mild food poisioning. All the while Megumi was in hospital in the child's ward, she had been kept under observation, and even though this happened years ago, Tomoe can't help but wonder if Megumi has been under observation once again, if so... then Tomoe is in for a real treat, in a bad way... because although its the best for her, Megumi in a 100% saying, detests hospital food!

Thinking this to herself Tomoe smiles in a giddy affectionate manner as she walks in a now peaceful manner down the rows of beds, still looking left and right for her big sister, after all, as far as Tomoe is concerned its worth coming to hospital just to see what her older sister looks like in Hospital pyjamas, if anything Tomoe will have a good laugh when it comes to pointing out how stupid Megumi will be looking.

These days and age, Tomoe does not even look at her sister as if she is weak, Megumi after all is not the type of person one would call weak. The said Japanese female has the ability to talk her way out of a room with no doors and seems to have an aura of invicibility when it comes to being out on the streets. All this comes to play on Tomoe's mind in just a few second corridor, causing the Japanese beauty to hold her worried and depressed look ever deeper, but as she thinks to herself, a small affectionate smile forms on her face.

( "She's never been in hospital before, apart from when we were just kids. Heck! She's terrified of Hospitals, so maybe coming here will help her face her fears... Even when she was fourteen, she never went into hospital, I remember the time she got stabbed outside a dance hall, mother nearly fainted from shock when she came home with her shirt all covered in blood... I can't blame her... I nearly started crying when I saw the four inch gash in her shoulder, and even then... she never went into hospital!" ) - Tomoe thinks to herself in a glum manner, but then, as she contines to think, the smile becomes ever brighter as a feeling of pure impressment hits home in a much needed manner, destroying negative feelings.

( "She treated that wound herself, I remember mother insisting that she go to hospital, but instead all Megumi did was agree on reporting the case to the police. As for the wound, all she did was go to the first aid box, washed the wound, cleaned herself up, bandagaed it... Up 'till then, I suppose thats why I regarded Megumi as my heroine all through my childhood" ).

"HEY TOMO'!" - A familiar and much welcome voice calls out, causing Tomoe to jump in a startled manner slightly.

As Tomoe shoots her attention to the left, what meets her eyes is a sight that causes Tomoe to stare in awe, there... sitting upright, with a bandage around her forehead, a patch with bandaids on her left cheek, a blackened right eye and a very light dry blood patch on the right side of her lips, is non-other than Megumi. The said female sat upright with a cheery expression on her face the hospital pyjamas she wears are light green and though her lower half is covered by bed sheets, the said Japanese female looks like she is on top of the world. Megumi even has her left arm raised, the Japanese female despite her wounds and bruises happily waves her left hand above her head, much to Tomoe's surprise.

"M..Megumi... Y..You!" - Tomoe stutters, calmly walking over with a wide eyed expression, above all else Tomoe was expecting Megumi to be in a very messy state, laying down in her hospital bed and sleeping, nothing like this.

"Still the striking ressemblance to guppy fish at feeding time aren't you Tomo'!" - Megumi exclaims in a proud, confident and playful manner, lowering her arm down onto her lap, a smile is set happily on her face. In a comedy manner, Tomoe is doing exactaly as Megumi has just stated, not only is Tomoe wide eyed, but her mouth is open in a gape, stunned at the sight.

**\- 5 minutes later -**

Five minutes pass, but in that time Tomoe, despite being bewildered at her sister's amazing appearance and well condition, has managed to find the ability to sit herself down in the light brown visitor's chair just beside Megumi's bed on the left. Though Tomoe will admit it, to nobody in particular, her first reaction was to stand over Megumi's bedside, eyes wide and hands in the position that would indicate that she was on the razor's edge of strangling her older sister for worrying over nothing. Amazingly, though shocked and stunned, Tomoe has managed to avoid that motive and for the past few minutes... despite still being stunned has been able to converse with her big sister in sensible conversation, more or less about matters concerning what has happened since Megumi has been in hospital.

Though Tomoe has been filled in on some light, not very important matters, Megumi has managed to inform Tomoe of simple medical safety checks, which is made clear as Megumi makes clear by keeping eye contact with Tomoe and after a frustraited sigh speaks the words -

"So anyway... they took some samples my blood, just to check for any infections, now apparently... I'm supposed to stay in bed for twenty four hours".

"Why? Are they going to be making more tests tomorrow?" - Tomoe replies in a concerned manner, not blinking as she speaks to her big sister. Megumi's response is the raising of her arms to form the traditional 'Wha?' position, her voice is a perfect match as she rolls her eyes in a irritated manner and replies with a huff - "God knows!" -

However, Megumi's response is not yet over as she lowers her arms, regains her sat up posture and with a playful and jokeful smile, matched by an equaly jokeful tone, speaks the words -

"But looking on the bright side, I'm twelve pound, three gallons lighter than when I came here, and I have been wanting to loose some weight so I guess thats one thing!".

Tomoe's reaction is a simple face palm, how it is Megumi can be so happy and spirited in such a time like this is beyond Tomoe's guess. However, Megumi is about to change the subject, and in Tomoe's case, it isn't strictly for the better, but at least when Megumi speaks... It answers one question that Tomoe has had playing on her mind for a while. Had Tomoe not been face palming she would have seen her sister, stretching her head up as high as she can, an eager and happy smile is set on her face, and strangely... a faint blush is under her eyes as she leans to the left and then to the right, as if searching for somebody, as Megumi speaks, the tone is one of joy and eagerness -

"I noticed you came here alone, why isn't Kestrel with you? I wan't to thank him for saving my ass!"

Tomoe can't believe her ears, the Japanese beauty once again goes wide eyed, the female instantly lifts her head from out of her hands, a feeling of pure disbelief hits hard as Tomoe lifts her head to look up at her older sister in a stunned way. Deep down, Tomoe knew that Megumi was going to ask a question of Kestrel's where abouts, but NOT hearing the words that run along the lines of 'Saved my life'.

"S..Say that again Megu'!" - Tomoe replies in a calm but shocked tone, her wide eyes stare in disbelief at her older sister, whom responds instantly by looking Tomoe in the face with her usual happy and carefree smile. Above all else, Tomoe wants to be sure that she didn't just hear her big sister wrong.

"I said why isn't Kestrel with you!? I want to kiss and cuddle that kid right now! If it wasn't for him I would be six feet under by now!" - Megumi responds in a cheery tone, the faint red blush remains firm on the female's face.

For Tomoe its the senario she least expected, its as if a bullet has just hit her in the heart, the reality is hard to get over. If anything Tomoe was expecting Megumi to be cautious about the subject of knowing where Kestrel was, or at least for Tomoe's sake, speak about the subject carefuly... but no... on the other hand Megumi seems proud and excited. For Tomoe, once again, the feeling of disbelief is overwhelming, but at least this time another emotion takes place inside Tomoe, and that is 'by no surprise' a terrible feeling of guilt, stabbing the female in the heart. All this time Tomoe has been cold to the youngster and was still doubtful of him even when some evidence was screaming out, Tomoe remains frozen, looking down at the hospital floor with wide eyes, as if she has just shot or stabbed someone recklessley and now the twitching body is gushing blood on the ground before her, and whats worse... as many as a dozen people have seen her commit the crime.

"Whats wrong with you Tomo'?, you look like you've just murdered somebody in cold blood!" - Megumi states with a hand on her hip, despite being sat up straight.

However, before Tomoe has the chance to respond, another familiar, but unexpected voice causes both females to break briefly made eye contact and look over to the foot of the hospital bed, the voice is that of a woman, warm, soft and careing with a hint of jokeful happiness in her tone - "I see you two still haven't changed, still fighting like two spoiled brats as always!".

Meeting the eyes of both Megumi and Tomoe, stands a woman whom heavily ressembles both females. The woman has a beautiful face which is a perfect ressemblance to both Megumi and Tomoe, the woman has long blue hair, but the style is like that of Hatsuho from the Anime Onegai Teacher. The woman wears thin but bright red lipstick, small pearl stud ear rings, her figure is also a perfect ressemblance to that of Megumi and Tomoe, the curved hips and large bust makes the female look like an older sister of the pair. As for the clothing, the woman wears office like dress, similar to that of Yui's, but over the left shoulder of the woman is light brown leather strap leading to a brown leather bag which the woman holds happily in her left hand.

The woman smiles very, very kindly a great auror of warmth radiates off this said female. Megumi and Tomoe blink in surprise, both with stunned expressions, and then... completley at the same time, both girls speak in a bewildered tone one word -

"Mother!?"

**( Author's note: You reader's wasn't expecting that were you!? )**

_**Okay thats it for this chapter, please read and review, and don't forget to submit requests if you have any. Thanks for sticking around and also thanks a bunch to the two dudes that have just submitted my fic as one of their favorites, may our paths continue to cross! Right... this time I don't have much to say in the closing address, other than continue to stick around, I know my fic isn't number one but I am doing my best after all.**_

_**Also, let me give you readers a tip, right now its Nov 25th, so what ever you do... if you have christmas gifts to buy for friends and relatives, buy em now, and above all else expect VERY big delays from Ebay, even if its just books that you've ordered. Its going to get worse and worse so do it now before you end up suffering a rage virus in ques in stores and so on. Heck! I don't know why I put these on, but then again... I suppose it don't hurt to be a cheerful friendly guy, don't it!?**_

_**Okay... untill the next chapter, remember I'm wishing everyone the best and may your own fics get the best reviews in return.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	73. Chapter 73: Arrival in Okinawa

_**Hello everybody, Its Black Falcon 01 returning with a fresh chapter after a few day's waiting, hey... before you read take a look at all the chapter's you've covered, thats over 72 chapters and nearly 500,000 words, that's nearly half a million words, I guess that's something isn't it!? Thanks a lot for sticking around as always... because more and more drama and action is on its way as promised. Sorry about the delays, but you guys know the drill, Okay... I won't bore everyone with introductions... please read and enjoy.**_

_**Some long discussions are cut short, but that is only to get to the firing test a bit quicker, don't worry nothing important is being left out.**_

_**Also... for you writers that suffer writer's block, I feel pity for you, if you ever need some ideas or outside assistance, feel free to speak out. I won't be suffering that for a HELL of a long time, so for you readers that read this fic, fear not, I'm not going anywhere... unless of course I have an accident or if anything else difficult rears its ugly head up.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 73:

**\- Okinawa, US military Kadena air base, 16:00pm -**

{ Note: Kadena air base is a real life air base on the Island of Okinawa, images of it exist on the internet if you wish to see it }.

Sat down in a large light blue visitor's sofa, head low, hands on lap, a nervous look on his face and being utterly silent as the grave, the ten year old scar faced Israeli whom goes by the name of Kestrel is at this moment a nervous wreck. Reasons why are as follows, one... standing in a large white walled room with the only windows being at one end of the room, with a light green floor with no patters, stand rows of armed U.S marines, each and every one as much as five feet appart from each other and surrounding the youngster, though their backs are mere feet away from the wall, and their faces are stareing straight ahead at nothing, its clear as day that the men whom are dressed in common green patterened camoflage are NOT about to let anyone in or out of this room.

Reason two... Kestrel is on his own with nobody but Chifuyu in this room, whom sits with a serious and fierce glare on her face at the wall, her arms are crossed as is her legs, she does not make a whisper, and the silence in the room is causing the atmosphere to be so heavy, its making Kestrel physically sick, a terrible feeling of nerve is churning in his small gut, he dares not raise his head to look around, Chifuyu seems to be keeping her distance from him as does everybody else, except for Yui and Ichika whom have tried to reassure Kestrel that everything will be alright, only to cause Kestrel to be filled with ever increasing levels of desperation.

Reason three... Ever since this morning Kestrel has been treated like some wild and dangerous animal, even after landing on the C-17 when Kestrel slipped and feel when leaving the massive U.S transport/Cargo aircraft, guns were immediately trained on him. Thankfuly, Kestrel wasn't hurt, no bruises, no scuff... but even so, Kestrel could feel the barrels of the automatics pointing directly at his back and neck... being treated like a criminal is NOT a good thing.

Final reason... Kestrel knows that something serious is going on, and what's worse Kestrel does not know what it is, he has not been informed. In his small mind Kestrel is screaming and running around in terror, the main concern in Kestrel's mind is not what happened in Japan, nor is it having guns trained on him... but non other than his homeland, Israel. Kestrel's mind is screaming and praying to which ever god will listen, the child is dreading the moment when Yui walks into the room with a bunch of strange people and informs him that he has to go home to Israel, and if that be the case, Kestrel has already made a vow, if he must... he will deploy his IS and flee Japan, even if it means killing all the men in the very room he is sat in. Though Kestrel is the type of youngster whom wishes to avoid a fight, the child is NOT about to turn his back on trouble, and if it means killing to ensure his freedom against pain and persicution... then so be it. In fact, it can be considered a remarkable achievement that Kestrel hasn't lost it, panicked and massacred every last SDF soldier or U.S marine in his path just for pointing a gun at him.

Though un-knownst to Kestrel the chances of his worst fear becoming a reality is in fact just 25%, ( Not very likely ), the long haired Israeli youngster with his gleaming Star of David pendant can't be blamed for feeling the way he is, when one looks at it, Kestrel has only just escaped what can be described as a pure 'Unimagineable' past, the scars on his body are proof of the hell that the youngster has just escaped from, but as one would understand, tormentors use the tactic of threatening to find their victim and do even worse treatment, so Kestrel's fears for the moment are merely just a case of after effects of his past, just part of his PTSD.

Never the less, every second that passes is like hell for the traumitised youngster, whom is confused and nervous to maximum levels. So far since landing all Kestrel has had the chance to do is just change out of the clothing he wore yesterday and into a black T-shirt and light grey but very thin fabric joggers, his small footwear remains the same, being IS academy footwear. However apart from changing clothes in some random person's quarters, Kestrel hasn't even had the chance to eat or drink, the child didn't eat much during yesterday dinner time due to being treated in a cold way and being upset at the incident that played out. Then to top it off Kestrel didn't even eat breakfast or lunch, due to the fact that none had been layed out... and now... its getting close to dinner and it seems Kestrel won't be able to eat again.

However, in a not very surprising way, Kestrel isn't affected by the lack of eating, a child like him has gone without food for god knows how long in his past, so just 24 hours lack of food will hardly be considered a dent in Kestrel's strength, however the fact remains... in terms of treatment, its almost like a replay of what horrors Kestrel must have suffered before his arrival at the IS academy.

Thankfuly, Kestrel's waiting for a friendly face comes to an end in a relative quick manner, as the only person that would never doubt Kestrel soon opens the grey coloured room door and appears in the still room - Ichika Orimura. The Japanese male is dressed in his usual summer wear, a white shirt and black pants. The Japanese male seems to gain a large dose of happiness when his brown eyes make contact with those of Kestrel's.

As for the curious and vulnerable ten year old with long, soft black hair, the said youngster lifts his head and instantly looks over at the direction of Ichika, his glum expression now lifts to one of relief, though no smile forms on his face, the youngster rolls his eyes upwards, closes his eyes and silently lets out a held in breath that in manner of speaking was tearing the said youngster apart.

Though both males are comfortably relieved to see each other neither makes a whisper, the atmosphere is too heavy to even dare the challenge of making pleasant conversation. However, even that isn't the only reason as to why both males don't dare speak to each other. The reason why is made clear as five office men appear close behind the Japanese male, two of which wear light grey suits, with black ties, the remaining three wear common dark black coloured office attire. Each and every one of the five office men appear to have serious facial expressions, and as far as Kestrel can tell ( or feel ) a serious and strict aura is radiating off each and every office man, and though the office dressed Yui brings up the rear, the atmosphere in the room immediatley returns to its dangerous and strict manner.

Kestrel lowers his head again, a chill runs up his small spine, Ichika does not fail to notice Kestrel looking seriously uncomfortable and with a concerned look on his face, takes a few steps towards the nervous Israeli youngster, however... before Ichika manages to make it within five feet of his small Israeli friend, the Japanese male virtualy leaps backwards in alarm as Chifuyu turns her head, and eyes slightly to the right to shoot her younger brother a very serious and threatening glare, though the Japanese female remains silent, the look she shoots him is one along the lines of 'DON'T!'.

Ichika gulps, a slighty tremble shoots through his body, causing the said male to freeze dead in his tracks. Ichika and Chifuyu keep eye contact for a few seconds, which for Ichika is the worst few seconds he's felt in days, though Chifuyu has no satanic flames around her, the Japanese male feels as though he's looking into the darkest pits of hell. All in just ten seconds, all motive Ichika fells for going up and to comfort Kestrel dissapears, clearly Chifuyu is not about to let anyone interfere with preparations for Kestrel's firing test, that includes her own younger brother. It obviously comes as a big relief to Ichika's nervous and rapid beating heart when Chifuyu breaks eye contact with Ichika after sending him the non-verbal message, but that only comes when the said male proceedes to take a few steps back in a nervous manner an awkward and nervous expression is on his face.

As for Kestrel, the feeling is very grim, but soon the feeling turns to curiosity as the sounds of metal clanking is heard from outside the room, however... Kestrel does not take his nervous blue eyes off the floor and continues to remain silent. Chifuyu and Yui make eye contact with each other, as well as frowning seriously as if to acknowledge a very import signal being exchanged. Though no words are exchanged, both Yui and Chifuyu turn their heads to face the open door, Ichika whom now stands near some U.S Marines takes some steps forward, getting into a position as to get a very good look as to what is happening outside the room.

The sounds of clanking metal soon turn out to be folded up chairs being carried into the room, carrying them are yet more U.S marines, this time wearing just camoflage and military caps, yet each of the five U.S Marines wear pitch black belts with holsters for 9mm Berettas as well as scabbards for their military combat knives. One thing is for sure, if the silver haired German female Laura was here, the said girl would feel at home, or at the most - feel in heaven, but thankfuly the said female is absent, which as far as Ichika is concerned is the finest bit of luck he could ever have experianced on earth! The last thing Ichika wants is to have his self proclaimed lover buzzing around, strutting with pride and going into one of her lectures as to why she is the best 'so called' husband he could ever hope to have, and that there is no need for him to look at the other girls.

These thoughts are soon replaced with ones of nerves and suspense as the five U.S marines open the metal chairs, metal clanking echoes loud and proud throughout the the room, yet nobody except Ichika and Kestrel flinch, for Ichika this is just way too bizzare. For Kestrel on the other hand, everything is just getting worse and worse, more and more frightening stuff is happening, and whats worse, he hasn't got a clue on why its happening. For at least 10 minutes, no words are exchanged and all that fills the room is the sound of the room door closing, the hard steps of the marine boots as the Marines take steps backward and stand ridgedly at ease, and the sounds of brief cases opening as the five office men sit in front of Chifuyu and Kestrel. Ichika blinks at the sight... but... thankfuly, as the Japanese male is allowed to move around, the said black haired Japanese male dashes over round the back of the sofa that rests virtually in the middle of the still and silent room.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

"Right... lets cut to the chase, You... youngster... whom ever you are, you'll be under our supervision for the next several days, you need not need to ask questions nor worry about the IS testing that you will be taking part in, just follow our instructions, do as we say, and we can promise you a quick and speedy return to Japan, do you understand that?" - One of the office men state in a tone of authority, the office man having short black hair, thick black eye brows and brown eyes, the frown on his face is one of pure strictness, matching that of Chifuyu's but clearly not as serious.

Almost instantly after he speaks, the office dressed Yui whom stands behind all five sat down men on their metal chairs, begins to repeat the message in Israeli. The office dressed woman has a very worried look on her face, but at least the said woman manages to put a very careing and loving smile on her face as she leans forward slightly making eye contact with Kestrel. Little Kestrel is slumped forward but keeps his head lifted up, the youngster keeps his own worried and nervous expression also as he blinks in a timid manner, the youngster slowly lowers and then raises his head.

"Your name is Kestrel right?" - Another of the office dressed men asks in a strict but calm and careful manner. The adult male keeps his eyes focused fully on the nervous and timid Israeli male whom blinks every now and then, the child does not say a word in response when once again, Yui repeats the question in Israeli, but merely lowers and raises his head in a timid manner.

"The IS testing that you will be taking part in is being directed by Shinonono Tabane, she'll be waiting for you with some of her assistants in the next room, but before you meet her we need to set something straight with you, something in the terms of understanding what you are expected to do... what you are allowed to do, and what you are not allowed to do... is that understandable?"  
\- The Office male continues.

Once again, Yui repeats the office man's words in Israeli, and once again... the young and timid Kestrel, with his Star of David pendant shinning elegantly in the light that fills the room, merely lowers and raises his head in acknowledgement to Yui's words.

For as long as twenty minutes, Ichika's ears are filled with phrase, after phrase, after phrase in Japanese, soon repeated in Israeli by the office dressed Yui... not a whisper comes from Kestrel. Ironically, Ichika seems to fail to hear every word that is being said to him as his mind begins to wander and go onto other things, but that is understandable... a lot has happened in the last 48 hours. What is on Ichika's mind is what has happened just recently, every time Ichika lowers his head and blinks, he sees the sight of what happened in the city yesterday. The blood that was splattered on Kestrel's face, the burning gouge in the ground, the screaming punks, the girl that was laying on her back thrashing and screaming with her arms severed clean off, continues to play back over and over again in his mind.

Everything else, being the short journey to the police station, being questioned, then being allowed to leave by the female detective after a short conversation was exchanged with Chifuyu... the whole lot is easily forgotten and erased from his mind. Frustraition and stress is heavy on his mind and chest, all Ichika wants to do is clear the incident up and prove that what ever it is that happened, Kestrel is not to be blamed.

Everything runs in circles in Ichika's mind as he stands straight behind the sofa, his head hung low in a daze of missery and depression. However, thankfuly... Ichika's depressed state comes to an end, as he suddenly snaps back to reality, blinking and lifting his head up after his mind suddenly went blank for a few moments in a moment of absence from the real world. Thankfuly, in a case of irony, he's just in time to find that all the questioning has come to an end and now... its time for the strict acknowledgement to be made, as one of the light grey office men, stares at the scar faced Kestrel in a strict manner and in a cold and emotionless tone speaks the words -

"Okay Kestrel... it looks as though you understand the conditions of your reasons for being here, and that is something very admirable for a person of your age, but as a saftey precaution you will be constantly reminded of your conditions for being with us. Please remember that from this point on you will cooperate with the Japanese IS management safety team, the U.N and the main embodyment of Japan's national safety management and control. You will follow the instructions and directions of Shinonono Tabane and her team of assistants throughout the time you will spend with us, you may not be excused unless you have escort, also... you will be monitiored closely as a means of safety by Japan's board of national safety... is all that understood?".

Yui, directly on cue, repeats each and every word in Israeli and as expected, Kestrel remains silent but acknowledges what has been said with a timid lowering and rising of the head, for the rest of the hour that everybody stays in the room, it is the longest evening that Ichika has ever experianced in ages.

**\- Afterwards -**

Now exiting the white coloured room, the scar faced Kestrel with his silver Star of David is mentaly drained, the youngster's half closed eyes are a perfect example of how tired out the said youngster is. However, Kestrel already knows that everything is far from over, there is the mentioned, but not yet met, Tabane Shinonono and her team of IS assistants. Though Kestrel would rather just call it a night and go to bed, the youngster has been encouraged to go on, 'with some help from Yui of course'.

Though Kestrel's eyes are half open and in a near sleeping state the youngster's body is amazingly still able to continue responding to his mind's commands. Some would say its down to the company that is on the air base, being the U.S marines that follow the group around and that is what is giving Kestrel the will power to go on, but in truth, its down to the child's own free will, true... Kestrel has been on the razor's edge of nerves since this morning about being surrounded by strangers, especially very fierce and strict looking ones... but... its a fair assumption that fear will go only a certain distance for some, before they become ready to fight it, tooth and claw if need be.

Though theres no need for Kestrel to go that level, its a good description of how no longer frightened Kestrel is of not only the atmosphere, but the company. Even as he walks out of the white room, hand in hand with the office dressed Yui, as many as 8 U.S marines march on both the left and the right of the youngster and the office woman, and even now... Kestrel's heart beat is at a normal steady pace. If fact, as strange as it is, the rhythm of the U.S marines marching, their great black heavy boots making the traditional army marching sounds are causing Kestrel to relax, the sound is like a strange blend of music to the child's ears, but that's as far as it goes. Other's would say, 'and most would be right' in saying that the reasons for Kestrel no longer being nervous is due to the frightening novelty of the alien enviroment having worn off.

For Yui, just being hand in hand with Kestrel is bliss, the woman is smiling in a warm loving manner as she walks calmly beside Kestrel, her heart seems to warm up with comfort upon feeling Kestrel's grip, though Yui is not Kestrel's mother, the said woman is as close as Kestrel will get to having a caring adult comfort and look out for him. Though Kestrel would rather walk beside Ichika due to the brotherly bond that both boys seem to have welded together, its a great comfort to have Yui at his side. Normaly Kestrel would look up and look into the caring eyes of Yui, but the child keeps his head down, he's simply to worn out with stress and pressure to focus on other matters, all that matters to Kestrel now is just usual human needs, and for once, it seems that slumber as at the top of his list, but that is understandable, if one was subject to fear, stress and pressure, whom wouldn't be tired out?

Yui's face holds a large quality of concern as she looks down at Kestrel, whom remains walking calmly strait ahead, not turning his head or blinking as he walks beside the Japanese female and looking at the backs of a group of military dressed women whom appear to be leading the way to an uncertain location.

Eventualy, after walking down a long white corridor without passing a single door, the group comes to a stop, with the female U.S military personel rigedly coming to a halt military style. Then, as expected, the group come to a stop directly behind the female army personel, casual wise. The U.S marines that have walked either side of the group come to a halt in the exact same manner as the female personel, signaling the obvious that the group have arrived at the spot where they are supposed to be, Kestrel does not look around in curiosity, the child's mind is miles away, which in a case like this is mostly for the best, if being in a world of his own will help keep his mind at ease, then in terms of a stable mind and sanity, Kestrel is getting to that goal on his own.

Yui on the other hand turns her head to the right slightly to look at the entrance to this random new room, what she sees is a large pair of metal doors, bolted and looking thickly armored, very similar to the ones that are seen in those Hollywood movies or famous sci-fi animes. The office female blinks and stares in amazement as the female U.S personel swivel turn army style then relax themselves as one of the U.S female troops with blonde hair in a bun at the back of her head takes three steps forward, pulls out a small plastic, yellow and white coloured card. Yui watches as the female U.S marine places the card in what looks like a small metal slot, the card disappears at the same time as machine 'whirring' sound occurs. It reminds Yui of when she is going to the back to draw out some money, even as the female U.S marine begins to press some flat panel buttons set on a small box object set on the left door, Yui gets the feeling of relief hit her a slight amount, the thought of normality helps soothe away the nervous tension.

From behind Yui and Kestrel, Chifuyu stands stiff, her fierce scowl does not leave her, the dark haired Ichika on the other hand whom is full of curiosity merely blinks wide eyed, obviously blown away at the sight, it reminds him of when he first saw an IS and when he first attended the IS academy. Chifuyu does not take her eyes off the pair in front of her, her Ice queen personality is a perfect example of how cool and collected she is feeling, Ichika of course is the mirror opposite, but perhaps in Ichika's case, that is a good example of being a human being, because if one was to say Ichika is nervous would be a total lie, though Kestrel is the one being checked over, Ichika is a mass with worry for his small friend, sure... Ichika does have a few male friends, and there is no doubt that he will be seeing them over the vast course of this summer break, but... Kestrel has something VERY special about him and it is not because of his skills with an IS, nor is it his surprisingly powerful strengths.

( "Oh man! God help us!" ) - Ichika thinks nervously to himself as he lifts his head back slightly and rolls his eyes up in a desperate act of praying to the gods.

Chifuyu notices Ichika lean his head back, but chooses to say nothing, instead the woman shifts her eyes back to looking at the back of Yui, and by now the U.S female marine has now retrieved her key card from the door security system. A series of bleeps echo throughout the silent corridor, a red light in a small light panel above the large metalic doors suddenly changes to green. Following the change of light colour the low powerful sounds of rumbling take the place of the high pitched bleeps, then... after a total of twelve seconds the metalic doors slide open and apart from each other. The female marines waste no time and casualy walk inside and through the open doors.

Yui and Kestrel blink, but Yui takes in a deep breath, a silent gulp of loose drool in her throat is sent down to her stomach, in her mind a nervous voice speaks the words ( "Here we go" ). Then, walking calmly and casualy with Kestrel hand in hand, the pair follow the direction of which the female marines walked, throught the metalic doors and into what looks like a very large room. Chifuyu and Ichika keep pace and follow close behind, the U.S marines that had escorted the group on the other hand despatch and casualy walk away to god knows where.

What Ichika sees as he makes the turn round the metalic doors is a sight to behold. The Japanese male's eyes widen in surprise as he looks at what looks like the ultimate science facility, its as if NASA has moved from Cape Canaveral and over to Okinawa. The room is massive, the entrace is on a long grey down hill slope, as for the room, its a massive laboratory. The roof is pure grey with what looks like long and thick support beams and pipes apart and crossing the roof every 10 metres apart. The laboratory floor is dark blue tiles, the walls are pure white, and the amount of white coloured machines and computers would put any sci-fi movie to shame. Its not only the sight that catches Ichika's eyes, but the sounds... all Ichika can hear is the voices of females, the sounds of high heels clicking along the tiled floor and the sounds of electronic bleaps, whirs and strangely enough... the odd sound of a laser device and a buzz of a drill.

There is also a very strong mixed up scent in the air, the scent of rubber, burning hot metal, chemicals and the random smell of various other products lingers and travels up Ichika's nose. From what Ichika can see, all the staff in this room appear to be women, all wear white labcoats and black uniform. The hair style and accents are the only things that can help tell whom ever apart from each other. The lighting that fills the room is generated from a large set of lights that ring the entire length of the room, each generating a very powerful set of light. What Ichika also notices is the sight of cylinder objects that look like bacta tanks from the Star Wars franchise, the square, oval and rounded pieces of machinery look like one would expect to see in some famous anime.

There is also a large quality of long white tables that line the laboratory, sat at them are numbers of female scientific staff, each looking through a mircoscope or looking at a computer monitior and though its not everyone as such, a good number of the female scientists that are walking around have a clipboard in hand. Many wear glasses, but others are working with their bare eyes. As he looks at all this Ichika, despite walking in a good pace beside his older, 'not impressed looking' sister, fails to notice or hear the metalic doors slowly close behind him, but that does not matter for now, everything is simply massive and overwhelming to look at, sure... Ichika has seen some very impressive stuff in his life, but even when he thinks he's seen everything... he still gets surprised every now and then.

_{ Author's note to readers: I can't be definate in what you would all imagine a laboratory to look like, and I'm not much of a true science geek, so could you readers use your imaginations for this one? There is no wrong or right in what you all imagine a lab to look like after all!}._

Walking ahead of Chifuyu and Ichika, even Kestrel and Yui are amazed at the sight, Yui only occasionaly looks up and around due to having to remain hand in hand with Kestrel and having to guide the youngster to his needed destination. The scar faced Kestrel of course is bewildered just as much as Ichika, but unlike Yui and Ichika, Kestrel does not show much of a shocked expression, the youngster only has his usual curious expression, but needless to say... Kestrel still looks up, down and around as expected. Even the smell of the science facility does not seem to bother Kestrel as strange as it is, but that can only be expected, as the youngster must have smelled even worse scents in his life.

Though its only 20 seconds, which to him is minutes... Kestrel's attention is quickly shifted as Yui gives the youngster's hand a light squeeze, causing the youngster to blink and to look up at the office woman. Kestrel's face is its usual curious self as the said boy looks up into the caring eyes of Yui, whom sends him down a very kind and loving smile. The woman's face is a mix of reasurance that holds the phrases that go along the lines of 'Don't worry' and 'everything will be alright'. For Kestrel this is for once, very much welcomed.. and as a ressult, the child looks down but smiles very timidly. Yui notices the smile and feels a wonderful wave of calm and comfort wash over her heart.

From behind, Chifuyu and Ichika share an equaly comforting moment, but in their case... its more vocal, which Chifuyu begins with a strict, calm but very ashamed tone. The black ponytailed woman turns her head to look her younger brother in the eyes as she speaks, the strict face that would normaly be expected on Chifuyu is mixed with a slight amount of pity and worry - "Ichika... I know that this is overwhelming, and I can't appologise enough for it, but I need as many friendly and supportive faces as I can find... so you do understand my reasons for wanting you to be dragged out here? You are alright with this aren't you?".

"Huh?... Oh! No, No... don't worry about it, I'm very happy to be here with you, there's no trouble at all Chifu.. ah, Orimura Sensei!" - Ichika replies, first in a confused manner upon looking at his older sister's face, as well as being surprised at his older sister suddenly wanting to converse with him. His face and vocal tone changing from pleasant to stunned upon reaching the name and title of his older sister. The Japanese male seeming desperate in fears that his big sister will suddenly deliver a slap over his head upon addressing his big sister in a family manner, though Ichika is not at the IS academy, Chifuyu has always been strict when it comes to formalities, especially when in the pressance of offical people.

"Hmph! You can drop the Orimura sensei Ichika, we aren't at the IS academy after all!" - Chifuyu replies with a brief closure of the eyes and an affectionate shake of the head.

"Ah, Sorry force of habit!" - Ichika responds with an awkward grin, the Japanese male places a hand at the back of his head as he speaks causing Chifuyu to smirk in a playful manner.

From this point on the Chifuyu and Ichika remain silent and follow Yui, Kestrel and the small band of female U.S Marines, passing numbers of tables, scientists and researchers. Each and every one, dressed in white seems to stop working and fixes their eyes on the group as they walk past. Eventualy upon reaching a short blonde haired woman in a white lab coat, the group comes to a stop, the female scientist has piercing cat green eyes, dark blue eye shadow, blood red lips, pearled ear rings and a very slender figure, a small name tag is on the left side of the woman's lab coat chest area, and unlike the others, this female does not have a clip board, nor does she seem to be working. As for the clothing that this woman is wearing under her open lab coat, the woman wears pitch black knee high boots, a short black mini skirt and white shirt. From first glance this female looks like one would expect to see in some depraved adult doujinshi anime or manga, and yet a person of this nature stands, right before the group's eyes.

The woman has a very sinisiter yet welcoming smile as the group approach her, the first to stop are the leading female U.S marines whom immediately proceede to give this scientific woman a salute in a ode of respect, the short blonde haired woman merely seems to scoff at the sight, but she acknowledges the marine's gesture by lowering her head then raising it. One of the female marines this time an ebony black female with twin buns on her head along with a thick American accent speaks in a clear tone of authority - "Miss Ridgewood, we brought you your visitors as ordered, we're leaving them in your capeable hands!".

"Hmph! Very well, tell your commander that I send her my regards" - The blonde scientist female replies, in a low and suspicious manner while gesturing with her hand for the female marines to leave.

As the female marines proceede to turn round and leave the group, a feeling of discomfort hangs in the air, Ichika feels it instantly and gulps in a light manner, the Japanese male speaks in a nervous, yet loud and clear manner, causing Chifuyu to raise an eyebrow and cast a glance at her brother's remark - "Do you get the feeling that something isn't right here!?".

Thankfuly the blonde haired female scientist pays the remark no attention, on the other hand, it causes a very suspicious smirk to form on her face, a sinisiter aura seems to radiate of the female as she begins to scan her four visitors, though Chifuyu and Ichika walk directly to the sides of Yui and Kestrel, the mood seems to be a bit more suspicious as the woman happens to look down, a cat like glare seems to radiate from her piercing green eyes even though she is smiling. Upon laying eyes on the curious scar faced Kestrel, whom is still hand in hand with Yui, the woman's face suddenly gets the brief look of satisfaction, as if she is impressed by the lay out of a five star meal or at least the dining table.

"AAh! So this is the youngster!?... Perfect!" - The blonde scientist cooes in a chilling manner, the woman folds her arms and leans forward, the woman makes eye contact with Kestrel, her smile turns into a mischevious grin as she puts the 'Purr' in her mentioning of the word 'Perfect'.

Kestrel's response is a simple blink of the eyes, not a flinch or show of emotions in the pressance of the woman, but that is to be expected, that is the reaction one would expect from a person like him after all. As the woman straightens herself up the grin returns to a simple smug smile, Yui blinks in surprise, a terrible feeling of fear and dread hits her hard in the gut, causing the woman to clutch Kestrel's hand a little tighter as a chill runs up her spine. Its the same feeling shared by Ichika whom has a nervous expression on her face, Ichika does not know how to describe it, but every second he looks this strange woman in the face, he feels like wanting to run and hide, its as if for some strange reason, he's looking into the eyes of darkness.

Chifuyu on the other hand, merely frowns in a very serious manner at this strange scientist, sending over a very demonic bitch glare and causing the scientist to blink in surprise, her facial expression turns to one of surprise for a moment as she makes eye contact with the serious looking Chifuyu. Less than a second after, the woman's sinister face changes to one of normality but even then, its clear as day that the woman's suspicious aura has not died off.

"You must the famous Chifuyu Orimura are you not?" - The female scientist asks in a curious yet still suspicious and scary manner, though this woman's voice is feminine it has chillingness to it, its as if it is being close to being that of a tomboy.

"Correct... and you are!?" - Chfiuyu replies with a stern tone, trying to show the white lab coated woman that she is not one to be messed around with.

"Nell Ridgewood... first class assistant to Tabane" - The white lab coated woman replies in her aparently usual suspicious if happy manner, the white coated scientist proceedes to place both hands in her pockets as she speaks, maintaining eye contact with Ichika's mighty older sister.

"Were is Tabane anyway? She told me that she would meet me in person before we even got here to this... place!" - Chifuyu speaks in a strict tone, rolling her eyes to look around and pulling a face of distaste when attempting to find an appropriate phrase or word to describe the laboratory.

"Ah... Tabane, I'm afraid that she is indisposed at the moment, she left me in charge for today" - The white lab coated woman now known as Nell replies in her usual tone, smirking as she speaks as if proud or up to no good.

"She's not here? You mean that all this crap we've had to deal with has all been for nothing!?" - Chifuyu responds in a surprised, yet clearly angered manner, causing Ichika to gulp and take a step back upon feeling his older sister's mighty and fatal aura radiating off her, Chifuyu on the other had folds her arms and sticks out her chest in a near furious manner.

The white lab coated Nell, closes her eyes and shakes her head for a second before continuing to speak in a clearly ammused manner as if she was expecting Chifuyu to reply in that tone and manner. Yui and Kestrel merely blink together in a curious and confused manner, unable to make out or to think of the situation that is playing before them. Yui's excuse for not feeling anger is due to the fact that as far as she is concerned, she isn't payed to think, just do as she's told... but even then, ever since Kestrel has appeared, even Yui has experianced and gone into changes, not only in personality, but in beliefs. Kestrel's excuse is just the usual and innocent factor that he can't understand what is being said, which once again is a blessing in disguise, sure, Tomoe has been teaching him Japanese, but its going to be a hell of a long time before little Kestrel is ready to have a full fledged conversation with anyone, after all... he is only a young boy.

"Well what about Tabane's other assistant?... what's her name?... ah... Yamie! What about Yamie!? Where is she?" - Chifuyu continues, now in a slightly concerned tone, yet her fierce and serious scowl does not drop. The mighty Chifuyu glances away as she thinks to herself the name of Tabane's assistant and though she does not smile, its clear that a second of hope is in Chifuyu's voice as she mentions the name of Tabane's assistant, however... the brief glimpse of hope is short lived as the white lab coated Nell closes her eyes and tilts her head to the left as she replies in a smug but casual tone to Ichika's older sister.

"Afraid she is out of the question as well, I'm afraid she too is... shall we say... indisposed".

"What?... What's wrong with her!? What's she got!?" - Chifuyu hisses now in an angered manner that demands an answer.

"Lets just say she turned lesbian and now she is appealing for a divorce to her husband and trying to take custody of her one son and two daughters!" - Nell replies with a smug expression, the face also has a mix of pure ammusemet as if the woman adores trouble or the idea of trouble looking for either her, or other's in her pressance. Yui apparently blushes fiercely upon Nell's mentioning of the word 'Lesbian'.

"I should be so sick!" - Chifuyu replies in a surprised yet non-impressed manner, the said woman raises an eyebrow as she speaks 'Spock style'.

"Well don't you worry Orimura, I'm not only an emergency replacement but I am also fully qualified to deal with the youngster's check up" - Nell responds with her suspicouis smirk.

"And your name is Ridgewood, correct?" - Chifuyu asks in a calm and rational manner, to which the white lab coated Nell replies to immediately with a surprisingly cheerful reaction - "That's right yes!".

"That wouldn't be related to Ridegwood's potery would it!" - Chifuyu asks now with a playful yet strong smirk of her own, causing the white lab coated Nell to suddenly frown, but maintains her smirk. A temper patch forms on the side of the woman's temple, and as far as Ichika is concerned, the mood becomes very uncomfortable, causing him to take yet another step backward, an awkward yet nervous smile is on his face as he backs away, the Japanese male is wanting to speak and to remind Chifuyu the reasons of their meeting with this apparently suspicious scientist woman, but to the Japanese male's dismay, he can't find his voice, nerves cause the said male to be vocaly crippled.

"Tabane told me that you had quite the wit!" - The short blonde haired, white lab coated Nell replies in a calm manner, put the twitching eyebrow and temper patch is a clear indication that the white coated woman's emotions are far from pleasant.

"Right now listen Ridgewood, I don't want to waste any more time here, none of us have eaten in the past twenty four hours and I'm concerned for not only our's, but also Kestrel's strength, so if you don't mind it... I would be very grateful if you were to show us the way to where Kestrel is to go for his checkups before his IS testing" - Chifuyu states in a calm but clear tone of pure authority.

"Not eaten? That doesn't seem to be a very wise thing to do, but then again... your nation never has been much of the brainy type has it!? Its more into the sort that has an interest in curious language!" - The short blonde haired Nell replies in an attempted jokeful manner, but unfortuneatley, as far as Chifuyu is concerned, that is hardly a joke, nor does she have the time to associate with jokeful moments, but saying that... as far as Chifuyu is concerned, she is the one to make the jokes and that she will choose what is funny and what is not, but that is only to be expected, a person of her authority get like that at times, but perhaps Chifuyu deserves some authority of that calibre... she is after all unlike the other big shots whom would heartlessly put lives at others at risk just to get case loads of money.

"If you interupt me once more miss Ridgewood!, You'll hear some real curious language!" - Chifuyu responds in an angered hiss, this time its Chifuyu's eyebrow that twitches, a temper patch forms on the side of her temple, Chifuyu seems to spit the word 'Ridgewood' like poison as she speaks.

A moment soon passes by with both women exchanging serious looks at each other in an angered manner, before eventualy... Chifuyu in a calm manner, still with her serious scowl speaks the words "You may lead the way, we have a test coming forward that may alter the course of history!".

From behind the Japanese male Ichika suddenly frowns, the Japanese male looks down at the ground as he hears Chifuyu's words, his mind is speaking words that the said male is wanting to say aloud but is unable to find his voice - ( "What!? What does she mean alter the course of history!?" ).

"Of course... please follow me" - The white lab coated Nell replies in a calm yet clearly happy and suspicious manner, almost instantly after speaking, the white lab coated female swivels on her left shoe heel and with the resounding click of high heels on the laboratory tiles, proceedes to walk away towards a distant looking long white corridor. Chifuyu turns to briefly look at both Yui and Kestrel, and with the motion of the head, signals for the pair to follow on. Ichika is the one that brings up the rear, upon his face is a bewildered yet serious looking face, Ichika has lost facial colour, in his mind one question keeps replaying, over and over again.

( "What does Chifuyu-nee mean, alter the course of history!?" ).

**\- Afterwards, un-occupied quarters, 20:06pm -**

Sat on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed, the scar faced Kestrel is exhausted, its just been question after question, phrase after phrase, examination after examination for the past hour. The child WAS intended to see the famous Tabane Shinonono, only to find the female was not available, her assistants did remain but without Tabane herself, no tests or examinations were to take place. So in terms of Kestrel seeing the head of operations, the said youngster has had a very lucky break, however it can't be looked down upon, the youngster has needed it desperately. Un-beknownst to Kestrel, and only currently known by Yui, Chifuyu and Ichika, Tabane is leaving Kestrel's examination for tommorrow - IS wise that is, in regards to everything else, eye wise, hearing wise and nerve wise, Kestrel has passed with flying colours already.

Though Kestrel had blinked a few times when having a torch shined in each of his eyes, had shifted himself and, looked away closed his eyes and shook his head in protest, the youngster had passed successfuly, Kestrel's only reason for that reaction was due to the simple fact of never having it done before, it was the same with his hearing examination, when the said youngster moved away and attempted to back away from the medical tools used to look down the youngster's ears, but once again it was due to not having it done to him before. Throughout these tests Chifuyu had been watching, arms folded and with a strict look on her face, Yui was the only one whom was allowed close to the scar faced youngster as he was taken into rooms that can only be looked into through a thick window pane.

Ichika had offered to escort Kestrel but was continously refused by Chifuyu, in fact at one point Chifuyu had shot Ichika a very nasty and threatening glare, more or less warning him that if he continued to test her patience, then the ressults will be bad, which worked in terms of keeping Ichika silent and at bay, but non the less... without Ichika, Kestrel's nerves would have given out and something nasty would have happened. Just seeing Ichika's smiling face and friendly wave was amazingly the perfect motivation for Kestrel to go along with the crazy situations today. However, that did not mean to say that its been very frightening... even now, Kestrel's small heart beats with nerve and the stress and pressure is building heavily, even as Kestrel sits on the rough but comfortable bed matress, the youngster is fighting heavily not to crack in panic, activate his IS and run like hell back to Japan or anywhere else on earth, if somebody would just tell him what everything is about, then the scar faced youngster would clearly be a much more happy person.

So many differant emotions and thoughts are swirling round in Kestrel's head as he attempts to relax, the scar faced youngster remains looking at the ground in a slumped forward position, the young boy has been this way for over ten long minutes, however as Kestrel's young body is already worn out, its plain as day that Kestrel can't keep his body in this position for any longer as the heavy weight of exhaustion, and crushing weight of tense pressure and stress hits him hard, causing the scar faced child to lift his head up and after half closing his eyes, lets out an exhausted and large yawn, the child's soft, timid sigh seems to fill the room.

Less than a second later, the said boy drags his limbs up onto the bed and then, in a slow but casual manner drags himself up towards a single white pillow resting against the white wall of the technically un-occupied bedroom. The child's long black hair flutters in an elegant manner as he lets himself fall sideways, head landing softly on the pillow. The youngster then rolls over on his back and proceedes to lay perfectly flat on his back, his long black hair spreads out in a very beautiful manner as the child looks up at the top of bunk bed, his ocean blue eyes resting on the wooden cross boards that hold up the matress above him. Then, as if simply as if he's light bulb, the youngster closes his eyes, casting the worn out youngster's still slightly dazzeled eyes into a comfortable embrace of darkness and a soothing feeling of relief as the child's eye lids close. Just a mere handful of seconds later, the youngster is asleep.

_**Okay readers, thats all I can manage for this chapter, I know the suspense kills you guys and gals but remember, one chapter gone by is one step closer to Kestrel's Prometheus firing. Also, I know you don't want to hear it, but expect further delays. The reason why is that on December 7th, its the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and as such I take time off to remember the many thousands of American lives that were lost in the opening mass confrontation that led the U.S in to the second world war against Japan. Also... my deepest sympathy to the survivors, especially to Don Stratton of the USS Arizona that was lost in a catastrophic explosion that killed 1,177 American sailors.**_

_**You readers may have seen the movie but there is a lot of historical innaccuracy, watch the documentaries, especially the one from 'Seconds from disaster', and you'll get educated up in a fun way. Also less than 3 days later the Japanese had a go at me and my countrymen of Britain, by sinking the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse... So as I said... expect further delays.**_

_**So sorry for the inconvienance, I'll make it up to you readers I promise, but in the mean time, I hope Christmas is Joyful and may festivity smile upon you all... I'll be back ASAP, stay frosty, remember I'm wishing you all the best, please feel free to read and review and if you have any requests, feel free to ask or speak out.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	74. Chapter 74: Enter Tabane

_**Hello everyone, sorry about the delays, before you readers begin I want to explain something, as one of my readers have reminded me, during my last chapter I accidently added to may exclamation marks, but that was an easy mistake to make due to certain reasons, mostly being because I was tired. I normaly turn on my system at 12:00 noon British time, but as Christmas is coming and I like to save money on electronic power, I now turn on my system at 15:00pm British time, so as a ressult when I write I tend to get a bit drifty, so my appologies, remember I am ONLY human. Now... I don't have much to say during introductions other than my explinations for my writing, so I guess thats okay with you guys and gals right?**_

_**Okay... as we are ALL aware... there has been some very, very serious delays these past few days... I think everyone is now allowed to know why. So far only 3 or 4 of you readers know, but now I can reveal everything! See... on December 10th, a very, very nasty breakdown occured on my Laptop. I did have a hunch as to what it was, but I needed a repairman out to see for himself to verify the belief. My software was failing and as a ressult my old Laptop was acting like a drunken robot wanting to blow up at a moments notice, I could not get onto the internet nor could I access my emails, so as a ressult all I could do to message those 3 or 4 readers was use my mother's tablet, which is about as much use as a pair of sunglasses on a man with one ear, the screen is midget and its impossible to type without making a mistake. - However, I want to thank Mr Beaver Buttington and Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov whom have been real shoulders to lean on while I have been standing idle, its ace to hear a friendly voice when your up S*** creek without a paddle! Now I have a new Laptop! and I am more than happy to return to work! It was feared that I would have to write Chapter 74 all over again, BUT... I transfered my files to an MP3 and then copied the lot onto my new laptop. - So effectively, our lucky little Kestrel comes out again!**_

_**Hey... One day I'll look back on these introductions and simply 'XD' at remembering the times when I put them on.**_

_**Okay... enough with that, please sit back read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 74:

**\- Amami Islands, Amami Oshima island, 10:00am -**

24 hours had passed since the arrival of Ichika, Chifuyu, Yui and Kestrel, and though everything had gone off to a very bad and rough start, at least the evening last night was salvaged with some success, Ichika's primary concerns of trying to get Chifuyu to see that Kestrel was the victim of what happened in Japan before heading out to the Amami islands was achieved, mainly in the form of the said woman smiling, placing a hand on Ichika's shoulder and stateing in a calm and proud tone a phrase that went along the lines of 'I do not believe that Kestrel was to blame' Once that goal had been achieved the next was a somewhat comedy style goal, getting both boys to eat something, sure... a military base does have provisions but nothing on the food that a civilian would normaly consume, never the less... both Ichika and the exhausted scar faced Kestrel had finaly eaten something filling, although the scar faced Kestrel has a strict diet due to his taste buds and pyshcological factors, the youngster finaly ate well for the first time in 24 hours.

Ironicaly, in a twist of fate, it was the first and proper time that Ichika and Kestrel had ate a meal shared together, though Ichika had been somewhat disapointed in not having the chance to converse with his scar faced friend for the entire day and believed he would get the chance during last night's dinner, another twist of irony appeared when suddenly out of nowhere Kestrel had the unfortunate luck to faint from lack of slumber dead on the spot, the child had formed the fetal position while sleeping on his side on the floor of his bedroom quarters, though Ichika had been at first alarmed, he was soon reduced to smiling warmly in an affectionate manner when he saw the peaceful looking face of Kestrel with his small eyes closed, mouth open slightly, breathing in a very calm and steady manner, only the blazing red scar on his face was the only thing that had shown any form of life.

So although Kestrel has had over 24 hours of stress and exhaustion, the youngster has managed to get his head down and rest successfuly and on the plus side the youngster has been able to get breakfast in his stomach, though it was just some toast and some milk, the child has in many senses managed to regain the ability to continue onwards with what ever it is that Chifuyu and everybody else has been so fussed about. Ichika himsef is in better spirits this morning, just like Kestrel, Ichika has slept well and eaten, however... what both boys do not know, is that they have not slept in single beds alone, had both boys been awake during the night they would have discovered something very surprising. Kestrel in his fetal position had the beautiful Yui sleeping beside him wearing next to nothing... not that it would have mattered much to him due to obvious reasons. Ichika had non other than his older sister sleeping by his side in a scantaly clad manner, and its a good bet that if Ichika had been awake, the said male would have been not only flabbergasted but badly alarmed, thankfuly anything awkward was avoided last night was avoided.

Now, in broad daylight with a clear blue sky, a bright blazing hot sun the two boys stand side by side each other, young Kestrel is wearing his blue IS wear, and is standing looking as confused as ever, but deep down in his small heart and gut, the youngster is dancing with excitement on the spot, if anything Kestrel is not stupid and knows that when ever he is asked to wear his IS bodysuit, it usualy means that he is going to be allowed to fly his IS, though Kestrel is free to use Black Phoenix when ever he wants, the youngster has been convinced by Yui over and over again, not to use Black Phoenix unless he realy must. Though this rule can be easily broken and it does not offer much hope for how Kestrel uses his IS, it seems to be working very well, if it hadn't Kestrel would be blazing around the sky ever hour, of every minute, of everyday.

Young Kestrel's small heart beats just that slightest bit faster as the thought of being allowed to fly buzzes around in his head. Though Kestrel's face remains straight, behind it a very small and timid smile has already taken form, and the wait for clearance for flying is making the youngster ever more excited. Ichika Orimura whom stands behind the youngster is relatively calm, the said male has been in this position before, the last time being when he went to see Tabane with his childhood friend Houki, what Ichika saw from Houki's IS was pretty amazing, during testing, but Kestrel's IS clearly surpasses Houki's by miles, so what Ichika is going to see from Kestrel's IS today is anybody's guess.

As for what both boys are doing standing alone on a large circular tarmac site surrounded by swaying green tropical trees and plant life that flutters in the sea breeze, both stare at the large grey metalic doors of large rectangular shaped building, from a sci-fi fan's point of view, the small but secret looking building ressembles that of what is seen of the Endor shield Generator bunker from the famous movie series Star Wars. Naturaly Ichika would rather have followed his older sister into the bunker like structure when he was told to wait outside and to escape the blazing summer sunlight, but as Chifuyu is not a person to annoy in such important matters, the Japanese male is left with very little option but to stand outside in his civilian summer wear and keep close to Kestrel, but in all fairness, it isn't to bad outside, the cold sea breeze helps to soothe the Japanese male's now overheating body.

Kestrel's long black hair gently flutters to the left side in an elegant manner as the sea wind caresses the youngster's face, head and exposed arms and limbs. Though it had only been a few minutes since Chifuyu told Ichika to wait outside with Kestrel, it seems like hours to the fidgeting Japanese male whom is already sweating from the summer heat, though the sea breeze is good in terms of cooling him down, it is not constant like a fan, so in terms of a good start to the day, Ichika would rate it fifty-fifty, the upside, he's had breakfast and a good night's rest, but on the down side, he has to stand outside scorching in the summer heat.

Every now and then Ichika glances down to look at his scar faced friend with a look of envy, Ichika's face has an affectionate smile as he whipes some sweat away off his brow with his left hand. In his mind Ichika chuckles, his mind's voice is a mix of humor and envy - ( "Heh,heh... as usual, Kestrel is able to deal with the heat!" ).

Then, just as Ichika shifts his attention back towards the bunker like metalic doors that are closed, a large gust of wind roars from behind both boys blowing them forward, Kestrel forward rolls, his small eyes are wide with surprise and shock as his small body is blown forwards in hurricane wind turbulance, thankfuly the said youngster is able to partialy summon Black Phoenix and sinks the black IS fingers into the ground, the youngster with his hair blowing and fluttering wilding in the wind grasps the ground like his life depends on it, the youngster closes his eyes tight and lowers his head, from a third persons point of view the Israeli youngster looks like an olympic runner about to dash forwards, but his small pelvis is facing downwards, all the same, the child grasps the ground tight the youngster has a knee forward as if ready to provide a rocket dash forward to get a good running start to some set up race.

A large cloud of dust, grass plates and foliage envelops both boys almost instantly as the sudden burst of hurricane wind appears, Ichika yelps and yells in the first ten seconds but quickly reduces himself to closing his eyes tight and clenching his teeth, the Japanese male turns his head away as his back hits the concrete wall of the outside bunker. The Japanese male ignores the slight feeling of impact on his backbone and flesh and proceedes to lift both hands upwards to protect himself from the wind and now slight traces of sticks and small pebbles that blow in both boys direction. The roar of wind in both boys ears is similar to what they hear to when they are soaring around the sky in an IS duel.

After a total of just 2 minutes the wind begins to drop almost instantly, soon reducing itself to a light breeze. Kestrel blinks in a stunned and curious manner, turns his head to look ahead of him only to find a sight that causes his small ocean blue eyes to become wide with surprise. Ichika does the same as Kestrel, he merely blinks a few times before looking ahead of him, what it is that both boys see is a large metalic, very robotic looking carrot, the tip burried in the ground surrounded by a mound of freshly disturbed earth.

Kestrel stares in stunned amazement as he straitens himself up, deactivating his right Black Phoenix hand and proceeding to lightly brush some dust off his body, arms and legs with his small hands, the youngster then proceedes to straighten his long black hair up, pushing some strands of his face and back over his shoulders. At the same time Ichika scrambles off the ground, places both hands in his hair and proceedes to brush off the dust and light rubble that had the misfortune to land in his thick bushy hair. After a total of 2 minutes of dust off and getting back to their feet, both boys soon send curious looks to each other, however, Ichika is quick to drop the confused expression after just a few seconds of eye contact with his small Israeli friend.

"Don't worry Kes, Its only Tabane" - Ichika speaks in a kind tone, clearly stating the obvious, the Japanese male briefly remembering the last time he met Houki's bizarre if slightly overly playful sister.

Kestrel's response is a simple blink of the eyes and a slight head tilt to the left, the mental question mark forming above his small head. Then, with lightning reflex Kestrel suddenly snaps his attention back to the abnormaly large carrot, leaping back in alarm, his small eyes wide open, the youngster acts like a wild animal that is startled as the carrot proceedes to open, the metalic vegatable opening itself in half directly down the middle with a large quality of steam shooting out of the metalic carrot and engulfing both boys, the sounds of steam and electronic whir causes Kestrel's small heart to beat rapidly, the youngster does not hesitate and proceedes to dash away towards some trees in alarm. The child's ocean blue eyes hold a large amount of fear as the child dashes as fast as his small legs will carry him, the child does not stop till he gets to the large trunk of a palm tree, from there the youngster timidly hides himself behind the light grey trunk.

From where Ichika is standing, the Japanese male wafts away the steam with his left hand like trying to blow away smoke. It is only when the steam clears that Ichika lowers his arm and hand, the Japanese male has a slightly affectionate smile on his face as a familiar silhouette of a very familiar person appears before him. Then, as the steam clears completely, there... standing in her light purple dress with white, her long purple hair matched with the rabit like ear objects that she wears on her head, is the smiling and very cheerful looking Tabane. The said female poses making the peace sign with both hands, the female has her left eye closed in a wink, her head is tilted to the left and her mouth is open in a very cheerful smile.

"Long time no see Ichika-kun, YAY! YAY!" - The purple female speaks out in a very friendly and affectionate manner as she closes both eyes and beams a very warm expression at the sweatdropping Japanese male.

"Yeah, Its been a while Tabane" - Ichika replies, placing his right hand at the back of his head and smiling awkwardly.

"Ah far too long Ichika-kun, and your still looking handsome as ever I see, I see your sister is taking care of you very well!" - Tabane responds instantly in her friendly and caring manner, now placing both hands on her hips and beaming down a very kind and pleasant look at the Japanese male.

Ichika blushes slightly at Tabane's compliment, and fidgets slightly lowering his hand away from the back of his head. Unable to speak as Tabane continues to smile in a very friendly manner, the said female has always been a playful and friendly person, but even now Ichika can still be blown away and stunned by the open and bouncy spirit of Houki's older sister. Instead all Ichika can muster up in a response to Tabane's complement and words is an awkward titter, soon matched by the bushful phrased word - "Thanks".

"Hmm Hm!, Well, we have all day to catch up, I have prepared a special something for you and Chifuyu tonight, and you both will be joining me for dinner, 'Kay!?" - Tabane speaks in a kind and very pleasant manner. Causing Ichika to blink and stare in a now stunned and interested manner.

Ichika's voiced reply comes in a tone of bewilderment mixed with pleasnatry, even though Ichika is not smiling warmly and is just staring with a blank expression the said male is still well mannered enough to respond to Tabane's gesture of pleasantry, one thing is for sure, when one does something for someone when not asked or expected, the person that is about to recieve is meant to show respect and appreciation, which Ichika does so in a awe struck yet confused manner - "Ah... thankyou very much".

"Very well, very well... well then, I hear you came here with our guest? From what I've been told he's only ten, and I've only seen a camera image of him, I'm looking forward to meeting him in person, were is he?" - Tabane asks in a bouncy and happy manner, the female still stands with hands on hips as she proceedes to look left and right in search of the scar faced youngster that seems to have dissapeared into thin air.

"Huh?... Oh yeah! Kestrel!? You mean Kestrel" - Ichika replies in a happy manner, a very bright and overjoyed expression appears on his face as a mental lightbulb sparks above his head. Clearly understanding that Tabane is refering to the young and timid Kestrel, Ichika straightens himself up, and in a slight if tightly restrained moment of pride sticks his chest out a slight amount as he straightens his posture.

"Kestrel, that's it yes! A very pleasant and neat name! Where is he?" - Tabane aks in a kid and excited manner, now balling her hands into fists and making a light jog on the spot like a very overly excited child.

"Huh?" - Ichika responds, confused as hell by Tabane's question. The last he knew, Kestrel was directly beside him, but as the Japanese male looks to the right, he recieves a nasty shock as he finds the area beside him is vacant, the scar faced and vulnerable youngster has vanished into thin air. Ichika blinks rapidly and begins to turn his head from left to right, his heart seems to stop as a wave of fear washes over him. Ichika then shifts his attention to the left away from the direction that Kestrel is in, and walks around, looking at the undergrowth and down a long snake foot path which he and the said youngster had walked upwards a few moments earlier.

Ichika is wide eyed, waking up and down past some undergrowth and palm trees, contuniously calling out Kestrel's name in a concerned and confused manner. After a time space of 6 minutes after jogging up and down past some palm trees and long leaved bushes, Ichika's nerves begin to bubble rapidly out of control as a wave of horrible illness hits him hard in the gut. Tabane maintains a happy smile as Ichika begins to panic. As Ichika turns to face Tabane, a terrible chill runs up his spine as the absence of Kestrel causes bolts of nerve to rush through his body.

"Ah.. Okay, just a minute" - Ichika speaks in a nervous, desperate yet pleasant tone, raising an index finger as if he's speaking as a matter of fact.

"Have you lost him Ichika?" - Tabane asks in her friendly yet mixed concerned tone, the words hitting Ichika hard in the gut and causing hair to raise on back of his neck.

Ichika's response is instant, yet unintentional as he speaks in a tone of nerve - "He was here a second ago, I don't know where he.."

"I seem to have found him!" - Tabane suddenly speaks, cutting the nervous and panicking Japanese male off. Ichika snaps his focus away from the undergrowth and immediately rushes up to the Japanese female that from what Ichika can see is now looking away at some palm trees. Ichika does not speak, his spirits have risen instantly and the feeling of relief is rushing over his body like a large warm wave. The Japanese male stands directly beside Tabane, and soon both he and Houki's older sister are staring at a large palm tree. After what seems like minutes, which is in fact just seconds, Ichika smiles in a very relieved manner, the male lets out a deeply held in breath as he sees the timid looking face of Kestrel appear on the right side from behind the trunk of the palm tree. The youngster is like a wild animal, peering timidly from behind the palm tree giving him some cover and refuge from this new and bizarre discovery.

"Hey Kes! You can come over, its alright, she's harmless!" - Ichika calls out in a friendly and cheerful manner, an arm is raised above his head and the Japanese male is waving in a cheerful manner. The black haired Japanese male attempting to get Kestrel to walk over towards both him and his familiar female friend.

Kestrel's response is a simple blink of the eyes, the nervous and timid Israeli youngster with his blazing red facial scar merely peers around the trunk of the palm tree, not making the slightest whisper, upon both his ocean blue eyes getting both Ichika and Tabane in full focus the confused boy merely shifts his eyes from Ichika then back to Tabane, however as Tabane is a stranger whom has made what can best be described as 'The big entrance', its only natural for a youngster as troubled and timid as Kestrel to act in such a manner. Upon noticing Tabane clasp her hands together in a manner that ressembles the Shotacons Rie, Yuno and Konoe when feeling love struck, along with leaning forward slightly, widening her eyes and opening her mouth in a very excited manner, the scar faced Kestrel leaps in alarm and as a ressult hides himself away behind the trunk of the palm tree... the sight causes both Tabane and Ichika to sweatdrop... a very awkward moment!

**\- 1 hour, 30 minutes later, Amami Oshima island beach -**

It had been a full hour since the first meeting with Tabane, and in that time, despite the somewhat eventful first meeting, both Ichika and the scar faced Kestrel have managed to be given what can best be described as a 'rough briefing' on the matter of being outside the country of Japan. Though Ichika already understood the reasons of being outside his native country, Kestrel was unaware of the reasons. However, even now, Kestrel is still oblivious to the main reasons of why he is in the Amami islands. As far as Chifuyu, Clarissa and the heads of IS management are concerned, its not the right time to tell Kestrel on what is about to happen in the VERY near future, some would say that its a case of 'What Kes does not know, does not hurt him'.

For now at least, all Kestrel knows so far is that he is expected to do some flying and battle testing, which has come as an obvious rise of the youngster's morale. Upon being told by Yui that he will be allowed to fly for a few hours, the youngster's spirits have risen. As to what is being included in this first test, both Ichika and Kestrel are oblivious, not that Ichika would pay any attention anyway, the Japanese male keeps breaking his attention off Tabane and looking over his shoulder to look around at the surrounding islands that come into view, what Ichika notices causes a wave of nerve and curiosity to rush through his body.

On a nearby Island not far away from the one that he and the group stand upon, Ichika can see a large set up structure, like a large giant wall being built on the slopes of the mountain terrian covered in tropical green. The large, abnormaly large and very sturdy thick looking concrete looking wall seems to have what can only be described as a bullseye painted on the side that faces the open ocean. The outer circles that are painted are blue, white, the inner circles are black and as expected, the bullseye is pitch red. Surrounding the island is numbers of what look like old decommissioned navy destroyers, frigates and submarines.

What catches Ichika's attention the most is the sight of 2 large decommissioned Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The flight decks are packed full of decommissioned SDF Mitsubishi F1s, F2 Vipers, UH-60 Blackhawks and A6 Intruders. The state of the carriers and aircraft is a clear indication that all have suffered weathering from being exposed to the elements of wind, rain and sunlight with no overhauls or service. What looks like navy or civilian tugs seem to anchor the vessels to the spot or nudge them into position, and in the air above is numbers of US and SDF Helicopters buzzing and circling the area, so no matter how Ichika looks at it, what could happen in the next 24 hours could be VERY heavy.

Though it takes a great deal of effort to ignore the roaring buzzing thuds of the large numbers of helicopters that circle and fly around the area, Ichika eventualy manages to turn his full attention back to Tabane whom stands on a wooden made stand in order to be observed by Chifuyu, Clarissa, Ichika and everyone else. The air for the first few minutes of the gangs arrival is mostly filled with the sounds of the helicopters that buzz around in the sky, until after what seems like a lifetime of waiting by Ichika, the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu, arms folded, walks out from the group and proceedes to join Tabane in facing the group. Ichika blinks in surprise as he watches his big sister join the purple haired female ahead of him, Chifuyu turns herself round and with her arms still folded, proceedes to frown very seriously at the group.

Deep down Chifuyu is hissing and spitting in irritated rage at the numbers of offical men and women that have come along for this experiment, as far as Chifuyu is concerned its very pathetic, she can understand security being a factor and safety being a factor but when a person is being treated like an object it is very sour. Thankfuly, Chifuyu keeps her opinions to herself and maintains her strict posture and look of authority. Yui and Kestrel stand side by side, hand in hand, for the scar faced Kestrel the only problem that he faces is the all clear to be given by Chifuyu for him to fly. Clarissa whom stands in front of various numbers of office men and women also stands with arms folded, the eye patched German female is as silent as the grave and dares not make a word, but even then... if Clarissa did wish to speak, she would be unable to find any words, the suspense of the moment is killing her, and NOT in a good way.

Then, after a moment of pause, Chifuyu rolls her eyes, takes in a deep breath after briefly closing her eyes, looks down at the scar faced Kestrel and in a tone of authority speaks the words - "Okay, Kestrel... now as you can see, you operate a personal IS unit, and normaly you would join other students in testing when testing operations are being taken or handled, but as you have a very powerful and unknown IS unit, you will have the privalidge to work with us without fear of causing alarm or attention in the pressance of fellow classmates".

Yui snaps to it immediately, looks down to look at the Israeli youngster and begins to translate every word, Kestrel blinks with a straight expression, looks up to make eye contact with the office dressed female and remains silent.

"As for what it is that you will be doing in the next twenty four hours is unfortuneatley secret, but you WILL be told in good time, in the mean time, for the time being... you will be taking part in experimental testing under the direction and supervision of Tabane." - Chifuyu continues, her strict and serious eyes not leaving the curious and confused eyes of Kestrel as Yui once again begins to translate Chifuyu's words in Israeli.

Kestrel blinks, and looks not only upwards at Yui as she translates each and every word in Israeli, but then over at the strange looking Tabane whom closes her eyes, smiles warmly, lifts up both hands and waves in a very cheerful manner at the now bewildered ten year old youngster. The Japanese female does not say a word as Chifuyu speaks, Ichika whom stands two office men on the left of Kestrel leans forward to look down in a worried manner at his small friend.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into all this, I understand that all this must be difficult, and as your teacher I am to make sure that you are not pushed around and placed in difficult positions, but I promise you, as long as Tabane is here... you are not only safe, but in good hands. Just do your best in doing what we tell you and we can all head on home, you have my word... Tabane" - The mighty ponytailed Chifuyu speaks out in a calm tone of authority and though its not very convincing, but the woman places a pure hint of care and genuine care in her voice as she mentions the promise of heading home. Her vocal tone soon changes back to its strict tone of authority as she signals Tabane the all clear to speak. Tabane beams a very pleasant and kind smile out to the Israeli youngster as Yui finishes translating all of Chifuyu's words.

"Okay... Look at me little Kes'ie, Look at Tabane!" - Tabane speaks out in a cheerful manner, her eyes are closed and a large smile beams on her face, the said Japanese female points to her face as she speaks, its as if the purple haired Japanese female is like a child eager and excited to be allowed the chance to help her big brother, or older male that she has such a large crush on.

Though Yui clearly hears Tabane's words and observes her actions, the office dressed female does not bother to translate the words of the purple haired female, instead... all the office female does is simply sweatdrop and raises an eyebrow, a terrible embrassed and awkward wave hits her all at once, the long black haired Kestrel on the other hand only just stares at the energetic big sister of Houki and blinks, the youngster obviously unable what to say, do or even think of the situation before him, even if it is only a friendly greeting from Tabane, Kestrel still remains very badly confused.

Ichika and Chifuyu merely exchange confused if slightly awkward frowns at each other, even if Tabane is very good at doing her job and is an expert with things concerning an IS, one would think a person of her status would act a bit more mature for her age, even if she was to act a little bit serious, it may be enough for the big cheeses of the IS world to stop frowning and looking at the purple haired female as if she is an utter and complete idiot. Not that Ichika and Chifuyu is complaining because this is normal behaviour from Houki's older sister, and after all, maybe Tabane's cheerful attitude is just the medication that Kestrel needs to feel safe and secure, though Kestrel maybe mature for his age, the youngster is still sensitive hearted, and maybe on the plus side... Tabane's fluffy bunny nature may help cure Kestrel of a large portion of his PTSD.

The Israeli youngster remains silent for the moment, but that is to be expected, the youngster hardly speaks a word most of the time, even if Yui is there to translate, but perhaps it is nothing to fear, after all, a lot of good hearted people that are mute will speak when the moment is right or if they realy must, and if anything Kestrel chatting away could be a ruin for his image and character. However, the child always responds to when a person speaks, so at least the child clearly indicates the fact that he pays attention to words that are said, unlike many of the arrogant people that roam the streets at this day and age.

As Yui sends Tabane a signal with her left hand that she is ready to translate every word that is being said, a large feeling of nerve hits Ichika in the gut, in the black haired Japanese boy's mind only one phrase comes to mind - ( "Here we go!" ).

"Okay Kes, I can call you Kes can I?" - Tabane asks in a very friendly and playful manner, leaning forward slightly and smiling warmly after speaking, her eyes having a slight sparkle causing Kestrel to blink in surprise and confusion. The look of joy increases after Yui repeats the girl's message in Israeli, to which Kestrel responds with simple nodding of the head, his long hair jiggles ever to slightly at the back of his head as he lowers and raises his small head in slightly fast manner that lasts for just 3 seconds.

Placing her hands together, Tabane beams with joy, her eyes are closed and a look of playfulness appears on her face as she responds to Kestrel's acknowledgement to her question. As she speaks the purple haired female speaks in tone of usual happyness and joy that shows her bouncy personality, the female places her hands on her hips as she speaks - "Okay Kes, I'm Tabane, but you can call me 'Tabane the genius', 'Miss Tabane' or if you like you can call me 'Tabane-nee'".

A faint blush appears on Tabane's face as she finishes speaking when refering to be addressed as 'Tabane-nee', Ichika and Chifuyu go slightly wide eyed and stare in surprise as Tabane places her hands behind her back, even Yui feels a feeling of awkwardness hit her as she repeats her words in Israeli, which little Kestrel responds to with just simple silence.

"I find introducing myself such a pain so lets just cut to the chase shall we!?... Now Kes, I understand you have your own personal IS unit am I right?" - Tabane asks in a cheerful manner.

Once again Yui repeats Tabane's message to which Kestrel responds to with just the lowering and raising of his head, never the less, Tabane's reaction to Kestrel's simple nodding is one of pure positivity as she smiles warmly, a few seconds pass and then... Tabane with her cheerful facial expression continues to speak in her cheerful usual tone -

"Very good, Very good! Now, I'm not sure if you know but it was I who invented the IS units, most of all the IS that exsist in this world where units that I personaly designed and created... and... I understand also... that your IS is one that I did NOT create.." - Tabane exclaims, first in a very cheerful manner, but gradulay turning into a tone of uncharacteristic nerve as she mentions the fact that the IS that Kestrel pilots is one that she was not part of, though her tone harbors a hint of nerve, the cheerful expression on her face does not shift. From where Ichika and Chifuyu stand, all they feel is the relief of a question being answered and the disturbing illness of another taking the previous question's pace.

Basicaly, both Ichika and Chifuyu's guess was correct, Tabane did not build or design Kestrel's IS, so who did? This one thought rushes through both Ichika and Chifuyu's minds as Yui repeats Tabane's words in Israeli.

"Well its nothing for you to fret over, so don't you worry, you are not in trouble... so... what I would like to do is examine your IS closely and gather as much data as I possibily can, you see, I was the one who invented the generation five IS just last year, and only three models are being used at this moment, and from what I've been told, your IS is a generation six, so would it be okay with you if you helped me with my reasearch?" - Tabane asks in kind and friendly manner, the female places a hand at the back of her head and fidgets slightly as she mentions the fact that the fifth generation of IS has just become a breakthrough. To end her sentance to the curious and vulnerable six year old youngster, the purple Japanese beauty leans forward and clasps her hands together, a pure hopeful look appears in her eyes as she asks for Kestrel's co-operation upon mentioning reasearch.

Ichika and Chifuyu seem to feel their hearts beat a little bit faster as they are reminded that Kestrel's IS surpasses every other that is currently in use, and that Kestrel is in control of a very powerful, alien like piece of gear. In fact as Yui repeats all of Tabane's words to the long haired youngster, a terrible shock suddenly hits Chifuyu in the chest like the moment when Laura felt the mental bullet through the window when it came to swimsuit wear. Kestrel's IS has currently been seen operating under a default setting, so if Kestrel's IS has a shift setting what can everybody expect to see next?

Thankfuly, in terms of a mentaly stable mind, Chifuyu is brought out of her nervous ponder as Tabane shouts in an overjoyed manner - "SPLENDID!".

As Chifuyu lifts her head and casts her serious looking frown over towards Tabane, whom is now lowering her arms from above her head. Chifuyu quickly proceedes to shake off her negative feelings and regain her serious emotionless state, the woman even folds her arms in an act of reinforcing her resolve of not thinking about anything until afterwards, prefrably when she is alone with Tabane in her lab. Ichika doesn't need to know anything as yet, if the said Japanese male has any questions then Chifuyu is sure to hear about them almost instantly when Ichika gets the chance, and if anything Ichika's questions are going to be the same as Chifuyu's, so for now at least, its best to take the baby steps approach, just to be on the safe side.

Ichika himself feels some nerves go wild upon being reminded of the fact that Kestrel's IS is a generation six. With generation three, four and five models - even the prototypes still being developed, everyone is aware of the fact that what Kestrel holds in his hand, is litteraly, a death star! Thankfuly, Ichika manages to swallow his fears a lot more easier than that of what his older sister manages to. Ichika's ace in the cards he holds is the belief that Kestrel is a person to trust with such an IS, even though he knows that hope and prayer alone is not enough to secure safety and security, its the only card Ichika can find, on the other hand... its proved correct and been effective so far, so its not a card to discard or be doubtful of yet, sure... it is a well known saying that 'All of life, is a game of luck', but this game is way beyond that of a big boy's game, its effectively a game of Russian roulette and the players have to have a bullet or two in them.

**\- 12 minutes later -**

"Okay Kes, lets get you started on test one, are you ready?" - Tabane asks in a cheerful manner, leaning forward slightly, making eye contact with the Israeli youngster whom remains standing beside Yui, hand in hand.

Yui, pauses before she repeats Tabane's question, the woman rolls her eyes upwards sighs in nervous frustraition. Her heart is beating rapidly, the office female tightly squeezes Kestrel's small hand, and mentaly screams in distress in her head. Never the less, after exchanging a quick look of eye contact with Chifuyu, whom responds with a single firm nod of the head, telling Yui to 'do it', the office female proceedes to kneel on the sandy beach of the island that the group stand upon and in a nervous yet serious tone, repeats Tabane's message in Israeli... Kestrel responds with the single lowering and raising of his head in confirmation. Deep down Yui had been wishing to which ever god has been listening, that Kestrel would shake his head, have a nervous breakdown and begin to shiver, but... with the child's love of flying free so strong, it was obvious that Kestrel was going to respond with the answer of yes.

Upon watching Yui stand to her feet and nod towards her, Tabane casts a satisfied and friendly smile over towards Chifuyu, whom responds by taking a few steps forward and in her usual serious tone, with one hand on her hip and the other limp by her side... speaks the words - "Okay Kestrel, your free to start".

Once again, Yui hesitates before repeating Chifuyu's message in Israeli, but never the less is happy to see the look of excitement enter the child's ocean blue eyes and appear ever so slightly across the troubled youngster's features. Almost instanlty after speaking to the scar faced child, a large blue glow engulfs the scar faced Kestrel, the blue light lasts for 4 seconds and when it fades, the entire youngster is seen deployed in full IS form. The black armor of Black Phoenix seems to shine and glow with pride in the sunlight, and the transparent angel wings proceede to open and close ever so slightly, until after a few seconds the large transparent wings open wide, spreading and stretching wide like a magnificent looking eagle getting ready to take off into the sky. The wind seems to pick up as if on cue, causing many of the IS officals to blink and stare with awe.

The scar faced Kestrel despite feeling excited maintains his natural curious facial look, but a small, bashful and timid smile appears on his face as he looks down to make eye contact with Ichika whom sends up a cool big brother look. Then, after taking one last look at the purple haired Tabane, the child is given the all clear as Tabane, with a bright and cheerful look on her face, positions her body to the side is if ready to fire an arrow, the female then draws her left arm back and then, with a rapid swing of the arm forward as if throwing a fastball at a baseball game, the purple haired female yells in an overjoyed manner - "KESTREL! GET UP THERE!".

Kestrel responds instantly, the ten year old kneels down slightly, then, in just a window of a second the youngster springs himself upwards, the angel wings on Black Phoenix position themselves like a large bird about to take off. It all happens in seconds, and then, with a resounding woosh of air, matched the angel wings making a violent beat towards the earth, Kestrel blasts himself upwards into the sky, leaving a large cloud of sand and bust behind that engulfs everybody and leaves everybody coughing, shielding their eyes and running off the beach in an attempt to escape the sand cloud.

For the scar faced Israeli boy the thrill of being the air again is pure extacy, the youngster's hair blows and flutters in a very elegant manner as the child proceedes to make flight curcuits round and round the small island, the way Black Phoenix moves, the speed, the turn, the climb and the dive is enough to put any other IS to shame in terms of flight display. Even as Kestrel proceedes to barrel roll, make loops, U-turns and a Split S, the sight of the Kestrel's IS in the air causes Tabane to go wide eyed. Unlike other IS that look like bright stars that blaze around in the distance, Kestrel's IS has a comet like tail that trails from behind, therefore marking the exact movements Kestrel has performed in the air with fading light trail.

All worry and stress that Kestrel feels seems to melt away as the said youngster performs stunt after stunt, even as Kestrel performs the 'Cobra' the child feels worry and pressure leave his chest in an instant. The angel wings on Black Phoenix open wide making Kestrel look like a great angel in the sky as the youngster performs the Cobra. Then, as quickly as the child performs the stunt, the angel wings fold back instantly ressembling the wing shape of a diving Falcon as Kestrel blasts away all of a sudden regaining speed at over Mach 3, leaving many below to jump in startlement from hearing the sonic boom that echoes in the sky.

From below, Ichika has just finished dusting himself off, his eyes are wide with awe as he watches Kestrel move around in the air above him, the youngster seems to be drawing artistic patterns in the sky like a graceful dancer moving many times faster than what he belived an IS could move at, The Japanese male's mouth is open a fraction and his ability to breathe seems to have stopped, sure Ichika has seen Kestrel fight with Black Phoenix, but the movements performed was mere battle movements, and the child hadn't even pushed Black Phoenix to its limits, even when Ichika had flown beside Kestrel those few days before heading out to the Amami Islands, the youngster had not performed such movements and stunts at once. Even though it looks like it, it is fair assumption that Kestrel isn't even trying to push Black Phoenix to its breaking point in terms of average cruise speed and turn ability. Even Chifuyu is surprisingly silent, but non the less keeps her arms folded as she watches Kestrel blaze around in the air above.

After a total of just 2 minutes of Kestrel's free flight in the air, covering more sky at once than what Houki, Charlotte, Cecilia and Laura could ever dream of, and causing Ichika to constantly turn, lift and lower his head in a fast rate almost causing dizziness. Kestrel is finaly brought to a sudden and dead stop in the air as Tabane proceedes to call out in her usual cheerful manner soon followed by Yui's repeat of the message.

"Very beautiful Kes! Very beautiful! Thats excellent, very fancy! VVEERRRYYY FFAAANNNCCCCYYYYYY!"

Upon hearing Tabane's voice, the scar faced youngster instantly stops himself in midair, the angel wings on Kestrel's IS open in a very elegant manner for just a brief moment and then, as quickly as they open, the wings position themselves to an idle if between open and closed state as the youngster begins to hover in the air. A very confused look is upon Kestrel's face as the youngster looks down at the numbers of people below him. Even though Kestrel is now at 400ft in the air, the youngster can clearly see the office men and women supervising the sight with pens and pencils,  
writing down notes on clear white A4 paper fixed upon clipboards.

"Okay Kes, lets see what that IS can do! Lets do start with some performance!" - Tabane shouts in a loud and clear voice, which Yui immediately repeats through an ear piece microphone head set, from above, each and every one of Yui's words fill the youngster's ears loud and clear. With that, Kestrel's small heart begins to pound, the youngster feels nerves fill his body again but only a slight fraction.

From down below and beside Tabane, a quick and almighty blue flash of light suddenly gives way to two pairs of large missile launchers, each having six large holes from where the missiles are housed, the metalic surface of the launchers shines in the sunlight like the black IS armor on Kestrel's Black Phoenix. From up above with Kestrel the 3D F-22 like heads up display flashes with red warning symbols and lights, a loud resounding warning tone causes the long haired youngster to blink in surprise and leap in alarm. A large holographic pannel suddenly appears on screan in blank, but in side the pannel box a large series of letters flash and glow red then to yellow, Kestrel's stunned and startled eyes are a good indication of how alarmed the youngster feels right now... as the child reads the flashing letters 'WARNING: MISSILE LOCK'.

The child shifts his gaze from looking at the 3D holographic warning pannel and then down towards the ground, as Kestrel lays eyes on Tabane, the 3D holographic hud changes, the warning pannel dissapears but the warning tone alarm continues. Instead of the warning pannel, what appears on Kestrel's heads up display is non other than Tabane, at first appearing as Kestrel sees her from up above before the image zooms in on her like a Predator bio mask, a series of vertical lines shift past Kestrel's eyes as Kestrel is shown bodily scans and data feedback now in differant sets of pannels and icon boxes that appear and dissapear, Tabane's bodily heat signature is shown one moment before an x-ray like vision image appears showing not only Tabane's skeletal structure but her bodily organs, the female's beating heart is highlighted by a flashing white and red circle.

Then, as quick as that appears an ultraviolet images appears of the female before changing back to regular color vision, the IS HUD of Kestrel then proceedes to zoom in on the four missile launchers pointing skyward towards him, a set of 3D model images appear in icon boxes before Kestrel's eyes, in each box is a 3D layout and scanned image of the launchers, data feedback comes almost instantly as 3D model images of the missiles themselves appear before Kestrel's eyes.

All this happens in seconds, but also in a perfect combination of time that gives Kestrel the chance to prepare for what is coming next as Tabane, smiling widely on the ground points to the sky and in her usual cheerful tone shouts as loud as she can - "GOOD LUCK KID!"... and with that a large burst of flame erupts from both sides of Tabane, blowing the females hair around wildly as a large number of missiles are fired at Kestrel whom remains hovering in the air, a perfect stationary target. Yui yelps in fright, the office woman places both hands to her face, covering her mouth as dozens of missile trails flash towards Kestrel faster than the speed of sound. Ichika and Chifuyu stand perfectly side by side each other, Ichika is holding onto a thread of pure hope that what ever happens, does not cause negative ressults for his troubled scar faced friend. Chifuyu on the other hand merely stares with interest, as far as the mighty ponytailed female is concerned, it is now a case of, 'NOW we shall see!'.

As for Kestrel... the Israeli youngster's eyes go wide in an instant as the missiles fired immediately head upwards towards him, the child immediately reacts and darts away at over Mach 3, causing a loud sonic boom in the air, the missiles all give chase, soon enough the youngster is twisting and turning in the sky, turning tight and managing to keep the missiles a fair few meters behind him, for at least two minutes Kestrel flashes around the clear blue sky with the missiles turning widely to mact his every move, from what Tabane can see on the ground, the youngster is able to keep his distance and manages to amazingly be able to out turn each missile, but even so... the missiles continue to pursue the youngster relentlessly. Until, the pure inevitable happens, the youngster eyes begin to glaze and a 1,000 yard stare forms in his eyes as the fear of coming under attack hits home.

Kestrel however does not deploy his weapons but instead begins to climb for altitude, the missiles follow. Yui, Chifuyu and Ichika peer skyward as Kestrel becomes a streaking blue star as the missiles follow the youngster, everybody... including the IS management officals stare in silence as Kestrel performs a wide loop in the air, the missile trails trace Kestrel's movements. The scar faced youngster barrel rolls in the sky after reaching the peak of his loop, then... with not the slightest bit of fear in his body, and with a blank and empty expression the Israeli youngster begins to nose down and dive from a full height of 30,000ft, the Israeli youngster despite diving fast proceedes to slow down in the air allowing the trailing missiles to catch up with him, the child's long black hair blows and waves wildly as the youngster dives and a cone begins to form from behind the youngster as the scar faced child breaks the sound barrier.

From below Chifuyu and Ichika watch in silence, Ichika is staring in suspense while Chifuyu is staring with no emotions at all, Yui on the other hand has her heart beating rapidly, in a manner of speaking, the woman's heart is in her mouth as she watches in terror as Kestrel dives towards the ocean, the IS angel wings on Kestrel's Black Phoneix is set back like a diving Peregrine Falcon. From a distance away on an SDF Guided missile destroyer, a naval captain dressed in usual naval uniform watches Kestrel diving through a pair of binoculars, from what the SDF captian can see the child looks like a perfect tear drop falling from the sky, with as many as over 12 missiles trailing behind him in hot pursuit.

In just a space of five minutes, Kestrel is almost at ground zero, and the child still shows no sign of adjusting course of turning, and its now that Chifuyu's expression changes slightly, now showing a hint of concern, from behind Yui moves her hands away from her mouth and in a terrified yelp closes her eyes as tight as she can, and then, looks down and away at the ground, the office woman unable to watch what happens next, though Yui is not Kestrel's mother, the woman is the closest that Kestrel can find to a loving parent.

In just a matter of seconds later Kestrel reaches 70ft, it is at this point that Kestrel's IS angel wings open wide as the ocean is now just a mere fraction of seconds away, and the Israeli youngster is still showing no signs of adjusting his dive or approach. All the while Kestrel has been diving nothing but the endless roar of wind has filled his small ears, but the noise has not concerned the youngster. From below Ichika is pale, all color has left his face, his eyes are wide and his mouth is partialy open as he lowers his head slowly, following Kestrel as the said youngster dives towards the ocean, Chifuyu's frown is now less serious and now mixed with worry, though IS are known to take a hell of a lot of beating when bumping or crashing into natural elements like earth and solid rock, nothing has ever been attempted from a height of 30,000ft at a speed reaching over Mach 1, and crashing into the ocean is just as a fatal as crashing into solid ground, as many air lovers no doubtably understand after watching video clips that infest the internet.

The last second is the worst felt for Ichika, Chifuyu and the officals heads of IS management as the youngster reaches the last few feet from hitting the water. What comes next causes every last person including Chifuyu to leap back in alarm as a massive coloumn of water erupts to over 200ft high, almost instantly at the same time Kestrel bursts from out and away from the water coloumn, the white angel wings on his Black Phoenix wide open but swept back slightly like a Falcon in flat midair flight. The youngster then causes more surprise by banking sharply to the right in a large swerve, flying mere inches off the surface of the water and causing a wave of water to trail behind the youngster as if Moses was opening a channel in the ocean water but only a few feet of the water surface. Kestrel continues to fly in swerve, making a swooping flyby past Tabane, Chifuyu, Ichika and everybody else.

Sand and sea water erupts flying towards everybody and causing many to run for cover, a sonic boom causes many to hold their ears as Kestrel proceedes to climb upwards into the sky, not a single missile is on his tail, all have been destroyed without having to fire a shot. From where she stands, Tabane wafts and clears sand away from her face, her dress flutters upwards very nearly showing her teddy bear underwear that is hidden beneath her dress. A large, beaming and proud smile is on her face, the look of uncontrolable excitement is on her face, seconds later as the water begins to settle on the beach and the sand cloud dies down, leaving nothing but the large water coloumn that is just 1,000ft in the water, Tabane is bewildered with playful joy. Seconds later after gaping with her mouth open in a smile, the dressed female begins to leap up and down on the spot, cheering and clapping her hands like a little girl overwhelmed with playful excitement.

"WOHOO-HOOOOO!" - Ichika yells like a spectator at some great football game, the Japanese male despite being slightly drenched from sea spray and very nearly dusted with sand in the face has a large open smile on his face, the Japanese male stares with a boyish and playful expression as Kestrel climbs for height, until slowing down and coming to a stop in midair.

"WELL DONE KES! WELL DONE! YAY! YAY!" - Tabane exclaims in an excited voice, leaping up and down and clapping in a very cheerful manner.

"That kid's a smooth ace!" - Ichika speaks in a proud manner after hearing Tabane's words.

"What was that!?" - Chifuyu hisses in a very angered and annoyed voice, causing Ichika to suddenly get a sudden and terrible chill run up his spine. Ichika maitains his smile, but now... since after hearing the angered hiss of his older sister, the look of pure fear is upon his face. The Japanese male's smile begins to drop very slowly as he slowly proceedes to turn himself around to look at his big sister. What he sees next very nearly causes his blood to freeze in terror as Ichika is greated with the look of pure uncontrolled fury from his big sister, the female's eyes have the look of blood lust, a snarl is on her face, and though it does not exsist in reality, an aura of blue pissed to hell flames burns and engulfs the female, causing Ichika to very nearly cower in terror, if Ichika was a dog... the said male would have his eyes narrowed in terror, his ears would be down and his tail would be hit firmly between his legs.

Ichika then gulps, a nervous smile is on his face as he trembles slightly... Chifuyu clearly has every reason to be seriously angered, the mighty female is drenched wet from head to foot from the sea water, smeers of wet sand have stained her clothing, dry sand has not only caked her sleeves, but there is also traces of sand in her black hair. The mighty Chifuyu simply isn't used to being made a monkey out of, nor does she stand for horse play, and with good reason.

"Look at me Ichika!" - Chifuyu hisses in an angered manner, the woman moves her arms and hands away from her sides, the woman then lowers her head to look down at the mess that she is now in. Ichika merely blinks in fear and gulps, the Japanese male lifts his head up and then lowers it, his eyes running up, down and over his older, now seriously angered sister. The Japanese male is unable to speak due to feeling sick with fear. However, its not only Chifuyu thats a mess, but also a good number of the IS management officals, all of which are looking at each other, whispering and motioning with their arms to each other to indicate the mess that each other is in.

"Well Ichika... What was it you just said!?" - Chifuyu hisses again, attempting to use all strength in her body and mind to not explode with rage and rip people apart for this somewhat minor setback.

"Well.. I.. I.. Ah..." - Ichika stammers in a nervous manner, the Japanese male's eyes are in perfect contact with the bloodthristy glare of his older sister.

"Good work! Good work Kestrel! Now lets try it with weapons testing!" - Tabane shouts in a loud, cheery and happy manner, waving with both hands high above her head as the Israeli youngster known as Kestrel begins to hover in the air, merely looking back down at the cheerful looking Tabane with a confused expression.

From where she stands beside a group of IS officials, the office dressed Yui is amazingly unscathed, not a drop of water has landed on the said woman, though she has been buffeted by sand, the office dressed female has been able to dust herself off with relative ease. Others that stand around her have not been so fortunate, some men and women officals have very serious and angered scowls on their faces, others hiss and glare upwards at the hovering Kestrel, some are whispering curses while others are sneering, but that is only natural... just like Chifuyu... most men and women are a mess, wet sand smeered on their clothing, some wet grass and torn up sea weed has landed on the shoulders, faces and fronts of the men and women, but thankfuly as bad as Chifuyu looks, the mighty female has been lucky to avoid the sea weed and soggy foliage.

It is at this point as Chifuyu corners Ichika between some palm trees, an eye twitching in a psycopathic manner with a fierce scowl that Yui whom has had a lucky break, notices the mess on the mighty Japanese woman a few feet away from her. Ironicaly at the same time Chifuyu turns to face Yui, both eyes meet for a split second, before Yui looks Chifuyu up and down, the mess that coats Chifuyu is somewhat of a very big surprise. Both women remain silent until eventualy, after a moment... Yui turns to look away, her lips turning into an amused smile, but never the less the said woman is trying her best not to howl with laughter at the comedy of the moment.

However... as much as her valiant attempt is made, it is all in vain, as the office dressed woman eventualy cracks and ends up clutching herself howling with un-controlable laughter. Chifuyu simply remains silent but shoots a very angered and bloodthirsty glare over at the office dressed female.

"AH! SHUT UP!" - Chifuyu barks out in a cartoon like manner, slowly turning away to deal with her younger brother whom is now quietly sneaking away on tip toe as fast as he can. Yui's only response is a howled and struggled - "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry!".

"Look for god's sakes shut the hell up! Stop laughing! Stop laughing! Its not funny!" - Chifuyu replies in a annoyed yet very calm tone.

"Yes it is! I'm sorry!" - Yui responds amazingly in a clear tone before laughing away in an uncontrolable manner. In the back of her mind, Yui is thinking only one phrase, the feeling of pure satisfaction hits home as she thinks to herself - ( "Consider this payback for what you put me through during the christmas play all those years ago! ).

_**Okay! Thats it for chapter 74, the next is underway but please be aware... my Christmas break comes in 2 days time, December 19th, which means that I will be spending time on doing other things and helping with decorations and such. Please remember to read and review, if anyone has any requests feel free to speak out and I'll see what I can do. Thanks for waiting and sticking around, may all your own fics get the best reviews and follows. Also remember that I'm still wishing everyone the best, and may you readers have a VERY good Christmas and a new year full of good promises. I'm free to messaged when ever for the rest of Christmas time, so if anyone wants to speak feel free to speak out.**_

_**Right... thats all I can think of for now, sorry for the delays, if my F***ing Laptop hadn't have gone on the blink you readers would have had 2 chapters to read by now and possibly the third by now. F***ing software!**_

_**I'll see you readers again soon!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	75. Chapter 75: Hospital life and missiles

_**Hello again everyone, its been a very big and well needed break for me this Christmas time, and I'm only glad that many of you readers have had an equaly wonderful Christmas time. Now I wont lie, before Christmas even came on the very first day of my break I ended up sick with cold and chest infection, so I guess in terms of writing I was just in time in getting that last chapter done before illness hit me, that along with the annoying factor of my old Laptop acting like a Bitch and choosing to blow up on me... if it wasn't for that you readers would have got some very good entertainment by now... but I have already said sorry for all that so I won't open old wounds. Its been a few days but I ALWAYS keep my word, If I make a promise I KEEP it! So... here you all have it readers, a new chapter... and... from me and specialy from Kestrel himself - "Happy new year!".**_

_**Now, Lets now get on with the next chapter, enough with the red tape... without further ado... please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 75:

**\- Megumi's hospital ward, 15:30pm -**

Laying flat on her back, arms on top of the sheets of her hospital bed, gazing at the ceiling with a dreamy expression, matched with a faint blush under her eyes, Megumi's mind is miles away. Her heart beat seems to increase when ever she closes her eyes and the image of the long scar faced Kestrel comes to mind. Though Megumi has to admit, the youngster that is absent for the moment does seem to have a hint of being adoreable about him, the kid has something else about him that makes him radiant to both her and her younger and equaly beautiful sister Tomoe. One would suggest its the child's ability to fly IS, others would say its his ability to interact with wild animals... but in Megumi's case, the youngster's reasons for possible heart capture is due to the fact that the youngster... although suffering from PTSD, managed to save her hide from a very serious beating that could have led to death.

Deep down Megumi has never been one to show her girly side to the outside world, but when she was laying on the hot scorching pavement, her face and body screaming in pain from the blows she took, and noticed the fearless look in Kestrel's ocean blue eyes, matched with the fact that the youngster had come to her aid, her heart seemed to beat somewhat faster than normal. Though she and Tomoe have always been told it would be a man that captures a woman's heart by doing a valiant act, it seems now that all that is incorrect... and in Kestrel's case, the said youngster has earned his right for strength and skill, but clearly coming at a price of having to suffer, be scarred and pyschologicaly wounded in order to get it in the first place.

Yet all the same... Megumi feels nothing but joy and warmth, the female has already noticed that Tomoe, her own little sister is attracted to Kestrel... but when Megumi is concerned in a race or a challenge to win something, she NEVER backs down. Though Megumi is doubtful of what it is she feels for the youngster since his somewhat 'Very dynamic' rescue of her, the girl is cleary being honest with her emotions and sure enough the female lets out a sigh, placing her left hand over the top of the right, resting both hands over her stomach as she stares at the pure white ceiling of her ward, even the sounds of the hospital electronics seem to be blotted out right now. Megumi maintains her warm, dreamy expression and faint blush as she closes her eyes, a very ill feeling of a strange feeling churns and blazes out of control in her stomach and heart as she remembers the moment when Kestrel had that Magpie perched atop of his small hand only a few days ago.

Even when Tomoe and her mother had been speaking to her yesterday and again today, Megumi had spaced out and been staring into space, her mind drifting back to Kestrel over and over again... finally after what seems like a near lifetime of hesitation, her chest feeling very, very tight... Megumi with a deep red flush on her face and up her neck, proceedes to speak in a near yelp even though she keeps her voice down to a low vocal level. - "I..I.. I fallen in love, I love Kestrel!" - Anime style hearts begin to flutter and erupt from out of the female as she clutches her hospital bedsheets and stares up at the ceiling. From around the said female, in as many as 20 differant hospital beds with female inhabitants, every single pair of eyes suddenly train themselves on the now lovesick female, many have confused and surprised looks on their faces.

Though Megumi has never felt love before, apart from the old infatuations with older boys whom later turned out to be scumbags or just boring, Megumi does not deny her feelings. Even though her own younger sister Tomoe seems to have dibs on the Israeli boy, Megumi is not about to let it get in the way, which is made clear as the sudden memory of her youngster sat beside Kestrel comes to mind. A very confident smile and challenging expression appears on her face as she stares at the ceiling, in her mind her voice is perfect indication of how confident and challenging the dark blue haired female is - ( "Tomo', I know that you love Kes, but I'm not gonna back down from what my heart is saying! If you want Kes all for yourself, I'm afraid your going to have to fight for him!" ).

**\- Briefly elsewhere with Tomoe -**

Walking in a very ladylike manner both hands in front of her clutching tightly to a pair of clear light blue shopping bags containing various amounts of packed food, the dark blue ponytailed Japanese beauty known as Tomoe suddenly comes to a sudden and abrupt halt from walking in a casual manner. Almost instantly at the same time, a terrible chill rushes up the Japanese female's spine, causing the female to wince and clench her teeth. The said female feels a terrible sickening feeling in her gut as the ice cold chill rushes all the way up her spine, ressembling the terrible feeling one would feel if alone in the middle of a foggy night with supernatural pressance in the air.

The scenario that is around Tomoe is quite the opposite of what she feels, where it is that the Japanese beauty is, is non-other than her home street, the sky is clear blue, the air is hot from the summer sunlight, and every house that is either side of the road that is just mere feet away from Tomoe is just a perfect example of a typical and should be summer atmosphere... and yet... Tomoe gets this sickening feeling, why is that?

At this point, in some ironic twist of fate, Tomoe looks back over her shoulder and towards the direction of the large urban city like areas which she has left just an hour or so earlier. Though there are many buildings to look upon, Tomoe looks at only one building... the hospital area, which stands out tall and proud, 50 floors high, shinning with traces of silver that stands out from its blend of pure marble white, a large red cross is set directly atop of the building structure.

Though Tomoe originaly has no need to look back and should be continuing on her way home, which is just a few homes away, the dark blue haired beauty has every reason to look back now this sickening feeling has hit her in the stomach. The Japanese beauty remains silent, her mouth is partialy open and a look of pure anxiousness is set upon her face, mixed with a hint of pure concern.

Though normaly Tomoe would be thinking of nothing in particular, but for some strange reason the sudden image of the scar faced Kestrel, with his long black hair and ocean blue eyes appears in the said female's head. In Tomoe's mind, Kestrel stares with a curious and timid expression, which is just befitting of him. A faint smile appears on Tomoe's and a faint blush appears under her eyes, her heart seems to flutter and beat faster, what it is that attracts Tomoe to this scar faced youngster whom is racked with PTSD is anyone's guess... but in the end... it goes without saying, 'You can't help whom you fall in love with!'.

Then, all of a sudden, with Tomoe being taken completely by surprise, the familiar yet very welcomed voice of her mother suddenly catches the female of gaurd, causing Tomoe to go wide eyed and leap in shock and surprise. - "Tomo', are you alright?".

Tomoe's reaction is lightning speed, the Japanese beauty swivels round on the spot to look the friendly looking face of her mother directly in the eyes. The attractive looking face and figure of both Tomoe and Megumi's mother smiles ever so warmly at her daughter, her bright red lipstick seems to gleam a little in the sunlight, even the pearl stud ear rings that the woman wears seems the pressance ever more warming and positive. The long hair that is upon the mother of Tomoe and Megumi is a dark blue just like her daughters and from what one can see from a third person's point of view, the woman does not look anything like a mother, more like an older sister, but then again... some females these days can get away with great looks.

Tomoe returns the small pleasnat smile and replies in a carefree and calm tone of her own - "Yeah, I'm fine... I guess I was worrying about Kestrel!".

"Oh?... Oh... you mean your little friend that I haven't met yet!" - Tomoe's mother replies first in a confused tone before changing into a tone of joy and excitement, a bright smile is upon her face as she speaks.

"Yeah! Thats him!" - Tomoe responds almost instantly in a casaual tone, attempting to hide her bashfulness.

"And by the looks of where you was looking, you was also worrying about Megumi" - Tomoe's beauty of a mother replies in a kind and playful tone, causing Tomoe to blink in confusion before looking back over her shoulder and towards the hospital that she was stareing at just a few seconds ago.

"Ah... Yeah, I guess I was... just a little though" - Tomoe replies in a low and solemn tone, laced with a large amount of confusion and wonder as if the female is proceeding to play along with what it is that her mother is saying, though Tomoe in truth was not the slightest bit interested in Megumi, just the mention of the female's name is enough to cause Tomoe to suddenly be filled with dread and caution as the female suddenly puts two and two together.

In some amazing form of irony, fate or god knows what... Tomoe has suddenly discovered her reasons for suddenly getting a child run up her spine, even now as Tomoe begins to think of Megumi added with Kestrel, traces of that chill return, ressulting in a very serious frown to form on the said female's face. The dark blue haired beauty shoots an angered glare over towards the direction of the hospital which houses her older sister. An anime style fire aura forms around the Japanese beauty and a Lion or Tiger style growl is heard, emitted from Tomoe in a very uncharacteristic way, as the look of bloodthirst and rage fills the Japanese female's eyes. Mentaly and spiritualy, Tomoe seems to be ready to fight to the death as her mental voice hisses in a furious manner - ( "MEGU! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! He's too good, even for you! If you touch Kestrel, I'll teach you the true meaning of pain! YOU GOT THAT SISTER!?" ). - In her mind, Tomoe seems to spit at the very word 'Sister'.

Though Tomoe has always denied it, the Japanese female has had a romantic history, though it was just the one time... the last time Tomoe was in love with a boy, her love interest happened to end up getting stolen by non other than her own older sister, so in a manner of speaking its fair to say that in terms of a personal matter, Tomoe still has a serious bone to pick with Megumi, even now... as she begins to scowl in a furious manner over towards the distant city like district, nothing but rage is rolling and churning in the female's gut.

"Tomoe? Are you okay?" - The stunning mother of Tomoe suddenly asks yet again, now fully concerned for her dear beloved youngest child.

"Eh?, YES! Yes!... Sorry, I was miles away!" - Tomoe replies yet again in a surprised manner, the Japanese female smiles awkwardly as she finishes her sentance to her mother, the Japanese female even goes so far as to tilt her head and close her eyes as she finishes speaking to her questioning mother, whom responds with just a simple nod of the head and a warm smile.

"I know I've said it many times over, but your just like me when I was your age" - The apparently stunning and mature Japanese female states in a careing parental manner, causing Tomoe to roll her eyes and sigh slightly. No matter how many times her mother says it, Tomoe for some strange reason feels vast levels of irritation rise and boil from within, its not because she finds the words annoying, nor is it because this phrase is used frequently, but rather for some odd reason Tomoe simply finds it annoying, though normaly Tomoe would frown in such a manner,  
but thankfuly the dark blue haired beauty is unable to sour the regular made cheerful look on her face.

The Japanese beauty pauses, lowers her head, closes her eyes and after a moment... followed by the placement of a very friendly and warm smile on her face, the dark blue ponytailed female looks her mother in the eyes and in a warm and caring voice speaks the words - "Thanks mother".

The response that the older and mature Japanese female gives is a simple closure of the eyes, shaking of the head with a very kind motherly smile. Less than ten seconds later after finishing shaking her head, the mature Japanese beauty looks her daughter in the face and with a friendly motion of the head, matched with the kindest of words speaks in a manner that is the warmest and most welcome for the now slightly fretting younger Japanese beauty - "Lets go Tomoe, were nearly home... why don't you tell me more about Kestrel?".

Upon hearing Kestrel's name, Tomoe lights up instantly, the feeling of joy replaces her feelings of sourness and anger, a bright and cheerful expression appears on her face. Tomoe's mother does not fail to notice the sudden lighting up of her daughter and as a ressult smiles in a proud manner. Though mothers and daughters do keep a level of privacy from each other, its clear as day that as a human female... Tomoe's mother is more experianced with the challenges of life, and as such knows that look in a girl or woman's face anywhere... its non other than love that glistens in Tomoe's eyes... however... even as the pair eventualy begin to walk home together side by side, Tomoe still holds negative emotions for her older sister, levels of concern remain in her heart mixed with levels of rage and malice... this is proved as Tomoe turns her head slightly to the left to look back over her shoulder, an anime style piercing star in her eye is directed over towards the city area district.

Tomoe says nothing but aggressivly thinks the words - ( "Megu', I don't know if you plan on doing what I think you are planning to do in the future, but I warn you... I will NOT forgive you if you lay a finger on Kestrel... ... ... he's mine!" ). - A powerful red flush is under her eyes and up the sides of her neck as she thinks those last two words.

**\- Back with Megumi -**

Remaining perfectly flat on her back, head resting on her pillow, the older sister of Tomoe remains gazing at the clean white ceiling of her hospital ward, though the dreamy expression on her face and lovesick trance in her eyes has now faded, the small and warm smile remains on her face, the said Japanese beauty blinks every now and then, completely silent... unable to hear or notice anything that is going on around her. Which as far as every other girl and woman in the same ward is concerned... that is nothing out of the ordinary, as far as everyone else is concerned, Megumi is minding her own buisness and being silent, so if it isn't bothering anyone else and not disturbing the other patients, its nothing to pay any attention to.

However, eventualy after twenty long minutes of gazing at the ceiling, Megumi is brought back to reality as a female voice speaking in a concerned tone suddenly drifts and goes down the dark blue haired female's ears. "C'mon Midori, cut me some slack! You must have some news!".

Blinking in surprise, the warm expression on her face lifting and being replaced with concern and wonder, Megumi rolls her head to the left, what meets her eyes is female in the bed next to hers, the female that is bedridden has a long red ponytail, brown eyes and dark red coloured eyebrows, the female wears simple hospital bed . Standing over the red headed female is non other than one of the hospital nurses, the nurse wears her usual white nurse uniform, a small white nurse hat is upon her head, the nurse has short purple hair and has green eyes. In the nurse's right hand is a clipboard, the left hand can not be seen, but the end of a thin fine pen can be seen moving around behind the clipboard.

"I've already told you to address me as 'Nurse' god knows how many times already when in hospital, and for the second time... NO! I don't have any news! How many more times have I got to tell you?" - The nurse replies in a huffed manner, clearly showing her loosing of patience with the bedridden female whom in appearance and tone seems to be the same age as Megumi.

"But Keita told me he would come and see me everyday while was in hospital" - The red haired female speaks back instantly in a tone of disapointment, clearly showing the negative emotions that ressemble a playful whiny manner, a slight look of sorrow is upon her face as she glances down to look at the bed sheets that cover the lower half of her body.

"Look Nami, I've already told you I'm sorry, but I can't be the go-between for you and your god annoying boyfriends!" - The purple haired nurse replies in a tone that ressembles a matter of fact.

Reacting instantly, the long red haired ponytailed female allows herself to fall backwards, her head landing in a moderate manner on her pillow, the female sighs in frustration and closes her eyes, clearly showing the deflated emotions that fill and consume her from head to foot. Megumi watches everything in silence, curiosity fills every nook and cranny of her mind, a wave of interest hits home, though Megumi would rather be thinking of Kestrel right now... it wouldn't hurt to think of other things as she is recovering, after all... Megumi has all the time she needs to recover and at least this way she is not being held responsible for the somewhat 'slight' incident that happened in the streets just a couple of days earlier, and on the bonus side of course... being in hospital is a good thing when it comes to escapeing summer heat, air conditioners keep every ward and room cool and the staff working ensure patient's comfort aswel as welfare... so maybe being in hospital isn't such a bad thing for the dark blue haired female, however... that does not mean Megumi is wanting to stay, as always, ever since she was a little girl... when Megumi is interested, or has a goal that needs to be achieved outside hospital, she will use all her life strength and will power to achieve it... but maybe, just maybe... its not only the thought of Kestrel that is causing Megumi to wish for a speedy recovery, but also the luxuary of good food at home and carefree nights with friends in the streets are what are proving to be an irrestistable bounty to wish for a speedy recovery!

Megumi blinks in silence, looking interested as ever as the red haired female groans in a solemn manner, before opening her eyes, looking up at the nurse above her and speaking the words - "Well get me a drink then will you Midori!?".

"HEY! C'mon Nami! Your in hospital, not in a bar! Not only that, but I'm not your servant, so if you want a drink ask someone else, and it can either be tea or coffee" - The white uniformed nurse responds in a calm and rational manner, but never the less... the tone of her voice is clearly huffed with frustraition.

As the red haired female rolls her eyes and proceedes to sit up straight in her hospital bed, the said female folds her arms and in a huff ressembling a child annoyed or pouting, the red haired female asks a question that is clearly used by a person that is bored out of their mind - "Well what am I going to do then?".

The white uniformed nurse, commonly described as an 'Angel in white', simply smirks, shakes her head in an affectionate manner and after clicking her pen, proceedes to places the said writing instrument into the top pocket slightly atop her right breast, the nurse whom as far as Megumi is aware of is called Midori, then places her clipboard by her side. Less than a second later the nurse leans forward towards a white, wooden bedside table that has a clear class with a light green liquid inside, the nurse then proceedes to pick up the small glass in her hand, looks down at the red haired female whom has her arms folded and in an affectionate tone speaks the words - "You can take your medicine".

"Yeah? Well I'll wait for the moment when I can say that to you as a means of payback! Heh, Heh!" - The red haired female replies in a challenging playful tone, chuckling slightly as she takes the glass from the purple haired nurse. Megumi simply remains silent as the purple haired nurse simply smiles back at the red ponytailed female and walks away, however... what Megumi sees next after watching the red haired female drink down the green liquid, sends a supportive smile to her face, as the red ponytailed female leans forward as if to check to see if the nurse is well and truly out of the picture, before leaning foward over the side of her bed, opening and reaching into the small sideboard and pulling out a small black cloth bag.

Megumi smirks with affection as the red haired female begins to help herself to a drink, sure... hospital life is boring most of the time, which is yet another reason why Megumi hates hospitals and medical related things... but then again, it DOES have its compensations. After all, if Megumi was in that red haired female's body, she too would have snuck an alcoholic beverage into the ward and drank whilst not being observed. As Megumi rolls her head to the right, yet more entertainment is playing, though Megumi is laying down and not sat up, she gets a perfect view of more entertainment playing before her eyes as a short black haired female with a bandaged foot climbs out of her bed a grabs some crutches, beside that female is a middle aged woman with thin framed glasses and a brown ponytail.

Megumi listens and observes carefuly as the black haired female with her thin white PJs smiles with confidence and places both crutches under her arms. In that moment Megumi hears the ponytailed woman exclaim in a amazed tone - "Not again, I've never known a girl go to the bathroom so much as you!".

Though Megumi can't see the look on the black haired female's face, she knows that a smug expression is on her face as the black haired female replies in a cheerful tone - "Your just jealous because you can't!". - Megumi watches the black haired female suddenly pat the stomach of the middle aged woman, causing the said female to leap up and yelp in sudden pain, obviously from having some operation done. Though its not like Megumi to laugh at other people's suffering, just the moment alone causes a titter to come from the blue haired beauty. Megumi rolls her head back to the left as to prevent the middle aged woman from knowing that she just uttered a titter, non the less, a happy and loving smile is on Megumi's face and though some of her injuries twinge with every move she makes, just a bit of humor and joy seems to be the perfect antidote for the dark blue haired female's recovery.

Eventualy after a few moments, Megumi's cheerful smile drops and the female begins to relax again, however... it does not mean her observing of hospital life is over, as the female is soon sitting upright and begins to watch with interest as a hospital bed is wheeled into the ward with what looks like a new patient. The patient is obviously female, this time being a female of mature years with long brown hair and blue eyes. A white coated doctor wheels the woman into the ward with plain expression, escorting the bed on both sides are two nurses, both have black hair in a bun, one holds a clipboard while the other merely walks hands placed neatly in front of her below the waist. Megumi watches in silence as the nurse with a clipboard speaks in a tone of authority, not taking her eyes of the clipboard which she holds in one hand - "Nurse, put the patient by that empty space beside miss Saki".

"Yes sister" - The second nurse replies in a usual tone of calmness.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Aren't I going to see a doctor!?" - The long brunette woman asks in a demanding like tone, causing the nurse with the clipboard to simply glance down, smile and reply in a playful tone - "All in good time miss Kouhin, we have to get into a nightie and prepare to spend the night must we not!?".

"WE!? Excuse me! But I'm not a Yuri fan!" - The brunette woman replies in a somewhat shocked and nervous manner, slightly shifting herself away slightly as if being approached by a very ugly and overweight person of the same gender expressing love. The reaction from the clipboard holding nurse is a simple annoyed and offended frown, though she does not reply to the brunette female in the bed that is being wheeled, the nurse looks over at her college and with a serious expression matched with a strict tone speaks the words - "That will do nurse!".

Once again, Megumi titters to herself at the sight. Though Megumi will admit it, she would rather be at home rather than at a hospital ward that obviously gives her the creeps at times, but non the less, she would not have missed this moment for over 100,000 yen. In fact, in her mind, Megumi aggrees with the assumption that maybe hospital isn't too bad after all, AS long as she go home soon enough and get away from the god awful food and boring music then there is no need to complain, but that is only a natural thing to think and feel as one does discover that home is very far better than being trapped in a boring enviroment with hardly any change, for those that can manage such situations, then they have to be people to admire.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

After 10 minutes pass with nothing particular happening, Megumi huffs in frustration and lays back down, the dark blue haired female is bored out of her mind, where has all the entertainment gone!? Thankfuly, Megumi's wait does not have last long as the female rolls her head to the right and to her amazement notices the dark, shoulder height haired female sitting upright in her bed exchanging words with a nurse, how it is Megumi has failed to notice that is beyond her imagination... but maybe that is only natural, when one does not pay attention to one's surroundings time seems to slip by, and... on the other hand, Megumi may be given the chance to observe and evesdrop on some more interesting conversation.

"There we go, more comfortable?" - The dark black haired nurse asks in a tone of happiness before walking away. The dark haired female winces in pain, her bandaged ankle clearly causing a sharp blast of pain to cause some major discomfort, and though Megumi feels pity for the dark haired female, deep down... as cruel as it may sound, Megumi still would not miss a moment like this for over 100,000 yen. For the dark blue haired female being in hospital is like being on a safari observing animal behaviour, although there is some major differances ofcourse, its about as far as one can get as to seeing a situation like this from Megumi's point of view.

"Get me the doctor! For all we know some of us are likely to be laying her with our lives slipping away!" - The black haired female with a bandaged ankle calls out in a frustraited and very irritated tone, a scowl is upon her face as she calls out to the walking away nurse.

Megumi blinks but keeps her eyes fixed on the short haired female as she proceedes to get herself comfortable in her own bed. The black haired female notices Megumi looking with curiosity at her, but does not take it as an offence, instead to make pleasantries the black haired female shrugs her shoulders, makes eye contact with the blue haired beauty and then, speaking as if it is a matter of fact speaks the words - "Well it can happen you know, one moment your here, the next... gone! You know what I mean?".

Megumi's response is a frown on her face as a terrible feeling of dread fills every nook and cranny in her body, but non the less Megumi is pleasant and closes her eyes for a brief moment, nods her head and in a tone that clearly shows her aggreement, replies - "Yeah... Yeah I know exactaly what you mean".

The dark haired female then glances at a woman across from her, Megumi does the same and notices what looks like yet another middle aged woman on the ward laying perfectly flat, head back, mouth slightly open, eyes closed and pale green hair strewn out in a slight mess. Though she isn't, the woman that both Megumi and the black haired female look at, seems to look as though she is dead, which obviously once again causes a horrible chill to run up Megumi's back. As Megumi closes her eyes and looks away in an attempt to shake off the feeling of dread, the black haired female mutters some words that effectivley finishes Megumi's attempt at making pleasantries with the unknown female on her right - "I think she's gone already!".

"Aah, don't say that please!" - Megumi replies in a nervous like tone as she rolls over, presenting the black haired female with the veiw of her back. A sweatdrop forms on the side of the black haired female's temple as a moment of awkward feeling lingers in the air. - "Sorry" - The black haired female speaks in a solemn and guilty tone, before looking away and proceeding to pick up book that is on her bedsheets.

"What they got you in here for then? Something nasty?" - The red haired female with a long ponytail asks in an interested tone, making eye contact with Megumi seeing as though Megumi wants to apparently end pleasnatries with the female on her right. Megumi gains a feeling of relief as she looks into the eyes of the red haired female and with an instant reply, the dark blue haired female speaks in a tone of casual interest - "No, not realy, just got into a scrape with some scumbags and now I'm carrying the scars of combat".

"You got into a scrape eh? Hope you won!" - The red haired female replies in a playful and excited tone, a cool big sister expression is on her face as she speaks, clearly indicating her support of Megumi and what her side of the story must be.

"Wish that was so, but in reality I had my ass saved by a kid!" - Megumi replies, a faint blush appears under her eyes as she knows that the so called 'Kid' that she is talking about is non other than the Israeli IS ace Kestrel whom for some bizare reason has managed to do what many other boys have failed to do, capture her heart. - Even though Kestrel's capture of Megumi's heart was in fact un-intentional.

"You had your ass saved by a kid? What did she do, phone the fuzz and scream ears out!?" - The red haired female asks in a supportive and playful manner, an effectionate grin is on her face as she speaks, but what Megumi says back in return causes the red haired female's eyes to widen with utter surprise. Megumi chuckles in a ladylike manner before speaking clearly in a proud and joyful tone - "No, it wasn't a she, it was a boy... and when I say he saved my ass, I mean it litteraly, he realy did save my ass... he battered seven bells of crap out of the scum that jumped me!".

"Your pulling my leg!" - The red haired female replies in a bewildered tone, unable to believe a word that is being said to her. Megumi closes her eyes for a moment, her happy and joyful expression not dropping for a single second.

"Wish I was, but its the truth!" - Megumi replies in a joyful tone, causing the red haired female to raise an eyebrow, clearly showing her utter disbelief of what is being said to her, the smile that remains on her face is also a clear indication that she believes that Megumi is making every word up, however... what the red haired female does not fail to notice is the look of utter joy and bashfulness that is on Megumi's face and in her eyes as she begins to speak happily about the scar faced Israeli youngster that is absent from Japan at the moment. Though its normaly a friend or family member that notices this look, its a fair assumption that all women notice this look on the other person's face. As Megumi begins to chatter away at the red haired female, a look of utter pride and smugness appears on her face, her eyes are half closed and a triumphant look is on her face as she waits for Megumi to finish gossiping away. Eventualy, after coming to the conclusion that the time is right, the red haired female speaks in a questioning manner - "I would guess that you love this kid right!?".

Suddenly blushing furiously, the dark blue haired female immediately begins to act bashful, though she looks away she keeps her face directed at the red haired female before eventualy after a total of three minutes with a small pearly white smile on her face, still maintaining her furious blush Megumi giggles in a girlish, timid manner before making eye contact with the red haired female that keeps her smug expression - "You read me like a map! Is it that easy to see?" - Megumi places her hands to the sides of her face, closes her eyes tight and shakes her head violently as she reaches the last words of her sentance, a loud yet very silent love stricken "Eeek!" comes from the Japanese female as she ends her sentance.

"Actualy... in truth, you don't hide it that much!" - The red haired female replies in a tone that clearly indicates that its a matter of fact, causing Megumi to sweatdrop slightly and chuckle awkwardly. A few seconds pass before Megumi speaks again, this time in her casual and usual manner - "I guess I don't!".

"So... you're a shotacon!?" - The red haired female asks, now in a very low and inquisitive tone. Causing Megumi to blink, go wide eyed and for her smile to drop instantly, a terrible feeling of being struck in the heart with a sharp knife causes Megumi to suddenly be filled with dread, however... Megumi is always fast to lie or at the most talk her way out of situations, after all Megumi has always been known as a woman who could talk her way out of a room with no doors. So as a ressult Megumi's smile is quick to make a come back, the dark blue haired female even goes so far as to raise an index finger as if explaining an important fact, what she says next is the closest to coming to a rational answer - "Ah... yeah, but... its alright, because I'm not going to touch this boy, afterall... I only have to wait a few years and then I'll be allowed to do what I want with him!".

The red haired female raises an eyebrow but does not pull a disgusted face, as she speaks the tone alone causes Megumi to frown and feel utterly offended, the red haired female and Megumi maitain perfect eye contact, even as the red haired female blinks and then speaks the words - "Now I know boys are depraved but I feel somewhat ashamed to be a girl right now!".

"Yeah!? Well if you met him you wouldn't blame me for loving him! He's more than wonderful, and besides... he's gone through plenty of hell as it is, so before you accuse me of being a child molester, I suggest you look at his past and you'll find what I'm doing is life's compensation!" - Megumi retorts in a flat and serious tone, causing the red haired female to go slightly wide eyed with surprise and shock, her voice has an equal amount of surprise as she speaks - "Huh! This kid that you love has been a victim of child abuse?".

"Not just abuse, torture!" - Megumi puts in with a flat and serious tone.

"Torture?" - The red haired female asks in a confused yet stunned manner.

"Long story... but in the meantime, all you need to know is that what I'm doing is giving the kid a bit of something that life hasn't let him taste before... and thats love" - Megumi continues in a serious manner, the frown on her face seems to defuse the red haired female's apparently preaching attitude. Eventualy after a moment, the red haired female continues to speak this time in a more curious and questioning manner. - "So, one of the reasons that attracts you to this boy is his past? And you feel as though you should make up for the years that he's suffered?".

"I guess... but in truth, its far more than that, I realy do care for this boy and I want to be with him, if you met him you would want him aswel after you saw who he is and the things he can do!" - Megumi replies, first in a flat and casual manner before changing to a manner of lovey dovey joy.

"So, ah... what is this kid's name?" - The red haired female asks in a confused manner, a sweatdrop is on the side of her temple as she speaks due to suddenly feeling awkard and at loss for words around the dark blue haired female that apparently has the ability to talk in a love stricken manner about a young boy. Megumi's reply is sharp and quick to the point as she responds to the red haired female's question - "His name is Kestrel".

"Kestrel?... That is this boy's name?" - The red haired female replies in a flabbergasted manner, putting a lot of emphisis on the word 'That', as to show the awkwardness of the moment which was similar to what the students of the IS academy experianced when they themselves first learned of the scar faced boy's name.

"Thats right, I wonder how he's getting on" - Megumi replies in her usual calm and collected tone whilst getting herself comfortable in her hospital bed and preparing for a VERY long day's conversation.

**\- With Kestrel -**

Diving out of the sky with holographic angel wings fully swept back, his long pitch black hair blowing and fluttering in the roaring wind is non other than the scar faced youngster known as Kestrel, his small ocean blue eyes full of neutral emotions as he dives from out of thick cloud cover in fully deployed IS form, Kestrel's Black Phoenix looking utterly dark and sinister against whatever blue sky sky that is visible. Though Kestrel appears to have cleared some of the IS testing set up by Tabane, its clear as day that before the main event is to take place, there is still a lot of reasearch that Houki's purple haired sister wishes to perform.

So far since the first test, Kestrel has performed most of Tabane's challenges with flying colours, most of the testing Kestrel has performed using weaponry has hardly been considered something not seen before, as Kestrel has only used his red blade 'Nosferatu' to fight against Tabane's missiles, but now... after being asked from Tabane herself, the youngster is now using whatever else has in his arsenal. Mainly involving his rifle/Cannon 'Prometheus' which is now being clutched tightly in his IS right hand, as Kestrel is a right handed person... the fact being proven as Kestrel wields 'Nosferatu' and holds a pencil in his right hand.

Though Kestrel is not firing 'Prometheus', the rifle/cannon still looks powerful as ever, even when being silent. The barrel faces backwards towards the youngster's feet as Kestrel dives out of the clouds before pulling up and performing some mid air stunts in an effort to throw off the missiles that Tabane has had fire at him, but to no avail as the missiles keep up with the youngster, however... as Kestrel gets some distance, the youngster rolls over on his back, and with one hand to fire 'Prometheus' while the other supports the weapon, takes aim at the twenty or so missiles that are trailing the Israeli youngster. There is no serious expression on Kestrel's face, no emotion what so ever, just a usual timid and curious look as the said youngster looks down the barrel after raising the rear of 'Prometheus' to his small face, a 3D holographic gun sight appears on Kestrel's HUD as the youngster takes aim.

The youngster then fires five shots, the sounds of plasmatic blasts echo in the air as 'Prometheus' fires bright blue shperes looking like shooting stars, bright white'ish blue tails trail behind the glowing blue shots as they ring through the air, all five blasts hit their respective targets, causing five missiles to explode in the air in a flash of orange and yellow, black puffs of smoke are left behind as the missiles vanish in an instant. Kestrel then lowers 'Prometheus', rolls back onto his front and blasts away in order to get some distance. The remaining fifteen missiles leaving thin white trails behind as they pursue the scar faced youngster.

From below, Ichika, Chifuyu, Tabane and the offical heads of IS management stare with either surprised, impressed, offical or serious expressions. Chifuyu merely holds her usual serious expression as she rolls her eyes or head in following the youngster whom blazes the sky every now and then firing live shots of Blue Plasma at the trailing missiles and causing small but very loud explosions in the air. Though its not the first time Ichika has seen Kestrel's IS in action, he is clearly stunned at the sight, everytime he looks in one direction, Kestrel has moved to another, causing the Japanese male to make himself dizzy with turning his head and rolling his eyes so much. Thankfuly, Kestrel manages to make things easier for Ichika as the said boy climbs for height in order to finish off the missiles that have been fired at him.

Ichika's eyes remain wide all the time as Kestrel fires and battles it out with Tabane's missiles, even though Ichika is at times a dense person, he isn't utterly stupid... for a person to pilot an IS faster than mach 4, twist, turn, handle so many G's at once and still manage to take out missile after missile with pin point accuracy... they HAVE to be either luckily gifted or at the most a skilled master, and Kestrel is only a vulnerable if slightly fragile ten year old racked with PTSD. From behind a makeshif metal computer rack, Tabane smiles with her usual pleasant expression as she successfuly begins to gather readouts and data on what is happening in the air, the only time she takes her eyes off her computer monitiors is when Kestrel splashes the last of the missiles.

"GOOD WORK KID! JUST ONE MORE ROUND AND WE'RE FINISHED FOR TODAY!" - Tabane shouts in a loud and cheery voice, a hand is raised like a youngster in a classroom asking a question. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is open in a cheery manner as yet another voley of missiles is fired from behind her from what is the seventh time already for today. The Japanese female's long purple hair blows around in the wind, as the missiles leave a cloud of sand and dust in their wake. From beside Ichika, the office dressed Yui stares up at the hovering Kestrel with a very worried expression, as far as she was aware, Tabane was only going to be testing Kestrel and his IS for only an hour, its been three. The office dressed woman has a terrible feeling of dread and disgust in her gut as she shoots and angered expression at Tabane.

Thankfuly, Yui's angered scowl is defused as Ichika places a hand on the woman's shoulder, which although at first is alarming, it is later a much welcomed form of reasurance as Ichika gives Yui a look that goes along the lines of 'I know, I don't like this either, but don't do anything stupid'. Yui closes her eyes, looks down at the ground and after pausing in a daze of misery, looks up and into Ichika's friendly chocolate brown eyes and with a soft vocal whisper speaks the words - "Thanks Ichika, you really do do your sister credit".

"Don't let her hear you say that!" - Ichika replies in an equaly friendly tone, a nervous and awkward look is on his face as he feels the ice cold bitch glare hit him in the back from his older sister whom still is stewing from having her clothing slightly ruined from Kestrel's flying earlier on.

From above the Israeli youngster is worn out, though Kestrel looks forward to flying, the child isn't used to being attacked so much and though Kestrel knows its just a test, the youngster's will to go on is being put under heavy strain. The Israeli youngster does not scowl, nor does he hold any other expression on his face appart from a slightly tired look, but instead just blasts away back into the sky still tightly clutching 'Prometheus'. As the scar faced boy climbs for height through some white scattered clouds, a blue glowing flash appears at the side of the child. The youngster has de-actived 'Prometheus'.

From below Tabane gets a reading on her computer monitors, aswel as looking at the youngster's 3D image on another laptop like monitor. The purple haired sister of Houki, places a finger under her chin and puts on a questioning expression as she watches the youngster twist and turn through the clouds, arms at his sides and angel wings slightly open, making the youngster look like a bird flying in a very elegant manner. Though Tabane does not say anthing the look on her face is a clear indication that she is wondering what the youngster is up to.

With Kestrel, whom flys at a speed of Mach 3, keeping the missiles behind him at a fair distance, the freezing air prevents the youngster from feeling tired pyshicaly, but mentaly, the child is full of stress, from what Yui told him, he would have been finished by now, and instead its just attack after attack. The scar faced youngster is confused and strained, and now all he wants to do more than anything is put his head down on a pillow and go to sleep. Sure, its a true saying... children do have energy far greater than that of adults, but even then, even youngsters have their limits, and if anything Kestrel sure has hell hasn't moved around so fast and pulled such heavy stunts whilst being subject to vast amounts of G for over three hours, so its only natural that the youngster would be feeling tired by now.

His eyes are getting heavy, the pressure and strain from the G force and extended periods of flying fast is pulling on each and every one of Kestrel's small muscles with force. If Kestrel was flying for fun, then he would sure as hell be able to do this all day, but as he has been moving as if he's in a battle, its a differant story. However, the child has an ace up his sleeve, and one not yet discovered. Ironicaly, what Kestrel does next is done completley by accident and un-intentional, even the people on the ground don't even see it coming. Kestrel only happens to blink, and to his surprise the 3D holographic HUD on his IS is displayed with a large light grey window like panel. Various small and white glowing Israeli words form under the panel moving left to right like the words in a rectangle during a news bulletin.

Less than a second later after blinking again, Kestrel's ocean blue eyes are welcomed with the sights of flashing white and red lock on symbols that rush and race around the grey panel, until landing over white highlighted 3D images of the forty or so trailing missiles that relentlessly pursue the youngster, following every twist, every turn and every move. Predator bio-mask like bars flash past from right to left, rapidly changing the youngster's 3D images from infra-red, to ultra-violent, to x-ray, to night vision, then... back to the white highlighted form, the blue sky is blotted out from the panel leaving the rapidly moving white highlighted missiles on the panel, red and white lock on symbols flash over each and every missile, and though there is some data readout in some smaller panels, the scar faced youngster pays no attention to the readouts, but that is only natural, everything is happening at once, so its no wonder that the youngster is bewildered.

For Yui, the pain of waiting is too much, the woman feels her heart aching, she is feeling like a liar whom has just sent an innocent child to his death. Kestrel should have been finished by now and instead its as if the youngster is performing an endless repeat of test after test, and if that isn't in-human what is? The office dressed Yui takes a very verbal approach to Tabane, the woman scowls, balls her hands into fists and takes just one step forward her gaze fixed firm on Houki's older sister. - "Tabane thats enough! Kestrel's had more than one hour, you said that after one hour he would be finished, pack it for christ sakes!".

Tabane blinks with surprise and sends a very amazed look towards Yui, the Japanese female pauses for a moment, maintaining perfect eye contact with Yui before finaly speaking in a tone that holds a good amount of neutrality, despite being somewhat shocked at Yui's sudden outburst of anger - "Huh? But I just said that this was the last test, so whats the problem?".

"Whats the problem? Tabane, you said that you understood the fact that Kestrel has PTSD and that there wouldn't be any pressure included, and look!" - Yui barks out in a furious manner, the woman completley ignoring the stares that the IS heads of management shoot towards her. Ichika is startled by the office woman's outburst, but proceedes to stand in front of the office woman and opens his arms in an attempt to block Yui's path incase the woman wants to run up and punch Tabane's lights out.

"I don't notice Kestrel complaining, he seems to be okay... so why are you being so cranky!?" - Tabane asks with a plain and innocent expression, after briefly looking up at the sky and watching Kestrel blaze overhead with all 40 or 50 missiles in hot pursuit, matching nearly every sharp turn and swerve.

"Because before we even started I had a discussion with Kestrel, he was as nervous as hell and continued to ask if the testing was going to be just 1 hour! I know that Kestrel isn't the most intelligent person on earth but if I can tell its been more than 1 hour then I'm sure Kestrel can aswel!" - Yui snaps with a furious expression.

"Yui, look I know that you care for the kid but trust me when I say that Tabane knows what she is doing" - Chifuyu speaks out in a flat and emotionless tone, but it does not help as Yui keeps her angered scowl.

"She does not know Kestrel aswel as I do! I may not be his mother but by god I can tell that when Kestrel has had enough, he's had enough!" - Yui replies in an aggressive snap.

"Well, Well, Well... how about in the next five minutes, I call those missiles back and we let Kestrel off for the next test for tomorrow?" - Tabane suggests in a nervous manner, a nervous bead of sweat is upon her temple, the female is leaning back and her hands are raised as if trying to calm someone down. Chifuyu maintains her serious glare, but continues to look up at the sky, the ponytailed Japanese female however does roll her eyes to the right to cast a fierce scowl at the office dressed Yui. Ichika on the other hand is surprisingly nervous, normaly the only woman that would get him on edge is Chifuyu, yet Yui has the fiercesome look that can melt a steel wall, the woman is like a furious mother about to fight to the death to keep her son in her arms, and HER arms alone.

"Ah.. Ah.. Actualy Chifuyu-nee, I sort of aggree with Yui, heh, heh... Kestrel has been working real harder than he should so... how about we lay off little Kes huh!?" - Ichika speaks out in a nervous manner, chuckling with nerve in the face of the fierce Yui whom appears to be ready to tear open not only Chifuyu and Tabane, but also anyone else that is in her way. At this exact moment, Chifuyu is about to up and raise her voice at the office dressed Yui, when the sudden startled yelped voice of Tabane causes everyone to jump in startlement. Ichika, Chifuyu and every last man and woman of IS management turn their heads and shoot shocked expressions at Houki's older sister, whom proceedes to type violently away on laptop keys and appears to look in distress.

"What!? Whats the problem!?" - Chifuyu asks in a stern tone her serious and angered expression directed fiercely at Tabane, whom although replies, does not make eye contact with Ichika's older sister, but instead continues to work frantacly on the laptops, as if trying to prevent a disaster from taking place.

"I.. I don't know, all of a sudden everything seems to be dead, data feedback... camera footage, messurements, readouts... even my favorite music station! Everything is dead!" - Tabane yelps back in a startled tone. Though Chifuyu and Ichika ironicaly sweatdrop at the same time at the hearing of Tabane's music station, the pair immediately rush over towards Houki's older sister whom appears to be trying everything in her power to counter what looks like a serious technical error. The purple haired female presses laptop keys, taps laptop monitors with her index finger and stares in disbelief.

As Ichika, Chifuyu and various IS management officals rush over to see what is happening, they find 4 laptop monitors blank, the screens are black, as if they have suddenly switched themselves off. 2 small tablet like monitors are acting like a TV unable to find signals while another 2 are flashing red warnings, from where Chifuyu and Ichika are standing from behind the purple haired female, they can see that the warnings flash black words in red icon boxes and rectangles. The words themselves change from 'Malfunction', 'System blocked', 'Error', 'Critical system failure' and 'Interferance'. Even Yui herself is stunned at the sight, everything has happened so fast that her anger has subsided.

"Whats the problem? Is it the system?" - Chifuyu asks in a calm and rational tone.

"I don't think so, If it was warning signs would have appeared, everything just went dead on me" - Tabane replies now in a calm tone, though Tabane is one would describe as a bouncy and loving female, the said female is a full fledged genius and expert with computers, and as such encounters problems with what is commonly known as 'professionalism'. The fact proved as Tabane begins to tackle the problem with a calm and rational approach.

"Thats not the only thing!" - Ichika states in a calm yet bewildered tone, causing everyone to look at him with either calm or frowned expressions, but as they look at Ichika they notice the Japanese male is looking upwards into the sky, directly at the scar faced youngster known as Kestrel. Yui seems to go pale with fear upon calculating Ichika's words with the direction he is facing. However, when Yui looks up to observe what it is Ichika is looking upon a great sense of relief hits her in the chest. However, for Chifuyu, Tabane and the IS heads of management, the sight is more... bizarre.

Every last missile that was following Kestrel is now behaving erratically, some missiles make corkscrew patters as they fly away from the child, some missiles dive, climb and appear to be making their own private air shows, the thin white smoke trails dance around the sky in a dizzy waltz. Everyone on the ground watches in silence as the missiles ignore the Israeli youngster and appear to act as if they have minds of their own. Eventualy after five minutes of watching the bizarre missile dance in the sky some missiles do what nobody sees coming, some missiles turn and charge each other, smashing directly into each other and exploding in what looks like a firework display, but other missiles seem to go dead in the sky, the rocket motors cut out causing the propelling flames to vanish before falling in a lifeless manner from the sky like flies suddenly sprayed dead in the air with bug spray.

Everyone watches as the lifeless missiles fall into the ocean water without detonating, Tabane pauses with awe before placing an index finger under her chin, rolling her eyes up to the left and proceeding to ponder. Chifuyu frowns in a very serious manner, Ichika and Yui are both wide eyed and silent and the IS heads of management are pointing upwards, turning to look at each other and whisper in a bewildered manner.

"Hmmm... you know... I think I know whats causing my systems to fail" - Tabane states in a surprised, yet not nervous flat tone, an index finger pointing upwards as if explaining a matter of fact.

"I think I do also!" - Chifuyu responds instantly, her eyes narrowing in a serious glare as the scar faced Kestrel begins to slowly decend from the sky, IS angel wings are open in a wide manner providing the perfect ability to float elegantly down from the sky, every now and then the angel wings beat in moderate flaps proving Kestrel with a harmless decent down towards the beach which everyone is standing.

"Huh?... Are you guys saying that Kestrel is causing all this?" - Ichika asks in a confused yet cautious tone, suddenly getting a rough idea of what Tabane and Chifuyu are thinking about.

"Not just Kestrel, his IS" - Chifuyu states in a serious and strict manner.

"Hm? Kestrel's IS is doing all this?" - Yui asks in a now interested manner as she finishes watching the last of the dead missiles fall in a harmless manner into the sea, causing moderate or mild splashes.

"Correct..." - Tabane states in a flat and calm manner, keeping her eyes fixed on the ten year old Israeli whom has his arms raised as he floats elegantly down from the sky, now just 100 feet from the beach. It is not until Kestrel lands softly on the yellow sand and deactivates his IS, that everything returns to normal, causing many to stare in awe at Tabane's laptop monitors return back to life. Chifuyu does not look at the monitors but keeps her eyes fixed firmly on the Israeli youngster, as she speaks a heavy aura of discomfort befalls everyone on the beach, Chifuyu's words are flat and clear, yet her tone is low and grim like a death sentance.

"Kestrel's IS has a jamming unit!".

_**Okay readers, thats the first chapter for 2016, I think the next chapter should have the Prometheus firing, you readers have waited long enough. I wanted to add a bit of normality and action for the first chapter for 2016, so I guess I did well... and I know I shouldn't say it but somethimes I feel like asking you readers after each and every chapter, 'Is this fic even interesting?', but don't worry... for those of you whom like it, I'm not stopping. I did intend to post this chapter on New year itself, but delays got in the way, but no matter - no matter, I still managed to post it and thats all that matters.**_

_**Please remember that if anyone has any requests, feel free to ask and I'll see what I can do, remember I like these chapters to be entertaining for everyone. So... until the next chapter, stay cool, enjoy the new year and may everyone's fortunes be blessed. The next chapter is underway already but I can't be positive when it gets posted so forgive me if any more delays occur. May your own fics get positive reviews.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_

_**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**_


	76. Chapter 76: Beam from hell

_**Hello again readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised, its been a few days I know but in the end, delay was bound to happen... right, finaly, after waiting for all this time... this is the chapter! The chapter when Kestrel fires Prometheus, now... I want you ALL to know that I did this chapter with the best of my mind's creative ability, so GIVE me some credit after you've read it, because this may be the ONLY time you may see Prometheus in full destructive capability. This is a chapter that I myself have been waiting for but I had to get some detail out of the way first you understand? Well... there's not much to say for this chapter, I myself am at loss for words because I think I did very well... but in the end what you readers think is up to you, but as I've said many times over, for those whom don't like this fic - DON'T READ IT!**_

_**Anyway... please, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 76:

**\- *Classified location/ Underground science facility 05:00am* -**

Sat up on a large white bed with the bedsheets slightly ruffled is a small figure, long black hair cascaded down the figure's back, a silver star of David pendant gleams in the low but visible light like a holy talisman. The small figure has a blazing red scar upon his face under one eye running to ear lobe, though its not exactaly bright in the rough but still comfortable bedroom one can tell that the figure that is sat up in bed, head held low with a gloomy expression is just a mere youngster that one would naturaly mistake for a girl at long distance, only by looking up close at the face does one discover that its a boy. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that the youngster is non other than the troubled Israeli IS ACE Kestrel, across from Kestrel and just a few feet away is the younger brother of the almighty Chifuyu Orimura, Ichika... whom is laying on his front, eyes closed and in a deep slumber in a bed of his own.

The room itself is one would expect of tasteless accomodation, smooth white walls, a pale blue but rough matted floor, a white ceiling and a single dome light which for the moment is switched off, therefore keeping both boys in the darkness. Though Ichika Orimura, whom appears to be enjoying what a girl would call beauty sleep, Kestrel can not say the same. Though the scar faced youngster was more than happy to be allowed to share a room with the good hearted and cheerful Ichika, aswel as being happy at enjoying a cheerful dinner last night with Tabane, Yui and Chifuyu along side Ichika... the night's slumber has been a differant story. Though Kestrel is a young and somewhat timid and frail youngster, the child is NOT stupid and after being told about what the next test is to involve by Yui, whom had a very nervous and pale expression... Kestrel has had a hard and restless night, waking up several times and struggling to get back off to sleep.

Nerves are screaming and his small heart is running around in panic in his small body, the child has sweated cold from fear, though Yui didn't exactly explain what could happen today, just the look in the woman's eyes were enough to tell Kestrel that what ever may happen today, it HAS to be something very serious, after all... when you've been in Kestrel's shoes and looked evil, danger and death in the eyes over and over again, you get the ability to work things out by looking a person in the eyes and telling what their emotions are, and how serious something is, and from what Kestrel saw in Yui's eyes last night, was the sight of utter horror and panic, even the smile that the office dressed female put on for him didn't help ease the sudden aura of pure terror and danger.

Though Kestrel has no idea in his small tormented mind about what may happen today, the child's small, but well developed sixth sense does not lie to him, what happens today is going to be big, VERY, VERY BIG!

The Israeli youngster feels sick and wants to vomit from the amount of fear that is churning in his small gut, but is unable to do so... the pressure is mounting and a small amount of sweat begins to form on the youngster's brow, every now and then the Israeli youngster raises a hand to wipe the cold, nerve produced fluid from his forehead, a chill occasionaly goes up his small spine, and a twitch forms in his left hand, causing the youngster to ball his left hand into a fist, close his eyes and shake his head as one would if having a nightmare... hoping that when he opens his eyes he would be somewhere else, only to find all hopes are in vain, but it does not hurt to doubt senses every now and then.

In the seven times of waking up during the night, Ichika has slept through all seven of them, even as Kestrel paced up and down with a look of panic on his face after waking up from the fifth time, but thankfuly as Kestrel places his hands against the side of his head, closes his eyes tight and leans forward, clenching his teeth in a form of stress and panic the Japanese male begins to stir. Though the black haired Ichika's view of Kestrel is at first blurred due to just waking up, his vision begins to clear up and when the brown eyed Japanese male sees his ocean blue eyed friend looking distressed the first reaction Ichika feels is at first a blend of confusion, but as Ichika begins to piece together the possible reasons for Kestrel's act of distress - in just a matter of 2 seconds - the Japanese male's reaction is immediately one of aid.

Though Kestrel does let out a startled yelp and jumps in shock and surprise as Ichika places his arms around the scar faced youngster, Kestrel is very quick to return the friendly gesture. The Japanese male that holds Kestrel in a kind, friendly and caring embrace sighs in frustraition, glances up at the ceiling and shakes his head. The Japanese male whom now wears a face of dread and worry is unable to speak, but is able to think to himself as Kestrel lets out a slight nervous twitch that is felt by Ichika every twenty or thirty seconds. Ichika even goes so far as to place a hand on the back of Kestrel's head while using the other to pat the youngster on the back as a gesture of reasurance. Ichika's heart beat is slow and steady, which gives him the ability to relax and unwittingly feel the vibrations of Kestrel's own small, but rapidly beating heart as Ichika relaxes his body. Kestrel burries his small and fear stricken face deep as he can into Ichika's chest, the Israeli youngster whom is racked with PTSD seems to cling onto Ichika for dear life.

( "Guess he's been like this all night, I best tell Chifuyu-nee about this, not that it would do much good... but at least I can try and get everyone to take it easy on him today" ) - Ichika thinks to himself in a calm tone, Ichika's mind speaks the obvious, but just the very thought of hope is enough to cause the Japanese male to break into a small and hopeful smile. Though Ichika is powerless to stop today's test from taking place, the least he can do is let everybody know that Kestrel is on the razor's edge of panic, which... with any luck may help in the ease of the pressure that is being placed upon Kestrel's small shoulders.

As Ichika lowers his chin onto the comfortable and soft, warmth of Kestrel's long hair upon his small head a symapthetic look appears on his face, a thought once again rushes through his mind - ( "If I'm not mistaken Kes isn't going to want to eat breakfast, not that I blame him... when he was like this in the IS academy he didn't eat breakfast even then either. Still... all he has to do is get through today and then he's home free!" ) - An excited look appears on Ichika's face as he thinks those last words, and at this point, just when it is needed the most, it seems like all the warmth and comfort that Ichika is giving Kestrel comes through on a large wave, causing Kestrel's twitching to ease up and his heart beat to slow down to a much calmer pace.

Eventualy after what seems like hours, Kestrel finaly eases up and then, with his eyes closed, begins to relax, breathing very deeply, slowly and carefuly. Ichika feels a moment of triumph hit him in the chest and soon before he knows it, he and Kestrel are laying side by side on the white bed that was at one point Kestrel's berth of slumber, attempting to get all the peace and quiet, and whatever positivity they can before they are called up, for Kestrel's firing test... which both boys know... is looming on the horizon!

Silence and darkness fills the room for what seems to be an endless void, which for both Ichika and Kestrel in a time like this is very much needed, but eventualy both boys are risen from their moment of relaxation by the sound of an opening door, the clicking sounds of a silver metalic door handle is the signal that both boys were waiting for. A bright light fills the room less than a second later as the wooden door to the boy's sleeping quarters is opened, both Kestrel and Ichika sit up at exactaly the same time, both boys are greeted by the sight of a somewhat very surprised Yui, at her side is non other than Chifuyu, both dark haired women were expecting to find both boys asleep but common sense must have told them that on days like this, nerves would have prevented slumber. Thankfuly both females are very understanding, unlike many whom would brush the thought aside and merely lower their heads in a form of respect, both have very pleasant expressions.

"I guess you boys are already awake?" - Chifuyu comments in a cool big sister yet affectionate manner, causing Ichika to place a hand at the back of his head and sweatdrop, an awkward smile is on his face. Kestrel simply blinks and remains silent, just the average look of looking confused and timid is on the youngster's face.

"Well I won't burden you with explinations, I guess you two know what I want you both to do this morning, just get dressed, eat and get ready for Kestrel's test". - Chifuyu speaks out in a calm and pleasant manner, still in her usual cool tone, causing Ichika to respond instantly with the look of pleasantry and tone that would resemble a person whom is excited - "Sure thing!". The office dressed woman known as Yui proceedes to repeat Chifuyu's words in Israeli, but unlike Chifuyu whom wears a confident facial expression, Yui's face has a very glum and solemn expression, clearly indicating that its not just Kestrel that is on the razor's edge of nerves this morning.

Kestrel merely bobs his head up and down slowly, the youngster's ocean blue eyes appear to be full of nerves as does his small young face, the child keeps his head low, not looking up for a single second, not even replying to a word that is being said, but if one was to put themselves into the scar faced boy's body, they wouldn't blame him for being silent... not only that, but silence seems to suit Kestrel very well, which is obviously not his fault, fate has been very cruel to place that habit upon him.

"Very good Ichika, while Kestrel is getting ready for his test I want to speak with you alone if thats okay with you?" - Chifuyu puts in with her usual calm yet cool big sister tone, her smile does not drop for a single second. Upon hearing his big sister's words, a sudden and excited wave of emotions hits Ichika hard like a freak wave, the Japanese male's response is instant, though the smile drops and his face becomes plastered with curiosity and interest, the nerves and sparks dancing around in his stomach causes the Japanese male to give just the slightest hint in his voice that he accepts Chifuyu's request - "Okay, sure thing".

At this point, before Chifuyu can speak, the office dressed Yui puts on the bravest and most cheerful face she can manage, but its clear by the look on her face that she is full of nerves, if not fretting for what could happen during the test, but rather fretting for the well fare of the scar faced Kestrel. The woman leans forward ever so slightly and clearly in a careful voice as if trying to calm down her child, with her smile still on her face, proceedes to speak in Israeli to Kestrel. The long black haired youngster does look up to make eye contact with Yui, and does nod his small head, but remains silent, and though Kestrel's voice would have been very welcome at a nervous time like this, just the simple acknowledgement from the youngster is enough to warm and thaw Yui's troubled heart from the ice clutches of dread and nerve.

Chifuyu and Ichika ironicaly look down in a glum manner as Yui and Kestrel exchange the most tender of careing smiles at each other, tears fill Yui's eyes but thankfuly the woman does not cry, Chifuyu even goes so far as to place a hand tenderly on the woman's shoulder, but that almost causes the woman to burst into tears altogether, its only as Yui bows in respect does Ichika notice a loose tear roll down the woman's face. Thankfuly, Ichika knows its only Yui fretting, which is not something to be ashamed of, after all... Yui is the closest thing to a mother that Kestrel will ever find. Ichika places an arm round the troubled Israeli youngster as an act of a cool big brother, and together the pair acknowledge Chifuyu's next words with just the single simple nod of the head, at exactaly the same time - "Okay boys, I'll see you in the canteen, be ready in ten minutes okay?".

Both boys immediately begin to shift themselves off the soft comfort of the white bed as Chifuyu closes the bedroom door, from the outside, as both women begin to walk away down a black tile floored, white walled corridor, Yui looses it and places her left hand to her face, the woman clenches her teeth and silently begins to sob her eyes out, Chifuyu frowns at the sight but does not seem to scorn or scowl, but rather continues to play the role of a true friend by rubbing Yui's shoulder as the pair walk until they get towards a waiting Clarissa whom stands with her arms folded, back placed against the cold white wall. Clarissa immediately notices Yui sniffing and rubbing her red swollen eyes but chooses to say nothing, as Chifuyu shoots her a piercing stare with a silent message that goes along the lines of 'DON'T... SAY... A WORD!'.

Together the trio walk away, Yui straddled on both sides by a serious looking Chifuyu and Clarissa, eventualy, Yui regains her nerve... until a very proffesional and serious expression appears on her own face. Though the office dressed woman feels deep for the scar faced youngster whom is rooming with Ichika, its clear as day that if Yui is to support Kestrel, she has to look strong. So its obviously no surprise that Chifuyu casts a very proud look at Yui when she puffs out her chest, holds her head high and casts a very serious expression on her face, in her mind, Chifuyu thinks only three words - ( "Well done Yui!" ).

**\- 5 hours later, 50 miles east off Amami Island: 20 minutes till Prometheus firing -**

Five long hours had passed, but at last, the long black haired Kestrel, with his Star of David pendant gleaming in the morning sunlight, was finaly in fully deployed IS form and standing by at a designated point 50 miles east off Amami Island. It was at first intended for the child to be positioned 40 miles off the island, but due to the insistance of Clarissa along with various other scientists the child is positioned an extra 10 miles off the island for safety reasons. The five hours that have passed have been the longest for Kestrel, and as Ichika guessed, the child was not in the mood to eat, but... thanks to a bit of very careful and gentle persuasion from Yui, the child was able to down 2 pieces of golden buttered toast and a small glass of milk, but that was it. The youngster's nerves prevented him from eating ceral or anything cooked, that along with having to be escorted by SDF personel around Tabane's lab of operations.

Tabane obviously has been in a very good and cheerful mood, but that is typical of Houki's older sister, she is after all a pinnicle of bouncyness and joy. Even when Kestrel was being briefed the purple haired female had been smiling and forming the peace sign with her fingers on both hands, not that it caused Kestrel to smile, but non the less the effort alone managed to ease up Kestrel's rapidly beating heart.

Now, hovering just 10ft above the waves of the ocean, 3D holographic Angel wings wide open, with a straight but nervous expression on his face, Kestrel blinks every now and then, the youngster has his arms by his sides, staring at Amami island, even though Kestrel is a distance out from the island, the youngster is able to see the island in full detail as his IS HUD zooms in on the island Predator bio-mask style. Even the sea breeze that lightly blows the youngster's hair to one side is hardly noticed. The Israeli youngster does not even gulp even though his nerves are on turbo and his heart is beating fast. The silence and aura in the air is so thick that the youngster seems to be unable to breathe, however... every now and then, maybe on a few minute interval, the child opens his small mouth, takes in a deep breath and exhales in a nervous sigh.

The waves of the ocean are calm and the sky is clear blue, the morning sun is completely exposed to warm the earth, not a cloud is in the sky, perfect of the summer weather, to which Kestrel happens to notice and causes a very small but pleasant smile to form on his face, yet his face is still full of nerve. Though the atmosphere outside Kestrel's body is what one would consider natural, that assumption would be untrue, flying at over 20,000ft in the air are numbers of observation drones and aircraft, and though Kestrel can't see them with his naked eyes, the youngster knows that they are there. Kestrel's Black Phoenix radar along with translated word from Yui, has already informed the scar faced boy of their pressance. Normaly Kestrel would be interested in looking at the sky to find these observation aircraft, but clearly due to his nerves and desire to get the firing test over and done with as soon as possible, the youngster keeps his eyes fixed on his IS HUD that zooms in on 'the out of visual range' Amami island.

**\- Okinawa, Tabane's laboratory, 1 mile underground -**

Sat down on a soft padded chair in a darkened room with the only light being white glowing from laptop monitiors, the purple haired Tabane types away on the keypad of a very, very large laptop the great screen seems to make the other much smaller laptop screens look very insufficient, but when your in the body of Tabane, you find that you need so many electronic systems at once, it is after all what a genius requires. The purple haired female has a very cheery expression and smile on her face as she types away on the laptop keys, from behind in what look like seats one would find at a movie cinema, sit Yui and Ichika. The IS heads of management are absent, but thats thanks to Tabane, after all... an operation as delicate as this requires a big reducement of un-friendly and suspicious faces.

Though the removal of the IS management big shots is considered very useful right now, the down factor is that Tabane's data readouts and everylast detail recorded of what could happen in today's test is going to be sent to the heads of IS management, but... thats not important concerning Kestrel right now, after all... if somebody comes to the belief that the child and his IS is too dangerous to be allowed to have the freedoms as normal people have, the child will NOT and can NOT be claimed by some people that would consider themselves the owners of a child such as Kestrel, so no matter how one looks at it, its fair to say that in terms of management and handling, Tabane has already claimed dibs on Kestrel if the youngster is declared a public danger to the people of Japan, so far the youngster has passed all safety expectations with flying colours, but this test will determine the full outcome of the youngster's future.

Standing directly behind Tabane on the left and the right is the almighty Chifuyu Orimura and the German military female Clarissa, both stand with arms folded and look very, very serious. Deep down Clarissa's heart is beating in an alarming manner and a bead of sweat is on the side of her temple. Chifuyu is unable to breathe but maintains her serious facade which is considered very vital in times like this.

As for Tabane, its all just the excitement of counting down the final minutes till the most anticipated weapons test since the glory days of the nuclear bombs and missiles are put to the test. As Tabane types away, the cheery smile is like one of a youngster, yet deep down, although she won't say differant... she too is feeling some nerves, but that could be considered anticipation, after all that is what a scientist feels when being the first to discover a newly made form of power.

From behind the three females, Ichika is all ears, the Japanese male is staring at the backs of the three females and listening to the electronic sounding radio voices that occasionaly can be heard from speakers that are either upon Tabane's computer work station or from any other location. Ichika notices that the sounds of the electronic voices are like one would hear from a police radio or from any other emergency service radio. Ichika blinks remaining perfectly silent, as he feels the seriousness of the situation weigh down upon his shoulders, even now the Japanese male can't shake off the memory of seeing large numbers of scientists rushing around getting to respective locations after Tabane cheerfuly spoke out the final warning to get to safety in her usual cheerful and bouncy manner.

Suddenly Ichika is snapped from his thinking as the serious voice of his mighty older sister shatters the room silence - "Has everybody been evacuated from Okinawa?".

"No need to worry about that Orimura-san, the evacuation begin just days earlier, the last people to be evacuated left just last night" - Tabane replies in her usual and bouncy manner.

"Very good" - Chifuyu responds in a tone of authority, the black ponytailed woman keeps her arms folded aswel as maintaining her serious expression.

"Everybody has left Okinawa?" - Ichika asks in a bewildered manner, now suddenly amazed at being informed of the reason why there has been a serious lack of civilisation around Okinawa and neighbouring islands.

"Sorry about not telling you Ichika, but it sort of slipped my mind. We began evacuating Okinawa and the neighbouring islands on the day it was announced that this test would be taking place, the public here know that IS testing occurs around here so its nothing out of the ordinary. Also, because we're expecting a large explosion and a serious amount of damage to occur to the neighbouring islands, everybody is going to be informed that the cause is down to a nuclear facility accident". - Chifuyu explains in a serious tone of authority, the woman does not look over her shoulder but merely casts a serious glance to her left.

"But Chifuyu-nee... there is no nuclear facility out here" - Ichika mentions in a careful manner, like a subordinate questioning authority.

"YES... but the inhabitants of Okinawa don't know that do they?" - Chifuyu replies in a tone that is one that ressembles a matter of fact.

"Besides... with all the military movement thats been happening out here, its all the more convicing that a nuclear facility exsists out here" - The blue haired Clarissa puts in with a confident look of triumph on her face. The german woman looks over her shoulder to shoot Ichika a confident look in an act of reasurance, which works to some extent but it does not settle Ichika's doubts down fully.

"Okay... but still.." - Ichika begins to speak in a very doubtful manner, but is quickly cut off by his older sister whom swivels round to face her younger brother, the woman shoots Ichika a very serious expression, causing Ichika to jump in alarm and let out a very startled "Eep!".

"Look Ichika... trust us on this, if the worst comes to the worst the news media will explain whats happened in a made up story by Tabane, and if anything the only destruction we expect to have here on Okinawa is a serious earthquake, some burn damage and some shattered windows. There isn't going to be any radiation like what you get in an nuclear missile, so if anything, any serious damage that was not foreseen can be repaired here on the island and then the inhabitants will be allowed to return home. Thats all you need to know, now... shut up and drop it! When have I ever lied to you?" - Chifuyu speaks out, first in a calm tone of explination before adding a hint of anger in her voice as tells Ichika to keep it shut, before finaly putting a tomboyish tone of playfulness in her voice, followed by a playful smirk as she speaks her last words.

As Chifuyu turns to face Tabane's laptop monitors Ichika lets out a very stressful huff, but at least a small smile forms on his face as he looks down. The Japanese male with dark black bushy hair only replies one word - "Right" - giving Chifuyu the indication that the order to keep quiet has been acknowledged.

Yui on the other hand clutches her office skirt with nerve, the woman stares at the glowing laptop monitiors that can be seen NOT obscured by the figures of both Chifuyu and Clarissa, there is an empty seat at Yui's side, and one at Ichika's side, giving the indication that all five of the darkened room's inhabitants want to get a good seat back and observe what is going to happen in the highest definition possible in the safest coniditions available. For a brief second on one of the smaller laptop monitors, Yui gets the brief high definition video footage of Kestrel, the images are live so the woman can be given 'somewhat' of a direct access to looking at the Israeli youngster whom seems to have accidently made Yui feel like a rightful and caring mother.

Ichika whom is slouched forward notices Yui looking very nervous, and although Ichika does not speak, due to Chifuyu's orders to do so, the Japanese male places a hand caringly on Yui's shoulder Yui's response is at first one of startlement but as the woman turns her head rapidly to see what it is that is touching her, a warm smile forms on her face as she sees the caring expression of Ichika, whom un-wittingly sends Yui a message from the eyes that goes along the lines of 'Its alright, I know, I'm nervous also'.

As Yui turns to look back at the laptop monitors, the footage of Kestrel is gone, all that is playing right now is military footage of an F-22 Raptor flying over Okinawa at maybe 20,000ft. Yui closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and shakes her head in a solemn manner. In her mind the woman is speaking in a very worried manner - ( "This just doesn't feel right at all, Kestrel doesn't deserve any of this, and if I had my way I would go and bring him back with me to this god awful room!" ).

**\- 10 minutes later: 2 minutes till Prometheus firing -**

With only two minutes left until the main event, various military fighter jets that soar in the sky overhead have a grand view of Okinawa and the islands of Amami down below, US fighter pilots glance out of their clear plexiglass cockpits and directly down at the islands, some radio chatter can be made out but the main purpose of the fighters pressance is to deny any intrusions into the test site airspace.

On the island of Okinawa itself, a U.S soldier whom is standing infront of what looks like a deep underground going bunker gives the thumbs up to a Japanese SDF soldier before turning round and rushing into the darkness of what looks like a large tunnel, the entrance to what looks like a bunker is a large, thick white marble concrete tunnel mouth. The SDF soldier lifts a hand held radio up to his mouth and in a calm voice speaks two words - "All clear" - Then, just like the US soldier, proceedes to rush down into the tunnel, as the SDF soldier dashes through the entrance a pair of large, white concrete doors proceede to close in a slow but powerful manner, an electronic hum and rumble can be clearly heard as the large white doors close.

All inhabited areas of Okinawa are deserted, the entire island is like a ghost island, its as if a neutron bomb has hit. The buildings and plant life is still around and standing but there is no sign of life, but if Kestrel's firing test is to take place, there has to as few lives as possible on Okinawa and neighbouring islands.

With Tabane and the group deep underground and in a low lit room, Chifuyu and Clarissa are now sitting beside Yui and Ichika. From above Tabane's computer work station and on the very top of the wall of the room, a large wide plasma screen flashes to life, the image immediately shows HD footage of Kestrel in fully deployed IS. The youngster appears to be looking around, left and right, before looking ahead and taking what maybe one out of fifty deep breaths in the last twenty minutes. Two more moderate sized screens flash to life, one is a view from space, showing satilite images of Okinawa and the neighbouring islands. The second and final plasma screen is linked to a military aircraft that is clearly circling the airspace filming and recording the event in the best way possible.

With everything in the green, and with everything looking promising the decision is unanimous. Which Chifuyu makes clear with a strict and serious tone upon hearing Tabane confirm that everyone is in position and ready to go. Chifuyu gives a single and sharp nod of the head letting out a serious "HM!" before finaly speaking the words - "Its time to do it!".

Tabane turns her body and head to look Chifuyu in the face, and with an excited expression on her face, matched with a thumbs up acknowledges the ponytailed woman's words. As Tabane turns her body and head back to look at her main laptop monitor the purple haired female, still dressed in her beautiful looking dress speaks the words - "Okay everyone, we are GO!".

Everything seems to slow down, the last minutes being the worst and most scary that Yui has every experianced, if one has ever been a second or so away from dying in an accident or worse from being murdered, that moment is best to describe how Yui is feeling, the woman is pale with fear in the face, she is unable to breathe and she feels very, very sick with panic and nerve. Clarissa notices Yui's act of nerve and grasps the female's hand tightly which helps to a point, but with the black haired woman's eyes remaining fixed on the large plasma screen above her, its clear that any chance of keeping Yui calm is all but impossible, however Ichika can say the same, the Japanese male has his hands clasped together as if he is wishing to the heavens or holding onto what ever form of hope he can. The Japanese male has a nervous but serious expression on his face as he gazes up at the plasma screen TV.

Dead silence fills the room for at least fifty seconds before finaly... after what seems like an eternity... Tabane in a direct link to Kestrel speaks the words that everybody has been waiting to hear in a calm yet eager tone - "Commence firing!".

**\- With Kestrel -**

Hearing Tabane's words on an electronic frequency, and seeing the female's words appearing on his 3D IS hud in translated Israeli, the scar faced youngster blinks in nerve and gulps. Almost instantly, a large blue glow appears against the Israeli boy's side as the black shinning form of Prometheus activates and appears, soon being tightly clutched in Kestrel's right hand. A 3D pannel appears on Kestrel's HUD, and though Kestrel does not say a word, his mind's thoughts alone are enough to get his Rifle/Cannon to select what mode of firing he wishes to use, after all... its worked perfectly well so far!

The 3D Pannel highlights one rectangular box icon in yellow, but as Kestrel thinks of wanting to fire in beam mode, the second and only other rectangular box icon below is suddenly a glow with being highlighted, leaving the semi-fire mode of firing blank. For Kestrel, everything appears to come on a silent and invisible wave as the highlighted box icon flashes yellow. Less than a second later the 3D HUD has various forms of information and data rush across his HUD, its as if Kestrel is scrolling down an internet page filled with white 3D words, but the scrolling is automatic. As the automatic scrolling comes to a stop a set of small icon boxes all flash green.

As Kestrel blinks again in a mix of confusion and amazement, some green flashing Israeli words form before the youngster's eyes reading the words - "ALL CONDITIONS GREEN", then... as the message vanishes another message appears before Kestrel's ocean blue eyes, this time the words read - "FIRING SYSTEM START". Kestrel still remains silent even as the message box vanishes and leaves the youngster looking at what looks like a target scope. Kestrel remains silent and bewildered, but non the less slowly and timidly raises Prometheus to level with his eyes. The child clutches the handle tightly with his right hand while using the left to balance and hold the weapon from underneath, from a third person's point of view, Kestrel looks like an everage person about to fire some sci-fi rifle.

As Kestrel looks down the barrel the targeting scope appears to change slightly, at the same time a faint electronic 'Whhiiirrrr' begins to form, followed by a very loud sounding 'Beep, Beep' each beep having a three second interval appart but just like the electronic 'Whir' is gradualy getting faster and louder. At the same time again another message appears upon the IS HUD, this time saying 'FIRING UNIT CHARGING'.

As the message fades away a set of five blue holographic bars begin to form on Kestrel's HUD, the lowest two are the largest, in each bar a large blue line begins to creep across and inside the empty bars, clearly giving the indication that Prometheus is powering up, in the upper right hand side of the HUD numbers begin to form, within just two seconds being from 00.00 to 10.39. Kestrel remains silent, amazed and unable to speak or think. After just a matter of thirty seconds the electronic 'Whir' has gradualy built to a very high level, and the 'Beeping' noise is now rapid and getting louder and louder by the second, and though Kestrel is the one firing the weapon, the youngster can feel utter, un-imaginable levels of energy and power building up faster and faster, the combination is enough to cause Kestrel's heart to dance rapidly in tune to the very sounds of the electronic whir and rapid 'bleeps'.

As Kestrel blinks, another message appears before his eyes, once again coming in the form of flashing green letters - "SAFETY OFF", as Kestrel blinks again, the child looks at the energy readout on his 3D HUD, each and every single blue bar is full, and the numbers in the top right side of the HUD are at 100:00 and flashing a gold colour. As Kestrel blinks again the energy readout dissapears and instead replaces itself with the targeting scope, a large circular set of green coloured rings with a blood red bullseye in the centre, the red bullseye looks like a laser light that one would fix on a firearm as to determine a perfect shot.

By now, in just a matter of seconds the faint 'whir' on Prometheus has built into a 'Woshing' roar and the bleeping is sounding as fast as it can manage, even though Kestrel is not speaking any word he feels he would speak would be drowned out by the electronic sound alone, the Israeli youngster trembles slightly as he points Prometheus in the direction of Amami island but he keeps his cool, which for such a timid and tormented youngtser is very impressive, just the now ear filling loud electronic sounds is enough to un-nerve the youngster, aswel as felling the faint but gradualy growing vibrations of Prometheus which begins to shake from the power that is gradualy building up at an alarming rate.

The vibrations of Prometheus travel through Kestrel's IS hand and up his arm, every nerve in Kestrel's body seems to move in tune to the vibrations of the black shinning Prometheus, if the child was standing then its fair to say that by now the youngster's limbs would have turned to jelly, if the child was standing on solid ground then god knows what the force would be for keeping the youngster standing. Then, completley unexpected, a black visor appears before Kestrel's eyes, the 3D holographic visor being a shield for the child's eyes causes the child to jump in startlement, but once again... the youngster only gulps and keeps his cool as Prometheus seems to vibrate in a powerful manner. By now the electronic 'Whir' has become an ear filling roar, a loud almighty electronic 'WHHOOORRRR', and the bleeping is rapid, not a second seperates each loud and powerful bleep.

At the barrel of Prometheus, a white glow appears at the front and down the barrel, gradualy and rapidly getting brighter and brighter untill the light turns a firey yellow, then... after a matter of seconds, still with noise filling the air and powerful vibrations, a pure plasmatic blue glow. Gold tiny streaks seem to suck themselves into the blue glowing barrel of Prometheus adding in the light's expansion, until the what started as a bright white light becomes an bright glowing sphere of light at the front of the barrel. Then, just when Kestrel thought he had seen everything... a final message appears in green letters on his HUD system directly against the holographic targeting scope - "FINAL CLEARANCE COUNTDOWN STARTED... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6 ...5 ...4 ...3 ...2 ...1 ...FIRE WHEN READY".

By now the bright blue glow at the barrel of Prometheus is blinding to the naked eye, but as the message vanishes and leves Kestrel looking at the targeting scope, the child notices the glow has stopped expanding leaving nothing but the endless sound of the electronic whine and the endless ear piercing bleeps. Kestrel's expression is one of terror and panic, but as the child gulps everything is added up in his small mind... its time, now or never!

Kestrel, with his long black hair fluttering violently in a now built up wind produced by the energy of Prometheus, narrows his eyes, his blood red facial scar looking furious as ever in the bright blue light... silently gulps, not even the sound is heard, this is the final gulp and then... after taking a deep but silent breath through a very narrow open mouth to quell the terror and excitement in his small heart... pulls the trigger... a deafening 5 second long metalic scream shatters the air.

**"SSSSHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRKKKKKKKK!"**

A large glowing blue shpere big enough to swallow a three story building appears from the barrel of Prometheus, blue lightning volts, blue sparks, flashing and racing blue stars fill the ball of plasmatic power and then... in just 3 seconds after the shpere makes its appearance, a large white flash seems to blind everything within visual range, the beam is fired instantly after the almighty white flash occurs. Kestrel is taken completley by surprise, not prepared for the force of the kick, that blasts him backwards in the air at over 10,000 miles per hour, as for the beam, the mighty blue shpere large enough to swallow a house roars away from Kestrel at over 20,000 mph, a long glowing blue tail trails behind the beam that roars through the air cutting a trough in the ocean and forcing waves to part and form what looks like an ocean path, the entire earth begins to shake all at once as the beam roars through the air leaving a long sparking, blue lightning volt tail behind in its wake.

From on Amami island the beam is easily seen approaching, a faint but rapidly growing sounding rumble causes the earth to shake very violently, causing the richtor scale to jump off its tracks. As the beam flashes past the stationary military targets everything happens in a matter of seconds, the stationary destroyers seem to glow bright red in just a second before starting to explode and disintergrate in a shower of fragments and large chunks. The aircraft carriers do the same, but have a much more firey end, as they glow bright red, before exploding in massive balls of flame, smoke and debris, any shock waves are drowned and swallowed by the power of the Prometheus beam, but the beam does not stop as it easily travels through destroyers, frigates and even a full aircraft carrier like a hot knife through soft butter.

As the beam hits the set up bullseye on Amami island itself the concrete vaporises, the beam continues and smashes into a mountain on Amami island, after a matter of three seconds, the beam suddenly exits the opposite side of the mountain and continues away over the sea and across the pacific, but thankfuly its only the tail end of the beam that begins to dissipate but non the less the fading tail end of the beam travels on and over the horrizion until a large white flash occurs on the horizion, followed by the glow of red as a miniature atomic mushroom cloud of red and black appears on the horizon, a large rouge wave forms on a 360 degree radius. As for Amami island...

The entire island vanishes in a blinding flash of white, soon followed by a large red glow, then changing to firey orange. The entire blue sky seems to go red in an instant as a gigantic red dome of light flashes in every direction, less than a second after the boom of the explosion occurs, at exactaly the same time, the entire island of Amami seems to turn black and break apart in large and tiny chunks as the explosion devours the island, in just a matter of seconds virtualy the entire island of Amami is destroyed and vanishes in an instant, leaving nothing behind but a large black atomic mushroom bloud set in what looks like newly formed sun on the surface of the earth.

From space the view is incredible the explosion produces a blast front of flame that travels on a 360 degree radius, incredibaly, no tsunami is caused by the explosion, THAT is being done by the second, less larger explosion. In less than a few seconds, Okinawa is struck by the blast front and seems to vanish in a coat of flames, but thankfuly, the blast front begins to fade, had the beam been fired from space, the blast front would have continued for miles and miles further.

**\- With Ichika and the group -**

The earth is shaking violently, all of Tabane's laptops falter and shutdown casting everyone into darkness, Chifuyu's reaction is one of lightning and with the loudest voice she can manage roars the words - **"GET HERE! GET TOGETHER!"** \- Everyone leaps forward and soon, Chifuyu, Yui, Ichika and Tabane and huddling together as tight as they can manage, everyone including Chifuyu closes their eyes tightly, the ponytailed female makes out the shape of her brother in the darkness and pulls him to her chest, cuddling him as tight as she can manage, even though the rumble of the earth is louder than what Ichika could ever imagine, Ichika can hear the terrified yell of his big sister shouting at the top of her lungs - **"I LOVE YOU ICHIKA! I LOVE YOU!".**

Ichika's responds instantly with a desperate yell of his own - **"I LOVE YOU TOO CHIFUYU-NEE!"** \- less than a second after that everybody is holding each other on the floor as the earthquake becomes so intense that Tabane's reinforced plasma screen TVs break free from their rails and crash to the floor, dust falls from the roof but no cracks appear in the walls and ceiling. In the darkness Tabane is crying her eyes out in terror and panic, the purple haired female clutches Clarissa's hand as tight as she can while Clarissa holds onto Yui as tight as she can manage.

**\- In Japan with Megumi -**

The dark blue Japanese beauty is sat up happily in her bed, the female looks very heavily relaxed and has a cheery smile on her face, the sun is high in the sky and the weather is perfect for summer. The only sounds of life that she can hear is the sounds of female gossip and the sounds of medical gear in her hospital ward. Everything is typical of average hospital life, but what comes next is about to shatter that so called typical hospital life. As Megumi slowly and casualy turns her head to look away from the hospital window of her ward that is at the end of the ward, everyone... including Megumi leaps out of their flesh in fright, the cheery smile on Megumi's face vanishes, being quickly replaced with shock and startlement as an almighty bang ressembling that of a gunshot rattles the windows of the hospital ward, the crack is so loud that one would mistake it for being indoors, at the same time a light tremor shakes the entire hospital.

Some patients throughout the entire hospital scream in terror, others cast looks of confusion at each other. Megumi is umongst the patients that cast startled yet confused looks at fellow hospital bedmates, doctors and nurses immediately rush around tending to some patients, others rush around in an act of making sure that their patients are alright. From outside Megumi can hear the faint sounds of people screaming and car alarms blasting away in the air.

"What for the love of god was that!?" - The red haired female whom is in the bed on Megumi's left asks with a look of scheer shock and awe, frowning and making direct eye contact with Megumi.

"GOD KNOWS!" - Megumi yelps back in a startled manner

"It seems to have come from outside!" - The black haired female whom is in the hospital bed on Megumi's left exclaims in a fearful manner.

**\- With Tomoe and her mother -**

Standing side by side in their home living room, the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe and her mother stand just feet apart, the pair having completed their morning rituals of house work and preparing for a well earned cup of tea, moth females are about to sit down when the inevitable happens, just like with Megumi, an almighty crack in the air sounding like a gun that has been fired indoors causes both women to jump in alarm, windows rattle and though the females are not in the kitchen, the pair can hear the dreaded sounds of glass and plates breaking as a tremor shakes their home, though some of the tea in their cups falls and spills both females are able to able to remain standing, the only form of accident occuring is when Tomoe whom is wearing a white dress stumbles backwards landing against the arm of the living room armchair and has her hands burned by the hot drink, the dark blue haired beauty winces in pain and gives a hiss in aggony as the red hot liquid lands on her bare exposed hands.

The mother of Tomoe whom somehow is able to ignore the pain on her own hand as tea splashes onto her bare skin merely places her cup down on the living room coffee table and instantly rushes to the aid of her daughter.

"What happened there!?" - Tomoe asks in an awe stricken manner.

"I don't know, it sounded like an explosion" - The stunning mother of both Tomoe and Megumi replies, while taking the hot cup from her daughter and setting it down on the living room coffee table, while Tomoe attempts to comfort her burnt hand the best way she can.

"C'mon Tomoe, lets get some ice on that, I'll bandage it in the kitchen" - The mother of Tomoe quickly puts in upon looking at the red scorch marks on her daughter's left hand.

As the Japanese female and her mother proceede to walk away towards their kitchen, the sounds of car alarms and shouts of people begin to fill the air outside the shaken home of the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe.

**\- With Kestrel -**

The Israeli youngster is still being forced backwards rapidly, the youngster's hair is in front of his face and up fluttering and blowing violently as the kick from Prometheus forces him backwards further and further, Prometheus itself is glowing red hot and smoking white, from a third person's point of view the youngster looks like a missile flying fast across the sea. It seems like a lifetime until Kestrel is able to regain control of his movement, the youngster proceedes to open his angel wings and with all the strength he can muster proceedes to position his body as if he was pushing something with all the strength he can muster, the scar faced youngster then proceedes to open the angel wings on Black Phoenix and give out a series of very powerful sharp thrusts, the child even goes so far as to blast himself forward with all the strength his IS can muster, though it seems in-effective at first, but the child is finaly able to slow down rapidly, even as the youngster feels himself now moving fast at IS speed in the opposite direction, the youngster still keeps his eyes closed.

Eventualy, after a total of five minutes flying back the way he came as fast as he can manage, the youngster begins to slow himself down... until... just as fast as it happened, the child's ordeal is over, leaving a very relieved yet heavily shook up Kestrel hovering in mid air. The child immediately deactivates Prometheus which vanishes in a flash of blue light, and though the youngster still keeps his eyes closes climbs upwards for height in an act of safety, brushing his long hair away from his face carefuly with his IS hands as he slowly ascends.

As Kestrel reaches a height of 82ft, the child begins to shake his head and body like a dog, then, the child opens his eyes and proceedes to rub them ever so carefuly with his cold IS hands. As Kestrel's vision returns to him, what he sees is a sight that causes him to stare in utter awe. Though Kestrel blinks at the sight, its clear that what he sees is no dream.

On the horizon, is a sight that would make every last soul on earth gaze at in terror, a large red and black coloured mushroom cloud rising thousands of feet into the atmosphere, the endless sounding thunder like rumble that would ressemble a volcano eruption and a scene of utter devastation as the sky around what was once Amami island appears to be a mix of red and orange as grey and black clounds envelop the what was once an island paradise.

Kestrel... with his bright red facial scar under one eye remains suspended in the air, IS angel wings remaining wide open. The youngster breathes very deeply and silently as he stares at the sight of an apocalypse that is on the horizon. Eyes are wide with shock and terror as the infant looks at what is roaring with life on the horizon, an accidently made Hell on earth.

_**Well... what do you readers think? If you all want a good idea of what Kestrel's Prometheus would be like in an anime, go onto Youtube, type in Space Battleship Yamato 2199 wave motion gun, once you do that click on a video under the title 'Yamato 2199 First wave motion gun fire'. My idea for Prometheus was based on that video, but there are differances, so Prometheus is realy my own creation, if you don't aggree keep your opinions to yourself!**_

_**Sorry if I took too long with this chapter, but I wanted to get as much detail in as I could, I don't mean to cause any inconvenience with delays so sorry about that. Please read and review this chapter and remember that if anyone has any requests feel free to ask and I'll see what I can do.**_

_**Also, please acknowledge my efforts for this chapter, I wrote my heart out and I have been wanting to post this chapter for days. The next chapter should involve what happens in Japan and what happens in the aftermath with Kestrel following the firing test, but there may be a few odd add ons with characters that I've not written about for months. So... untill the next chapter, please remember that I'm wishing you the best and may your own fics get all the best reviews and follows on in return.**_

_**Stay cool everyone**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	77. Chapter 77: Light of destruction

_**Hello again, readers... Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised, its been a few days I know but you readers know the drill. Sorry a thousand times for the delays but as I say "I always keep my word", and as such I can now give you this fresh new chapter. As compensation for you all, I won't burden everyone with the usual red tape introductions, instead, please sit back, read and please enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 77:

**\- Mainland Japan, Unknown shrine location -**

Standing in a long white and red dress, being that of a Shrine maiden, the long ponytailed Houki Shinonono stands in front of a large dull coloured, traditional Japanese shrine. The female holds a long light oak coloured broom in both hands, typical of a traditional Japanese shrine maiden. Houki's long ponytailed purple hair blows gently in a light breeze, and the ribbon in her hair seems to twitch ever so slightly in her hair. The said female has a very low and seemingly depressed look on her face, the female holds her head low, her mind miles away from reality, if Houki had visitors to this Japanese shrine, its very likely that they would walk past un-noticed and the said female. Houki appears to have the ability to turn herself into a living statue, the only way for a person to understand the ability to do that is to be overwhelmed with distress or worse, have their world frozen with worry.

Houki seems to be unable to think, the girl's mind is blank. Every now and then the female does move around and attempts to make a light sweep up of the rock solid brick pattern ground, but even then, the light Shrine maiden ground dusting is only for a few moments. The look of sorrow and worry on Houki's face is made clear as she proceedes to let out a very frustraited sigh. If one was to put themselves in Houki's flesh, they would realise the cause for Houki being down in the dumps. Sure, Houki is a very proud female whom does not stand for humilitation and being made a monkey out of - 'Just like Chifuyu' -, but... that does not mean that Houki does not have feelings. The female has made it clear by her slight change of character since the incident at the IS academy when Ichika prevented her from assualting the ten year old scar faced Kestrel.

It is that said Japanese male with his chocolate brown eyes and black bushy hair that is causing Houki to feel low, though she would deny it and be as bashful as hell if you was to say it, the Japanese female is worried and is in a manner of speaking desperate to see Ichika's face, hear his voice and just be around in his pressance. Ichika had promised Houki on the last night at the IS academy before summer break that he would be in contact with her on a regular basis, he even promised that he would bring little Kestrel along, as Houki had been thinking of how to make it up to the youngster for trying to have a go at him, but instead... everytime Houki attempts to contact Ichika, there is no answer, its as if the Japanese male and his older sister have vanished off the face of the earth.

Clearly Kestrel's test was not explained or told to Houki, but that was understandable due to security reasons, but none the less... the Japanese female is apparently on the razor's edge of panic and nerves. The said female has sighed over fifty times this morning, and each and every one had the emotion of worry and saddness. However, what the Japanese female does not know... is that she is about to get a taste of how serious Kestrel's secret IS testing realy is...

As the Shrine maiden dressed Houki, huffs... lifts her head up, rolls her eyes and silently prays to which ever god is willing to listen, her mind's words are full of desperation and pure, honest worry for her childhood friend and very secret love interest. - ( "Lord, I understand and accept the fact that I am a proud and often stupid person, but please... if not for my sake, then for Ichika, could you please let me know if he's okay, you please give me... could I..." ) - At this point while still looking up at the summer blue sky the Japanese beauty tightly holds the oak coloured broom in one hand, opens her arms as if to embrace something and with a slight shake of the head and tone of a person that is desperate for one small mercy shouts out the words - "Could I just have some kind of sign!?".

Suddenly, as soon as Houki finishes shouting those words, all the birds in the nearby trees seem to take the sky in an alarmed manner, Houki blinks in confusion and lowers her head to look straight ahead in a confused manner as the breeze suddenly seems to drop without warning. Though Houki has experianced weird moments in her life before, this one seems to be the weirdest of all, a chill seems to run up her spine as she watches the sparrows, black birds, starlings, doves and pigeons flutter and fly away as fast they can manage leaving nothing but un-inhabited trees that seem to be frozen in the lack of the wind or breeze.

What comes next is a moment that can't realy be described in accurate detail, one has to experiance it in the flesh, as Houki gets a confused yet very horrible urge to turn and look behind her, though Houki feels no danger, the female feels such horrible sickness of worry and dread as she proceedes to slowly lower her arms to her sides, and turn round to look into the distance. What she sees is something that causes her eyes to widen in surprise. With the shrine Houki works at being at the top of a large mountain like hill, the female has a good view of the nearby town/City that is virtualy on her shrine's doorstep. However, its not the city that attracts the female's attention, its whats on the horizon. There, on the ocean horizon is a sight that makes Houki pause with utter levels of confusion. What looks like a white brand new second born sun seems to glow and blaze on the horizon, though the large sun like light isn't blinding, its enough to cause Houki to lift an arm to shield her eyes slightly, at first... but as Houki's eyes begin to adjust themselves to the immense white light on the distant horizon the female lowers her right arm and stares in bewilderment.

Houki knows that light is not natural as the sun is already in the summer blue sky, she should know as she watched it rise this morning, but... what comes next is something that causes Houki to go wide eyed in shock and her heart to leap in utter startlement, as a loud, colossal crack shatters the silent air, followed immediately by a large earth tremor nearly causing the Japanese female to fall flat on her face, it can be considered luck alone that the female does not fall down altogether. Houki's eyes pop open, the purple haired female drops her broom, the wooden clatter being drowned by the loud painful crack, to say the booming crack is deafening would be untrue, just painful, its like a large cannon has been fired just mere feet away from her without the Japanese female being prepared for it, or having ear protection to protect her ears which are now stinging and are suffering a very tiny ring of tittinus, but thankfuly, the ringing is quick to go away, leaving Houki with nothing but a painful pair of ears and a splitting headace.

As the tremor fades after a matter of just a few seconds, the Japanese female leans her body forward, the female has her eyes closed tight, both hands placed tightly over her stinging ears. Thankfuly, Houki recovers very fast, soon bending down to pick up her wooden broom and stumbling away towards the sacred shrine, with only her left hand placed over her left ear, the female keeps her eyes fixed on the bright white and distant white light that now has her on the razors edge of caution, a serious scowl is on her face as she stumbles back towards her shrine.

**\- With Charlotte and Cecilia -**

Though both european blondes Charlotte and Cecilia had intended to leave Japan for the first few weeks of summer break to head home to their countries, something had prevented their leaving of Japan, that 'Something' being Ichika Orimura. So far, Charlotte and Cecilia have been doing nothing but browsing clothing stores in Japan, sharing tea, coffee and cake with each other in cafes and resturants, both secretly trying to work out the other's weakness in the battle for Ichika's heart. So far both girls have gotten themselves nowhere in trying out out-do the other in competing for Ichika, even this morning after leaving the lingerine section in last clothes store, both females have secretly bought themselves some real flashy underwear to whow Ichika, clearly indicating that although both have happy and cheerful expressions and act like best of friends, both are staring each other down in a fight to the finish, all for the love of one Japanese male... but... even then, both Charlotte and Cecilia do in fact have a very good friendship between them non the less.

Now, both blonde beauties are walking close by the sea front, due to Ichika's home town/City being just beside the ocean. The european blondes walk side by side, engaging in what can only be described as 'Girl talk', something a male would either not understand or be welcome to. As the pair end up walking down the beach promenade 'or board walk' - 'What ever you readers want to call it!' - the pair end up in gossip, the subject soon changing from personal matters to Ichika. Just like Houki, both are worried... though both females secretly would want Ichika all to themselves, the pair understand how close Ichika is to the newly introduced Israeli youngster known as Kestrel, and as such its a good assumption that the said Japanese male would include the scar faced youngster in plenty of the gang's adventures.

However, just like Houki, Ichika had promised everyone that he would get in regular contact, and as such would invite each and everyone of his self proclaimed lovers into various activities that may get suggested. However, just like with Houki... the Japanese male has been as silent as the grave, his abscence has been cutting deep into both Charlotte and Cecilia, both girls had even gone so far as to head over to his house in an act of looking for him, only to find no answer.

As both blondes walk side by side, both wearing their own choice of summer time clothing, Cecilia wearing a long thin white dress and is holding a white parasol to sheild herself from the sunlight in her right hand, and Charlotte a blue mini-skirt and a black, sleeveless top. Cecilia wears white high-heel shoes, which are surprisingly mature for a female her age, while Charlotte wears her usual IS footwear, the French blonde seems to realy like her IS footwear, but saying that... Kestrel is in the same boat, the youngster seems to find his own IS sneaks surprisingly soft and comfortable, but afterall... IS uniform and footwear was made for girls, so maybe its no surprise.

Both females carry shopping bags, Charlotte carries two while Cecilia carries one, due to her other hand being occupied by the parasol. As both girls walk on, being able to ignore the red hot summer sunlight, a look of glumness is on both girl's faces. As Cecilia speaks, it is clear that she is bothered by the missing Ichika, her long blonde hair despite looking bright and cheerful can say nothing for the depressed look that is on her face, aswel as the gloomy tone of lowness - "Were has Ichika dissapeared to?".

"I don't know, but I'm starting to get worried" - Charlotte replies in an equal tone of solemness.

"Even Orimura-sensei is missing, what does that explain?" - Cecilia moans in a sad tone, the female's heart seemingly racing around in circles and screaming in panic due to the lack of Ichika's pressance. Charlotte responds in caring manner, though her face has a solemn expression the female makes the effort by smiling kindly, casting a look at Cecilia and speaking in a manner that holds a good amount of attempted reasurance. - "Well maybe Orimura-sensei has taken Ichika with her to some place important, we probably don't have to fret, its not as if Ichika is gone for good".

"Yes maybe... but still..." - Cecilia replies, still in her usual fretting tone before loosing her ability to speak altogether due to the pressure and stress of the moment. However, before both females have the chance to continue the discussion, a sudden appearance of a glow appears on the left side of both girl's faces. Both females are immediately overwhelmed with curiosity and come to an immediate halt in their tracks.

"What the.." - Cecilia exclaims with a surprised expression and vocal tone.

"Sacre-bleu! What is that?" - Charlotte exclaims with a stunned expression, the female slightly turning her head to one side to prevent being 'somewhat' blinded by the sudden white light's appearance. The white light blazes in silence like a large newly born sun, but just like with Houki, both girls only have to evert their eyes for just a few moments before being able to look the light square in the face, both blonde beauties stand watching the light in silence. From around them, children that are playing on the coastal beach just feet away, their mothers and fathers, aswel as various other people in summer time clothing immeditatley stop what they are doing and stand frozen, only blinking at the sight.

From above the two blondes, Seaguls seem to scatter and fly away in terror and panic, a nearby dog on its leash seems to yank and strain, causing its owner a middle aged man to stubble and become surprised at the sudden panicked behavoir of his pet. Some people, including a nearby young couple cast looks of startlement and amazement at the sight, the blue pigtailed female with thin framed glasses points at the white light on the ocean horizon but says nothing, the young male whom has black hair of a mature office male merely shrugs and shakes his head, a look of bewilderment is on his face. Then... just like with Houki, the earth shakes from a very rough tremor, at the same time a colossal crack shatters the silent air, however... unlike Houki, both Cecilia and Charlotte get the sound far worse than Houki, causing even worse pain to hit their ears than that Houki experiances.

Cecilia and Charlotte seem to feel their eardrums very nearly burst, as the sounding explosive boom that comes with the shock wave knocks both females off their feet, but thankfuly both girls land on each other, so in terms of a bad landing, the girls have been spared. Sadly, for their ears its a differant story as the deafening crack causes both Charlotte and Cecilia to wince, clench their teeth and close their eyes tight in pure agony, even as both girls land on the hot pavement, the earth is still shaking in a violent earthquake but thankfuly... just like with Houki, the shaking soon stops. However as the explosive crack fades away, both girls are wrytheing on the ground, their ears are ringing, all sound is gone... a brief moment of tittinus is in both girl's ears, but after sitting calmly on the ground, looking at each other and trying to aid each other... the girl's hearing gradualy begins to return... the first sounds that return to both girl's ears are muffled, but after a few seconds, their hearing returns completely... but non the less, the ears on both girls are stinging badly and a terrible headache makes it feel like both girls are on the verge of loosing their heads altogther.

Two minutes later after both girl's 'now' stinging ears are filled with the sounds of screaming women and children, car alarms blasting and dogs barking, both look at the white light in the distance, Cecilia and Charlotte seem to forget their shopping that is strewn on the floor aswel as Cecilia's parasol that is upside down and stuck in a gutter. Both girls cast bewildered expressions at each other, not a word escapes their lips, the only movements that both females make is placing their hands over their ears, and soon afterwards... rushing around to pick up their shopping. Had both female's been in the streets, they would have had a much more scary experiance as the windows in some nearby buildings have shattered, ressulting the glass shards being scattered in the roads and streets, even on the board walk, some windows in some icecream parlours have been blown out by the colossal power of the shock and sound waves that both girls have just experianced, the only damage apart from their stinging ears that both female's are given, is just a slight dent and a filthy tip of Cecilia's parasol, which Cecilia frowns at with a very annoyed expression!

**\- With Laura -**

Flying at 5,000ft in the air in fully deployed IS form, the white haired, eye patched German IS ace Laura Bodewig is in a finger four formation with 3 other German female IS operatives, each of the german female's IS being the exact same model as that of Laura's. Since coming to Japan, Laura has had to entertain her comrades of the Schwarzer hase, and as most entertainment comes in the form of performing typical military duties, such as air patrols and listening to radio waves, what Laura and her comrades do to pass the time is what one would say as typicaly fitting of character.

All four females are currently operating under radio silence, only listening to that of the Japanese civilian air wave frequency, which to say is boring is untrue, the German females are able to hear good music stations and humerous talk radio stations. However, just like the others today, what they are about to encounter, is going to be far from the ordinary. The German girls at first fail to notice the bright white light that appears on the horizon, but after a matter of 20 seconds, just in time before the sound and shock waves hit Japan, one of the German IS females happens to glance to her left and notices the white light on the horizon, the female immediately reports the light to Laura in standard military proceedure in German, Laura and the two remaining females all turn their heads to the left, all they get is a quick flash of light before the deafening crack of sound waves hit hard, though the shock waves are limited to the ground, all four females find themselves being thrown off balance and tossed around in the sky like a bead of sweat in a female gym teacher's breast cleevage.

The sound wave that hits the German females is loud and sharp, but surprisingly less painful that what it is for people on the ground despite flying over the coastal areas of Japan. Thankfuly the German females quickly recover and soon end up remaining idle in the air, all four... just like the many people on the ground stare in bewilderment at the white light that is glowing on the horizon like a newly born sun. Not a word escapes any of the female's lips as they blink and gaze at the sight before them, the only moment the females break their gaze and focus on the glowing white light is when each regain their senses, speaking in german that radio transmitions are being jammed, and asking Laura for orders... to which the silver haired female responds with a very serious expression, speaking in German and ordering her girls to withdraw from the airspace, eventualy all four females are seen blazing the sky away from the white light that shines bright and proud on the ocean's horizon.

**\- With Rin -**

Just walking out of a large amusement arcade, a proud and triumphant look on her face, the Chinese brunette known as Rin is basking in the glow of victory. The Chinese female holds a stuffed animal in her arms, the stuffed animal being a large white bear with a gold medal around its neck. Ever since the end of IS term, Rin has taken the chance to explore the most popular areas of Japan. Though Rin would rather spend time with her secret love interest, Ichika, the Chinese brunette is always full of energy, and even though the Chinese brunette is confident when it comes to fighting for Ichika's heart, its fair to say that although she craves Ichika's pressance, she also has a lot of simple girlish energy. Afterall... Rin is a normal healthy girl and just like a boy has to blow off steam in what ever way possible every now and then.

Today has been such an acception, the Chinese brunette first went to see a movie, as she was leaving she noticed some future flicks due to air, and in her mind got the idea of sneaking Ichika away from everyone else and out to the movies, soon following with a possible secret date, that idea made Rin blush and go very girly and giggly. Soon after leaving the movies Rin found herself heading to an amusement arcade, and though she is not the type to show her feminie side especially in public, when the Chinese brunette happened to look inside the dark, yet brightly light up arcade itself, and saw the prizes in a glass cabinet, the female just had to try and win something. One of the main reasons she attempted to win one of the bear prizes is due to one factor, the big white bear that she was destined to win had a familiar look of Ichika in its brown eyes.

Now, after over a hard but well fought effort, Rin walks out of the amusement arcade holding her prize with a very triumphant look. The Chinese female feels like she could take on the world at this point. However as Rin reaches the entrance of the arcade, just a few steps before she can step out into the blazing hot summer sunlight, what comes next shakes all the positive feeling out of her body as an earth tremor followed at the same time by a terrible ear piercing crack causes the Chinese brunette to fall backwards onto her posterior, the female closes her eyes and places her right hand to the side of her temple as her ears begin to scream in protest against the god awful and sudden burst of sound that both eardrums have the misfortune to be subjected to.

The Chinese brunette is not the only one to make a fuss of the sudden blast of noise and earth tremor as people inside the arcade are thrown from their seats, some whom are eating or drinking end up chocking and spluttering, others are simply stained by what ever it is that they are eating or drinking. From inside the arcade, all games, flashing lights, music cease immediately, electronic static fills the building, the screens go blank or appear to buzz and appear like a faulting TV set. From outside the arcade, glass shatters and lands in the streets, a group of cars on a nearby road screach and skid, one silver car spins and comes to a sudden stop. While a red car smashes head first into the rear of a green car, other cars in other parts of the city streets are heard smash and screach. Glass falls from buildings that have the misfortune to suffer breaking glass, be it from windows or electronic light bulbs like the ones to the entrance of the amusement arcade. Glass shards look like hailstone as they fall with lethal force, some people in the streets run for cover, others simply crouch in an attempt to shield themselves in any way they can manage.

As Rin picks herself up off the ground, her hearing surprisingly intact, the female notices immediately that something very serious has happened, as a ressult, the female is quick to pick up her stuffed animal and rushes towards the entrance of the arcade. As she gets to the centre of the arcade, what she sees is a scene of utter chaos, some people are screaming, others are scrambling around like mad mice trying to find somewhere to hide from some hungry predator.

Though some police officers rush forward in an attempt to keep Rin indoors of the arcade, it does them no good, the Chinese female immediately activates her personal IS and with her stuffed animal still being clutched tightly in one hand, blasts away into the sky, her ears still slightly ringing from the colossal crack and shock wave that just shook the entire town/city.

**\- Some time later/ 17:00pm -**

By now, after over 5 hours of stillness on the horizon, the white light that was shinning with brightness has now given way to a large red glow and black distant clouds, clouds black as night are on the horizon, its as if a large volcanic eruption has taken place on the horizon. However, common sense clearly says that what ever it is that is happening on that horizon, its NO volcanic eruption, nothing natural, and by now everyone in the town/City is either staring at the sight, taking pictures, filming the event or pointing with stunned expressions. Though the city had sounded a Tsunami warning, nothing had occured, some wave activity had been detected but it was later declared that what wave activity was detected had begun to subside, which had came as a big relief for mainland Japan, with the country stunned by the distant explosion and shock wave, a Tsunami would have been a catastrophe.

Not only that, even though its on the horizon, a distant roaring rumble that is identical to an atomic bomb can be heard, but ONLY if one listens very carefuly. For the mass thousands of people, the sight is breath taking. Many people that have been told to return to their homes have taken the chance to gather on roof tops, many have taken the chance to phone family members and friends, where as others are simply filming as much of the event as they can.

In the sky above are numbers of Japanese SDF aircraft, mainly F-15J eagles and F2A Vipers, each armed with anti-air missiles and flying at over 10 to 20,000ft making defensive formations of the Japanese homeland incase the explosion, which is certainly evident to have happened on the horizon was infact a foreign attack. People that are in their homes, or are away from the coastal areas with a view of the incident are bewildered at the news reports that are flooding TV stations.

In the ward of her hospital, the dark blue haired Megumi and the women of her ward have gathered around a large TV in their ward. Those that are unable to move have been given a front seat view of the TV screen in wheel chairs. Megumi herself is sat on the tiles of the hospital ward floor, on both sides is her ward-mates, the female with red hair and the other with black hair. Each and every single female seems to have the look of nerve and bewilderment on their faces, as they look at a male news reporter sat behind a large blue desk, a white wall behind him whilst in the right hand of the corner is a large image of the white light that none of the women of Megumi's hospital ward had noticed, but instead was unfortunate to be on the merciful end of a fading shock and sound wave. Everybody listens with intent as the male news reader begins to explain the day's top news headlines in a loud and clear voice, a look of serious yet calm authority is on his face as he speaks -

"Southern and eastern coastal areas of Japan were effected today by what reports have claimed was 'A large explosive sound and shock wave', images captured a large glowing light which is just beside me here, on the coastal areas of southern Japan that were heavily effected by what the military is claiming as 'A nuclear explosion'. Other inland areas of Japan were also effected, in many areas there have been reported claims of road accidents, window breakages and even ruptured gas lines, even rail services were terminated in an act of safety just incase electronic power lines and bridges were effected, in fact in one area... there is a confirmed report that one train was shaken from its tracks, but nobody was hurt and the train was merely lightly derailed, rail services are expected to be continued in the next forty-eight hours, but in fears of gas explosions and further possible accidents, numberous regional areas have begun evacuations incase of further developments that could possibaly be linked to the reported nuclear explosion that is reported to have taken place in the Ryukyu islands occur.."

"What the hell happened?" - A wheelchair ridden middle aged woman with a long pale blue ponytail asks with the look of utter concern and nerve on her face, the female shakes her head as she speaks.

"A nuclear explosion? Were they testing weapons?" - Another wheelchair ridden female asks, this one with both legs in bandage casts asks with a confused look on her face, the female having long green hair and a band aid on her forehead.

"My god I hope nobody got killed in that!" - The red haired female whom beds beside Megumi exclaims in a very nervous manner.

"You don't suppose it has anything to do with terrorisim?" - A short brunette female asks, with a suspicious tone, her right arm in a sling indicating a serious arm injury.

"If it was terrorists I doubt they would have faired any better, I mean look at the size of that blast!" - A young female exclaims in a startled manner, the female having twin pink ponytails on the top of her head. The female points at the image of the light that is on the TV screen, a very surprised expression on her face.

"What do you suppose caused that blast?" - A female with black hair and a ponytail on the side of her head asks in an inquisitive manner.

"I don't know, but something tells me that it wasn't an accident!" - Megumi exclaims with a nervous and awkward expression on her face, her voice is clear and straight with inquisition.

At this point, while everyone is now casting either nervous, bewildered and inquisitive looks at each other, whispering and low muttered gossip fills the room... whom should appear in the hospital ward but one of the staff, a nurse in usual white medical uniform. The white uniformed female has pulled back blue hair in a small ponytail and black framed glasses, upon seeing the sight of nearly every single woman out their respective beds, the nurse goes wide eyed with surprise and shock, the female reacts instantly, gasping in a loud and clear manner before speaking in a shocked tone - "What are all you lot doing out of bed!? Get back to bed this instant!".

Many of the female patients don't even look back at the nurse, its clear as day that nobody is willing to move away from the TV. Fortuneatley, one of the female patients do make it clear that nobody is moving, buy casting a frown at the nurse and in loud and equaly flat tone replies the words - "And miss this? Get bent!".

The nurse looks heavily offended instantly but as she watches the female patient that just barked back a flat reply turns to face the TV, a new emotion fills the nurse from the inside to out, Curiosity, and before the medical woman knows it, she too is watching the news. Nobody leaves the TV set for the rest of the afternoon, its like a crowd has gathered at some five star football or american baseball game.

**\- Elsewhere/ Unknown Hotel room -**

In a brightly lit hotel bedroom, the walls are pure white, the floor has a tanned coloured carpet and on the white ceiling is a pair of large white dome lights. There are two large white beds in the bedroom, an oak coloured cupboard is against the wall which seperates the two beds by a few feet, a large brass lamp is upon the cupboard. The bedroom is inhabited, five female human beings inhabit the room, two sit on one bed while three sit upon the other, on one bed sits the blonde french beauty known as Charlotte and the silver haired, eye patched German female Laura. On the other bed sits the purple dark haired Houki, blonde curled Cecilia and brunette pigtailed Rin. The females are staring in one certain location, towards a large TV set that is standing upon a large black framed metal table.

The five teenage females had at first attempted to call one last time upon their secret love interest, Ichika Orimura, Laura even going so far as to break in and begin frantacaly calling her 'so called' wife's name. When it was clear that Ichika and his older sister Chifuyu was absent, the five females had begun discussing where best to gather and meet up, due to the certain situation involving a certain colossal earth tremor and what looked like a highly devastating nuclear blast just a matter of hours earlier. By now the white light has simmered to a large orange glow on the distant ocean horizon, clearly visible from the land, as well as the orange firey glow, many can make out large black clouds that rise and climb into the earth's atmosphere. From a third person's point of view, it looks like a very violent and distant storm is on the horizon with a hellish firey centre at the base. The low boomy sound of endless rumbling thunder can be heard if people listen carefuly. Even as Rin, Cecilia, Laura, Charlotte and Houki went rushing towards the hotel when outside, the group continued to cast looks at the sight, the girls' seemed to get a horrible chill to run up their spine as they rushed through the streets and towards the hotel to which is beging used by not only numberous inhabitants, but also Cecilia and Charlotte.

Getting in and being allowed to use the room being used by Cecilia and Charlotte wasn't much of a challenge, there was a lot of police officers encouraging people to stay indoors and the clerks and receptionists at the counter seemed to be more than comfortable in allowing Cecilia and Charlotte to bring in friends to find shelter, naturaly so many un-invited people are clearly and quite often, naturaly un-wanted in what looks like a five or four star accomodation building, but its a fair assumption that in times like this... providing shelter is a humanitarian aid demand.

Though Laura, Cecilia and Rin had originaly wanted to deploy their IS and get a closer view of the sight, they were prevented from doing so by Houki and Charlotte, and with good reason, one crisis is taking place right now, the last that the SDF and national security needs is some snoopers causing even more trouble. As the French blonde made clear as the group was at the entrance of the hotel by stating in a firm yet very calm and curious tone - "You would be surprised how many people would be watching in a crisis like this, trust me... we best stay put on the ground".

Though Cecilia and Rin had frowned, placed their hands on their hips and asked in a firm manner how else they could get a good view of the action, it was Houki whom caused the idiot hammer to smash Rin, Cecilia and Laura on the head by stating the obvious in a calm huffed voice - "Look why don't we do what everyone else is doing? Watch it on the news" - The Japanese female had raised an eyebrow as she spoke, the female suddenly feeling embarrassed as to have foolish friends as she spoke to the then embarrassed trio of females.

Now... after a matter of minutes after entering the hotel, the five females are now staring at the screen, not a whisper is heard come from any of the girl's mouths as they stare at the TV screen. What the females are greeted with is a close up view of the explosive orange and black cloud that churns and rises into the sky, rising to such a height it looks impossible for such a cloud from earth to reach such heights, the cloud is massive, large enough to swallow a dozen Iwo Jimas. The footage being shown is clearly coming from an SDF aircraft, the fact being proven as an F15J Eagle is seen flying in formation and coming up close to the camera.

Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura and Houki don't even blink, all five females look like coloured ice, gazing in bewilderment and horror, the five females are all eyes and ears, each and every one of a male new's readers words flow straight into the female's ears. On the bottom of the TV screen are large white letters that read - "Ryukyu Islands Destroyed" - other headline letters are seen on the TV news screen but none of the girls seem to look at the words or headlines.

"Ryukyu Islands vanish in a cloud of destruction as a gigantic explosion shakes the entire nation of Japan! The explosion occured this morning, which according to witnesses and reports say... begun as a large white light before what reports also describe as 'A deafening crack and earth shaking tremor' followed, taking thousands by surprise and causing massive disruptions to both national and private transports, the cause of the destruction is still unknown at this point but the military is claiming that the destruction occured as a serious and catastrophic nuclear malfunction. There are no reports of fatalities at this time, but according to reports just coming in at this very moment, a total of three thousand, five hundred and eighty three injuries have occured along the southern coastlines of Japan, a further four hundred and nine more injuries have occured inland. Most injuries at this point have occured as a ressult of the ressulting earth tremor and sound waves.."

"A nuclear explosion did all that!? Thats a lie if ever I heard one!" - Rin exclaims with a flat tone, the Chinesse brunette is shaking her head as she speaks.

"If injuries have occured then there most certainly has to have been fatalities" - Cecilia puts in with a shocked expression, blinking and staring at the TV screen.

"Reminds me of the pictures of the atomic bombs that landed on Japan during forty five" - Laura exclaims in a flat and carefree manner, causing Houki to frown and cast an annoyed glance her way.

"..Live at the scene is our correspondant Aoi Nami whom has been given special permission from our SDF to give a live report at the scene, ah... Nami, can you hear me?" - The male news reporter's voice asks in calm manner before the TV sceen breaks from a camera view of the destructive cloud that swallows the Ryukyu Islands and focuses on a woman whom holds a microphone to her mouth, the background that is behind the woman is clearly one that would be seen in a military helicopter, the news woman wears a light orange skirt and a white blouse, the woman has black, shoulder height hair and cat green eyes. The woman points out of the open helicopter doors of a UH-60 Black Hawk, the camera briefly looks out of the open helicopter doors before focusing back on the news woman.

"If you just looked out of the doors here, THAT is what our SDF is claiming as a nuclear explosion, and if it is, then it has to be the biggest and the most violent that man kind has ever experianced, our homeland's Ryukyu Islands have completley vanished behind that cloud, even now you can feel the turbulance in the air from that blast, we are only eigthy miles away from the fallout zone, but it feels like we are being thrown around like peas in a frying pan! The noise is constant, its hard to hear yourself think, its like hearing an endless corus of thunder with no interval, the roar is constant!, and though you can't feel anything pyshical, you CAN feel the power of that blast in the air!". - The news woman is clearly shouting into her microphone as she is speaking, the woman has her eyes narrowed and her hair is blowing wildly in the wind, each and every moment is getting recorded by camera.

With the gang, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin, Laura and Houki are silent, all have surprised expressions on their faces. Everyone says nothing, but cast looks of silent bewilderment to each other not even the slightest whisper escapes their lips, then... just a quickly as they look away from the TV screen, the five females return their gaze to the news lady that is live on the large TV. -

"According to what we've been told, even the famous American space facility NASA have been capturing bizare video footage and images from orbiting satilites, the latest will be shown tonight, we've even had reports that places in China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and even Russia have been effected by both the sound and shock waves produced by this bizare blast that has aparently swallowed the Ryukyu islands. The SDF has immediatley closed this part of airspace off to civil air line traffic, a large exclusion zone has already been set up to prevent anything from getting close near the fallout area, as for the island of nearby Okinawa, we have reports that the island has been engulfed with flames, but there are no casualties as all inhabitants were evacuated just hours earlier before the blast took place, so it seems that in terms of avoiding serious casualties the SDF and our national security has more than done its job, however its clear that any clear up operation is going to take years to complete maybe even decades!.."

"What for the love god could have done that!?" - Rin asks in a bewildered tone.

"I would say something abnormal!" - Charlotte replies in a bewildered tone of her own.

The three females remain frozen stiff, not taking their eyes off the TV screen for a single second, its not until a few minutes later when the female news reporter makes on last statement that causes everyone to once again, maybe for the fifth or sixth time today, to cast looks of confusion and amazement to each other. -

"According to what we've been told, this cloud WILL dissipate, but it may be a slow process and we will know for sure, weither the Ryukyu islands will reappear from behind that fallout, if so, god only knows what condition those islands will be in. This morning heat from the very heart of this explosion was registered to be so intense, it was registered to be at least nine thousand degrees hotter than the sun! THAT is intense heat, even now, you can feel the heat in the air, it is getting cooler by the second but the very scale of the destruction is clearly overwhelming, if the Ryukyu islands have survived we may see a very differant set of islands to the ones we once knew. Whats more, the impact all this may have on the enviroment is only just being calculated, some say that the impact is going to be mild, others say differant, but what ever the case... we can expect the answers to all our questions, with the next five days, or at the most a week, because that fallout is massive, its going to take hours and hours for it to run out of energy and die out so whatever the case... lets all keep our eyes and ears open and above all else... lets keep praying!".

At this point, the live feedback leaves the female news reporter and then the TV news channel is then focused on the male news reporter, an office man with short brown hair and brown eyes. The male news reporter is clearly shocked at the news, which is understandable, but non the less its clear as day that this male news reporter remains straight faced and is keeping his cool, which is vital when it comes to a job like this. The male news reporter whom is behind his large blue desk briefly looks down, before looking at the viewers and continueing to speak in his usual calm and collected tone -

"Thankyou Nami, there are further live reports coming through on other news channels and there will be more on this topic later on again as soon as possible, in the meantime according to instructions by police in areas worst effected by the shock and sound waves, anyone and everyone is advised to stay in your homes, if anyone is attempting to head back to their homes you are advised to either stay in your work places, or head at once to the nearest police station, hospital or rail station. For those whom are missing loved ones, simply report it to your nearest police officer and stay calm. The situation at the moment is not only a very big and large situation but could also possibaly be a very dangerous situation, if you have loved ones in any effected areas, DO NOT try to aid or provide a rescue attempt in case of risks to your own personal safety. There have been at least nine reports already of stray falling glass, ruptured gas lines and fires breaking out, so far any serious problems are currently under control, so for those for you whom are either isolated, cut off or with a group already, you are to stay where you are, remain sheltered and wait for further instructions".

"Wait, thats we're supposed to do!? Wait!?" - Rin hisses in a very frustraited manner, the Chinese brunette clasps both her hands to the top of her head, leans her head back and proceedes to tug on her hair, frustraition is just an understatement of how awkward and heavy the said female is feeling.

"Well what else can we do?" - The french blonde known as Charlotte asks in a clear tone, the female casting a look at Rin as a way of showing a response to the female's currently spoken, stressful phrase.

"Look Rin, I want to do something just as much as you do, but if they've told us to stay put I would say that they've told us to do that for our own good" - Houki states in a firm parental like tone, the female casting her own look at Rin, deep down Houki is screaming, so its clear as day that the Japanese female understands Rin's emotional state.

"For once I aggree with the civilian instructions, I believe in this case it is wise to remain stationary, Until then, I will check the radio waves for further developments" - The German eye patched female known as Laura comments with her single solitary eye closed, before opening her eye, partialy deploying her IS and beginning to hack into SDF Radio transmittions.

Cecilia understands what Laura is doing and immediately shows her support of the plan by closing her eyes, folding her arms and putting on a serious facial expression. The female speaks in a very nervous yet very brave tone - "O..Of course, I believe due to the curcumstances, staying put would be the best thing to do also, a..and besides... Its what Ichika would do wouldn't it!?".

"Oui! Oui! If that is what Ichika would do, then I'll do it too" - Charlotte puts in with a nervous, yet more calmer tone and facial expression.

"C'mon guys, lets see if we can find anything more out, the average person's way!" - Houki exclaims with a cheerful yet clearly concerned look on her face, though Houki is concerned about many things, it is considered admirable that she does not show her nerves to the others in such a manner. As a ressult of that self control, Houki's statement becomes the rallying cry for all five females to stare at the TV set and remain put, Laura becomes the icon for the remainder of the afternoon all the way until night falls, occasionaly breaking silence and giving everyone the heads up on any further developments.

**\- With Maya -**

Sat in a bar, filled with other women, some middle aged and some young the Green haired IS teacher with thin framed glasses is white the fear. Even though Maya was supportive of the idea of Chifuyu, Ichika and Kestrel's heading to the Ryukyu Islands, everything seems to come flooding back, hitting her hard in the chest like a freezing or red hot knife hitting her straight through the heart, sweat seems to roll down Maya's temple as she looks with utter worry and dread at the TV screen before her. Even though numbers of females are with the green haired woman whom is surprisingly still dressed in her usual wear that she wears at the IS academy... the said female is unable to hear any of the women's words that fill the air.

When Maya first discovered the news of what has happened at the Ryukyu Islands, it came in the form of a woman running into the small yet very cosy bar, the usual bar to which she and Chifuyu were sat in just days ago before Chifuyu partook in her departure to the Ryukyu Islands. The woman whom looked to be very similar in age to Maya had run in wildly, panting with shock and pointing to the TV set, demanding the channels be switched.

Though the bar tender at first was not going to change the channels, it soon proved to be a good choice to switch channels, the first thing that greeted everyone was exactaly the same thing that Houki, Rin, Charlotte, Cecilia and Houki have witnessed. Images and footage of the white glowing light that is now a large orange glow with a black cloud rising into the atmosphere. Looking at the TV screen, Maya is white, the woman seems unable to breathe, its as if she is a loving mother just discovered her child has been murdered... her heart seems to be shattering, just like the rubble and debris that is seen falling from the sky on the LIVE TV news channel.

Chifuyu, Ichika and little Kestrel are in the green haired woman's mind, and though its obvious that its too early to assume, Maya's reaction is only natural. All that is on Maya's mind is the concerned face of Chifuyu when she was discussing heading out to the Ryukyu Islands, Ichika's kind and friendly face that brightens her classroom up to massive, un-matched levels and the innocent timid face of Kestrel, whom has gone through god knows what in his life. In her mind, Maya is feeling very, very foul... she feels as if she has let everyone down, she feels as if she has happily allowed a trio of good people walk away to their deaths.

Everything is simply too much for the green haired female, the woman staggers forward, eyes wide with shock and horror, sweat rolling down her temple as she approaches the TV as close as she possibily can, the woman looks up as the TV is suspended on the ceiling. The woman holds her arms and hands forward and apart as if she is a shocked mother looking at the now lifeless body of her child, shock, panic, disbelief and awe is going through the woman's head and heart. For over ten minutes, Maya stands frozen, wide eyed like a zombie, taking as many deep breaths as she can before... as expected, the inevitable happens, with a single moaned sigh, the woman's eyes roll up, her arms fall limp at her sides, her head leans back and as quickly as it begins, the green haired Teacher is falling backwards in a dead faint.

Every other woman in the room immediately gathers around Maya after the teacher lands hard on the floor, some women kneel down and check Maya's temperature and pulse, while others are looking at each other and muttering in shock at what has just happened.

_**Well... thats all I can think of for chapter 77, I wan't to say thanks for everyone that is still following this fic, please remember if you have a request feel free to speak out and ask, and I'll see what I can do. The next chapter may take a bit longer to write, but please forgive me for that, recently I've been suffering high levels of panic, fear and depression, in fact a few days ago I was crying my eyes out, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, because I know like everyone else... people do suffer from depression, I had a friend who self harmed herself as a ressult, but I'm not a person whom does that, so don't worry I'm not about to commit suicide, but... non the less, some friendly voices would be very much thanked and appreciated every now and then. If you want to know why it is I'm feeling so crappy, then here's a hint... how many of you readers have a crappy family that you wished you didn't have!?**_

_**So... please, forgive me for the delays, but I need some recovery time every now and then, but feel free to talk if you want... I need it! I need all the friendly voices I can find... the next chapter is underway, but I can't be sure when it comes out, so bear with be okay?**_

_**Okay... thats all I can say, I'll see you readers again as soon as I can, in the mean time, may all your fics get all the best positive reviews and followers as possible, wishing you all the best - as always! XD -**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	78. Chapter 78: Alive and buried

_**Hello again readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned again as promised, a fresh chapter as usual. Before we start I'd like to thank Mr Beaver Buttington for the friendly aid that was given these past few days, as I explained once, I was depressed as hell... thankfuly, now my spirits are high again and I'm obviously more than happy to return to writing. I guess its time to see if Ichika, Chifuyu, Yui, Tabane and Clarissa has survived Kestrel's Prometheus test. So lets get on with reading... also, made a mistake with Houki's hair colour... apologies, that was down to depression. Won't happen again. Also, as many have noticed, I've now begun to title each chapter... don't take it out on me, remember I am STILL new to this fanfic lark, never have been such a hit on things like computers and such, so give me some credit will ya!? I'm still learning things everyday... as we ALL do.**_

_**Thanks a lot for the waiting readers... now... please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 78:

**\- Tabane's underground facility/ 24 hours after Kestrel's Prometheus firing test -**

Laying flat on her left side, eyes closed, blacked out, her face, black hair and office like clothing grey with dust, the mighty Japanese female Chifuyu Orimura is lost in the realm of the unconscious. Her arms are wrapped around her younger brother as if in some loving embrace, her younger brother Ichika is laying on his right side, effectively both Chifuyu and her out cold younger brother are face to face in a the world of the unconscious. Nothing but silence fills the pitch black room, and along with Chifuyu and Ichika whom look lifeless... three other females are in the same state, out cold... silent and motionless, covered in grey-white dust. The office dressed Yui is laying on her back, smothered in dust, the German military woman known as Clarissa is laying on her front, her hat is missing, leaving her blue hair expossed to the dust that dirties everybody, lastly Tabane is laying on her front, head upon Yui's thighs. The eyes on all three females are closed, everyone looks as if they are asleep.

Along with the motionless people in the room, all of Tabane's laptops and TV's are black, most have crashed and clattered on the rock solid floor, three TV's are surprisingly intact, but the rails that held them have collapsed into heaps of metal. Some laptops owned by Tabane have shattered, bits of wire, microchips and various electrical components are scattered across the floor. The chairs that Tabane had in the room have over turned, they too are covered in dust. Even though the room has not collapsed despite the massive earthquake that occured during Kestrel's firing test, it looks as though the room is on the razor's edge of coming down at any moment, even though the chances are very unlikely as the structure was made to withstand such tremors.

Hours seem to pass, and nothing is happening in the darkened room, until finally... after what seems like a lifeline, a facial twitch on the office dressed Yui indicates that life is stirring from within. At the same time, Chifuyu begins to come round, her head seems to be screaming in agony, as if its about to split itself open like an egg shell. Chifuyu immediately feels the soft touch of a body in her arms, and though she does not open her eyes... the female knows already whom it is, because although the woman is an out cold state... in an incredible yet very understandable twist of human drama, Chifuyu remembers everything that happened before she blacked out.

In those horrible and terrifying moments of the room and earth shaking violently, everything happening all at once, with Tabane's TV and Laptop screens going blank, the ONLY thing that Chifuyu wanted at that moment was her younger brother. Though Chifuyu is not the dramatic person, nor is she a soft hearted person, the woman does have a side that not even Ichika is privalidged to see, if he is to see it, it will only be in certain curcumstances, one such moment was when the female was drunk and when she expressed her love and secret lust for him, but now... in a moment of fearing death and her last moments alive, the only thing Chifuyu wanted to make clear... is that although she is firm and icy, she wanted her beloved younger brother to know that the only thing matters to her the most was and always will be... HIM - Ichika.

Now... understandably, unaware of the fact that she is alive, the woman keeps her eyes closed, everything is peaceful... as far as Chifuyu is concerned, she is in heaven and her younger brother is at her side. However, as she begins to come round, the woman begins to regain the feeling of nerves, but even then... the ponytailed female dares not to move. If being in heaven means that she and her younger brother can embrace with no worries what-so-ever, then clearly Chifuyu is not complaining.

**\- Author's note, according to people that suffer an experience which makes them think that they are dead, many say that they feel utter peace throughout their bodies and heads -**

With Yui however, the office dressed female, is more in contact with reality than anyone else, the woman immediately reacts to her brain's commands as feeling comes back and fills her body from head to foot. Though Yui is tempted to accept the fact that she maybe dead, the office woman does the opposite, in her mind the crying and fragile looking face of the scar faced Israeli boy known as Kestrel comes to mind. Yui's reaction is immediately concern, then... just as quick as that, desperation... not to escape the situation she is in, but to see the face of Kestrel. The last time she saw Kestrel, the youngster looked sick with fear and negative emotions, and if anything if the child thinks he's killed the only people in the world he can trust, then the child is going to feel a lot worse.

As Yui stirs, rolls her head slightly from left to right, the woman immediately gets a horrible sensation feeling on her chest and in her throat, which immediately ressults in her coughing and barking as she proceedes to prop herself up, using one hand to steady herself and the other to ball into a fist and place just beneath her mouth as she coughs. Dust seems to blow and spread as she weezes and splutters on the dust that coats her face, body and friends. Eventualy after an effort that lasts over three minutes, aswel as having to sneeze three times as dust somehow finds its way up her nostrils, Yui is finaly able to shake off the insult caused by the microscopic concrette particles.

As Yui sits up and leans forward a horrible aching pain throbs in her head, ressulting in the woman placing her left hand palm to her temple and letting out a pain stricken - "Oooh!". Yui keeps her eyes closed for a few moments before she opens both, the woman feels like she is having a hang over. The office woman's emotions are at first ones of utter panic and fear as she opens both eyes to find nothing but darkness, yet strangely at the same time, she feels at peace and that there is nothing to be nervous about. Eventualy after a good handful of minutes the woman's eyesight begins to get used to the darkness, and before she knows it, she can make out the shapes of Tabane and Clarissa.

"Clarissa... Tabane..." - Yui speaks out in a very silent, soft tone. The female shocked to find herself unable to speak as clear, but after clearing her throat, and spitting out a mix of slobber and foul tasting dust combined, the woman is finaly able to find her voice again, and as such repeats the two female's names.

Though Yui is tempted to go and attempt to wake up Chifuyu, for some strange reason, Yui just does not want to look or even speak to Chifuyu, even though Chifuyu is not to blame for what has happened, every time Yui thinks of the woman's name, a horrible amount of rage and bloodthirst rises in her heart. Thankfuly, Tabane seems to be a very cheerful person at heart, so as a ressult Yui immediately begins to attempt to wake her up, Yui places both hands on Tabane's dust covered back, and proceedes to carefuly shake the female, every ten seconds speaking the female's name. It takes a good deal to wake Tabane up, and Yui soon starts to panic and fret, a terrible feeling and thought hits her hard in the head and chest. - ( "Am I the only one alive in this room!?" ).

Relief is just an understatement to how Yui feels as Tabane begins to move around and stir, a tear of joy and relief rolls down Yui's face as Tabane groans and picks herself up off Yui's lap. Tabane holds her head in pain, groaning in the same manner as Yui did when she herself first came round. Immediately noticing Yui's voice as her name is spoken, Tabane responds with a weary tone - "Tabane?... Yes, Yes... that's me!, I think!".

Yui places a hand carefuly on Tabane's shoulder, Tabane responds by placing her own hand on top of Yui's and for that brief moment, both females feel the heavyness of the situation they just experianced, everyone has just narrowly avoided death, or at least... that is the assumption, Clarissa, Chifuyu and Ichika are still silent and motionless, and the darkness isn't helping, as Tabane feels sharp objects dig into her hands as she feels her way round on the dust ridden floor, thankfuly no sharp objects pierce the soft hands of Tabane as she feels her way around trying to find everyone else, her eyes still trying to adjust to the darkness that engulfs everyone.

"Tabane, is there anyway of restoring light?" - Yui asks in a flat and near demanding tone, before proceeding to check on the motionless Clarissa.

"Hold on, I have a light on me" - Tabane replies in type of relieved tone, before pulling out a long hand held light from under her dress near the thigh and switching it on. Before Yui knows it her eyes are subjected to a blinding and sudden flash of blue light that engulfs the room, washing away the blackness. Tabane's eyes don't get much of a break either, the fact proven as the purple haired female merely sets the light down on the floor and shields her eyes from the light that seems to sting her eyes, only after 10 minutes of shielding does both female's eyes finaly begin to accept the almighty bright glow let out by Tabane's light, how she managed to hide that under her dress is anyone's guess, or for that matter, WHY she had it in the first place is questionable, but perhaps it doesn't matter, what matters is the fact that Tabane is able to restore a feeling of control to the situation.

"Ah... good work, remind me to ask you how mannaged to secure that light under your dress Tabane" - Yui exclaims in a grateful yet bewildered tone, the female clearly sharing the awkwardness of the moment that runs along the lines of 'Didn't see that coming'.

"Yeah, sure thing. Is Chifuyu and Ichika okay?" - Tabane replies, rubbing her eyes and attempting to dust herself off the best way she can manage, Yui seems to forget the fact that she is covered from head to foot in dust, and instead just heads over to check on the motionless Chifuyu and Ichika.

As Yui proceedes to shake and tend to the out cold and partialy out cold Chifuyu, Tabane despite her legs and body screaming in exhaustion, staggers over to a closed metalic door. A small pannel is on the left side of the door, panneled numbers are upon the silver pannel, the pannel looking like one that would be seen when one draws money out of a cash machine at a bank. A computer screen is blank and vacant, a small split crack is on the screen, but Tabane pays it no attention. The purple haired female is relieved for a moment as she turns her head to look at the pannel a flaring pain in her head causes the female to place a hand to the left of her head, the soft hand palm despite a comfort does not soothe away the screaming headache that is churning in her head.

Tabane breathes very calmly, her emotions are mixed, the female is praying to which ever god is willing to listen that the curcuits that open and close the door have not been damaged. Another hope is that the door will open and a clear open corridor will be ready to greet not only her but Chifuyu, Ichika, Yui and Clarissa. Tabane with her hair in a slight mess proceedes to carefuly press the silver, lifeless looking buttons. A moment of pressing on the keys passes... nothing. Tabane frowns, her heart picks up the pace a little, but the female keeps her cool, the entire facility of the Japanese female has been badly shaken due to the scheer power from the explosion caused by Kestrel's Prometheus, so if any power is left in the facility, then its a good bet that it will only be minimal.

Meanwhile with Yui, the office woman helps an equaly dusty Chifuyu come round into the world of reality, the woman's dissapointment of not being in heaven with Ichika is made clear as the woman hisses in pain, frowns, closes her eyes for a brief moment before speaking in a huffed tone - "I'm not in heaven? God Dam'mit!".

As Chifuyu proceedes to regain feeling to her body, the woman sheilds her eyes for a brief moment as the bright blue light deployed by Tabane hurts her eyes badly for the first few moments. Though Chifuyu immediately starts calling Ichika's name at first and shows concerns for her younger brother's safety, the woman lets out a deeply relieved sigh as she hears her younger brother groan and in a weary voice replies in a tired manner - "Is that you Chifuyu-nee?".

Clarissa is the last to waken, and in a taste of mild 'if not very humorous to some' comedy asks a question not realated to the situation - "Where's my hat?". The German military female having felt the absence of her hat on her head. Even as Chifuyu helps dust Yui off, Clarissa despite sheilding her eyes is immediately rooting around looking for her missing hat, sure... being in the armed forces, equipment and uniform is a big responsibility, but surely... theres a time and place for everything. Thankfuly Clarissa is fast to discover that matter and gives up her search in just a matter of minutes, along with being told by an irritated Chifuyu to - "Forget your damn hat!".

All the while in the 20 minutes of activity that pass, which involves everyone getting used to their surroundings, tending to each other and thanking god that they are still alive... Tabane continues to work away on the door pannel, with no laptop system to aid the female, along with the female still being in a dazed state, Tabane is more or less powerless like everybody else. However, despite the odds being thrown by the situation, the confusion... the stress... the heaviness... etc, a sudden flash of life in the pannel is enough to cause a large beaming smile to form on Tabane's face. For Tabane, just a faint sounding hum of power and flash of blue light that lights up the silver pannel... both combinded, is the most beautiful sound and sight on earth ever experianced.

The purple haired Japanese female turns to face the mixed emotion filled faces of Ichika, Chifuyu, Clarissa and Yui and with a highly excited voice speaks the words - "Okay everyone! I've secured our way out of here!". - Nobody dares say a word, but everyone is clearly thinking the same thing, which obviously goes along the lines 'Oh, thank god for that!'. As Tabane presses on a set of silver metalic keys a loud and clear whirring noise is heard. The electronic sound is mixed with a faint sound that gives the indication that the electric systems are damaged and struggling to obey Tabane's command, but with an overwhelming feeling of relief, the metalic door slides open, very slowly at first but slides open at a normal pace as the door reaches a half open state.

What greets everyone is the sight of a slightly darkened corridor, most lights are out, but some are still on and working, some are flashing in rapid pulses, where as some other odd lights are dim, giving the impression that either the bulbs, light source or power is faint or damaged. The corridor seems fairly intact as everyone proceedes to calmly walk out of the darkened room, Clarissa quickly picking up Tabane's bright blue hand holdable light and leading the way with Tabane on her left. Sounds of Chifuyu, Yui and Clarissa's high heeled shoes clicking on the metal ground drown out the average sounds of Ichika and Tabane's regular and average footwear.

As the group walk down the darkened, 'if slightly erie' corridor which is silent as the grave, un-inhabited and dimly lit, everyone ignores the surroundings and focuses on one goal - Get up to the surface as quickly as possible, but despite the fact that everyone wants to rush out as fast as they can, nobody dares to run... which is in all liklihood a wise thing to do, as everyone eventualy notices that some parts of the corridor ceiling and walls are cracked and fractured. Exposed and sparking live wires buzz and crack in certain areas as everyone carefuly walks down the low lit up corridor, in fact, as Ichika walks beside his older sister whom is clinging tightly onto her younger brother's right hand with her own left, the Japanese male rolls his eyes, looks around and in his mind lets out a loud bewildered sigh of amazement.

( "Man! Is everything really still standing? Everything looks as though its on the verge of breaking apart!" - Ichika thinks in a very bewildered manner. Thankfuly, the Japanese male keeps his thoughts to himself, had he spoken those words aloud, the most likely possibility is that he would have given a slap round the ears from Chifuyu and being given a strict warning to 'Speak only if he is being spoken to!'. However, unbeknowst to Ichika, thoughts of the same thing are racing through everyone's mind as they walk through the darkened corridors, Tabane's blue light that is being held in Clarissa's hand lighting the darkened corridor every second.

**\- 20 minutes later -**

20 minutes after what seems like an eternity for the group, everyone suddenly comes to a sudden stop as they round a left corner. Metalic walls now replaced with thick concrette and brick, that being a sight that everyone is mentaly screaming with joy at. Upon noticing the mix of concrette and brick, Tabane was immediate to let everyone know that the emergency exit to the outside was very close. However, even now when coming close to the end of a long journey, the long hand held light that is in Clarissa's hand is still required to be on, all lights are out at this point which obviously gave the horrible impression that only THEY were the only ones to make it out alive of the situation that Kestrel accidently placed everyone in.

Though Tabane was tempted to go through her entire science facility looking for other staff workers, the female had came to a conclusion that it was far more important to get Chifuyu, Ichika, Yui and Clarissa out of harms way first before tending to other matters. However, as kind as that conclusion was, Tabane and everyone is about to discover that they are not out of danger yet. The fact is proven as Tabane proceedes to open a large metalic door, ressembling ones that are inside safe houses. As the purple haired Japanese female opens the door, the sight of rubble, collapsed brick and mortar causes everyone to freeze and pause. Though the way out has not collapsed, the exit appears to have taken a nasty beating from the force caused from Kestrel's Prometheus.

Dust from the ceiling falls, the sound of bricks clattering and falling over each other echo as Tabane stands frozen at the door way. The Japanese female looks back at the others, the blue light held by Clarissa clearly highlights the look of concern on her face. After a moment of silence and looking at each other, a voice that is not related to anyone in the group causes all to leap in surprise, and turn their heads in the direction the voice came from. The voice is that of a woman's, and though Ichika jumps in startled amazement, Ichika remembers this person's voice after a moment of pause, he heard it when he first arrived. The voice belongs to the short blonde haired female scientist that had a very suspicious aura about her when she first saw Kestrel... it belongs to Miss Ridgewood. Everyone looks at what appears to be a small head sized hole in the brick wall on their right, and sure enough, there is the blonde female scientist a small head wound appears to be on her left temple as a small stream off blood is running down the side of her face and head.

"Tabane!, Tabane!"

"Is that you Nell?" - Tabane replies in clearly surprised but relieved tone, the purple haired female immediately begins to walk over towards the damaged brick wall, proceedes to climb onto a small stack of bricks and proceedes to look through the hole and towards her first assistant whom although seems suspicious, is clearly important to the purple haired female. As Tabane brings her face level with that of Nell's, a look of relief and concern is on both women's faces, if both females weren't rooms apart then its a good bet that Tabane would have hugged Nell's life out of her in an act of relief. Everyone else remains frozen stiff, only blinking, watching and listening to the sight that is happening before them.

"Are you okay Nell?" - Tabane asks in concerned manner, her eyes being in full contact with those of the blonde haired Nell.

"Yeah, I'm alright Tabs', but I can't get out" - Nell replies in a normal sounding tone, it being a good change to Ichika that the suspicious female is acting like a normal person for once instead of acting overwhelmingly suspicous for once.

"What happened? I thought you were in the main section of the lab during Kestrel's test, why are you in there?" - Tabane asks in curious manner. Indeed, it was a priority for all of Tabane's staff to be in their respective places when Kestrel's test took place, so for Tabane's number one assistant to be out of place. What's all that about?

Nell appears to turn her head to over her shoulder to look behind her, a pause is in the air before the blonde female continues to speak in a calm and rational tone, but its clear as day that a large hint of nerve is in the woman's voice as she looks Tabane in the eyes and speaks in a calm and rational manner - "Well, apparently O'connor was not in her respective place when the test was taking place... I came up here to get her, she's in here with me right now, but like I said... I can't get out, all the wall seems to have fallen against the door".

"Karen?... Karen wasn't in her respective place? Thats not like her, where is she right now?" - Tabane replies in a surprised tone, the purple haired female places an index finger against her chin as she rolls her eyes to look upwards at the ceiling in an act of ponder before looking the blonde scientist in the face again and ending her phrase with a large hint of concern.

"She's up on the top bunk in this room fast asleep" - Nell replies immediately in a flat tone as if it is to be expected.

For the blue haired Clarissa, her single solitary eye lit up by the blue light in her hand, the words that Nell has just spoken has sent large amounts of offense through her body and head. In all truth, Clarissa can't be blamed for feeling that way, for a person considered responsible and reliable to be commiting what seems to be an act of carelessless in the middle of something considered a priority one, it can in the best way of description... be described as an idle person whom happily and willingly abandons important tasks, likes to cause trouble and couldn't be trusted with so much as an empty home, Clarissa makes this feeling clear as she scowls in a very angered manner, with a tone mixed with shock and offense speaks the words - "Asleep?! Asleep!? That careless woman is asleep!? In the middle of one of the most important tests? And again in the middle of the worst situations you could ever hope to find yourself in!?... In Germany that would be considered an offence punishable by death!".

The blue haired German female, with her single solitary eye containing vast amounts of rage, still clutching tightly to the bright glowing light in her hand then turns to face Chifuyu, Yui and Ichika, the female then proceedes to continue on speaking in a manner of condemnation as she speaks from an offended tone to a near yell - "Did you hear what I said Orimura!? I said death!".

Clarissa then begins to march back and fore, repeating the same word, over and over again three times as if condemning a person to hell - "DEATH!.. DEATH!.. DEATH!" - Clarissa even goes so far as to point to the darkened ceiling yet she looks at nothing ahead of her in particular. Immediately noticing that Clarissa is not about to calm down the almighty Chifuyu suddenly releases her grip on Ichika's hand and then grabs the military German female by the shoulders, seconds later a mild sounding slap can be heard in the darkened room, Ichika and Yui blink in surprise as they watch Yui deliver a slap against Clarissa's right cheek. Chifuyu, although she is motivated to do so, does NOT raise her voice but merely speaks in a sharp and stern snap - "Calm down!".

Clarissa shakes her head rapidly as if shaking off a wild thought, or trying to correct herself after saying mispoken words. The German female places a hand to the side of her face where the ponytailed Chifuyu has just struck, and in a much calmer tone, mixed with a moment of comedy speaks in a relieved sigh - "Thanks I needed that!".

Now, seeing the chance to continue the conversation a bit further, Tabane looks her blonde assistant in the face and speaks in her usual calm and collected tone, the purple haired female is still clearly overwhelmed by confusion as to why two of her most efficiant staff workers have apparently been completley misplaced - "So what happened? Why is O'connor asleep and not helping you get out?".

"I don't have a clue as to why she's asleep, but when I came up here to get her in the main lab I found she was asleep I couldn't wake her up and then before I knew it, everything started shaking, the lights went out and then before I knew it, I was on the ground out cold". - Nell replies, her tone still flat, clear as crystal as she explains what happened in a calm and collective manner.

Upon hearing Nell's explination, Tabane looks as is she has just been very badly insulted, an un-characteristic frown is on her face as she feels a vast amount of anger and offence boil in her body upon hearing Nell's explination of Karen's careless act. Though its understandable why Nell dissregarded safety protocols to protect her colleage, what is not understandable is the reason why Karen put Tabane's number one assistant in such perilous danger in the first place. As a ressult, the Japanese female folds her arms and in an angerd voice mixed with a frustraited huff speaks the words - "Well, I never! To think my own staff would do something so stupid!".

Yui frowns in frustraiton and with Chifuyu and Ichika shares a big sweat drop moment, though not one of the three have met this Karen, they do understand the scheer stupidity of the woman by what they have just heard from Tabane's blonde assistant, and top it all off, everyone could have been a few minutes from salvation and escaping the dark, lifeless underground that seems to be hanging by a thread, and now... they have to help in the rescue of two victims of the same predicament.

Looking through the mere hole that allows both females to exchange eye contact with each other, the blonde haired Nell is seen to shake her head, a look of concern is on her face as she looks Houki's older sister in the eyes and in a very concerned tone speaks the words - "Tabs, You don't understand, I think she's ill".

"Why?" - Tabane replies in a slightly interested, yet still very annoyed tone.

"Well, I can't wake her, I've tried everything" - Nell responds a hint of nervous desperation is on her face as she speaks, causing Tabane's scowl to drop and be replaced with one of worry. As a ressult Tabane's response is litteraly instant as the responsibility to her staff kicks in, though being in charge does not mean you have to be a parent to your workers, it does however carry a responsibility where one tends to the aid of their subordinates, or at least does their best to ensure their safety and well fare. Tabane makes this clear with her words - "Stay where you are, don't move, we'll have you out of there in no time".

With that, both females end their conversation, Nell is seen to move away from the hole in the concrete wall while at the same time Tabane turns her back and looks at Clarissa, Chifuyu, Yui and Ichika. Everyone now having looks of concern and interest on their faces, and though the only light in the dark underground corridor is just the bright glowing blue light that Clarissa holds in her hand, that blue glowing light fails to hide the supportive looks on everyone's faces. Tabane does not notice but her sixth sense tells her that everyone is behind her all the way, even as the Japanese female walks towards the open metal door and into the brick layden corridor floor Yui, Chifuyu, Clarissa and Ichika are close behind her. As Tabane proceedes to carefuly step onto the mass of rubble and brick that fills the corridor floor, Chifuyu is close behind, both females proceede to take it very slow and steady, which in this case is wise when one considers the damage that Tabane's facility has taken just from the shock waves from Kestrel's Prometheus alone.

"I don't think its too bad, I think we can easily shift this" - Tabane comments with a confident tone, the female having quickly scanned the amount of rubble that is blocking the door to the room that harbours her two assistants. Standing close behind, Chifuyu remains silent at first but as Tabane reaches the brick, concrete and steel barbs that block the door to the room that is the current sanctuary of Nell and Karen, the ponytailed female speaks out in a very calm and slightly careing manner - "You wan't me to go in front? If there's any rubble that looks heavy let me and Ichika take the wheel".

As Tabane and Chifuyu proceede to exchange words that revolve along the lines of how to deal with this situation, the German eye patched Clarissa carefuly steps into the corridor though the German female is standing in the door way that leads to the blackened corridor to which Ichika and Yui are still in, the German female is doing what everyone seems to have forgotten to do... assess the situation. The German female slowly moves her arm shinning the glowing blue light at the walls, and at first the eye patched, blue haired woman is at ease, but... as the German female lifts the light to look up at the ceiling the said woman's blood seems to freeze with terror. Her single solitary eye widens in shock as she looks up, what meets her gaze is a sight that would make many wet themselves with fright if in a situation like this. Massive chunks of the concrete and brick ceiling are missing, steel rods are exposed, cracks spread open and wide like great serpents, and if Clarissa looks carefuly, particles of dust is still falling from the ceiling and the steel rods look very, very brittle.

"Ah... Instructor Orimura, look at the ceiling!" - Clarissa speaks out, fear can clearly be heard in her voice as she speaks. Chifuyu and Tabane look at the German woman and instantly notice the look of nerve in the woman's face, adding the look of fear on Clarissa's face with sound of nerve in her voice, Chifuyu and Tabane look up also, both females go wide eyed and freeze on the spot.

"My goodness, look at the ceiling" - Tabane speaks out in her usual bouncy tone, the female sounds as if she can't grasp the seriousness of the situation. However, what Chifuyu says next, along with the tone of nerve in her cool big sister voice, clearly says the opposite as she says the words that NOBODY, underground ever wants to hear. Chifuyu's voice clear, but is spoken very softly - "This lot could come down, at any moment!".

For at least a few minutes, silence fills the corridor, but eventualy, in a serious yet soft spoken voice Chifuyu speaks what anyone else would have said by now - "Keep VERY still". As she speaks the German military woman Clarissa turns her body and head, so that the said female can look over her shoulder with ease at both Yui and Ichika, as she begins to carefuly explain what is happening to the Japanese male and female, Tabane and Chifuyu look at each other with nervous expressions, just one bad move, and everything could be over. Tabane is the next to speak, the Japanese female timidly and as slowly and as quietly as she can proceedes to climb over the mass of concrette and brick, the female holds a hand out for Ichika's mightly older sister and in a careful tone speaks the words - "Take my hand Chifuyu".

It takes only two minutes, but amazingly with only a few tiny peeps from the sounds of the brick and concrette, Chifuyu and Tabane climb back into the already darkened corridor where a nervous faced Yui and Ichika are standing, Yui looks as if she is on the verge of tears, one thing is for sure, if Yui was in normal light, she would be the most white faced woman anyone could have ever seen, Ichika is trembling slightly, but has a much more braver look on his face, which causes Chifuyu to smile slightly as she begins to admire the effort of bravery that her younger brother is showing despite being powerless. However, the smile is quick to vanish as both Chifuyu and Tabane climb into the corridor, Tabane remains silent as Chifuyu begins to speak in her official tone - "Okay everyone, the ceiling has collapsed, god knows whats holding up the rest of it, but the slighest sound or movement, could bring the whole lot crashing down on us, but we don't have much time because for all we know Tabane's assistant could be very ill".

"Question is Chifuyu-nee, how can we move all that rubble without everything coming down on our heads?" - Ichika asks in a clear but very soft tone, the Japanese male having assessed the seriousness of the situation litteraly instantly. Chifuyu's response is one of hesitation at first, but after briefly placing her left hand on her temple, the Japanese female continues in speaking in a soft yet seriously clear spoken manner. - "The only way I can see, we must form a chain... then we can pass the rubble back into this corridor... now, its not going to be very pleasant for whom is going to be at the head of that chain".

"Not pleasant! It's the worst position anyone can hope to be in!" - Yui puts in immediately, having heard Chifuyu state the obvious. Less than a second after hearing Yui speak her phrase the purple haired Tabane speaks, the Japanese female equaly sharing the moment of nerve and fear - "What we want to know is, who is going to be at the head of that chain".

"Are you volunteering?!" - Clarissa asks in a firm manner, the German female frowning at the Japanese female with her single solitary eye.

"If it comes to that, yes... I'll go at the head of that chain" - Tabane replies in a firm manner back at the blue haired German military woman, the purple haired female seems to puff out her chest as she speaks clearly showing a feeling of overwhelming strength and power that she suddenly feels wash over herself. A horrible moment of silence fills the air as a grim moment befalls everyone, nobody has asked for any of this, and yet by the very bad power induced by fate, or whatever else one wants to call it, everyone is in fact IN this situation, had everyone had the idea this would have happened, its a good bet that Tabane would have ordered the test aborted, but even then... maybe she would have been forced to continue the test as planned, but, that is anyone's guess right now, and its not important. Right now, the grim task of finding out whom is going to be at the head of the chain first is being chosen and as there is no way to draw straws or lots for it, the only way now is by an old challenge of fate - Rock, paper, scissors.

Before everyone knows it, they are standing in a circle, everyone has a serious expression on their face, and just like Ichika, its a good bet that everyone's hearts are racing with nerve, in fact even now, beads of nervous sweat is rolling down Yui and Ichika's temple, even though there is only two people required to be at the head of the chain, the first two loosers are expected to be given the grim task of being at the head. Everyone balls their right hands into fists, and then, without a sound or whisper... everyone prepares to call out at directly the same time, moving their arms in perfect sync to their words which are spoken as clearly yet as silently as possible - "One... two... THREE!".

"MY GOD! ITS ME! I'M GOING IN FIRST!" - Yui hisses in terror having found what she drew was paper, Ichika, Chifuyu, and Tabane having drawn scissors, Clarissa having drawn a rock. Though its confusing to an extent of how Yui could be the first in line, everyone had chosen that what they drew was what one would have called a looser's majority vote, where the least drawn was said to have been a volunteer to be at the head of the chain. With Clarissa being the only other person having drawn none but a rock, the female was clearly the second to be at the head of the chain. The German woman however seems to look cool and collected to be the one at the head of the chain, the military female has an attitude of inspiration as she speaks in a low, solemn yet very comfortable tone - "And I'm going second".

As Clarissa begins to push everyone aside and walks towards the open metalic door, the military woman hands Ichika the glowing blue light. For Ichika, the sight of the blue haired German woman looking fearless as ever is enough to make him feel overwhelmed with honour. Tabane seems to look down at the floor as if ashamed, though the female has nothing to be embarrassed about the female is a good hearted person and can't help but feel that everything is all her fault. Chifuyu sighs and shakes her head in a glum manner but says nothing, though Chifuyu would rather have been the one at the head of the chain, the female is cheering deep down, as her greatest concern was for her younger brother, had Ichika drawn a loosing move then Chifuyu would clearly have stepped in and demanded to take his place, so if Ichika's winning of draws means that he is staying out of danger, then clearly Chifuyu has no regrets. Not that the ponytailed female would admit that ofcourse!

Clarissa leads the way as she walks into the wreckage layden corridor, Yui looking as terrified as hell, trembling slightly staying close behind as she walks into the corridor. The two females are keeping as silent as they can, as they calmly crawl over the rubble and brick. Ichika is third in line standing in the door way, Chifuyu choosing to remain silent and think nothing about it due to everyone having to maintain a possitive mind in a situation like this. Ichika places the glowing blue light down on a level surface as he prepares to take some rubble, as Ichika looks ahead of him, the Japanese male leaning as far as he can to look down the corridor, gets a good view of Clarissa and Yui. Then, Clarissa with both hands proceedes to pick up the biggest piece of rubble she can and move it aside in an attempt to start clearing a space. It takes a total of five minutes before the German female passes a brick to the office dressed Yui and in a soft but clear tone speaks the words - "Don't make a noise, pass it on".

Yui repeats Clarissa's message to Ichika as she passes him the brick, the woman speaking in a loud like whisper, which in a manner of speaking can not really be considered a whisper - "Don't make a noise, pass it on".

"Don't make a noise, pass it on" - Ichika speaks out, handing Chifuyu the brick.

"Don't make a noise, pass it on" - Chifuyu repeats looking Tabane in the eyes.

"Don't make.. huh?!" - Tabane states in some strange form of comedy, suddenly realising that she is at the back of the chain. The Japanese female even turns to look behind her as she speaks, a faint blush appears under her eyes as she suddenly feels very stupid right now, but... thankfuly a smile forms on the Japanese females face, and then, just after a few seconds pause the Japanese female carefuly kneels down and carefuly places the brick on the floor. The Japanese female placing the brick down very carefuly so to not make the slightest whisper, as soon as the purple haired female has finished placing the brick down on the ground, the said female looks up at Chifuyu waiting to recieve the next piece of rubble.

No more words or whispers are spoken for over fifteen minutes, and the procees of clearing the rubble goes very smoothly, however the lack of words and noise applies only to Tabane, Yui, Chifuyu Ichika and Clarissa. Eventualy, taking everyone by surprise, causing everyone to leap in surprise, the blonde haired Nell whom had not been informed of what everyone was doing happens to call out in a nervous yelp, though the woman does not shout at the top of her lungs the female does raise her voice to a level that many would consider far to loud to be used at a time like this. The comination of Nell's raised voice, matched by the sudden call out, aswel as the shattering of silence causes a somewhat unpleasant ressult for Tabane.

"HEY Tabs whats going on!"

"Yyyeeeekkkk!" - Tabane whines in a loud manner as the comdination of startlement and surprise causes her to loose grip on a very heavy piece of rubble that falls from out of her hands and onto her left foot. Tears of pain begin to fill her eyes, Chifuyu notices whats happened instantly and shakes Ichika, the woman giving Ichika a signal to order a stop on the proceess. When Chifuyu turns to tend to the pain stricken Tabane, she finds the female is clutching her foot in agony, her eyes are wide and she is laying on her side on the cold, dusty concrette floor. A sweat drop appears on Chifuyu's temple as she kneels down in an act to tend to the Japanese female.

**\- 40 minutes later -**

Laying down on an apparently old looking sofa, wear and tear clearly showing, sleeps a long blonde haired female, the woman wears a traditional white scientist labcoat, a short black mini skirt, tanned stockings and black high heeled shoes. The woman's hair style is like that of Asia from the anime Highschool DXD. The sleeping female has one hand placed upon her front whilst the other is hung over the side of the sofa, back of the hand palm placed upon the cold gray concrette floor. On her knees directly beside the sleeping female is the blonde haired Nell, ever since being told of what everyone was doing, Nell has been attempting over and over again to awaken the apparently slumbering Karen, even though Nell has been in agony and the wound on the side of her head has been continueing to ooze blood, the woman has payed it no attention.

The fact is proven as Nell continues to shake the sleeping Karen violently, continously repeating the woman's name over and over again, and as usual... there is no response. Then, as Nell leans herself forward and places the side of her head to the woman's chest in an attempt to hear a heartbeat, a serious frown is on her face. Though Nell is seriously concerned and now thinking if or not the woman is either slumbering or lifeless, what comes next is an even deeper look of confusion on the woman's face as Nell looks up with a bewildered expression.

"Well thats alright, what the hell is up with this crazy bitch!?" - Nell exclaims, scowling at the slumbering female, before beginning to use a more painful method to attempt to wake Karen up from her deep slumber. The blonde scientist begins to use the back of her hand to deliver some very nasty sounding slaps to the woman's face, the sleeping woman's head rolls from left to right as Nell proceedes to slap away as hard as her hand will alow, the sound of bone hitting bone echoes in the dim lit room. Eventualy after a total of three minutes, Nell's hand is red and acheing and the cheeks of Karen are bright red, how it is that Karen can't feel the sting is beyond anyone's guess.

As Nell gets up from kneeling and getting into a standing position the blonde scientist's attention is then directed towards the door to the small room, the size of the room is only large enough to accomodate 8 people at the most, though a few more people could fit into the room they would have to be tightly cramped. As for what is in the room, there a various numbers of paint cans, mops, buckets, old book shelves and carboard boxes, classing the room as a mere store room, so why it is that Karen thought of going to sleep in such a place is anyone's guess. Not that its important now ofcourse. The door to the room is average wood, a cold gray colour which is now opening with a resounding squeak, dust clouds seem appear from the floor as the door is slowly opened, revealing a dusty yet very relieved Clarissa. As the German woman walks into the room the German female notices a very large camping torch in the corner, switched on and providing light for the shaken Nell and snoozing Karen.

As Clarissa walks into the room, a smug expression appears on Nell's face, the blonde scientist seems to return back to her normal suspicious self as the German female walks into the darkened room, much to the dismay of Clarissa whom for some strange reason really hates this woman's guts, even though Clarissa does not know Nell personaly, for some strange reason every time the German female looks at the woman, her blood seems to boil with anger, why is anyone's guess, but then again... a person whom likes another can find that someone else hates that person for some reason or another, why?... is it the voice?, The face? A body odour? The nationality? or the race?, but maybe... just maybe... its because Nell has a very sinister side about her, which is understandable as to why Clarissa is seemingly hostile towards the blonde female.

Thankfuly, Clarissa does not have to exchange words with the woman as Yui soon appears in the room. The office dressed female has a very concerned look on her face as she appears in the dim lit room. As she stubbles into the room the said office female has a very worried expression on her face, even though the scar faced Kestrel whom is somewhere outside the office dressed female is very desperate to see the scar faced child's face. Though Kestrel is the one that has reduced Tabane's facility to a near unstable wreck, the office dressed female knows the troubled Israeli child better than anyone else, and one thing is for sure, the child has to be feeling as foul as hell if he believes that he's killed the only people in the world that he can trust. Though Kestrel is skilled and is a force to be reckoned with when pussed to certain limits, the child is NOT the devil from hell. Fortuneatley for Yui, the woman is brought out of her concerned trance as she enters the darkened room and makes eye contact with the now slightly grinning Nell.

"Well... it looks like luck has turned within our favor hasn't it?" - Nell exclaims with a satisfied expression on her face.

"This is hardly the time for jokes woman, how's that Karen woman?" - Yui replies, first with a serious frown reminding the blonde scientist that this is NOT the time for a merry heart and that are are more serious matters at hand before pointing an index finger at the sleeping Karen.

"Of course, Of course, please forgive me... I was trying to keep the atmosphere light" - Nell replies closing her eyes, and placing an index finger to her forehead, a small smile is set on a deflated face as she shakes her head very slowly, the said scientist trying to shake off a brief feeling of embarrassment. However in a stroke of good luck for the blonde haired woman, before she knows it everyone is in the darkened room and attempting to tend to the slumbering Karen. As time begins to tick away with everyone casting looks at each other and disscussing what the next best course of action is to be taken, the chocolate brown eyed Ichika drifts into a world of his own. The Japanese male has acheing hands, shifting all that rubble and brick has left his hands worn, the skin on his palms is dirty but not scuffed and his arms feel numb, most rubble shifted weighed over 30 pounds so its a good bet that the females have equaly worn out hands and arms, but... just like them, Ichika shows no weakness, and maintains a strong pose and posture.

However, his hands and arms are not what worries the Japanese male with a heart of gold. The Japanese male has a worried face, the said male is thinking of the same thing Yui was thinking of just moments earlier. The Israeli ten year old known as Kestrel is on his mind, though Kestrel has passed his tests with Tabane, the ressults of the main event, the Prometheus firing test will surely place a black mark over the child's head. Though everything was beyond the infants control, the evil of man's inhumanity to his own species won't show the youngster any mercy. On the other hand of course, Kestrel is officialy placed as under Tabane's control, an incident like this could spell some real heavy ressults, and Ichika knows it, as dense as he is with certain things, the said male is NOT stupid. As a ressult, Ichika's heart is beating hard and the male is feeling slightly sick with fear, though Ichika does not say anything... his worried mind says everything for him as he looks up at the concrette ceiling, his chocolate brown eyes in a gaze as if wondering where Kestrel is right now and what the said little one is doing. Not a whisper escapes his mouth, but his mind's voice is a mass of worry as he thinks just one phrase - ( "I hope Kes isn't going to take the heat for all this! ).

_**Right... so for the moment now, Ichika, Chifuyu, Tabane, Clarissa and Yui are okay, so for you readers whom love Ichika and the other main characters DO NOT despair. I won't ever leave them out of the plot. I'm sticking to the plot! YES, I do make things up as I go along but that is for entertainment, in the end everything is down to the plot. Sorry for the delays but as I've already explained, personal troubles aswel as house work this time. I am going to make the next chapter as soon as possible but I can't say when it comes out, so I guess I'll have to make official changes to when chapters are to be posted, from a planned daily basis it now comes down to every three or four days. Which I guess isn't too bad, after all the author does need a break... remember I AM only human!**_

_**Please remember, for all whom have requests in wanting to see things happen in this fic, please up and speak out and I'll see what I can do. Please continue to read and review this fic, and above all else stay cool all you guys and gals!**_

_**Wishing everyone the best and may your own fics get the positive reviews, followers and such..**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	79. Chapter 79: Vision of hell

_**Hello readers Black Falcon 01 is back yet again with yet another fresh out of the oven chapter, before you all start I'd like to say thanks for everyone that has stuck around for so long, I know it does not come very easy for such a long running fic and that is something to be impressed with, so THANKS EVERYONE that is still with me. Okay, on with the fic, as we all know, Kestrel has fired Prometheus and obliterated Amami island and everyone has been left shaken, so I guess now its time to see what the effects are like on Okinawa, I guess you can all say... the test has been completed, and now its time to close it...**_

_**Also as a reminder to readers, and at a same time a bit of an announcement, I plan to make a crossover fic with Kestrel as the main character with the Sekirei universe, how successful that will be is beyond my imagination, so for readers whom like the idea please give me your thoughts on the idea and I'm sure we can all find a way to make it work. Also however I do plan on acknowledging a request to someone to make a sequel fic to this, but the sequel will be the only one that I can think of, I've already made up a plot for a possible 'Taming Kestrel 2' but it may take longer to accomplish than this one, because I'm writing to the best of my ability and trying to keep this fic as spicy and as good as I can to you readers, and trust me it IS exhausting at times, so don't expect anything until I can finish this fic. - So thats the announcement for the release plan idea - in regards to the second factor, though I do intend to keep this fic running there are moments that WILL subject delays, or worse a stop... moments that revolve along the lines of a laptop breakdown, a possible future accident or any other bizarre reason... so if this fic suddenly stops and I haven't got the chance to let anyone know the reason why, be advised that I will be doing all I can to get back to everyone as quick as possible... the reason why I'm reminding everyone of this grim truth is because I recently read a fic that was going realy well and then it suddenly stopped, and in the end it turned out that the author had been killed in a nasty road accident... so... you know, don't think bad of me if this fic suddenly stops for some reason, and rest assured... I AIN'T so easy to kill! If there are any serious delays I will let everyone know the reason why. - That is the reminder, I know it isn't a nice one but I thought it important to announce -**_

_**Okay... Please, read away and enjoy to the best of your ability.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 79:

**\- Emergency exit to Tabane's underground lab facility -**

In a darkened concrette corridor a purple haired female in a dirty long dress rushes upto a large, 2ft thick metal door, a small access panel can be seen against the left side of the concrette wall. Running footsteps echo throughout the empty stillness of the concrette corridor as the Japanese purple haired female known as Tabane rushes up towards the final obsticle that seperates not only her but her friends from freedom that is 2ft away, and if one was in Tabane's shoes they would understand that now the said female is desperate to get outside, not only because she wishes to get her companions to safety but also because she is eager to feel the warmth of the sunlight against her face.

From behind the Japanese female, stands her compainions, Chifuyu, Ichika, Yui, Clarissa, Nell and the newly introduced slumbering blonde known as Karen. The mighty ponytailed Chifuyu holds her usual fierce, cool and collected expression, Ichika's expression is his usual dense and puzzled self, the office dressed Yui has a worried expression on her face, the blonde Nell stares with anticipation at the sealed metalic door that leads to the outside, the blue hand held light that was once occupied by Ichika glows in her hand with pride. The military dressed Clarissa holds an annoyed expression her face as she has the slumbering Karen on her back, piggy back style.

At first Tabane holds a very hopeful expression on her face as she rushes upto the access panel but as the Japanese female proceedes to press and type away on the scuffed up looking access panel the small smile that is on the female's face quickly drops. Nothing appears to be happening, there is no glowing light, nor is there any signs of life coming from the dead looking access panel that is the ONLY key to everyone's way out. If climbing over rubble, coughing and spluttering on small fire produced smoke and having to be as silent as the grave whilst walking through badly crumbling and collapsing corridors wasn't bad enough it seems that the ONLY way out is seeled tight. Even as Tabane types and frantacly presses on numberous silver number keys and looks with desperation at the lifeless looking panel, the mood with the others is un-effected, for the moment at least.

However, after just five minutes, it slowly but surely begins to become clear that there is something very wrong, Tabane seems to have stopped speaking, the Japanese female is repeating her hand's actions over and over, typing away on the same number keys, a slight hiss in frustraition is heard come from the female, and that alone is the sign that the current hunch in everyone's minds is correct, something is very wrong. Chifuyu and Ichika cast concerned frowns at each other for a few moments before both break eye contact in the darkened corridor. Chifuyu proceedes to walk forward slowly, the mighty ponytailed female folds her arms as she walks forward, and though Chifuyu wants to shout and break the Japanese female's neck due to feeling the pressure of the situation, the woman is surprisingly able to keep her cool, even though her personal morale is at rock bottom.

"Something wrong?" - Chifuyu asks in a low but serious tone. Tabane does not turn to look the Japanese woman in the face but she does however respond instantly, the female's voice though it has a hint of nerve, remains at its usual calm and stable tone - "Nothing to worry about, I've got it under control".

Seeing the chance to straighten herself up the blue haired German female known as Clarissa carefuly proceedes to set the slumbering Karen down on the rough and dusty concrette floor, though there are no cracks in the corridor ceiling or walls, its clear that even the emergency exit was badly shaken during the explosion caused by Kestrel's Prometheus, so maybe the lack of life in the access panel that opens and closes the door is hardly surprising, everything seems very beat up, so maybe the open and close mechanisim that controls the metalic door is destroyed from the inside, but that is the last thing on everyone's mind, apparently only Tabane is the only one whom can see the possibility, but as everyone's nerves are on the razor's edge, the purple haired female is feeling sick from nerves just thinking about announcing it.

From just behind the frantic working Tabane, the ponytailed Chifuyu feels her stomach churn with dread and nerve, everyone has come so far and endured fear after fear, and now it looks as though everyone's efforts have all been in vain. However, being a person of authority and a pure realist to the world, the ponytailed Chifuyu lets out a very frustraited huff, the woman lowers her head and closes her eyes as a horrible ill feeling of defeat and frustraition washes over her entire body, as the ponytailed female speaks in a low and glum manner, everyone's eyes widen as if full of terror upon hearing Chifuyu's words - "Tabs... Is it busted?".

"Busted!?" - Yui yelps out in a shocked manner, her heart litteraly leaping into her mouth having heard Chifuyu's words.

"You mean we can't get out!?" - Ichika puts in with a shocked expression on his face the Japanese male's face holds the exact same emotion of negativity that is on Yui's face.

"Ichika be quiet" - Chifuyu replies with a hint of frustraited desperation as if trying to maintain control of the situation, the Japanese female although she turns to look her younger brother in the face with a scowl is unable to defuse the new problem at hand.

"I don't know whats wrong with it" - Tabane speaks, the purple Japanese female turns herself to look the mighty Chifuyu in the face as she speaks, the purple haired beauty holds her arms in the famous 'Wha!?' position as she speaks, and though Tabane seems to look as though she can't grasp the severity of the situation and possibility that everyone could be trapped alive, deep down inside the female, the female is screaming and running around like a panic stricken chicken, flapping and jumping around uncontrolable.

Chifuyu shakes her head and closes her eyes as one would with a nightmare, the woman lets out a very nasty and frustraited sigh. A terrible and ill feeling of awkwardness and desperation forms in the air as she proceedes to shake her head. Clarissa whom notices the moment places her back against the corridor wall and proceedes to slide herself down until landing on her posterior. The German woman closes her single solitary eye, places both hands and arms on her lap, lowers her head and shakes it in a depressed manner. Though the German woman dares not speak aloud, the female is heard whisper in glum tone - "Nein... nein".

The office dressed Yui face palms with her right hand and gulps, the woman is immediately overwhelmed with angered stress, most stress not only revolves being stuck in this situation, aswel as being one to finger point at the lunatics that wanted this god awful firing test to take place, if it wasn't for the office big shots that ordered all this to take place then none of the current problems that everyone faces would never have happened. That along with the fact that the woman is unable to look, listen or get close the unfortuneate scar faced Kestrel that, 'if unintentionaly'... has caused a very unpleasant crisis. Even when Yui was getting close to the exit her nervous and worried expression was beginning to lift and the woman was getting excited at the prospect of holding Kestrel in her arms, so what if Yui is not Kestrel's biological mother, she makes a very good one even if it is just doing her job. Yui's concern for the long black haired Kestrel is made clear as she places both hands on her hips, shoots an angered frown at Tabane and speaks in an irritated manner - "Ah Tabane... I'm responsible for Kestrel's wellfare,  
the child has to be shaken and feeling as foul as hell for causing all this by now".

"I haven't had a wash or change of clothes for over fourty eight hours now!" - The blonde Nell exclaims shooting an equaly angered expression at the purple haired Tabane.

"My back is killing me from having to carry this useless sack of crap of yours on my back!" - Clarissa puts in scowling fiercely at Tabane, her back screaming in acheing protest as the said German attempts to stand up straight, her words referring to the sleeping Karen that is laying down on her front on the concrette floor.

"This place looks like its about to come down on our heads!" - Ichika states as a matter of fact, looking nervous and desperate to get outside, the Japanese male rolls his eyes as he speaks.

Chifuyu can only place her left hand over her face and press her back against the wall as everyone begins to fire numberous phrases and annoyed matters of fact at the purple haired Japanese female, whom now appears to look like a dog with its tail hit firmly between its legs. The Japanese female holds up both hands as if trying to calm everyone down, a sweatdrop is against the left side of her head as she turns her head to look at Ichika, then over to Yui, before looking over at Clarissa then finaly to Nell. All four people slowly begin to approach the Japanese female whom is being slowly backed into a corner, all firing complaints and facts of inconveinance to the Japanese female whom has a guilty expression on her face.

It is not until Nell raises an eyebrow, rolls her eyes upwards before frowning, looking Tabane in the eyes and causing everyone to cast an annoyed look over after speaking the words - "And I thought I could smell my perfume on you, you theiving bitch!". - that Chifuyu raises her voice, ending the convergance on the Japanese female, as Chifuyu speaks, the said female uses a very low, deep yet surprisingly loud tone, the female dares not to roar at the top of her lungs incase it causes a shift, the entire facility built specialy for Tabane is shaken, twisted and bent and as such has to be treated very carefuly, but never the less, Chifuyu's voice is still loud enough to grab everyone's attention - "Will you all shut up!".

Almost instantly upon hearing the irritated bark from Chifuyu, everyone's attention is immediately shifted from Tabane over to Ichika's mighty older sister, which clearly comes as a great form of relief for the nervous Tabane. Chifuyu's outburst not only being a relief for Tabane but for everyone else, it seems to bring everyone back to rationality. As everyone's eyes focus in on the frowning and irritated Chifuyu, the ponytailed Japanese female sends over a very serious scowl, and though the said female does not say the words the look in her eyes alone is enough to send over the message that runs along the lines of 'This isn't helping!'. As Chifuyu speaks, the woman folds her arms, and sends over her usual serious bitch glare, yet despite she wants to realy do the opposite, which is scream and yell, the ponytailed female does the opposite by speaking in a remarkably calm manner - "I want to get out of this hell hole just as much as everyone else, Tabane's given us a shot at freedom so at least thats a first, the only problem we have at hand is a door that won't open, so it could be worse".

"It could be worse she says... COULD IT!?" - Yui replies, first in a calm and rational manner before motioning with her head for the group to look around them, giving the indicated reminder that everyone is trapped in an underground science facility that may collapse at any moment.

A temper patch appears on the side of Chifuyu's temple, her eye twitches slightly as she sends over a serious scowl towards the office dressed Yui, as the female speaks her voice has a slightly creepy mix of pleasantry and irritation - "Be that as it may, pointing fingers at each other isn't going to solve the problem of getting out".

"I could use Byakushiki to get us out" - Ichika suddenly suggests with a look of hope on his face, the Japanese male looks his older sister in the face as he speaks.

Upon hearing Ichika's words every last eye turns upon the Japanese male, Chifuyu, Clarissa and Nell look at the Japanese male as if he's a complete idiot, where as Yui and Tabane look at Ichika with looks of wonder and a hint of hope. A terrible feeling of suddenly being seen as a stupid fool hits the Japanese male hard in the face, as a ressult Ichika takes a step backward, an awkward and nervous smile is upon his face as he feels the stares of all but the snoozing blonde known as Karen burn into him, each of the women's eyes seem to scorch their way through the Japanese male like a flame burning through paper.

Though Ichika feels as though he should suddenly appologise the Japanese male merely shrugs as if he can't see the problem, and can only say one word, which in all truth only adds more awkward pressure to the situation - "What?".

**\- 20 minutes later, outside the emergency exit -**

From outside, the emergency exit metalic door is badly warped black due to being exposed to the intense heat caused by the flame blast front caused by the explosion which in turn was made by non other than Kestrel's Prometheus. The concrette structure is cracked and has numberous large black burn patches in nearly every single spot, from a third person's point of view some would say its incredible that it is still standing when one takes into account the beating that Okinawa has taken from the shock and power from the Prometheus explosion. Thick smoke fills the air most smoke is invisible, but its there in the air, heavy and lethal. Nothing but silence is in the air, but then a faint sound of metal tapping is heard emit from the other side of the sealed door. After a matter of 5 minutes the tapping gets louder, before being replaced by the sound of straing. The metalic door seems to thunder, squeal and strain for as long as three minutes before finaly, a narrow gap appears in the left hand side of the door, thick pointy black metal IS fingers appear in the gap.

A pair of deployed IS hands appear to grip on the edge of the 2ft thick metalic door that has been refusing to open for the inhabitants on the opposite side. Then, after a number of forced shoves from the IS hands, the metalic door finaly begins to give way and slide to the side, revealing a serious faced Ichika. A pair of blue lights cover his arms and hands as the Japanese male proceedes to deactivate his IS hands. The Japanese male closes his eyes and turns his head to one side, shielding his face from the sudden brightness of daylight hitting him in the face. From behind Ichika appears his mighty older sister, whom raises her left arm to her face in an attempt to block out the daylight, the Japanese female however showing a much more tougher side than that of Ichika as she only turns her head to the side only a fraction and narrows her eyes only slightly, her eyes somehow able to handle the blazing subject of daylight that stings not only her own but her younger brother's eyes.

Just a few behind Chifuyu, the office dressed Yui closes her eyes, a dreamy expression is on her face, to the stressed office woman, the feeling of daylight against her skin is like bathing in heaven's finest bath water. The office woman seems to bask and savor the moment as the wonderful feeling of being free washes over her, The blonde haired Nell places a hand against the side of the concrette wall as she too closes her eyes and basks in the wonderful feeling of the daylight, a satisfied expression and smile is on her face as she proceedes to take in a deep breath through her mouth. Though a good amount of ashes, cinders and fire smoke goes down the woman's throat, a faint feeling of good, cold, clean air is mixed in with the foul air concoction and that alone is the perfect feeling of rejuvination. The purple haired Tabane rubs her eyes with balled handed fists, though the female feels utter levels of pain and strain being put on her sensitive eyes, the female has a bright and cheerful expression on her face upon feeling the daylight on her face.

The military female known as Clarissa know carries the sleeping blonde known as Karen bridal style, the German female lets out a large sigh of relief as the outside world is finaly revealed to not only her but her companions. Unfortuneatley, if anyone was interested in seeing a world of horror before their eyes, they would have been prepared for the sight that greats them as their eye sight begins to return. At first, to everyone... the vision of the outside world is blurred at first, and senses are numb slightly, but after just a moment... blurry images give way to a deep orange glow, a feeling of intense heat brushes past everyone's faces causing Ichika, Clarissa and Yui to wince for a breif second. Tabane is able to avoid the feeling of scheer heat due to being directly behind Chifuyu. As everyone's eyesight returns, what greets the slightly stunned group is a sight that causes even Chifuyu to blink with sudden shock, as the Japanese female lowers her arm from her face and joins everyone else in stareing ahead, what the woman sees is a sight that causes a horrible chill to crawl up her spine as the combination of fire smoke, cinders and ashes, the feeling of heat and the greeting sight falls all into one.

Ahead of everyone is a set of trees, each and every one is ablaze with large roaring flames. The wooden bodies of the trees are black, looking very, very spooky against a large orange and yellow wall of flame that ressembles a furnice. Intense heat is radiating off the burning wall of trees, the haze of the heat waves is clearly visible and the sounds of sizzling, crackling and splintering of the burning trees can be made heard mixed in with the roar of the intense blazing flames that envelop the line of trees. The ground which was expected to have plates of grass or at least patches is completely warped clean, revealing charred black ground and a surface of earth that ressembles the surface of the moon, not a plate of grass exsists, not even a weed, everything has been burned away.

"This way, follow me" - Chifuyu suddenly speaks out in a serious tone of authority, the Japanese female wanting to move as far away from the blazing trees as possible, everyone else quickly follows, Ichika rubs his eyes as and can't seem to turn his gaze away from the line of burning trees that belch out tons of greyish white smoke, but as the black haired male follows the group away from the emergency exit mouth, and round the corner of a nearby charred black hill, the sight of burning trees are going to be considered second place in what the Japanese male would consider calling 'A vision of hell'.

As the group walks through what appears to be a dryied up small ravine and up a hill that slopes 30 degrees, what comes next spreads un-imaginable levels of sickened horror through everyone's guts. Chifuyu though she manages to maintain a strong and mighty image goes litteraly white with illness and fear as she looks at what is over the top of the warped hill. The office dressed Yui nearly falls to her knees, yet her face shows every possible meaning of the words fear and dread. Clarissa and Nell having both dragged the snoozing Karen to the top of the hill very nearly loose their grip on the sleeping female, Clarissa's military strength and discipline seems to vanish in an instant, her eye opens wide. The blonde haired Nell has a shocked yet very serious expression on her face. The purple haired Tabane gapes at the sight, her mouth is open slightly and the look of relief that was once on her face is gone in an instant, being replaced with shock and awe. Ichika on the other hand shares the exact same look that is on Chifuyu's face, though Ichika frowns slightly the look on his face is one of terror and bewilderment.

Though its not the highest point on Okinawa, what the group is given is a fairly good view as to how bad the state Okinawa is in. The highest points of Okinawa are engulfed in bright glowing flames, the entire landscape is black, though in some places the landscape is greyish white with ash, any palm trees or vegetation that still stand is ablaze with bright intense flames. In some places where at one point the sight of distant civilisation could be seen, the sight of burning ruins replace what was once civilisation. Some buildings have roofs missing, others are blown away altogther, many buildings are burning like almighty great bonfires but some others that are virtualy all but foundations are nothing but charred and smoking tons of debris, rubble and ruin. Streets are filled to the brim with debris, any street lights look like black painted cocktail sticks that stick out of the ground, any cars or modes of transport are scattered,  
all of which are black, the glass windows and blackened tires are all gone, faint white trails of smoke are emitted from the smoldering metal bodies of each vehicle. What was once a schoolbus is nothing but a black body of torn and twisted metal, whilst a large empty tanker can be seen smashed against a five story building.

As far as the eye can see, Okinawa is a mass of small burning fires, many areas are obscured with mixes of thick black, grey and white smoke that rises into the sky. If one wants a good idea of what an apocalypse looks like having struck the earth, then all they need to do is look upon the internet and take their pic from the many differant sci-fi images, such images are running through Ichika's mind, but to the said male's horror this is all too real, and to make matters worse, the entire island of Okinawa is the perfect description of burt, cremated and blown up. Everything is burning, smoldering and smoking. Not a sign of life is anywhere, but that factor is surprisingly wonderful, due to Okinawa being evacuated before the Prometheus test took place. Had Prometheus been fired and that explosion had took place with Okinawa being full to population capacity, then its good bet that everyone would have been dead by now. However the double edged sword to this reality means that the only ways off the island, such as the military base that was the way in... is out of the question, all aircraft and boats must be have been obliterated by the power of Prometheus. The only thing that does show any signs of normality is the ocean, which remains its beautiful blue colour and is still rolling and behaving like any ocean should.

However, the sight of a ruined Okinawa is comes second place, as the one thing that attracts everyone's attention is a sight that would be considered a living nightmare as an almighty and gigantic apocalyptic black explosive cloud of smoke stands massive before everyone. The cloud coloumn is so large that it could swallow Okinawa entirely, or at least nearly all of it. The large coloumn is clearly over 28 miles high, reaching high into the stratosphere, stealing sunlight and darkening the sky, but at least Okinawa is not plunged into total darkness as there is blue sky behind the group, giving everyone a proper view of the sight before them. What also makes the coloumn stand out is a faint sound of endless rumbling thunder, though Ichika and co does not know it, what was once the most powerful explosion ever experianced on earth is now resting and dying down, but even now... the sight certainly would put the fear of god into the the strongest of anti-christian people.

The proof that the coloumn is beginning to rest and die down is made clear as the cloud's explosive orange patches are now all but totaly gone, leaving nothing but pitch black mixed with snowy white ash like smoke. By now, over 10 million tons of earth, rock, rubble and ash has been spread by the explosion caused by Prometheus and now the after effects are starting to show as Yui points to the sky in a terrified manner, some immediately follow the terrified woman's finger and to their astonishment notice burning glows of flame falling from the sky, some fall in a very slow manner, while others streak across the sky, leaving thin but very clear blackish smoke trails behind them. Most of the fireballs look like asteriods from outer space, which at first, is Ichika's assumption as the Japanese male breaks silence by asking a question that Chifuyu must have been anticipating - "Meteors?".

Chifuyu whom shifts her gaze from looking up back down to the massive coloumn replies the answer as to what the fireballs are in a low and solemn tone - "Bits of Amami Island".

"Jesus Christ!" - The blonde Nell whispers in a terrified manner, the angered look on her face is a facade as to how frightened the woman is feeling right now.

"Anything out here hasn't just burned, its turned to charcoal!" - Clarissa puts in, having knelt down briefly to gather some charred earth in her hand, before standing and beginning to break the hardened earth in her hand, which breaks apart and crumbles in the woman's hand. For over ten minutes everyone stares in horror at the destructive coloumn that rises into the atmosphere of the earth. Though its ten minutes until any more words are spoken, it seems like a lifetime as far as Ichika, Tabane, Yui, Chifuyu, Clarissa and Nell are concerned.

"Were stranded here aren't we?" - Yui asks, the woman somehow able to break eye contact off the massive black coloumn of destruction and look down at the scorched ground with a upset and defeated expression.

"No were not!" - Tabane suddenly yelps in an overwhelmed tone of happiness, causing everyone to cast looks at the purple Japanese female. As they turn to face the female they notice the said female pointing towards the ocean, at the same time the faint humming and buzzing drone of distant military helicopters meets the groups ears. In the distance towards the sea, everyone can make out the shapes of Self Defence force UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, numbering 20 in total, clearly beginning some form of search and rescue. Along with the helicopters, on the ocean the group can now make out the shapes of amphibious assualt ships of the Wasp class. The sight alone is enough to raise the morale of the German military female known as Clarissa, as the woman speaks, it is clear as day that the German female is emotionaly overwhelmed with joy - "I now that ship! Its the USS Kearsarge!".

"A rescue?" - Yui suddenly yelps in a loud and helpful tone, the woman by now overwhelmed with un-controllable amounts of fear, stress and desperation.

"Is that Kestrel!?" - Ichika suddenly asks in a tone of surprise, the Japanese male points at the very front of the flying formation of helicopters. Although not everyone notices at first, they begin to make out a dull black shape flying beside the formation of Blackhawk helicopters, the distant object clearly has a white looking bird like wings, and as far as everyone is concerned, there is only one thing with wings like that, and thats Kestrel's IS. Upon looking very carefuly at the distant object Chifuyu's angered scowl lifts, forming a very serious if very relieved face the woman speaks in her usual cool big sister tone, yet she clearly has a hint of emotional relief in her voice - "Yeah... It is Kestrel".

Upon hearing the name Kestrel, the office dressed Yui's spirits immediately lift, a feeling of emotional joy slams home hitting her hard in the chest and causing a small but emotional filled smile to form on the woman's face. Clarissa proceedes to whipe the sweat off her brow, the woman blinks with surprise at how fast the feeling of despair has given way to a feeling of hope and joy. The blonde Nell on other hand wastes no time in hesitating and immediately begins to raise an arm and begins to wave frantacly as if her life depended on it. The woman begins to shout as loud as her lungs will allow causing everyone to jump in alarm - "KESTREL! KIDDO! HELLO! WE'RE HERE! DOWN HERE!".

After a moment of waving as frantic as she can, the blonde haired Nell is soon stopped, not by words... but rather due to the lack of action from the others, which comes as a surprise for the said blonde woman aswel as bit offensive, which is made clear as she frowns with irritation at everyone. The blonde woman responds instantly to everyone's lack of action and immediately continues by casting piercing looks from the eyes, the blonde scientist speaks her mind and in an excited, desperate and mixed emotional tone of irritation shouts the words - "Well what the hell are you lot waiting for!? Wave your arms, shout for help, attract the kid's attention!".

Chifuyu suddenly feels like an idiot and returns to being in control of the situation, the woman snaps to it and with a tone of authority speaks to her brother in a calm and rational manner, and though the woman is not smiling, its clear that excitement is in the ponytailed female's voice - "Ichika, you go after them with Byakushiki, get them over here pronto!".

"Love to!" - Ichika replies, immediately deploying Byakushiki and taking to the sky. The Japanese male feels utter levels of joy and excitement rush through him as he dashes over the ruined landscape of Okinawa and towards his young Israeli friend that has brought what appears to be a rescue team. In fact, as Ichika blazes towards his small Israeli friend that appears to be leading the group of helicopters like a guide, Ichika portrays the sight as the most beautiful he has ever seen in his life. All breath has left his body as he blazes through the sky which is filled with smoke and a feeling of utter devastation and death.

With the long haired Israeli youngster known as Kestrel, the child reacts as if on cue, turning his head to the left and noticing an incoming object moving at over mach 1. Though the child hesitates at first and blinks with wonder and curiosity, the child with his red blazing face scar is instant to attempt decipher what the object is. Looking at the distant incoming Ichika through his 3D holographic HUD, the child zooms in on the object Predator style. The child's eyes light up with joy instantly upon discovering that the object coming toward him is his friend Ichika. Both boys unwittingly thinking that the moment is one of the best they have ever experianced, neither unable to breathe at the moment but rather feeling desperate just to shake hands or give each other an innocent brotherly embrace.

The scar faced child with his long black hair brakes focus on Ichika and turns to look the pilot of the UH-60 Blackhawk in the face, the Israeli youngster waves with a hand and proceedes to point in the direction of Ichika. The Black hawk pilot says nothing but turns to look at his co-pilot and after a moment, turns to face the scar faced youngster and raise up a thumb, and with that... Kestrel begins to lead the formation of Black hawk helicopters towards Ichika. The IS angel wings on Kestrel's Black Phoenix look as wonderful as ever despite being in low light. From where Chifuyu and the others are standing, the sight is like a saint from heaven, as a ressult for the first time in ages, probably since leaving Japan, the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu smiles with joy, yet her cool big sister image remains.

Yui and Clarissa turn to each other and embrace, Tabane places her hands together and smiles with overwhelming joy, but... as for the blonde scientist known as Nell, the scientist merely folds her arms and casts a very nervous, yet serious and suspicious scowl over towards the black coloumn that is on the horizion, though she says nothing the look on her face is the perfect indication that the last of this is not yet heard, however, the feeling of suspicion is quick to replace the feeling of dread in her body as she briefly looks up in the sky and is surprised to catch a glimpse of a high flying aircraft object. The blonde Nell scowls, narrowing her eyes at the high flying object, yet she remains very silent, though the blonde scientist does not know what exactaly it is, the blonde female knows that what ever it is, it does NOT have any right of passage over Okinawa at a time like this.

However as short blonde haired scientist frowns in suspicion at the flying object the woman's attention is soon shifted as the voice of Yui fills all but the now absent Ichika's ears. Yui's words are somewhat very welcoming to everyone, yet at the same time an awkward feeling of ill comedic irony fills the air as Yui proceedes to speak the words - "Hey, this blonde Karen woman,  
she's waking up!".

Upon hearing Yui's words every last eye in the group, including a very serious and angered glare from Clarissa's single solitary eye, immediately converges on the now stirring and waking up blonde whom has been asleep for god knows how long. The purple haired Tabane immediately kneels on the charred and slighly very hot ground and proceedes to help steady the now waking up long blonde haired scientist whom is obviously oblivious to everything that has happened in the past 48 hours. The seriously scowling Clarissa and Nell stare down fiercely at the now awakening blonde, their arms are folded. As the younger and apparently naive looking scientist proceedes to sit herself upright, a dumbfounded yet very innocent looking smile is on her face as she sits herself up right, rubbing her eyes with her left hand whilst using the other to prop herself upright for a moment.

As the blonde scientist awakens the females eyes slowly and peacefuly open, revealing her eyes to be a pure emerald green. As the female sits herself up right and looks into the eyes of the somewhat very dirty Tabane the female only speaks one phrase, her voice is bright and cheerful, and though misery and destruction lays all around, for some bizarre reason the woman is unable to detect anything wrong with the atmosphere - "Oh... hello Tabane-san, Please forgive me, I must have fallen into a quick snooze".

"Quick snooze!?... You've been asleep for over sixty eight hours!" - The blonde Nell suddenly barks in an angered manner, leaning forward slightly to intensify a fierce bitch glare down at the confused female that sits up right on the charred ground, a slightly open yet very confused smile is on her face and her eyes have a mix of bewilderment and embarrassment about them.

"What is the meaning of this you incompetant streak of urine!" - A very angered and irritated Clarissa puts in balling her hands into fists, the German female's temper is in such as state that if one's hair could change colour to match emotions, the German woman's hair would be blood red and close to setting itself on fire.

"Ah... It must have been those sleeping tablets that the medical staff gave me a few days ago, I haven't been getting much sleep recently and I guess they were stronger than I thought" - The blonde Karen suddenly and nervously speaks, the woman close to trembling from feeling the amount of hostility radiating off Clarissa, Nell, Chifuyu and now recently, the office dressed Yui. However, as the group hears the now awakened woman's words, a vast amount of fury and un-controllable amount of blood drunken rage suddenly is injected into all but Tabane's heads. The office dressed Yui balls her hands into fists and sends down a very violent looking bitch glare, though anger is very uncharacteristic of the often very pleasant and cheerful female, the very meaning of the word murder is writen all over the woman's face as she causes the now startled Karen to flinch. As Yui speaks, the woman's voice is full to the brim with rage and blood lust - "We have been worrying like hell for hours, we've had to carry you over tons of rubble and god knows what, and all because you've drugged yourself with damn sleeping medication!?".

"I can't believe you have the nerve to speak as though everything is alright at a time like this!" - Chifuyu hisses, the woman shakes her head as she speaks, though Chifuyu's head is shaking the woman's eyes remain fixed on Karen, whom now feels her blood freeze to unimaginable levels.

"You've broken my back, I've had to degrade myself into carrying you on my back for hours and all because you've been sedating yourself!?" - Clarissa barks out in an angered tone.

"HOW DARE YOU!" - The blonde haired Nell hisses out in a very angered manner, causing the blonde Karen to suddenly start shaking violently from the horrible feelings of blood lusting murder that radiate off all but Tabane, whom happens to begin sneaking away, backwards in an attempt to get round behind the furious looking Chifuyu and Yui, which in its own sense is a very wise thing to do, as the blonde Karen adds a violent fuel bomb to the furious fires of anger that are emitted from Chifuyu, Nell, Yui and Clarissa. The bomb being if slightly innocent with Karen looking around and smelling the smoke in the air, reality of the horrible amount of destruction that surrounds the group hits home, ressulting in the female speaking a surprised and shocked tone - "Whats happened here? I'm not in hell am I?".

The ressult is a very angered hiss from the blue haired Clarissa whom along side Nell, Chifuyu and Yui takes one step at a time towards the ever growing nervous Karen, as Clarissa speaks the female's voice despite being a full mix of rage and bloodlust has a hint of a matter of fact as she hisses the words - "Nein, but after I get my hands on you you'll see it first hand!".

**\- 12,310ft above -**

A large greyish coloured Reaper Drone is flying in a stable manner, its camera lens focuses around on differant points of the ravaged Okinawa, however, as its camera lens moves over the scar faced Kestrel whom is in full deployed IS form, the lens seem to freeze. The camera appears to zoom in on the scar faced youngster, after a few moments of keeping its lens focused on the youngster the Drone begins to make circle patterns over the scene that is occuring far below, after a time window of twenty minutes the Drone banks and proceedes to fly away, its mission of observation completed. As the drone flies away into the distance, from behind the high flying drone, a scene of an utter apocalypse is down below. The entire island of Okinawa is black from the scale of being burnt to such a terrible state, mountains and coloumns of billow in numberous areas, most smoke is black but some smoke is greyish white. In some areas large clusters of fire burn and flare in numberous areas, the worst being on the highest points of Okinawa making each of the highest points look like some blazing volcano. That matched with the almighty black coloumn caused by Kestrel's Prometheus makes gives the impression that world is close to death from some great cosmic disaster, even though that is NOT the case just the sight alone would cause any god fearing person to be on their knees by now.

**\- Back in Japan -**

Back in mainland Japan the atmosphere is as it should be, a pleasant summer aura is in the air, the sky is clear blue with just a few scattered clouds in the air. Birds are singing in nearby trees, bushes and upon the tops of buildings. Though the sounds of wildlife matched with the pleasant summer atmosphere makes mainland Japan look as normal as it should, there is an opposite feeling in the air. Throughout the streets of city areas and normal suburban areas, everywhere appears to be deserted. Unlike normal city and suburban areas which have numbers of people in the streets, nothing but the occasional police car is seen to cruise through the streets. In some areas numbers of both city and suburban areas some police officers in regular japanese police uniform are seen walking peacefuly and calmly through the streets, each apparently scanning the sights of lifeless looking homes and each and every street corner for signs of any average looking person.

Clearly the order to stay indoors is still in play, and as such every last officer in Japan's metropolitan police force is not about to let any stray civilian be subjected to any form of danger. Ever since yesterday since the explosion caused by Kestrel's Prometheus struck the coastline of Japan, the entire country has been in shambles, public transport has been under heavy police of Self defence force escort in case of the odd chance of any further accidents or incidents take place. Everybody is instructed to stay indoors no matter what the circumstances, which has worked to a point, but even then, there is the odd incident were people are caught breaking the rule in order to get home or to a loved one, but thankfuly there has been no serious arrests, and despite there has been the odd incident, there has been very minimal looting and panicked rioting.

Though the annoucement of clearance has been made in numberous areas of Japan already, it does not apply to the coastlines... not yet that is. The main dangers being that of ruptured gas lines, shaken bridges, cut off electronic lines and shattered window glass that has spread rapidly. In some areas there has been medical emergencies, but at least now, the situation appears to be under full control. Even now, in the home of the Japanese blue haired beauty Tomoe, there seems to be nothing but the average atmosphere of peace that lingers in the air. Right now the curtains are drawn in Tomoe's living room to block out the sunlight that has no problem in causing intense summer heat to engulf the town/city areas, and outskirts. The suburban areas of which is the home of Ichika is no acception, the sunlight is blinding, and any normal person would be as happy as one of god's angels to escape the scorching heat, so although the situation at hand causes a horrible and sick feeling of nerve to spread, it does have its compensations.

"Good afternoon viewers, today southern inland areas that were effected by yesterday's.. what official sources now claim as a "Nuclear explosion", have at last been given the all clear, and public services have now been given the green light to continue operating. Southern coastal areas that suffered during yesterday's incident remain on what many are calling a lockdown. Today our corespondants viewed metropolitan police officials in as many as several districts in inland areas that had been given the all clear, and ofcourse asked for information to clarify when the possible time will be when public services will be granted for coastal areas that have been reported to have been badly shaken by yesterday's nuclear disaster. No comment, nor has any offical word been given at this time, but according to what we have been told, most law enforcement power is going to be given Self Defense Force aid in an attempt to control minor areas that today have suffered mild breakouts of looting and rioting. Today our ministry.."

"This is just unreal!?" - A certain blue haired beauty known as Tomoe speaks out over the top of the TV set, which is currently set on the afternoon news channel. Sat beside the blue haired beauty is non other than the said female's mother. Both mother and daughter sit in a very lady like manner side by side, one of Tomoe's hands are lightly bandaged due to being scorched with a hot drink just 24 hours earlier. The female is in no pain though, and the female has her hands placed neatly on her lap, her mother does the same. Both females are dressed very lightly, in quite revealing clothing. Tomoe wears a green sleaveless top goes down only below her surprisingly large cleavage, the female has a small and fragile looking naval and her stomach looks so very soft and smooth. Tomoe also wears a very comfortable made blue mini skirt, the female sits with her smooth looking legs placed together, the female wears no footwear. When one looks at the blue haired beauty from down below they notice that despite being curvy and very bombastic with her breasts and buttocks, the female has very small feet. Tomoe in all likelyhood gets that from her mother, whom to is wearing very little about the house. Although the majority of heat is being blocked out at the house temperature is at a comfortable level, the busty mother of both Tomoe and Megumi is wearing very little, both females taking no chances with the heat during summer times like this. The woman wears a one piece swimsuit, though the mother of Tomoe has hair like the anime character Hatsuho from Onegai teacher, the blue haired female at the moment has a somewhat similar ressemblance to the mermaid character from the anime Rosario Vampire, except the breasts, behind and slender curves are clearly far more attractive.

Both females stare at the TV in utter silence, silently watching as the male news host continues to speak away and looking forward at whatever viewers could be watching this afternoon. In the 24 hours that have passed since the incident its good bet that all over the nation of Japan, if not the whole world will be eager to hear more news on what the media is describing as a very nasty nuclear explosion.

"What on earth could have done that?" - The bewildered yet very interested bouncy looking mother of Tomoe puts in, her tone being one of confused inquisitation.

Tomoe does not answer but rather lowers her head in a slightly deflated manner, the female's mind is wandering from thought to thought. Her mind being occupied with the news that is being read and shown before people on the TV, before shifting to thinking of her hospitalised older sister, before finaly going back to the scar faced Kestrel whom continues to haunt the female's mind. Every time the curious looking face of little Kestrel comes to mind a mental knife seems to drive itself into the said girl's heart, a knife which is soaked with a mix of guilt and humiliation. Though Tomoe has nothing realy to be guilty about, the horrible memory of believing that Kestrel was guilty of un-provoked attack keeps springing back to mind, causing a mental boulder of feeling as crap as hell to slam down upon the female's head and shoulders.

Though Tomoe may look like a primadonna, the female is quite the opposite when one gets to know her, and that is that she is very sensitive and is indeed a very good hearted person deep down. Megumi can best be described as the primadonna, she would clearly resent the indication, which Tomoe would clearly gain humor from. Anyhow... as Tomoe knows what its like to be accused of something she has never done, she can really understand how the fragile Israeli youngster must be feeling having been looked upon as a miniature satan from hell. Just the very thought of remembering the time when she was seven and being accused of arson and theivery causes that horrible knife of guilt to be hammered ever deeper into her heart, and the threat of being pounded violently from Megumi if she thought negative of Kestrel makes the sting ever more worse.

Eventualy after as long as twenty minutes, the blue haired female is brought out of her daze of misery by the cheerful sounding voice of non other than her mother - "Tomoe, are you okay?".

Tomoe's response is at first a sudden startled leap in surprise, but as the blue haired female turns to look her mother in the face, the said female's nerves are suddenly put at ease by the pleasant and cheerful look on her mother's face. A small smile then forms on Tomoe's face, the blue haired beauty glances to look at the floor for a brief second before looking into the eyes of her mother. As Tomoe speaks her voice is full of calm pleasantry, a look of warmth and joy is in her eyes as she speaks in response to her mother's question. - "Sorry mother, I was miles away".

Tomoe's mother, looking as elegant as ever in her one piece smiles like a loving goddess, the woman has a look of joyful peace on her face as she pauses for a moment, after a few seconds of pleasnat silence the older looking Japanese beauty proceedes to speak in a very caring tone, and though the mature female has never met the scar faced Kestrel before, she can tell just by looking at the smiling face of her daughter, that the youngster is clearly on her beloved daughter's mind. The fact being proven as the woman speaks in a very warm and caring, a motherly smile is kindly set on the woman's face as she speaks - "You seem to be thinking about this Kestrel friend of yours aren't you?".

Tomoe won't admit it if someone reminded her, that right now she is very shocked and surprised as to how her mother knew about the fact that the timid Israeli youngster is on her mind, the fact being proven as she looks her mother in the face at first with a surprised expression before changing the look on her face to one of pleasantry and happiness. The blue haired beauty glances away for a moment with a small yet very bashful smile on her face before looking her mother in the face again with a faint blush under her eyes, the blue haired beauty feels her heart thump in a rapid rate as the idea of seeing Kestrel suddenly appears in her mind. In order to save what ever pride she can from the moment, the blue haired beauty with her butterfly hair clip gleaming in the low but very visible daylight proceedes to reply to her mother in a very bashful yet effectionate tone - "I can't hide anything from anyone can I?".

Smiling at the sight of her daughter acting like a bashful schoolgirl a moment of pride suddenly hits the blue haired female hard in the chest, not personal pride from a personal gain, but rather the pride of knowing that her daughter, just like her older sister before her has taken a step closer than ever into becoming a mature lady, and not like some denial immature teenager that would say differant to the positive feelings she feels for someone considered very precious and important. Thankfuly, having learned the fact that Tomoe is very sensitive to matters that concern personal problems, or in other words... things that concern a sensible conversation, the blue haired female chooses to exploit... or in the friendly sense discover the very possible hunch if it is true or not... her daughter is in love.

Taking a careful and wise approach, Tomoe's mother chooses to speak in the voice not used by that of a mother, but rather that of a best friend. - "So Tomoe, whats this Kestrel like, I hear he's good with animals... is that true?".

"Yeah! Its true, I'll ask him if he'll show you when he gets back!" - Tomoe replies instantly, the female's tone is one of excitement and joy as she looks her mother in the eyes and speaks in a loud and clear manner.

Smiling with a look of satisfactory, Tomoe's mother remains silent, but deep down... her voice is that of a person whom is in the middle of feeling triumph, yet her emotions are filled with nothing but joy and pride. - ( That look, that voice... Yes, I've seen it many times over on many other girls faces. My daughter feels pure love for whomever this Kestrel boy is!" ).

Thankfuly, being a supportive mother, the blue haired female says nothing and instead relaxes herself and happily prepares herself for a... very long day of listening to her daughter's voice speaking with nothing but prue and loving pride, like a little schoolgirl speaking so very fondly of her dear loved crush.

_**Right, thats it for Chapter 79... the chapters after this should be set back in Japan. More drama, action and darkness IS going to be coming in the future, more chapters should come that will reveal more secrets about our young Israeli character, and how Ichika and Co are going to be able take the news of each one onwards. As I explained over and over again, please read and review, if there are any requests please feel free to speak out. For those whom like this fic, then thanks a lot for sticking around for so long it keeps me going afterall.**_

_**Right, now I don't have much to say for the closing address due to the introduction being so detailed. Which I guess is something, in one sense that is... So... anyway lets cut the closing address short, other than that... keep that support coming, please remember I'm wishing all readers the best and may your own fics get all the positive reviews and follows in return... okay, until the next chapter readers, stay frosty...**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	80. Chapter 80: Home at last

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned after a few days with a fresh out of the oven chapter, PLEASE note, that this chapter will let you all know a bit more about the past that our small Israeli hero has endured, and how Ichika and Co manage to take it, as I've said a few chapters over and over again, things get very dark in some chapters further on, and to top it off you ALL get to know a bit more about Kestrel's horrors in this chapter... also I've skipped 5 days, the reason why is due to a lot of complications that caused my brain to go into a tail spin, unsure of what setting to put down and such, and nothing much of interest taking place, so I guess its time to get back to normality, don't worry though... any questions WILL be answered, nobody has missed anything... Also... serious appologies if this chapter is a day behind, on the count of me being a bit busy... so... no harm done I guess, I'm still staying true to my word.**_

_**I won't burden everyone with the red tape intros, but instead I'll simply say please sit back read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 80:

**\- 6 days after Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, Japan, Ichika's House, 09:00am -**

A clear summer blue sky with not a cloud, blinding white sunlight matched with intense summer heat temperatures, a large shinning black unmarked car, the exact same type which are used by either private detectives or secret agents in some action movie slowly pulls up outside the Orimura household. Just behind black car number one is another black car, the second black car looking like one used by the notorious Yakuza, but thankfuly the pressance of both vehicles isn't as suspicous and serious as that, if it was you would normaly expect a drive by shooting, not that doing that would be considered a wise thing when one takes into account the serious blood drunken wrath that the almighty Chifuyu would suffer from, and what god awful amount of destruction and damage that the female would inflict even without an IS.

Though the heat of summer is considered a great pain in the ass in some areas, it is on the other hand a blessing in desguise when someone thinks twice. In a neighbourhood like Ichika's, its impossible for neighbours not to miss anything, especially if they have youngsters that have the innocent habit of nosing around, but now... as its summer time, and the lock down on the Japanese coast has been lifted, theres not a sign of life in the neighbourhood anywhere, many children can be expected to be seen playing with each other around parks, others in the city with family, so in terms of managing to get away without being seen showing a sign of suspicion, whomever has arrived outside the Orimura household has had it lucky. Even as both black cars come to a stop outside the Orimura household, the wave of suspicion goes un-noticed as not a sign of life comes from both vehicles. The windows remain up, and not a door is opening from either of the black vehicles.

Though birds sing and crickets chirp, and in many areas the humming drone of bees and insects defuse the belief that not a sign of life is anywhere, not a peep comes from the pair of pitch black cars that shine in the blazing brightness of the morning sunlight, minutes pass by until finaly... after what seems like months from a third person's point of view, the doors on the first black car open, the inhabitants from the back of the car revealing themselves to be the Japanese male Ichika and his older sister Chifuyu. From the front of the car from the passenger seat the blue haired German military female known as Clarissa makes her appearance. Chifuyu and Ichika wearing completely differant clothes to the ones they went to Okinawa in, Ichika wears a light green T-shirt, thin blue pants and black sneaks. Chifuyu wears light brown female pants, and a sleeveless white top and black high heeled shoes. Clarissa amazingly wears her usual German military uniform, the said female maintaining her policy of looking presentable, except for the fact that her hat is missing.

The doors of the second car remain shut, but that hardly matters right now. Ichika has his eyes closed, a beaming smile is on his face as he places a hand at the back of his thick black bushy hair and proceedes to stretch himself. After just a few seconds the Japanese male relaxes himself and proceedes to take in a very deep breath, the Japanese male seeming to savor every second of the moment as he takes in a very nice crystal clear amount of air through his nostrils before exhaling. In the last week or so Ichika won't deny it, the Japanese male has become somewhat home sick, the said male normaly enjoys being away from home during summer break, but obviously the past week or so has NOT been easy to deal with.

The fact is proven as the black haired, chocolate brown eyed Japanese male turns himself round to face his home, a feeling of heavenly power fills every nook and cranny of his body as the humble image of his home greets his vision, how the black haired Ichika has missed the comfort of his home, even the thought of his bed is appealing at a time like this. That along with the thought of the wonderful taste of the food in his home, but for now... all the exhausted Ichika wants to do, is get his head down on the soft comfort of his pillow and rest.

Chifuyu on the other hand is quite the opposite, with her its the same as the Clarissa's military routine... Forward! Forward! Forward!, the ponytailed female having taken a brief glance at her home now turns to face Clarissa, a serious expression is upon her face as she speaks. Both Clarissa and Chifuyu proceede to speak in tones of authority, their discussion is what can best be described as classified as they speak in very low voices, just loud enough for each other to hear each other. Ichika glances and notices his older sister speaking in a very serious manner to Clarissa and begins to shift himself away very slowly, the said male feeling very un-comfortable with the very serious aura lingering in the air. That along with a very serious chill that runs up his spine at feeling the mental description of being un-wanted at the moment.

From a third person's point of view, Ichika's shifting away from his older sister is considered a very wise thing to do, when the ponytailed female is in the middle of such an important and very serious discussion, its best to keep out of her way, which at first seems like a very big downer for the Japanese male when the fact of just returning home is taken into account, however the black haired Ichika does have a small ace up his sleeve to get his spirits up again as he walks over towards the second black car, the yakuza style vehicle though looking serious gleems in a very impressive manner in the morning sunlight.

It only takes a few seconds for Ichika to get to the side of the Yakuza style car and for him to open the door, Ichika's big brother like happy face gets the perfect injection of high spirit as the scar faced image of the small Israeli youngster known as Kestrel comes into view, sat directly beside the long black haired boy is non other than his interpreter Yui. Just like Ichika, both Yui and little Kestrel are wearing completley differant clothing to the ones they left Japan in. Kestrel wears thin but black joggers, small white sneaks and plain blue T-shirt, a small single Japanese flag is set at the very bottom of both T-shirt sleeve. Yui wears a summer style shirt and pair of black female trousers, the woman wears white high heeled like sandals also. Kestrel's face is obviously one of curiosity and neutrality as Ichika opens the car door to greet both his small Israeli friend and the office dressed Yui. Ironicaly, Yui's face has a look of neutrality also as Ichika opens the car door to greet his small friend.

"Are we getting out Ichika?" - Yui asks in a very calm yet curious voice making eye contact with the Japanese male.

"No, its not that, just wanted to see you guys, have there been any problems?" - Ichika replies maintaining his calm and casual smile, the Japanese male's question is clearly mixed with a hint of genuine yet very worried concern.

"None that I know of, its been a lot more comfortable these last 24 hours so I guess thats something to be thankful for" - The black haired Yui replies, a pleasant expression is on her face as she speaks in her usual calm and lady like manner.

"Heh,heh... yeah, sure has" - Ichika replies with an awkward smile and sweat drop on the side of his head, the Japanese male even glances his eyes to one side as he replies to Yui's mention of comfort. In the last five days or so even Ichika had forgotten what the very word 'Comfort' even ment, due to the reason of having to spend his time cooped up with Chifuyu, Kestrel, Yui, Tabane Clarissa, Nell and Karen onboard the U.S assault landing vessel USS Kearsage. Sure, Ichika had felt safe and secure but the quarters of which he, Kestrel his older sister had spent was hardly considered one ment for civilians, how sailors and marines can sleep in cramped and confined spaces with each other is beyond his mind, but on the other hand... it made the said male see things from Laura's point of view, and how tough life must be in the armed forces.

Yui, Tabane, Nell and Karen had spent their time in roughly the same conditions as that of Ichika, Kestrel and Chifuyu, but had a somewhat more easier time aboard USS Kearsage. Though in all truth it was not all down to sleeping conditions but also the food that was being served and the sounds. One thing is for sure, Ichika is never going to be able to think that military training and living conditions are as simple to deal with as believed, ever again. Yui immediately notices Ichika's look of awkwardness and begins to remember the stay aboard the USS Kearsage a sweat drop appears on her temple, the woman tilts her head slightly to one side and closes her eyes for a brief moment, as she speaks, the female clearly shows the indication of pleasant but still evident nerve mixed with awkwardness, the female clearly being as delicate as she can - "Ah... I guess... Its great to be home right?".

"Yeah... I'll be more than happy to see my own bed!" - Ichika replies with a pleasant tone and expression.

"I take it you and Kes here didn't sleep very well, how about Chifuyu?" - Yui responds with a pleasant tone, the woman has a very sympathetic smile on her face as she looks Ichika in the face and speaks, the woman looks down at the scar faced Kestrel whom remains curious as ever, this time turning his small head ever so slowly, looking up and then down at how large the interior of the car is. The youngster clearly not being in such a large vehicle before, sure Kestrel has been in a car before but not one as roomy as this one. Yui happens to smile like a loving mother at how innocent and curious the troubled Israeli boy is and proceedes to reach and take the youngster's soft hand in her own, causing Kestrel to leap in slight startlement and look up at the caring face of Yui.

"Well... sort of, Chifuyu actualy seemed to be able to deal with our sleeping arrangements better than what I did" - Ichika replies back to the black haired mature female with his usual pleasant tone.

"Really? Did she sleep beside Kestrel? I hear that sleeping beside Kestrel is quite the comfort" - Yui responds instantly with a pleasant expression. Ichika's reply to the black haired Yui is just as instant as that of Yui's responses. The said male rolls his eyes but not in a negative way as he takes in Yui's mentioning of how comfortable it is when one finds how warm and soft the scar faced youngster is, in some strange way as its normaly girls that are soft and snug and not the boys, but never the less, Ichika has a proud streak rush through him as replies to Yui's question. - "Well to be honest, Chifuyu had her arms round me all the time rather than Kestrel... but on the bright side I got to feel Kestrel's warmth".

"The almighty Chifuyu Orimura cuddling you, her little brother all night? I would love to have seen that!" - Yui replies, tittering ever so slightly with a playful expression, causing Ichika to place a hand at the back of his head and chuckling in reply, though Ichika feels a large amount of discomfort as he speaks and a hint of bashfulness the Japanese male takes it very lightly and manages to brush off by stating the obvious about such things - "Heh, Heh... Yeah, don't let her know I told you, trust me... she really wouldn't be happy about that".

"I believe she wouldn't! Don't worry, I won't say a word" - Yui replies, the black haired female clearly showing a large amount of respect for Ichika's privacy.

**\- Nearby down the street, between in a patch of dense bushes -**

Knelt down on both knees, a female figure observes the sight of Ichika, Chifuyu and Clarissa hanging around outside the Orimura household. The female observes the trio and the two large black cars through a pair of binoculars, the female has blonde hair that just goes down below the shoulder blades on her back. The female remains stiff as a board, watching the trio in silence, what looks like a metalic black eye patch similar to that of Laura Bodewig's is upon the female's face. The female wears a uniform similiar to that of what the German military woman known as Clarissa wears. A German Schwarzer haze forage cap is on her head as she watches and observes the sight of Ichika, his older sister and the military woman known as Clarissa that somehow are able to stand calmly in this god awful summer heat.

Sheltered from the blazing hot sunlight from between the bushes the German female frowns at first upon focusing her binoculars at Chifuyu and Clarissa, but as soon as she levels the binoculars at Ichika, a very satisifed and interested smile appears on the female's face. The german female slowly lowers the black shinning binoculars from her face revealing green eyes, the german blonde then turns her head to the right in a slight manner yet her eyes remain fixed ahead of her. The female begins to speak in a very excited yet silently spoken manner as if not to disturb anything.

"Great... Tell captain Bodewig that her wife has returned home".

Responding instantly, another German female makes her pressance known by whispering one whord - "Roger". The second German female whom also wears military uniform also has green eyes the female's hair is red and has a long braid. The second female is kneeling on soft grass and proceedes to reach into the thick undergrowth for something whilst her military comrade goes back to observe the oblivious Ichika Orimura. The red haired female whom is silent as the grave pulls out what looks like a crude, yet very impressive backpack radio, a set of small headphones are placed on top of the metalic radio pack. The red haired female remains silent as she proceedes to place the headphones upon her head, the soft pads of each ear piece are the greatest of comfort to her ears.

Less than a few seconds later the German female presses the left ear piece of her head phones with the index finger of her left hand, the sound of a click is heard as a mouth piece appears from the left ear piece, immediately making the headphones a headset. However the female is far from finished as she looks down at her small but very impressive looking radio pack, the female says nothing as she proceedes to flick small silver switches and proceedes to twist a small knob to power up frequency or volume. A few static crackles and buzzes are emitted from the radio pack before the red braided female speaks in a military manner, her tone being one of cool and collected. Though the German female speaks in her native tongue what she says either way sounds pretty good dispite her words being completley un-telliageable to any normal Japanese or English speaking person. Almost instantly the radio responds with a female voice, the tongue spoken is german.

Translation of the german female's words: - "Spearhead patrol, this is spearhead patrol to mama wolf, do read me?".

Translation of the radio: - "Mama wolf to Columbus three, go ahead".

"Roger, this is emergency code fifty three, lightning has struck, repeat, lightning has struck!" - A large and excited smile is upon the german female's voice as she proceedes to speak into her mouth piece.

As the German female proceedes to speak and converse with whom ever is on the opposite side of the conversation, the blonde female whom holds the binoculars remains silent as the grave as she continues to observe Ichika Orimura, however, after as long as ten minutes of nothing happening in particular the german female shifts her attention sligthly away from the oblivious Japanese male to look at what looks like a teenage Japanese male in a light blue shirt and jeans walking a dog on a long silver chain, both owner and dog heading straight towards Ichika and the black cars. Though the German female feels nothing of suspicion upon looking at the owner and dog, what is about to happen in the next few minutes is going to confirm the fact that the scar faced Israeli boy known as Kestrel does indeed have PTSD and a very serious case at that.

Though the German females have had doubts about if its true or not if Kestrel has PTSD, what happens soon will cause both females to look through their own pair of binoculars and stare in both horror and startlement at the sight before them.

**\- Back with Ichika -**

"So are you taking Kes here straight to Tomoe's?" - Ichika asks in a curious tone, whipping the sweat off his brow due to having to stand in the blazing hot sunlight for over ten minutes now. How it is that Chifuyu and Clarissa are continueing on with no apparent effects is something to be admired, but unbeknownst to Ichika, even Chifuyu and Clarissa are suffering, both females sweat like hell and are eventualy forced to go back into the black car, ironicaly, at the same time Ichika casts a glance over towards both females, AND at the same time the said male just happens to think of how impressive both females are at withstanding the heat. A sweatdrop forms on the sight of his head as a ressult.

"Yes, I'm planning on speaking to Tomoe personaly about what has happened this week, I won't be giving her all the details but all the same... I feel its only right that she knows that regardless of what has happened, Kestrel here was not guilty of any crime" - The summer dressed Yui replies, the female glances down at the scar faced youngster upon mentioning his name, the long black haired Kestrel seemingly able to withstand the summer heat that is creeping its way successfuly into the black car, and causing Yui to sweat slightly. Kestrel on the other hand right now has his small head back against the seats, though the child's eyes are wide open and the youngster is blinking, the child maybe restless... but he IS trying to relax. The only form of acknowledgement to Yui's mentioning of his name is just a timid yet very innocent glance to left with his small yet very beautiful ocean blue eyes.

"Couldn't have put it better myself, I guess Tomoe will brighten up once she sees Kestrel" - Ichika puts in with a very hopeful tone, the Japanese male having noticed the sparks that have flown at the IS academy between the vulnerable yet VERY impressive Kestrel and the voluptous Tomoe. Which in a way... is either very ironic in a comedy twist or simply to be amdired from the Japanese male, as he fails to notice the plain fact that he too has females that WANT him for themselves! Its also a good bet that even if all five females chose to stop competing against each other and came after Ichika all at once, the said male STILL would not feel the flags being raised... but then again... maybe that does not matter, after all... he is too much of a very good hearted guy aswel as being a bit to dense to notice lovey dovey moments... at least... those concerning himself that is!

"I think she will" - Yui replies, an equaly supportive smile is on her face as she holds Kestrel's small hand in her own like a truly loving mother.

As Ichika is about to reply the male owner and his dog just happen to slowly shift past, though the Japanese male happens to speak in a pleasant manner - "Excuse me, sorry" - to which Ichika replies with an equaly pleasant tone of his own, the friendly Ichika and the doting Yui leave themselves open for what happens next. The dog itself that is being walked is a large German Shepherd or as other countries call it, an Alsatian. The dog itself takes a quick sniff at Ichika's pants as both animal and owner attempt to walk past the black yakuza style car. At first, the dog appears calm and collected but as both the happy faced owner and pet pass the black haired Ichika, the dark proceedes to let out a string of loud and violent barks in either an act of anger or at least an act of warning. What it is that causes the dog to bark and begin to lunge forward straining the chain leash is anyone's guess, but maybe just the suspicious aura that cars give out can effect animals a lot more harder than it does humans.

Everyone is taken by surprise as the dog growls and violently barks and lunges forward at the driver's position of the car, the owner is taken by surprise and gains a shocked expression at the sudden surprising behavior of his pet, Ichika leaps in alarm and takes a step backwards but its only a fraction. Yui goes wide eyed and accidently releases little Kestrel's hand, but... in a horrible twist of bad luck... that helps leave the troubled Israeli boy open to the next psycological turn to be suffered.

The scar faced Kestrel's eyes widen, the youngster's eyes widen in terror and a terrible feeling of shock mixed with a vile mix of sickness hits him hard in the stomach. The child's heart seems to stop beating, the Israeli youngster seems to loose the ability to breathe as his terror stricken ocean blue eyes focus not on the barking and wild acting dog, but rather on the silver linked chain that is preventing the wildly barking animal from unleashing god knows what on the driver's position on the black car. The youngster's mouth opens by a slight fraction and the colour on Kestrel's face fades to become a pure white image of terror, but what comes next is far worse than a look of panic and fear.

A flash appears in the child's mind, the scene of being in a car on a beutiful summer day looking at a straining dog is immediately replaced with a sight that many wouldn't even dream of being in. The child now sees himself in what looks like a darkened prison yard, a twelve or possible twenty foot concrete wall riddled with rolls and rolls of razor bladded wire lines the very top of the grey concrette wall, though the odd crack can be made out here and there in the wall due to weathering and age, the wall shows no sign of collapse any time soon, its obviously strong as steel as it was the day it was erected, the barbed razor wire looks very sinister, standing out against a darkened blue sky by the appearance of the approaching dusk. The ground is plain bone dry sand and dirt, pebbles and microscopic rocks gravel the rough ground. The scar faced Kestrel looks up and around in panic stricken terror, the child can't seem to breathe, his small heart is beating in such a manner it ressembles a marathon runner's heart rate, the child dares not to blink, the child wants to speak or call for help... but the child can't find his small voice,  
the youngster's voice appears to be paralyzed.

Kestrel does have feeling in his small body however, the said youngster feels the hard solid ground beneath his small posture, thighs and feet as he feels himself sat down upon the ground. However, as Kestrel looks down at his small legs, what comes next sends utter levels of panic throughout his small body and heart. The child is no longer wearing summer wear, instead the child is wearing something that he KNOWS very well, but was SURE he had seen the last of. The child is wearing torn and tattered shorts, stained, filthy and covered in dry blood stains. The youngster then looks at his small feet and to his horror notices thick black chains around his ankles, one chain is wrapped around his right shin and thigh, the child notices to his horror that his shin, thighs are constricted, irritated red and slightly cut from being in contact with the black chains for an extended period of time, dry blood smears and stains the child's small thigh, shins and ankles, the child can also notice some really nasty looking bruises that seems to cover vast parts of his small soft limbs.

The Israeli youngster can hear himself breathe, but amoungst those panic mixed gasps is the terrible and sickening sound of rattling chains, each resounding rattle echoes and sends a terrible shivering chill up the youngster's spine. The youngster then proceedes to lift his small arms and to his horror finds his small arms are exposed to the open, as is his small front, those very terrible sets of scars that are upon the youngster's front seem to be growling in a silent fury in the open, but that is the last thing on Kestrel's mind, instead... the youngster is more occupied with what is wrong with his arms. The child finds his arms are wrapped in metal black chains, a god awful rattling sound fills the apparently stillness of the air as the child's eyes begin to rain tears of terror as the sight of multipule bruises and small cuts are all over his small arms, the chains seem to be like binding ropes, cutting open the child's soft flesh and wrists... once again, just like with his legs and ankles, dry blood is all over the child's wrists and arms from being constricted and bound for an extended period of time.

The child feels sick, but can't find the ability to vomit, pain is beginning to fill his small arms, legs, posture and body as he attempts to pull, wriggle and strain trying to break free of his chain bounds. The sounds of rattle after rattle fills the traumitised youngster's ears, the smells of blood, urine, human waste, vomit and rotting corpses suddenly begins to fill his small nostrils as if from nowhere. Kestrel's heart begins to beat ever more frantacly as he attempts to stand only to fall flat on his back the child's arms, legs, wrists and ankles are turning numb from pain of being tightly bound, the metal surface of the chains cutting into the child's fragile like body. The scar faced youngster can't bear it any more, the atmosphere, the smells, the sight... everything... its very familiar... the child has BEEN here before.

Little Kestrel, whom is unaware of the fact that he is starting to cry tears of terror closes his eyes and continues to thrash, strain and struggle, the god awful sound of the chains filling his small ears, the child is hopeing that when he opens his eyes he will awaken in some other location, only to find to his horror of horrors, that he is still in where or what ever this god awful, foul smelling place is. The child has limited feeling in his body, which in some way is a good thing, which means that the pain he is feeling is in all likelihood a faint memory, but never the less, everything is still VERY real as far as the terror stricken youngtser is concerned, and the chains are what is making the child become ever more panicked, even as the child turns to look to his left, he feels his heart and blood freeze instantlay as he finds a five foot tall steel beam sticking out of the ground, a metal chain is wrapped round the steel beam acting like a leash and whats worse the chain is leading towards Kestrel's neck. Little Kestrel whom has only a limited ability to move his arms lifts his bruised hands to his neck, the youngster ignores the faint and slight ache or sting in his small cut wrists.

As Kestrel places his small hands to his neck, the tear faced youngster feels what seems to be a leather collar around his neck. That alone is the perfect motivation for the child to panic like hell and begin to strain like a caged and terror stricken animal, his small eyes are as wide as they can go, tears roll down the child's face and still inspite of the youngster opening his mouth attempting to shout and scream, is unable to find his voice.

Then, as the child closes his eyes and shakes his head for the second time, one final horror is about to display itself before the youngster's eyes. Laying all around him is various amounts of men, women and children, some are laying on the ground still as rocks. Others are forming the fetal position, where as others are sat motionless with looks of horror on their faces. Blood is spread across the ground, some is dry where as some more is fresh, many of the men, women and children are also displayed in chains. Others are struggling where as others are still as rocks not daring to battle the strength of their bounds. The scar faced Kestrel blinks in terror, looks down at a bunch of men whom are skin and bone, all of which wear nothing at all, not even any underwear. These five men are dead, all of which have their eyes wide open, cuts, bruises looks of unspeakable abuse is all over these dead men. Kestrel blinks, the child is frozen on the spot, only able to move his small head to look around, only to find that numberous other men, women and children are dead, some have limbs missing, others appear to have their heads shaved but what sickens Kestrel's terrified heart the most is the sight of a group of what looks like partialy dressed children, all bound together by barbed wire are pinned motionless against the concrette wall, they too are dead.

The Israeli youngster can't take any more, this unspeakable memory, these god awful sounds, sights and smells are simply too much to bear, the child's face is riddled with tears, the child closes his eyes and with all the strength he can muster, lowers his small head and with all the strength he can muster lifts his head and lets out a terrible terror stricken ear piercing scream, the scream lasts for a few seconds, before the child closes his eyes tightly once again... in the child's mind the horrible sound of women letting out some very horrible cackling causes the child to very nearly vomit but amazingly the child holds it in, mixed in with those sounds of laughter is the sound of Kestrel's own rapid beating heart.

**\- In the real world -**

"KESTREL! KES!" - Ichika shouts in a loud and desperate manner, the Japanese male tightly clutching onto one of Kestrel's hands. The black haired Japanese male is knelt down, in order to lean inside the Yakuza style car in an aid to tend to his now desperate and panic stricken friend. The dog and owner have moved on, having been convinced to do so by the black haired Ichika after all, its a wise thing to do in order to keep outside nosing down to a minimum, the fewer people there are when ever something serious and sensitive as one of Kestrel's turns comes on,  
the better.

The black haired Yui, looks as though she is on the verge of crying from distress, the black haired female knows that the thrashing, crying and terror stricken youngster that she embraces from behind is in a mix of pain and terror, and on a level that an adult struggles to cope with, but never the less... Yui's ability to stay as calm as she possibaly can is something to be very much admired as she speaks Israeli phrases over and over again, squeezing the crying scar faced Kestrel into her chest as deep as she can manage.

Kestrel's face is white with terror, the youngster's body muscles seem to be tensed and stiff, the child's body is posed in a position that ressembles one of cowering only the youngster uses his small arms to embrace his body as best as he can manage. The child's eyes are shut and look of panic is on the child's nerves, Kestrel's screams are very low and deep, not high pitched as adults imagine a child's scream to be, not like a wailing and hysterical girl but rather like a panic stricken young male. Yui and Ichika cast looks of desperation to each other but exchange no words, instead both focus on tending to the scar faced Kestrel. The drivers at the front of the black car do nothing, but simply remain silent, both wear black suits and black sun glasses and merely cast emotionless looks at each other.

"What the heck started it this time!?" - Ichika asks as he clutches tightly onto Kestrel's small hand, feeling the terror stricken vibrations of the youngster's shaking up his arm and through the bones of his fingers, hand and arm. Yui does not look at the Japanese male as she replies but rather embraces the terror stricken youngster as deeply as she can muster, her voice is one of nerve and worry, the woman sounds like a doting mother desperate to save or protect her dear precious younster - "I don't know! I think it was from looking at that dog!".

"Kestrel loves animals so how the heck could it have been that dog!?" - Ichika replies with a frustraited hiss.

"How the hell should I know!?" - Yui responds with a frustraited snap of her own, the woman clearly unable to think straight at a time like this.

"Kestrel! Look at me! Its alright! Whats wrong!?" - Ichika yells out, the Japanese male desperate to calm the terror stricken youngster down.

"We should get Chifuyu and Clarissa!" - Yui immediately suggests, the woman at this point beginning to panic herself, even though Yui is a mature female with qualifications, the woman is not qualified to tackle PTSD victims. However, what Ichika does next defuses Yui's suggestion of resorting to contact Chifuyu and Clarissa, the Japanese male scrambles forward and places his hand over Kestrel's small mouth, which by now is closed and clenched, the child's face is wet from crying aswel as holding vast un-imaginable levels of terror and distress. Ichika's action at first shocks the black haired Yui as Kestrel's sobbing and whimpering is muffled by the sound of Ichika's hand, but as the black haired female looks at the face of the black haired male she notices vast levels of seriousness in the Japanese male's eyes, a serious expression so serious, only Chifuyu would be able to match.

"I have an idea, just repeat every word I say to Kestrel!" - Ichika states out in a demanding manner, Yui remains silent but stares at the Japanese male with a serious expression, almost instantly the Japanese male scrambles inside the yakuza style car and proceedes to lift the scar faced youngster's limbs onto his lap, the Japanese male keeps his hand fixed firmly over Kestrel's small mouth, then, upon placing his face close to Kestrel's, the Japanese male proceedes to speak in a very calm, caring and careful voice, even though Kestrel can't understand a word that Ichika is saying, Ichika is betting that just hearing and understanding his voice alone will make all the differance, Ichika's voice has a very tiny hint of desperate hope as he speaks to the terror stricken ten year old with caring voice - "Kestrel... Kestrel... listen, its okay... Its me... Ichika".

**Author's note: Please play the ost from suisei no gargantia, track 2 number 16 "leaving the maiden heart", it'll help give you an idea of what Ichika and Yui are doing is giving Kestrel the ONE thing that the youngster has never really had in his life... Human love and kindness.**

Yui leans her head low in order to speak as lovingly and as gently as she possibaly can into little Kestrel's ears, the black haired female repeating everyword in the exact same tone as that of Ichika's voice in Israeli.

"Kestrel... We're here for you... you can tell us whats wrong" - Ichika continues, Yui immediately begins to repeat the Japanese male's words in Israeli.

"Listen Kes, no matter what happens... we promise... we won't let anything happen to you... you can trust us" - Ichika continues, the Japanese male's face being one of pure worry and concern, at first... for the first few seconds... nothing seems to be working... but, as soon as Ichika finishes a few more phrases of kindess, both Ichika and Yui begin to feel an overwhelming feeling of happiness and relief as the Isreali youngster, whom is still crying, suddenly begin to calm. The child's nerves seem to die down, the child's rapid breathing seems to wither also, soon being replaced with very slow, very deep breaths.

"That's it Kes, you're doing great... just calm down... we're here" - Ichika continues. A very relieved and happy smile begins to form on his face as the terror stricken Kestrel slowly open his small red and swollen eyes, the child following Ichika's instructions fully to the latter. For Yui, everything is simply overwhelming as her own eyes begin to fill with grateful and emotionaly mixed tears. The Israeli youngster's face seems to immediately replace itself from being one of terror stricken sorrow to being one of fear and curiosity as the child blinks a few times and stares into the caring brown eyes of Ichika.

"Okay... Kes, I'll take my hand away, you're alright" - Ichika states, the Japanese male continues to look into the sorrow and nervous eyes of Kestrel, the child's eyes beginning to glaze and form a 1,000 yard stare. Slowly... as Ichika moves his hand away from young Kestrel's fractionaly open mouth, the office dressed Yui is stunned, the scar faced youngster has been pulled out of his turn. Ichika notices that Kestrel is no longer in a panicked state, and it takes all the said male's will power not to let out a cry of triumph. Kestrel blinks, his small face is drenched from crying and though the child lets out an odd tremble every twenty seconds, its clear that the worst is gone now and all thats left to do is help the youngster with what can only be described as 'After shock'. It takes a total of three minutes before Ichika attempts to make contact with the youngster whom merely looks into a distance with a 1,000 yard stare. Ichika mentaly notes to himself as he carefuly places his hands on the youngster's shoulders, its like a replay of what happened that night in the IS academy when Kes had his nightmare.

"Kes? Are you alright?" - Ichika asks with a careful tone, the look on his face matches his tone. The scar faced boy with his silver Star of David gleaming merely stares into nothingness at first, but finaly, after just twenty two seconds, the youngster turns his attention on the caring face of Ichika and with the brief closure of his traumitised ocean blue eyes, matched with a very exhausted sigh simply lowers his head in single solemn bob. Ichika lets out a large sigh of relief while Yui begins to silently cry tears of mixed emotions after pulling little Kestrel into a deep and caring embrace.

For Ichika, its just the wonderful feeling of relief that washes over him, every nook and cranny being filled with unimaginable levels of relief. The said Japanese male even goes so far as to lean his head back, roll his eyes upward in an act of thanking god in heaven that a very serious problem has now been averted. As Ichika lowers his head to look at Kestrel and Yui, a smile forms on his face as he looks at Yui whom is smiling yet crying slightly whilst embracing Kestrel as warmly and tenderly as she can. Then, just as Ichika is about to up and speak the sound of clapping causing the male to leap out of his body, the Japanese male leaps back in alarm out of the car amazingly landing on his feet but even then the Japanese male wobbles very nearly falling flat on his back. As the Japanese male blinks and turns his head to the left the sight of his almighty older sister and the German Clarissa comes into view, both clapping in a very friendly manner. The look on Chifuyu's face is one of a person whom is satisfied and proud, which in all truth is exactly how the ponytailed female is feeling, the look on Clarissa's face is exactaly the same as that of Chifuyu's, both women are very impressed with how well Ichika just handled the situation.

A faint red blush suddenly appears on Ichika's face, the said male suddenly feels an ego rise but thankfuly the said male does not take advantage of it, after all that is not the type of guy Ichika is. However, the Japanese male can't deny it, he too is impressed and glad to be praised for how he acted to aid and protect his troubled Israeli friend, the fact being proven as he places a hand at the back of his head, glances away with the straighest face he can muster but the faint smile on his face is a clear indication that he is more than proud to be praised by his almighty older sister. Ichika can only find one phrase to say at a time like this - "Ah... H..How long have you guys been standing there?".

"Long enough Ichika, Long enough" - Chifuyu replies in a proud tone, the ponytailed female proceeding to fold her arms as she replies to her younger brother.

"Bravo Instructor Orimura's younger brother, bravo!" - Clarissa states in her own proud tone. In the back of her mind, the military female speaks as though its a matter of fact, which as far as she herself is concerned, IS a matter of fact - ( "Captain Bodewig's wife is surely a wonderful man, most appropriate to be paired with the captain of the Schwarzer Haze!" ).

**\- 10 minutes later -**

"Okay! I'll see you later Clarissa, I'll speak to you tonight" - Chifuyu calls out, her left hand is above her head but she is not waving goodbye. Ichika on the other hand is now walking towards the front door of the Orimura household, Kestrel and Yui have not to long ago left to head over to Tomoe's home, leaving only the black car of which both Chifuyu and Clariss arrived home in. From the black shinning car, the blue haired Clarissa waves back to the black ponytailed Chifuyu and in a loud and clear voice replies the words - "Okay Instructor Orimura, I'll contact you as soon as I've settled things with Tabane".

"Sure thing" - Chifuyu replies, the female lowering her arm as she speaks back to the German military female. As Chifuyu watches in silence as Clarissa gets into the black car, Ichika on the other hand is at the front door of his home. However, as Ichika is about unlock his front door, a sight suddenly comes into view that immediately causes Ichika to pause. The smile on his face drops instantly, being replaced with a look of concern. A frown appears on Ichika's face as he looks down at the handle to his front door and notices that the wood is splintered, the Japanese male's front door appears to be cracked as if someone has kicked the door open, breaking the lock and forcing the door open.

In less than a few seconds Ichika's feelings of happiness are replaced with sickening fear, as far as Ichika is concerned everything has been looking up and now it seems as though someone has broken into his home and has in all likelihood been stealing both his and older sister's property. The Japanese male is frozen on the spot with a feeling of sickness and dread, Ichika has heard so many stories about people whom have become victims of burglary, and has thought nothing of it, but now... and only now does Ichika seem to understand that god awful level of sickness and fear that victims talk about.

For a total of two minutes, Ichika remains frozen on the spot, a serious expression is on his face, before slowly lifting his right arm and very carefuly placing his right hand on the wooden surface of his front door and carefuly pushing the door open. Not a creek or squeak fills the air as Ichika gently pushes his front door open, however as Ichika stares in nervous silence into his home, the Japanese male leaves himself open to shock and surprise from his older sister, whom by now has just walked and came up to a stop behind the oblivious Japanese male. Just like Ichika had intended, Chifuyu is eager to escape the heat of the summer day and just get her head down, aswel as possibaly help herself to a cold alcoholic beverage from the refrigerator. However, having watched the suspicious acting of her younger brother, the ponytailed female had frowned and walked up behind her oblivious brother with her arms folded. The ponytailed female raises an eyebrow and stands directly behind her younger brother soon taking the chance to show a sarcastic sense of humor by matching Ichika's head movements by looking up, down, left to right, Ichika having a serious and nervous expression on his face while Chifuyu has a look of playful bewilderment.

Eventualy after a moment, the almighty Japanese female causes Ichika to leap out of his body by leaning forward placing her mouth near her brother's left ear and in a low and deep voice speaks the words - "What's the matter with you? Forcefield keeping you out?". - The ressulting reaction causes Chifuyu to smirk in a playful manner as Ichika lets out a startled yelp and leaps forward into his home.

"I think we've been robbed" - Ichika replies in a startled manner, causing Chifuyu's smile to drop instantly, replacing her satisified expression with a look of seriousness.

"Say that again Ichika" - Chifuyu replies, causing Ichika to go cold for a brief second, but thankfuly the Japanese male is able to regain his composure when the second thought of maybe having Chifuyu on the case would be a wise thing to do. In order to explain his reasons as to why he feels the Orimura household has been burgled, the said male points down at the splintered wood on the door, the part of the door that would lock the door shut is buckled and twisted, clearly a force of power has been put on the door in order to leave it in that state. Ichika speaks as he points at the broken door - "Look at the door Chifuyu-nee".

Chifuyu follows her younger brother's index finger and to her shock and surprise notices the state of the open and close mechinisim of the front door. The Japanese female is immediately overwhelmed with nerves and a mix of anger as she kneels down to inspect the damage. The Japanese female is about to up and tell Ichika to call for the law, but a quick glance of something small and metal appears in the corner of her vision. From behind his older sister whom proceedes to look around the damaged front door, and pulls a small metal object off the wood, the Japanese male remains silent as the grave, for a moment at least. Chifuyu on the other hand pulls the metalic object of the door wood and begins to look at it in very observant way. Placed in the palm of her hand the metalic object looks like some crude sci-fi wall mounted motion sensor bomb. At first a concerned and curious frown is on Chifuyu's face, but as she turns the metal object over in her hand, her eyes form a half closed state, a frown that goes along the lines of 'So that explains it' appears on her face as she looks at the back of the black object, and though Chifuyu is tempted to do so, the female does not throw the object outside. On the contary, the Japanese female rolls her eyes, blinks and lets out a very annoyed huff, stands up, turns to face her younger brother and in a calm and suspicious tone speaks the words - "Ichika... I think you better take a look at this".

"What? What is it?" - Ichika asks in confused tone before looking his older sister in the face and speaking in a more nervous manner - "Well shouldn't we call the police? I'm going to look around and see if anything has been stolen".

"No, no need Ichika... I think I know the culprit already... this little motion sensor in my hand, gives me the answer" - Chifuyu replies in a calm and casual tone, the ponytailed female looking down with a serious scowl at the motion sensor placed firmly between her index finger and thumb.

"Really? Well? Who is it?" - Ichika asks, the Japanese male has a very surprised yet impressed look on his face, the look of surprise changes to one being surprised as Chifuyu tosses over the motion sensor device whilst at the same time speaking the words - "Why don't ya see for yourself" - The motion sensor like device landing safely in Ichika's hands at the same time as Chifuyu finishes speaking. Looking down at the top of the motion sensor Ichika notices nothing out of the ordinary, which at first causes the Japanese male to shrug and cast a confused look at his older sister. Chifuyu's response is instant, the woman maintains her frown and though its only a short phrase spoken, Ichika knows that in the words his big sister speaks, the culprit of his house breakage will be known to him... a bit too well as what he thinks.

"Look at the other side"

Ichika does what his older sister says instantly, and what catches his eyes is a symbol that Ichika has seen somewhere before, and in a manner of speaking very recently for that matter. What appears to be a side turned shield with an emblem of a black rabbit, a machine gun placed in the forward paws and a waist belt of bullets is placed upon the back of the motion sensor device. Ichika has seen this emblem before, quite often as a matter of fact, but for some strange reason Ichika is unable to put his finger on where this symbol has been seen. In some negative twist of irony, it takes Ichika a full five minutes of narrowing his eyes and observing the symbol closely that the hammer of memory hits him on the top of the head, a brief flash in his mind shows this symbol on Clarissa's uniform, on the uniforms of the German girls that came to the IS academy and more iconicaly... on a waist belt worn by a very well known silver haired female with an eye patch.

Ichika looks his older sister in the face, in a bewildered way at first but after reality hits home, the Japanese male rolls his eyes, looks down and closes both for a brief moment before looking his big sister in the face with an 'Oh boy' look on his face and speaks just one word... or name - "Laura".

"Laura!" - Chifuyu puts in with a huff, the female proceeding to nod in a very slow and steady manner.

_**Okay readers, that's it for chapter 80. Now for closure notes I'm happy to say that for once I don't have much to say, except for thanking everyone for following and sticking around for so long it isn't easy at times I know. Please read and review, remember readers, if there are any requests from anyone please send me the message and I'll see what can be done. The next chapter is underway right as we speak. This chapter is shorter than the last but don't worry the next should be longer.**_

_**Until the next chapter, remember I'm wishing all you readers the best, may your own fics get the positive reviews and follows. Stay cool everyone!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	81. Chapter 81: Tomoe's neighbours

_**Hello to all readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned after a few days, please forgive me for that, but as always... I'm true to my word and I'm writing again, I needed the break to be honest and to say that I've been idle would be a lie. Before you start reading, I must ask that anyone whom wants to PM me, please place all messages in the open reviews, I will get round to them, you have my word. That is my only request to you guys and gals, so... other than that, please, without further ado... you have all waited long enough for it.**_

_**Please forgive me for the delays... I have been VERY busy...**_

_**Oh yeah... You'll finaly know the name of Tomoe and Megumi's mother in this chapter, anyway... Please read and enjoy...**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 81:

**\- Tomoe's house/ 09:30am -**

Sat down on the front doorstep of her home, dressed in a white summer dress, the dark blue haired beauty known as Tomoe looks up at the blue summer sky, not a cloud is in sight and though the summer sun is blinding the said female is able to put up looking directly at the blazing white hot star in the daytime sky, but only for a few seconds before having to look down at the ground and place both hands to her face. The female closes her eyes as she places her hands to her face, the female is overwhelmed with a large amount of worry. Even though today is a day that she should be happy about, the female's heart is beating very heavily and her ability to breathe appears to have left her body. Last night the female received news that the long black haired, scar faced youngster known as Kestrel was returning to her home, and though at first... Tomoe was overwhelmed with joy, the said female was soon overwhelmed with fear and guilt. Even though Tomoe has done nothing wrong, the female feels like a knife that has stabbed a friend in the back for the past 10 or so hours.

Her mind continues to wander, repeating the day she was comfortable in watching Kestrel get led away like a common criminal when in fact he had possibly saved the life of her big sister. Even though Tomoe and her equaly stunning beauty of sister Megumi, never always see eye to eye, it does not mean that the ponytailed beauty does not look up to her older sister, nor respect her... its quite the opposite, though Tomoe would say differant, the blue haired female would go to hell and back if it ment the safety of her sister, not to extreme levels obviously, but still enough for Tomoe to get herself placed in danger if it ment the well fare or protection of Megumi. So for Kestrel to save Megumi from the mindless filth that roams the streets these days, as far as Tomoe is concerned, Kestrel is the ultimate hero despite being just a youngster. Not only that, but Megumi's frowning face at when she discovered that Tomoe had thought Kestrel was the culprit keeps returning to mind and it makes the sting of guilt all the more worse.

Thankfuly Tomoe has not been alone with her problems, her mother whom is less than a twelve feet away watering flowers has been a real shoulder to lean on. In fact all night before the female went to bed, what can only be described as a 'Very sensible' discussion between mother and daughter took place. Even though Tomoe's nerves have been put slightly at ease, and having been given some rough instructions as to how to greet Kestrel when he returns to her home, the dark blue haired female is still on the razor's edge of nerves and panic. The fact being proven as the female is sat on her posterior with her face buried in her hands. The girl is able to ignore the warmth of the summer sun which is high in the sky and is sure to turn into a real scorcher, any time soon as the morning hours pass by.

The bouncy looking and loving mother of Tomoe appears to be quite the opposite of how her daughter is feeling, a very friendly and kind smile is on her face, her eyes are warm with happiness and the clothing she wears for the summer heat is a blue mini-skirt, and a sleeveless orange top, the woman is barefooted on the green soft grass, the female seems to pay no attention to the fact that she may stand on a sharp object or thistle, the female seems to be as graceful as a ballerina as she carefuly holds a green watering can and pours some crystal clear water over some tulips. The mature female's blue hair gives the game away to anyone that passes by that Tomoe is her daughter, but that hardly means anything right now as the streets appear deserted. Sure, many are now taking all the chances they can to savor the summer weather now that the lock down has been lifted, but for Tomoe, what could happen today is far more important than taking it easy, and as a caring mother should do... the mother of Tomoe is standing beside her daughter, and ready for the first time to see Kestrel in person.

Though Tomoe attempts to hide her negative emotions from her mother, its clear as day that the attempt is failing. Even if Tomoe was all warm and smiley, her mother would be able to discover what is real and what is an act, but thankfuly, unlike Megumi, Tomoe saves her mother the guessing game and appears openly true with her emotions. Seeing her daughter in pain or depressed is always a very horrible knife in the chest moment for the caring mother of Tomoe, and it does not take a rocket scientist to know about what it is that Tomoe has on her mind. Rolling her eyes and sighing for a brief moment, the mature mother of Tomoe is in pain watching her daughter suffer in such a manner, as far as the blue haired female is concerned, Tomoe is far too good hearted for this world, and in many ways... that statement or belief is correct.

The mother of Tomoe carefuly proceedes to set her watering can down on the short cut grass, places both hands in front of her waist and calmly walks forward, the female eager and desperate to tend to the aid of her mentaly suffering daughter. The mature female chooses to speak in a very delicate manner, just like a loving mother so do, the woman looks at her daughter's head and eventauly in the eyes as Tomoe moves both hands from her face upon responding to her mother. - "Tomoe, please... don't feel so low, there's really nothing to fret or worry about, you haven't done anything wrong so don't be feeling so low".

"Sorry mother, its just... I can't stop thinking about that day when Kestrel saved Megumi, I know I didn't know about it at the time, but I still treated and looked at him like a criminal... he's really gone through hell and back and for all I know he must have been suffering just as much as we was... and still I looked down upon him before knowing the truth... how can I not feel down?". - Tomoe replies in a guilty moan, the female feeling sick with herself like any good hearted person would do if they feel as though they have committed a crime.

Walking calmly over towards her daughter, the mature Japanese female proceedes to sit down, place her left arm around her daughter in a very caring manner, and pull the miserable Tomoe into a very caring embrace. The mature female proceedes to rub her daughter's shoulder and arm as she proceedes to speak in a very kind and friendly manner - "Tomoe... what happened that day was horrible for everyone and anyone, it would have shook me up. Your not guilty of anything and more importantly... you shouldn't be tearing yourself apart just because of an error in judgement".

"I..I've gotten past that but, what am I going to say to Kestrel when he comes home, what am I going to do?" - Tomoe replies in a fretting tone, the female looks at the white front wall of her home that seperates her garden from the street.

"Listen Tomoe, you really have nothing to fret over... when you see this Kestrel boy, just go up to him and greet him with a happy face, act like yourself and I'm certain that this young Kestrel will do the same back" - The mature blue haired Japanese mother replies in a kind motherly manner, causing Tomoe to place both hands on her lap and look down in a glum manner for a few moments, before raising her head to look her mother in the face and send back a very kind and happy smile, however, mixed in with that cheerful characteristic expression is a look of fret and glumness in the female's eyes. Though it would be perfect if her daughter was to smile and show her usual cheerful expression, for the moment at least... that return of her daughter's cheerful and kind expression is more that an acceptable beginning.

"Thanks mother, I needed those words" - Tomoe speaks in a very grateful tone, causing her mother to close her eyes for a moment and shake her head affectionatley. As far as Tomoe's mother is concerned, this is just a moment of 'Oh... how they grow up so fast'. Feeling a wonderful return of warmth in her chest Tomoe's mother proceedes to speak in a very kind and affectionate manner, the woman clearly more than happy to hear her daughter's voice return in its usual happy and carefree manner - "You don't have to thank me like that Tomoe, just cheer up, it breaks my heart when I see you depressed like this".

As Tomoe and her mother engage in a very warm and much needed hug of comfort, minutes seem to turn into hours, though it is not really hours that pass by, the time it takes is enough to cause spirits to rise back to levels of eleven. Deep down Tomoe is more than happy, the female can understand that at times like this, what many troubled people require is another person to hold on to, the feeling of human kindess and happiness is a feeling that many seem to take for granted and as far as Tomoe is concerned, it is vital that everyone savors that feeling as much as possible. Not only that... this kind parent and child hug allows a bright side to be spoken from the said mother, to the now spiritualy risen Tomoe. Also... as a caring parent normaly does in certain times, Tomoe's said mother proceedes to mention a fact that Tomoe had seemed to forget and... as a bonus... a very kind and clever idea.

"Anyway Tomoe, Megumi is coming home today, so at least you'll be able to have some laughs with your sister"

"Oh!? Oh... yeah, right" - Tomoe replies a sweat drop forming on the side of her temple, clearly the idea of laughs is a bit exaggerated when it comes to the antics and moments sharred between the ponytailed beauty and her older sister.

"Also I think that maybe Megumi's tickets to go away on a sponsored treasure hunt by the National Careres Assositaion in the country could be put to good use" - Tomoe's mother speaks in a crafty like casual tone, the female rolling her eyes to glance down upon her daughter whom remains pulled into her side and returning the affectionate hug. Upon hearing her mother's words, an idea hammer suddenly slams down on the very top of Tomoe's head, or in other words... a mental lightbulb suddenly sparks to life above her head. Tomoe's eyes open widely, a feeling of excitement and happiness fills every nook and cranny of her body. In her mind the dark blue ponytailed female is feeling the moment of 'Why didn't I think of that!', normaly Tomoe would not consider such an event to be such a good idea with a girl of her age, as the National Careres Assositaion or N.C.A partakes and sponsors such events for children or young adults that have ADHD, Aspergers or any other mental disabilities. Even though Kestrel does not have Aspergers nor does he have ADHD, the long haired Israeli does however have some form of mental problems, sure... it borders on PTSD but never the less, it is some form of mental disability, and its not as if there is any better idea in place, not only that Megumi isn't interested in those winning tickets, so... what better way to make things up to the scar faced Kestrel?

Just the idea alone is enough to cause Tomoe to smile with hope and joy, the female immediately moves the side of her head away from her mother's breats and proceedes to look her caring mother in the face. Upon seeing happiness return to her daughter's features, the look on Tomoe's mother is a mix of relief, triumph and overwhelming joy. Tomoe proceedes to speak to her mother in a tone of excitement and clearly a large amount of gratitude - "Thats a great idea mother, I think thats a great thing to do with Kestrel".

Just as Tomoe is about to break full bodily contact with her mother a sudden thought hits her in the head, Tomoe had originaly put it out the back of her head, but weither its a bad idea or not, Tomoe needs as many helping hands as she possibaly can get. Should Kestrel suffer a turn when out on this sponsored treasure hunt, the girl is going to need all the help she can get, so although many would not ask this of their mothers or fathers, what Tomoe asks next is considered a very sensible thing to ask, after all... Kestrel is NOT any ordinary boy - "Are you coming along mother?".

"Hm? You want me to tag along? Is there something wrong?" - The mature female replies in a confused tone.

"Its just in case Kestrel suffers a turn, I may need your help in calming him down" - Tomoe explains in a calm tone, but with a perfect mix of hint to state that its a matter of fact.

"If thats what you really want... I'll see what I can do" - The mature female replies, breifly closing her eyes and giving a single soft nod of the head, a very kind and friendly smile is on her face as she replies to her daughter's explination. However after a few minutes after Tomoe thanks her mother once again and proceedes to exchange yet another affectionate hug, the feeling of being proud fills the mature Japanese woman. In the past few days Tomoe has obviously explained about the fact that the scar faced Kestrel suffers from PTSD and suffers from turns, so for Tomoe to remind her mother about such a thing and ask of assistance, THAT shows a very competant person... and a very sensible one at that. Which in turn is clearly a good reason for the said woman to suddenly female to feel so happy and proud of her daughter right now, that feeling remains that way until the big moment arrives... the arrival of the vulnerable yet very lovable long black haired youngster... Kestrel.

**\- A few minutes later -**

Time seems to have frozen for Tomoe and her mother as both sit side by side on the front door step, but thankfuly, those minutes that are missed were worthless and for something to happen is all the more welcome but unfortuneatley for Tomoe the next event that enables words to come from her mother's mouth, is NOT the words she was hoping to hear, nor is the event. Instead of the arrival of the long black haired Kestrel, the next happenstance that comes is nothing more but the happy call out from next door's elderly neighbour couple, or to be more precise whom it is that breaks the silence of the peace and traquility for Tomoe and her mother is non other than the elderly Mrs Kazetsubaki, the woman's surname is easily given away as one can find it written on a small brass plate fixed firmly on the wall that sepearates the woman's garden from the street. The elderly lady is typical of what one would expect of a woman of VERY mature years, her hair is a pale black which is going gray, and though the female has the odd wrinkle here and there she is still able to maintain a good image, but then again... for some strange reason... ALL Japanese women are able to do that anyway.

The elderly ( Or slightly elderly ) woman, does appear to have some weight but its very slight, but that is only natural as one does become slightly overweight when they get over the age of 30 or 40, ofcourse... depending on what life they lead! The woman's hair is in a bun, which seems very appropriate for a mature woman of Mrs Kazetsubaki, the woman originaly had a neutral frown on her face when walking out of her home, up the driveway and retriveing some mail placed in an outside mailbox, and only upon seeing the cheerful and tranquil look of Tomoe and her mother, has the mature woman's face lit up to be one of overwhelming happiness, which is perfect of a friendly and cheerfull neighbour.

"Kazumi! Good morning" - The mature female calls out, holding an arm above her head and waving in a very friendly manner towards Tomoe and her mother, now known to be Kazumi. At first, moth Tomoe and her mother jump in alarm, but upon letting the familiar voice filter to their brains aswel as turning their heads to look in the direction to which the voice came from, both Tomoe and Kazumi soon replace their startled face expressions with ones of relief. Tomoe's face does not turn up into a cheerful smile like that of her mother's, but does however have a look of friendliness, after all, it is only right to be as kind and friendly as possible to a neighbour, which as far as Kazumi has always been concerned... "Its better to have a good neighbour that you know will help you out when you need it the most".

Responding instantly to the mature woman's words, Kazumi kindly proceedes to stand and gives back a respectful bow, a cheerful smile is set upon her face as she replies the words - "Hello and good morning to you to Hanako".

"Nice to see you out and enjoying the sunlight Tomoe, I was just about to have Takeshi bring out some chairs and have us both enjoy it out here... are you alright?" - The mature Japanese woman now known as Hanako puts in, casting a very friendly look at the dark blue haired beauty whom is secretly pining for Kestrel's pressance and wanting to re-establish some form of good relation. Tomoe's response is short but very clear to the point as she puts on the happiest facial expression she can manage, trying to drown out the nerves and worry at seeing Kestrel again, Tomoe's voice is a perfect example but filled with a good amount of friendliness - "I'm fine, Thanks for asking... just waiting for someone".

"Waiting for someone?... It wouldn't happen to be your sister would it?" - The mature Japanese female asks in a friendly manner, making eye contact with the Japanese female whom remains sat on her postierior. Inside Tomoe frowns in an ironic manner when hearing the suggestion that she is waiting for her sister's return, but thankfuly Tomoe is able to suppress such emotions and replies in a friendly manner - "Ah... no, its someone else".

"Don't tell me Megumi is up to no good again Hanako, if she's done anything else to your Dalmatian then I do appologise, and I will happily pay for any damages" - Kazumi replies, the mother of Tomoe and Megumi bowing quickly, speaking in a tone of fret and worry, the woman clearly still disturbed and shaken about being told about Megumi's recent out of control antics, but maybe by now, Kazumi should be somewhat used to being told news from either neighbours or worse, the police about her eldest daughter's horseplay.

"Oh no, not my Dalmatian... at least not this time that is!" - The somewhat elderly Hanako states with a sweat drop on her temple, the woman holds up both hands, holding onto a set of letters in one hand while shaking the other in a form of reasurance.

"What?... Ah... hold on Tomoe, I'll just go speak to Hanako... you keep watching for your little friend okay?" - Kazumi responds, first in a nervous tone before looking down at her second born daughter and speaking in a very kind and loving manner which is just perfect for a respectable and doting mother. Tomoe's response to her mother is a simple - "Sure thing", the female speaks in a flat and emotionless tone, clearly the stress of waiting is causing Tomoe's cheerful, bouncy personality to be reset to that of a person whom is overwhelmed with problems, but at least the said female manages to have a slight amount of kindess in her voice as she speaks and a small, tiny smile on her face as she watches her mother walk over to the waiting Hanako Kazetsubaki.

Tomoe rolls her eyes in a stressed manner as she watches her mother silently gossip away to the VERY mature aged neighbour that has been the closest friend of both her and her mother since as far as she can remember. Though Tomoe only focuses her gaze and attention on both her mother and the elderly Hanako Kazetsubaki, in those brief few seconds, every memory of her childhood which has the good hearted Hanako Kazetsubaki in, suddenly comes to mind, though the elderly woman is a bit too friendly and asks FAR to many questions like a journalist, and seems to like prying into private affairs of which Tomoe would rather she back away from... it can't be denied, in the years that Tomoe has known the elderly woman and her husband, they have been there when both she and her mother have needed them the most... like for instance the times when she has had to wait for her mother's return from work, both Hanako and her husband have taken care of and looked out for the blue haired beauty. Other times relate to when Tomoe needed looking after, times when she needed someone to play with, or go exploring when Megumi wasn't available... the list goes on, and though they aren't related, Tomoe has in a way come to regard both the elderly Hanako and her husband as distant, or at the most... close family members.

As the minutes pass, Tomoe soon begins to look away from her mother whom stands in the blazing summer heat talking to Hanako, though at first Tomoe was somewhat interested in what mischief her big sister has been up to, the female soon chose to ignore it, because what ever it is... its bound to be something stupid, childish or immature for a female of Megumi's age. Another factor is the smiles that are upon both her mother and Hanako's face, so what ever it is... its obviously been forgiven and being sorted out, and its going to be something that Tomoe is about to find out about sooner or later... and maybe a bit sooner than what she thinks!

However, that is a matter for another time, for now... everything is just one thing at a time, first things first... the arrival of Kestrel, which is priority one as far as Tomoe is concerned. In some twist of irony, it is just as Tomoe casts one final look at her mother, that a black style Yakuza car pulls up outside the front wall of her home. The dark blue haired beauty immediately goes wide eyed and jumps to her feet, her mother and the elderly Hanako cease talking and look over towards the scene with neutral but concerned looks, Tomoe blinks a few times and is about to up and look over at her mother when the back door to the black shinning car opens, revealing a summer dressed Yui Sakurada, Tomoe's eyes light up and a slightly open smile immediately appears on her face as she makes eye contact with the black haired Japanese woman whom sends over a very kind and friendly smile over towards the said blue haired beauty. Tomoe's heart seems to beat very hard and fast as she looks over towards Yui.

From where Kazumi and Hanako stand, everything is confusing... Kazumi casts looks at her daughter and towards Yui, whom for the moment at least is just a stranger that appears to know her daughter. Hanako has a look of suspicion on her face as she frowns at the Yakuza style car, the thought of calling the police round springs to mind but as both she and Kazumi glance to look at Tomoe, they are surprised to find Tomoe rushing over towards the vehicle like an over excited child. Both Kazumi and Hanako blink in suprise as they watch the dark blue haired female rush upto the Yakuza style car, Tomoe's ponytail and large well endowned cleavage seems to sway and move elegantly as she rushes up in a running pace before quickly stopping infront of Yui, whom herself is surprised at Tomoe's act, but ofcourse... just like Kazumi, Yui has seen the look in Tomoe's eyes many times over like in many other girls and women she has seen in her life.

"Some friends of yours Kazumi?" - Hanako asks in a friendly questioning tone, not taking her eyes off Tomoe or the strange black haired woman with a hair in a bun.

"No I've never met that woman before but I don't think its anything to worry about, she and Tomoe seem to know each other" - Kazumi replies in a calm but clearly concerned tone as the thought of her daughter fraternising with strangers springs to mind.

"Looks very suspicious if you ask me, don't tell me Tomoe is getting herself involved with the Yakuza" - Hanako states as if its a matter of fact, earning herself an angered frown from Kazumi whom seems to have an inquisitive bitch glare able to freeze napalm. Hanauko sweat drops at earning the bitch glare and feels a chill run up her spine as Kazumi's bitch glare seems to go straight through her, as a ressult, Hanako's response is a nervous titter and quick mentioning of some very well chosen words that indicate the fact that she regrets mentioning Tomoe and the Yakuza together - "Heh, Heh... yeah... as if!".

"Hey... wait a minute, that must be that Yui that Tomoe must have been telling me about" - Kazumi suddenly yelps, the feeling of joy filling her chest as she watches both her daughter and the black haired woman exchange words in a very friendly and kind manner, not a hint of suspicious activity is in the air around the two females. A smile appears on her face as she calculates the fact that if this is Yui that she is looking at... then the one her daughter longs for is just behind. For Hanako everything is confusing as hell, the elderly woman has a raised eyebrow at first and her voice is one of inquisitive questioning as she looks at the turned head of Kazumi - "You mean that is the person that Tomoe said she was waiting for?".

"No, the person she's waiting for is a boy, as far as I'm aware, Yui is the boy's interpreter... and that means, this Kestrel boy she's been going on about has just arrived" - Kazumi replies, firstly looking Hanako in the face before turning to look at her daughter and Yui, by now the shinning black Yakuza car door is open and although she is not looking her daughter in the face, the angle that the position gives her is perfect to notice the overwhelming look of joy that her daughter has on her face, whom proceedes to lean forward inside the car as if to embrace or to take someone's hand.

"Oh, a boy is it?" - The elderly Hanako asks with a excited yet very sneaky playful look on her face, the mature female clearly happy or interested in the moment at hand.

"From what I've heard he seems very wonderful and friendly... harmless but very strong, according to Tomoe" - Kazumi explains as a matter of fact, the happy smile on her face not dropping as she looks over across her driveway, over the wall of her front garden and at the black shinning Yakuza style car which harbors what military officals would call... a V.I.P. What comes next after a few moments of silence is a look of utter surprise that causes not only Kazumi's but Hanako's eyes to widen and nearly fall out of their eye sockets as they see a cheerful and love stricken faced Tomoe lead a small figure out of the car doors, the figure has long black hair and from a distance looks like a very long haired little girl, but as Tomoe, Yui and the newly arrived Kestrel walk slowly towards both women.

As Kestrel comes into view, Kazumi's eyes widen with surprise as the timid ocean blue eyes of Kestrel make contact with those of her own. The blazing red scar under one of Kestrel's eyes is what catches Hanako's attention, but what eventualy, after scanning the Israeli youngster from head to foot with their eyes, both women are very surprised at the sight before them. Though Hanako is shocked beyond belief, the look on Kazumi's face is one of calmness and happiness as Tomoe leads the timid faced Kestrel over towards her.

The dark blue haired beauty proceedes to point at her mother, lean to the side and with a very kind and warm placing of her right hand on Kestrel's left shoulder, proceedes to speak in a very kind and soft voice - "Kestrel, this is my mother". Immediately on cue, the dark haired Yui repeats Tomoe's words in Israeli, causing Kestrel to look to his right and upwards to look Yui in the face before turning his small head to look at the face of Tomoe's mother whom appears to have drained the look of surprise of her face and has replaced it with the look of a very welcoming person. As Tomoe straightens herself up, looks down at the scar faced Kestrel and gives a gesture of the hand for the youngster to follow, the friendly looking face of Yui makes eye contact for the first time with Tomoe's mother... at last... the moment that Yui has been waiting for has arrived.

For Hanako, the mature female's brown eyes seem to be on the verge of dropping out of their sockets, her mouth is open in a somewhat shocked manner as she watches Tomoe take little Kestrel's small hand and lead him up calmly to the welcoming pressance of her mother. Kazumi proceedes to bow very kindly and in a very accepting manner, to which Kestrel responds with a curious bow of his own, the youngster clearly confused as to what this bowing is all about but non the less keeps eye contact with the kind and happy face of Kazumi. Yui is next to speak, soon getting the attention of Kazumi and walking upto the respectable Japanese mother.

"I take it your Yui?" - Kazumi asks in a very kind and friendly way taking Yui's left hand in her own and giving it a shake, before braking physical contact and exchanging bows yet again.

"Thats right, and you must be Tomoe's mother" - Yui replies in a friendly manner, to which Kazumi replies immediately with a very kind and pleasantly spoken - "Thats right, Tomoe told me that you was going to call in on us at some point".

"Yes, I must say that I'm happy to finaly meet you in person, and I do hope the trouble of having Kestrel stay with you is not causing any inconvenience" - Yui replies, the female's voice is very sincere as she mentions those last few words in her sentance, the woman clearly hopping that Kestrel's appearance and exsistance is not causing any problems or difficulties.

"Oh no, theres no trouble at all, Its just that its my first time meeting Kestrel, I've heard quite a lot about him from Tomoe" - Kazumi responds in a very friendly manner of her own, the woman at first holding up her hands to show that there is no need to worry or be afraid, after all... Kazumi DID give her blessings to the idea after being told all about the situation at hand, as a matter of fact both she and Yui had spoken to each other over the phone last night so its not as if everything has just appeared out of the blue.

As both females look each other in the face and exchange pleasant expressions, Tomoe and Kestrel ironicaly stare at the two women with plain and neutral facial expressions before turning to look each other in the face at exactaly the same time, both smile pleasantly at each other and close their eyes for a brief few seconds, clearly showing the bashfulness of the situation. In fact, as both the scar faced Kestrel and the beautiful Tomoe proceede to take each other's hands in their own... both have faint blushes under their eyes. All the while this is going on the elderly Hanako is rubbing her eyes for a brief few seconds before looking in shock and awe at the scar faced youngster that is feet away from her, her mouth is open like a gapeing fish, and in her mind only one phrase keeps repeating itself over and over - ( "A foreign boy!" ).

**\- 20 minutes later, Tomoe's front garden -**

20 minutes had passed, but as far as the group that consists of six people are concerned, those minutes have been mere seconds. In the twenty minutes that have passed the group has been joined by non other than the elderly Hanako's husband, the husband of Hanako despite the fact that he is getting on has a surprisingly good look of a young man about him, even though the husband of Hanako is in all likelyhood in his early 50's or so, it is as clear as day that the said husband of Hanako is clearly the younger member in the marriage that the pair have, which in many ways is somewhat surprising, but it can also be considered quite a good thing, after all... you can't always help whom you fall in love with... or as far as others can say... maybe Hanako's husband had the taste of being attracted to older and mature women... either way, which ever is true, it is clear as day that both are very happy in their marriage life. If one was to live on the same street as them, they would no doubtably have noticed over the years.

Now however, the black haired male whom has green eyes, a slight growing beard and has a masculine but NOT muscle like build about him. The male wears a orange T-shirt, white jeans, black shoes and has a black leather wrist watch. While the husband of Hanako had been setting up a white summer table with an umbrella, it had given Hanako a chance to change clothes from typical housewife to summer style wear, but all the same had kept her hair style just the way it was before changing clothes, after all... the woman did have to change, she had been wanting to all the morning, as the summer heat has helped the woman gather a lot of sweat and the female had no chance to change clothing last night, but anyway... the atmosphere is very pleasant as the group sit on a metalic summer chair each. Hanako and her husband sit next to each other, Kazumi - dear and fair looking mother of Tomoe and Megumi sits just next to Hanako, Yui whom remains in her own summer wear sits beside Kazumi. Kestrel and Tomoe sit directly beside each other, the scar faced Kestrel ending up being straddled by Tomoe on his right and Hanako's husband on his left.

Even though Hanako, her husband and Kazumi are strangers in the face of Kestrel, the Israeli youngster appears to be quite comfortable around the newly met trio, but maybe thats because of Yui whom had helped calm the youngster's timid nerves when he was introduced to the trio. The scar faced youngster had felt the urge to deploy Black Phoenix when Kazumi approached him recklessly but was thankfuly calmed down in the nick of time by Yui whom had informed everyone of Kestrel's recent mind turn which has badly shaken the youngster in a very horrible manner. When Tomoe was told of this the female very nearly broke down into tears, not only because of the sympathy, but also due to the fact that Kestrel was acting so very brave... the courage and bravery that the scar faced youngster shows about certain things is more than enough to move someone, just the very kind yet nerve shaken timid smile and look of friendliness in the child's eyes was enough to cause Tomoe to be moved, but thankfuly the female was able to hold in the urge to start becoming emotional.

Thankfuly, Kestrel's shaken nerves and troubled heart has managed to calm down very well in the pleasant atmosphere, and though the youngster is unable to understand the words that are being said, the scar faced Kestrel is put at even more ease upon hearing calm voices exchanging pleasant and what sounds like sensible words, the scar faced youngster notices that no matter whom he looks at, that person has a pleasant smile on their face.

"So you are this boy's interpreter?" - The husband of Hanako asks in a surprised yet pleasant tone, the black haired Japanese male having a pleasantly surprised look on his face as he looks at the cheerful and caring face of Yui.

"Thats correct, In fact I spent over five years studying the Israeli tounge and I also did a lot of studying on hebrew words and culture" - Yui replies in a kind and pleasant tone.

"Realy?... That's quite surprising.." - Hanako's husband responds, still in his usual surprised yet pleasant vocal tone, before placing a serious frown on his face showing a look of very deep suspicion and speaking the words - "But lets face it, its clear as day that a woman like you appears simply too young to be this young man's interpreter, or for that matter a person to look out for him".

Hanako's husband clearly indicating that the so called 'Young man' that he is refering to is in fact Kestrel, to whom Tomoe raises an eyebrow and looks down at with an awkward yet neutral expression on her face, soon replacing it with a very kind and pleasant look as Kestrel just happens to blink and look up in return in the midst of feeling confused as hell, which is clearly no surprise, as Kestrel just wouldn't be Kestrel if he acted differantly or had a differant demenour about him. Kazumi also shares the moment of awkwardness but also takes light of it in a very pleasant way, after all its not every day a young boy is referred to as a young man, and sure... its true, that the Japanese people have this thing about foreigners, which many claim as social retardness... so for an adult Japanese male to speak in such a respectful manner about a foreign boy whom looks frail, timid and overly anxious at times, THAT is a pure sign of respect.

However, for Yui herself, the mention of young man does not hit home, but rather the plain simple continuation of pleasant speaking hits home, due to the woman taking note of the recently made statement of how young Yui appears. Yui unfortuneatley failing to notice the hint that the Japanese male said those words with suspicion and not as an act of friendliness. As a ressult Yui's reply is one that leaves a horrible feeling of awkwardness in the air that ressults in some unfortunate angered tension to flare up from Hanako.

"Oh... nice of you to say that, quite flattering" - Yui responds in a friendly manner, a horrible sick feeling of being hit on hits home, but thats just a misunderstanding in that type of thinking, but thankfuly... Yui is able to swallow the feeling and continues in acting friendly.

"Oh, Ah... heh,heh.." - Hanako's husband responds with an awkward chuckle to boot before briefly closing his eyes, balling a hand into a fist and placing it to his mouth, letting out a cough to clear his throat at the same time. The Japanese male feels the horrible murder auras suddenly flare of his wife Hanako whom shoots a look over to the Japanese male clearly showing her feelings of dissaproval at the way her husband has just handled that moment. The woman has her eyes closed for a moment, a temper patch appears on the side of her temple and her lip which although is curled into a struggled smile, is clearly twitching with anger and irritation.

"Ah.. err... well anyway I'll get straight to the point, do you realise that this boy that you claim to work with has to share a home with strangers? You do realise that the law in this day and age does not take situations like this so warmly? I do understand the fact that you are doing your job, but the fact remains that no matter how someone may look at it, it looks like someone is looking after an illegal migrant, or worse... someone is looking out for an abducted child. Are you realy sure that having this youngster live with strangers is an acceptable arrangement? Is the law accepting of such a case like this?" - Hanako's husband explains and asks in a serious inquisitive manner.

Yui's first response to the middle aged male is one of surprise and shock, but thankfuly Yui's face of surprise turns up into one of pleasantness. Though a horrible feeling of awkward illness lingers in the woman's stomach, it is quickly swallowed as she begins to explain the reasons of why the idea is being aggreed upon. Which ofcourse comes as a big surprise for Kazumi, Hanako and her husband, and a big feeling of personal pride for Tomoe as Yui proceedes to mention the famous names of two... recently just met people.

"Well... there realy is no need to be so suspicious, the idea itself was personaly accepted by Orimura Chifuyu and her younger brother Ichika. Orimura Chifuyu herself had claimed that she herself would take full responsibility if anything negative was befall the idea, and afterall... Tomoe herself is known to have experiance in dealing with people whom suffer from PTSD, so in the end, not only does Kestrel have a place to stay and is NOT being forced to stay in an orphanage... but he also gets to stay with people whom can deal with his diagnossed condition" - Yui replies, the smile on her face does not drop for a single second, even though there is a hint of nerve in her voice as she acknowledges the frowning suspicious face from Hanako's husband, whom now has managed to pull himself out of a nasty hole of awkwardness with his wife, whom is now all charms and smiles again.

"Orimura Chifuyu!?" - Hanakyo's husband suddenly blurts out with a wide eyed expression, the Japanese male clearly surprised at hearing the name of one of the most famous women in Japan. The male turns to look his wife in the face, whom too is surprised at hearing the news. Hanako's response is one of surprise as she adds in the name of the said woman's younger brother - "And Ichika Orimura himself aswel!?".

"Ah! Long story... hee,hee" - Tomoe suddenly blurts out in a sudden yelp, clearly wanting the conversation to go beyond certain boundaries. Though the female causes everyone, - Except ofcourse for Kestrel - to leap in alarm, the playful and somewhat nervous titter that follows Tomoe's words is enough to signal to everyone that its best not to get into so much detail, as Chifuyu had explained to not only Tomoe but to Yui also to NOT speak too much of the matter of caring for young Kestrel. It can also be considered a miracle that Tomoe has reminded Yui, as the woman was on the verge of speaking to much about such things.

Coughing to clear her throat for a second with a balled hand to the mouth Yui proceedes to close the matter by speaking in a calm and pleasant manner - "Yes.. as Tomoe just said, its a very long story and Orimura Chifuyu herself did give strict instructions for neither me or Tomoe to speak too much of the matter, its not because we have anything to cover up, but rather Kestrel's exsistance is to be kept... for the moment at least... a secret, Orimura's younger brother became a big news media event and news crews and such did linger around his home causing some realy unpleasant levels of discomfort... so... because of Kestrel's condition we don't want the same thing to happen around here... never the less... we do understand the situation, but trust me when I say... everything is all under control". - Yui explains in a calm, pleasant explinatory tone.

"Okay then... well I guess thats reasonable" - Hanako's husband exclaims with plain and calm tone and expression, Yui's words clearly having sunk in to the Japanese male... in a very good way ofcourse.

"Oh I don't think there's any reason to be on such edge around these parts, its reasonably quiet around here and most people keep themselves to themselves, so if its a calm life that the young boy is wanting, he won't find any better place" - Hanako herself puts in with a very pleasant look on her face, the shade of the umbrella helps to increase the cool levels of calmness that radiate off the mature Japanese woman.

"Not only that but... it was kind of my idea for Kestrel to stay with me to start with... so... mother... if you dissaggree on what has been decided on, then it isn't Kestrel's fault" - Tomoe quickly adds to the situation, the dark blue haired female lowers her head as she speaks, yet her face is directed towards her mother as she speaks, the lowering of Tomoe's head is a clear indication that the Japanese female is sorry for any problems that this may or has caused to fall upon the shoulders of her mother. Thankfuly however, Kazumi's response is one of happiness and calmness, the woman clearly being impressed by how mature and competant her daughter is, though most parents usualy forget the fact that their children grow up, Kazumi is always able to show a side that is one of a parent being proud of how adult and caring their child can be when reaching a young adult's age.

"Oh Tomoe, you are always fretting about such trival problems, I've already told you that I'm okay with having our young guest stay with us. On the contary... I'm quite proud of you Tomoe, not only have you shown the well brought up and good person I've always intened for you to be, but also you seem have brought a deterent into our life that can keep Megumi's horseplay under control, So really for the last time... it's alright, and there's realy no trouble at all". - Kazumi replies, with a very kind motherly smile, her voice being equaly one of kindess and warmth causing Tomoe to look up with a face of relief, before looking down to look at the curious face of Kestrel whom seems to stare into space, at nothing in particular, but clearly enjoying the peace and tranquility.

Kestrel with his red facial scar blazing in the daylight, aswel as the silver Star of David pendant gleeming in the light... soon ends up being brought out of his moment of abscence when the faint vibration senses in is small hands and arms cause him to look across from him and into the eyes of Tomoe's mother, a very kind and welcoming look is upon her face as she leans forward slightly to put herself as close as she can manage to the youngster.

"Well... I suppose that this means you are a guest in our house, its very nice to meet you" - Kazumi speaks in a very kind and very loving manner. Kestrel's response is one of silence, all the ocean blue eyed youngster does is blink and tilt his head slightly to the left. Reality hits Yui in the face making her feel like a complete and utter idiot for causing the Israeli youngster to feel confused, but thankfuly the black haired Yui manages to recover the moment by immediately translating Kazumi's words in Israeli. Upon hearing and letting Yui's words filter into his small head, the Israeli youngster blinks and shifts his attention away from Yui and back to the caring eyes of Kazumi, though Kestrel remains silent, the scar faced boy does let out a very timid and soft - "Hm".

"In that case you can call me ma'am, mother... or just plain Kazumi, what ever happens to suit you" - Kazumi continues with a tone of kindess, but the response Kestrel gives when Yui translates Kazumi's words causes everyone to be filled with concern as Kestrel looks down in a glum and depressed manner. Though everyone including Kazumi is confused at first, Yui quickly understands the reason why and is able to raise Kestrel's spirits by speaking something in Israeli, causing Kestrel to look up again with a small and timid, but very grateful smile on his troubled and timid face.

"I think its best we don't ask Kestrel to call you mother Kazumi... I think theres something about the word 'mother' that Kestrel isn't really comfortable about" - Yui states in a kind and friendly voice, the woman speaks as though its a matter of fact yet her way of speaking is very kind, and very friendly.

"Ah... Oh, well you can just call me Kazumi" - Kazumi exclaims looking Kestrel in the face and lowering her head in a very kind bow like manner, clearly doing her best to show the scar faced Kestrel that there is no trouble. As Yui translates each and every word in Isreali the troubled Kestrel smiles in a timid, yet very kind way and acknowledges Kazumi's act of friendship by giving a slight friendly bow back in return, which is realy nothing but a slight lowering of the head in a slow nod. Never the less, the scar faced youngster does his best to acknowledge the kind hearted Kazumi by replying in a rough, timid, soft, yet very pleasant spoken phrase - "Th.. Thank you".

"He's a sensitive one, Tomoe I hope you're taking care of him" - Kazumi replies, clearly happy and slightly touched by how much of an effort the scar faced youngster just made to show an equal amount of friendliness to the mother of the beautiful Tomoe.

"M..Mother, please! Don't say things that may cause a misunderstanding!" - Tomoe blurts out in a very embarrassed manner, a fierce blush forms under her eyes, and around her ears as her mother turns her head to look the said female in the face, the statement spoken... though its only an innocent question, is enough to cause Tomoe to start acting like a bashful girl around her boyfriend.

"Oh theres no misunderstanding here... you two are clearly attracted to each other aren't you?" - Kazumi exclaims with a very big hint of friendliness, causing Tomoe to very nearly fall back in her garden chair, the female's heart is on turbo beat and the blush that is on her face is growing ever so fierce by the second, it obviously does not help when Hanako and her husband cast warm, tender and loving looks at each other and share a very warm smile. The statement that Hanako's husband speaks causes Tomoe to go even more red, even though the statement is not directed towards her.

"Reminds me of us, dearest".

"And we were roughly their age when we first met!" - Hanako states in a very tender and supportive tone.

"Well... Tomoe, how do you feel about all this? How do you feel about Kestrel?" - Kazumi asks in a kind and very parental manner to her daughter, whom amazingly has been able to swallow a large amount of embarrassment, but that maybe because of Hanako's statement, clearly showing that for many loving couples, age is no boundary, providing that everything stays within... reasonable limits!

"Ah... well... I err..." - Tomoe stutters, the female beginning to fidget with her fingers, looking down at the table before looking at the scar faced boy whom merely looks back with a confused and innocent expression. Even as Kestrel blinks innocently and tilts his head to the side slightly, Tomoe's heart seems to flutter all the more wildly. Tomoe presses her legs tightly together as she begins to fidget, a small smile is on her face as she begins to stutter like a love crazed schoolgirl.

Thankfuly, much to Tomoe's relief, everyone is brought out of the awkward moment or flag raising moment... *what ever you readers want to call it!* As a very familiar female voice suddenly breaks the silence, causing everyone to blink in surprise and look towards the front wall of Tomoe's front garden. There standing in her summer time clothing, the exact same clothing that she was wearing on the day she greeted Tomoe home, stands non other than the oldest of the twin blue haired beauties... Tomoe's big and equaly busty and curvy sister... Megumi.

"HEY SIS! HEY MOTHER! I'M HHOOMMEE!"

"Megumi?" - Tomoe suddenly exclaims, the female suprised by her sister's sudden and unexpected appearance, but clearly grateful and relieved about being spared from an embarrassing situation.

"Oh Megumi's home?" - Kazumi puts in clearly equaly surprised by her oldest daughter's return from the hospital.

"Oh?... So that's Tomoe's sister?" - Yui adds with a surprised yet very pleasant facial expression.

Hanako's response however is not one of pleasantry, the mature elder Japanese female frowns seriously, proceedes to pull out her chair, stand up and in a seriously offended tone proceedes to point an index finger on her left hand over to the Japanese female whom appears to smirk and hold a devious and mischeivous look on her face as she walks towards the front gates to Tomoe's home.

"OI! I want a word with you! You've ruined my flowers you have!" - Hanako exclaims in a very serious manner, the frown on her face is a clear indication that what ever it is that Megumi has done, it has really offended the elderly Japanese woman, whom appears to be the frequent target of Megumi's practacle jokes.

"Oh... you've got friends over mother, a tea party in the garden and I wasn't invited? How horrible!" - Megumi replies, the female confidently proceeding to walk through the open gates that provide entrance to the front garden of Tomoe and up towards her mother and her... shall we say... frequently targeted victim of horseplay, as a matter of fact... Megumi narrows her eyes and holds a very mischievous look on her face as she walks up towards the frowning Hanako.

"Didn't you hear what I said? You've ruined my flowers" - Hanako exclaims lowering her index finger and maintaining her serious frown towards Megumi, whom does not stop until she makes it within a few feet of the elderly woman.

"I don't know what you're talking about" - Megumi replies placing her hands on her hips and keeping a very challenging smile on her face.

"Oh I think you do!" - Hanako replies with a serious hiss, the elderly woman balling her hands into fists and trembling slightly.

Everyone's reaction is differant, Hanako's husband is blinking nervously and proceedes to stand up calmly getting ready to hold his wife back incase of any trouble. Kazumi lets out a very frustraited huff and places the first and second fingers of her right hand in between her eyes, Kazumi closes her eyes as she huffs, the feeling of 'Oh boy!' washes over, but to be more exact, in a case like this, the only phrase that can best describe Kazumi's feelings towards her daughter goes along the lines of 'What am I going to do with you!'. Yui merely remains sat down with a confused face, the female turns her head to look Tomoe, Kestrel, Kazumi, Hanako and her husband faces before looking at the suspicious look of mischeif that is upon Megumi's face. As for Kestrel and Tomoe, both cast confused and curious looks at each other before exchaing some very awkward yet pleasant smiles to each other.

Anyway how one looks at it, what comes next may be considered a moment of big trouble... but what comes next my yet at the same time be considered... a moment of BIG comedy!

_**Okay then everyone, that's my next chapter for now... I will get round to the next chapter as fast as I can, the introductions are already in place and a part of the next chapter is already down but... please understand and PLEASE forgive me when I say... expect more delays in the future, reasons why are either down to private problems, to which I would appreciate some friendly words from you readers every now and then... another reason is down to medical reasons. Recently I have been working harder than usual and the start of this year has been very depressing and full of stress, as a result I have been losing sleep and that has left me on the razor's edge of depression and strain, so as a result I am following advice from councillors, doctors and such to take it easy... so I can only write bits and pieces at a time, so that's another reason for more delays, and I am on anti-depressants now so... bare with me.**_

_**Second reason is that I'm starting to involve myself with groups of other people, people that have ADHD and autism and such, so there will be days in the future when I will be out and about and have to miss days out, that in turn will help with my relief of depressment, and as a bonus will help my spirits rise and come up with new ideas to continue this fic. Don't be alarmed, this fic is not ending anytime soon, just be a bit more patient with me okay?**_

_**As always keep sending support and reviews my way, please remember that I'm wishing everyone the best and may his or her fics get all the positive reviews. Please read and review, if anyone has any messages please put them in the open reviews section, if anyone has a request please feel free to speak out, its the least I can do for all you readers that are keeping up with me.**_

_**Anyway... until the next chapter... THANKS For reading.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	82. Chapter 82: Peace?

_**Hello again readers, its been a few days I know but I'm staying true to my word, now I know everyone is eager to see more action and they WILL get it, remember Black Falcon 01 ALWAYS keeps his word. Action is due to start and it's brewing up in this new chapter but the next action sights you get to see will at the most appear in the next chapter, I know it is dissapointing for some action lovers but as I've said before, this fic is mostly peaceful, but even then action does come because I am a guy whom loves a bit of action every now and then. Well... I won't burden you all with intro's please sit back read and enjoy.**_

_**Miss my postings?**_

_**Please continue to send support my way, I need some friendly words of encouragement here and there, PLEASE remember to place all messages in the open reviews section... if you want to PM me, PLEASE make it for useful purposses only... Thankyou.**_

_**Sorry about the delays... please refer to reasons why on the closing address on the previous chapter.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 82:

**\- Classified location, Japan air self defence force center -**

Standing against the slopes of a high green ridge line on what appears to be the slopes of a mountain side, a large grey coloured sci-fi looking building stands. The building appears to be isolated from civilisation but if one was to take a second look they would be able to make out the distant image of similar looking buildings over 8 or 12 miles away, those buildings too are placed upon the slopes of what appears to be a mountainous region. The sci-fi building which appears to be on its own is surrounded by what appears to be a massive oval shaped perimitter fence similar to those that appear in the Jurassic park series, only somewhat more sci-fi looking and more advanced. Set in a diamond position, ( or formation ) around the large sci-fi looking building is set of large radio like towers, each have what appear to be search lights set atop each one.

From a birds eye view, the area appears to have minimal significance, only if one gets closer does one notice everything in full detail, like the camoflaged CWIS anti-air guns that are set upon painted concrette blocks on the ridge side, aswel as the fixed surface to air missile launchers that are also placed upon the top of the ridge. In other words, no matter how someone is to look at it, the area is clearly restricted, the fact that the ONLY road that leads up to the facility is heavily guarded by SDF troops armed with firearms, barbed wire barricades, sandbag positions that house Browning M2 50 caliber machine guns aswel as the odd APCs, gives the game away that this area is clearly off limits, ONLY authorised people have access to places like this.

\- Center interior, main control room -

Crowded in a large darkened control room, alarmingly similar to what is seen in some five star action movie, various numbers of men and women all wearing the military dress of SDF troops sit at large computer desks, some are only inches away from each other as they proceede to speak into black coloured mouth pieces on ear piece style head sets. Not a single set of eyes breaks contact with the computer monitors in the room. Set in front of the rows of eight computer sections is a large glass styled monitor, showing things in 3D holographic style. In the corner of the left and the right sides of the screen are smaller sets of icon boxes, each of which showing what appears to be data feedback in strong white letters, wave length patters can be seen in some boxes whilst others appear to be monitoring energy levels.

The main screen which is large enough to fill 2 large rooms in in one home shows the southern coastline of Japan as what would be expected on an image from space. The land is highlighted green whilst civilisation areas are highlighted blue. Flying objects which are really just sets of letters and numbers and marked by small red diamonds that can be seen slowly moving around on the holographic looking screen. However the main center of attention in the room is narrowed down to just one individual computer station on row 3, eigth seat from twelve. All individuals crowded round the computer station are male, all service men have black hair and serious expressions on their faces.

"Unidentified flying objects confirmed in sector Alpha forty five en-route to sector Gamma seven, current heading...towards the southern coastlines, estimated time of arrival over sector Gamma seven, six hundred seconds" - One of the SDF members speaks in a tone of authority. From behind the sat down SDF offical a much more senior looking member proceedes to reply in a very inquisitive yet still very serious questioning manner - "Its not just one set of contacts?".

"No sir, we've picked up seven sets of contacts, all of which are bearing down on sector Gamma seven" - Another SDF offical replies in an equal tone of authority, the said male keeps his eyes fixed on a large glowing computer monitor below him, not daring to break eye contact for a single second. In all, what appears to be eight SDF members are standing and crowded behind one single sat down SDF member and his respective computer station.

"We have a flight of seven F-15J Eagles opperating in that area, better pass this new information their way" - Another SDF offical states in a serious tone whilst turning his head to the left to look his superior in the face.

"Inform them of what is happening in that area, and tell them to find out what the hell it is that is flying out there, we have no military aircraft designated to fly in sector Gamma seven, so what ever the hell it is that is flying out there it is clearly un-authorised" - The senior looking SDF officer states with a very fierce scowl on his face before removing his hands from the shoulders of the SDF member that is sat at the desk top and walking away with a very strict and annoyed expression, his vocal tone is what one would expect of a person of his position. One of a person that is burdened with responsibilities, only people such as the almighty Orimura Chifuyu would be able to understand that type of position.

"Yes sir" - The SDF officer speaks out in a clear tone before he too breaks from the crowd gathered around the one SDF member and follows his superior, his right hand reaching for a mouth piece that is just at the side of his right cheek.

"Otokawa can you gather any further information on these contacts?" - Another SDF officer asks in a tone of authority, before narrowing his eyes at the glowing computer screen and placing his left hand on the subordinate's right shoulder.

"Negative sir, all I have so far is transponder IFF" - The subordinate member speaks out in a calm tone. Responding instantly another of the SDF officals whom is yet to speak, proceedes to speak in a strict manner - "Have these numbers looked at, there's nothing in our military with that number".

"Shinsaki have these numbers checked out, we maybe under attack from foreign aircraft!" - The last SDF officer speaks out in a tone of serious authority, straightening himself up and turning his head to look across some rows of computers and opperators. A horrible chill seems to befall nearly everyone in the room as the SDF officer speaks his words, a grave sense of illness hits everyone in the gut as those last words are filter through one ear and out of the other through every last person's ear drums in the darkened room.

**\- Nearby Ichika's neighbourhood area, 1,000ft in the air -**

Cruising at a slow if somewhat snail's pace speed for IS at over 1,000ft, a black looking IS appears to be elegantly flying in a slow by comfortable manner, large 3D holographic angel wings are spread wide open, making the pitch black IS look like some great eagle soaring over it's kingdom. Long pitch black hair blows and flutters in some beautiful manner from the pilot's head, giving away the pilot's identity to be non other than the second male pilot ever to operate an IS, the person is non other than the scar faced Israeli youngster known as Kestrel. The child's eyes are set in calm and near dreamy state as the youngster looks down calmly surveying the sights below, the child is clearly at home in the sky, the youngster's heart seems to be virtualy dead with the steady calmness and nothing but happiness and comfort fills the youngster's body from head to foot.

Flying along side the scar faced Kestrel in a V formation on both the left and the right is a flock of Mute Swans, each swan looking the same with its destinctive long white neck, white head, orange bill and destinctive white belly and the swans combined with Kestrel's IS angel wings would put any animal display team to shame, as it looks like a flight of angels is flying over head if one was on the ground. Kestrel occasionaly turns his small head to the left, and then... back to the right, before looking ahead of him and slightly down to look at the slowly passing earth below. The infant is flying at the exact same speed as the swans, at a speed of 40mph, though mute swans can fly at 50mph, just flying that little bit slower seems to help young Kestrel's mind go into a wander and makes the youngster relax, the fact is proven as Kestrel opens his arms from his sides and positions them wide in manner that would ressemble a person mimicking wings.

It can be considered a shame that Ichika is not flying beside Kestrel, if he was, he would have noticed the very happy and cheerful looking smile on young Kestrel's face, though its only a small smile, the look on the youngster's face is one that ressembles a person free as a bird. Even as the child blinks he seems to slowly go into an even deeper state of comfort and relaxation, therefore allowing the now growing amounts of people in the streets below suddenly turning their heads to look up at the youngster, Kestrel seems to be unable to notice the fingers that point to the sky in neighbourhood areas as men, women and children all seem to be taken away by the appearance of what in their opinion appears to be an angel soaring overhead with a flight of swans.

Kestrel with his long black hair fluttering and blowing elegently in the wind closes his small eyes for a few seconds before opening them again slowly, the youngster has a small and timid, yet very warm and happy smile on his face as he proceedes to bank slowly to the right, the flight of swans continue to fly in formation with the youngster. As the youngster in full IS form with 3D angel wings out and proud against the clear blue sky cruises in a carefree manner over some residential houses, groups of children that have been playing either in the streets or in their back gardens stop what they're doing and stare in amazement at the sight as they see young Kestrel cruise over head. Though Kestrel can't be seen in detail properly for the naked eye, it is however clear as day that Kestrel is not some ordinary bird, so understandably at first... many people mistake young Kestrel for some new species of bird, which perhaps is for the best... after all, Kestrel is supposed to keep a low profile, so maybe if Kestrel can get away with being mistaken for some strange new bird... that maybe a good thing.

However, as everyone whom knows Kestrel knows... when the said scar faced youngster is flying, the child dances to what ever tune his small heart is playing. This is made clear as the child proceedes to fly over residential areas wings level before flying over a large four story building and proceeding to make circle patterns, the swans maintain formation and follow, not minding the least as the youngster begins to fly back the way he came, lowing altitude and beginning to cruise over some houses. Kestrel with raises his small head and enjoys the cool wind that runs through his long black hair and soothes the summer heat of his small face, the blazing red scar under one eye seems to look somewhat relaxed but non the less maitains its typical blood red colour due to it still being fresh.

As Kestrel begins to skim over some houses, the child climbs and lowers altitude to avoid any obsticles that may stick out from the roof tops, such as old tv aerials. The white swans remain silent, but keep pace with the scar faced youngster that seems to be able to capture the heart of any wild animal. From below in the streets as Kestrel skims the houses on his way back to where ever it is he has come from, any men, women and children seem to freeze and stare in awe. A driver in a car is suddenly caught uprepared as Kestrel's angel like form soars overhead, the male driver whom appears to be in mature years stares in his rear view finding mirror beside the passenger door, before suddenly... the driver looks ahead and notices a sight that causes his eyes to widen in terror. The driver slams on the breaks of his red coloured car, the sound of screeching fills the air, but thankfuly... there is no smashing sound as the driver comes to a near miss stop just mere inches away from a blue coloured car, whos driver too was pre-occupied by the sight of Kestrel and the swans. Both drivers are male, but surprisingly... despite the fact that both are shocked and shaken, neither begin to shout or raise voices, instead both drivers open the driver doors to their cars, step out in their average civilian clothing and stare in amazement as Kestrel and the swan flight vanish over some houses.

In a back garden a pair of young children cease playing a ball game, the first child whom is a young girl and has black hair in pigtails points to the sky, the second whom is pressumably the girl's friend turns to look to the sky. Both girls whom wear average summer style clothing just look up in amazement, a moment of silence fills the air before finaly, the pigtailed girl turns to face the slidding open doors of her home and shouts in a typical young girlish voice - "Mommy... Look it!".

Almost instantly a young looking woman walks happily out of the house, a white cup is in her hand and a loving smile is on her face, this woman is clearly the mother of the young girl and with a resounding smile replies the words - "What? Whats the matter Suzu?". The little pigtailed girl says nothing, but with an innocent smile on her face points happily to the sky. The black haired mother who's hair goes down to the shoulders follows her daughter's finger. The woman's smile drops instantly, the look of happiness on her face is replaced with one of shocked surprise, the woman very nearly drops her cup as she stares up in amazement. Together, both little girls and young mother stare in awe, maintaining their gaze upwards and turning their bodies as the scar faced Kestrel soars overhead with the flight of swans, neither one of the little girls nor the mother take their eyes off Kestrel as the youngster proceedes to briefly climb and lower altitude maintaining a steady cruise skimming the roofs of houses.

After a few moments Kestrel and the swans fly over a large house with a black metal fence surrounding it, the house clearly belonging to a person whom must have a lot of money. In a large green garden which is filled with shrubs and flowers, what looks like a very successful yet kind and yet to retire man is relaxing in what appears to be a multi coloured deckchair enjoying the sun. The elderly gentleman wears a pale blue summer shirt and some gray summer shorts, a fisherman's hat is upon his head as he reads a newspaper. The man does not for one second notice Kestrel soar silently over head with the flight of white swans.

After a matter of minutes Kestrel is observed yet again, this time by a group of teenage boys, two of which have blondish hair, another has deep red and the last has light green hair, both blonde haired boys look like traditional rough high school delinquents, both of which are smiling and laughing with their friends down the side of what looks like a convieniance store, the type of place where a staff member would head out to take a break or have a cigarette. Both blonde boys wear summer time wear, T-shirts and bright coloured pants, where as the red haired male whom is sat down on a stack of empty wooden boxes wears a simple white T-shirt and has green coloured shorts, the red haired male has what appears to be a snuck out can of beer from somewhere, whilst the green haired male wears nothing but a vest and blue coloured pants, the green haired male looks quite rough, but he too appears to have that high school boy spirit.

Upon seeing Kestrel, all four teenage boys cease laughing and joking, the looks of jokefulness are replaced by looks of amazement. All four males watch in silence, merely turning their heads and watching with wide eyed expressions as Kestrel flies past with the flanking flock of wild swans. The red haired male puts a slightly impressed smile on his face before huffing in mixed emotional way and speaking the words - "What the hell!?".

"Was that one of those IS things?" - The green haired male asks with an eyebrow raised, a pair of golden ear rings gleem in the sunlight on his left ear.

"Yeah... but... didn't the person whom was flying that thing look like a boy?" - The first blonde male asks in an inqusitive manner.

"Oh c'mon! You gotta be shittin' me!" - The second blonde male replies in a jokeful tone, turning to look face his friend in the face with a look of a person about to burst out laughing.

"Hey, c'mon! I was only telling you what I saw!" - The first blonde male replies, before bareing the brunt of laughter from his friends. Even as the group of boys proceede to walk away from the scene the red haired male is heard to jokefuly say the words - "Yo bro, what ever it is your on... give me some!".

The next group of people that observe Kestrel turn out to be family members in a local park, the parents of children stop what they are doing and proceede to stare at the sky in amazement as Kestrel flies elegantly over head with the swans, even young children proceede to stop playing and point to the sky. Some of the boys and girls begin to jump up and down and cheer as they watch the long black haired youngster fly away over some trees and towards some more houses. Others begin to rush up to their mothers and fathers with overjoyed expressions on their faces, some children begin to shout in excitement and point to the spot where Kestrel vanished out of sight. The adults however take the moment obviously a lot more differantly to what their children do and proceede to look each other in the face and begin to exchange phrases that go along the lines of -

"Did you see that?"

"Did you just see what I just saw?"

"What was that?"

"That was one of those IS things?"

"Was that a girl or a boy?"

"That was beautiful... was that an angel?"

No matter what the question, the answers are just as confusing, and just as everywhere else Kestrel has flown over, nothing but a blanket of confusion and pause hangs in the air. Sure, the IS is a unit that is public knowledge, but the fact remains that even today no one gets the chance to be up close and personal to such a unit. However, for those that have seen an IS in person and have been up close to such a unit, it isn't the IS itself that surprises everyone, its the flight of swans that were following that said IS unit, so no matter how one looks at it, Kestrel's real attraction comes not from him being in IS form, but from the formation of white water birds that happily seem to follow him around, however... Kestrel has one final place to make his pressance known whilst heading back to where he took off from.

As Kestrel begins to make a long banking turn to the right, the infant proceedes to swoop over a large set of houses the youngster catches the attention of a group of young females in what looks to be a pool party, some are layed out on what appear to be coloured towels, all of which wear VERY revealing swim wear. From behind a cluster of bushes a trio of mischevious boys all gaze through a hole in the backyard fence but what comes next ressults in the busting of all 3 males. A pair of brunette females whom playfuly splash each other with water in the pool are soon taken by surprise, virtualy leaping in shock out of their white bikinis and looking at their curvy red ponytailed friend whom wears a one piece, the female seems to drop a silver platter containing sandwiches and points to the sky with a wide eyed expression, the female yelps out in a loud and shocked voice - "LOOK!"

Immediately all eight or so females in the large back yard cease what they are doing, a blue haired female with shoulder height hair and twin style Chinese buns stops applying sun tan cream to her arms and stares up, her eyes widen as does everyone elses as Kestrel swoops low over head with the swans following in formation, a light cooling breeze generated by Kestrel's IS and the swans soothes the females of the heat. Just like everyone else before them, the females stare in amazement before turning to look one another in the face. Then, just as quickly as Kestrel vanishes, the females hear the muttered sounds of male voices. A short haired purple haired female scowls before rushing over towards a metal open doored shed and grabbing a Lacross stick, before anyone knows the three dark haired peeping toms are soon rushing in panic from the scene, and though the purple haired female attempts it, the female is forced to live with dissapointment as the Lacross stick she swings misses the head of one of the peepers, but at least the female is able to shout verbal abusive words without being stopped as she climbs to the top of the wooden fence, leans forwards and proceedes to shriek in an angered manner as the males run away terrified at the thought of the possibility that the females are going to call for the police forces.

As the purple haired female turns her head to look in the direction Kestrel has gone, all she sees is the dissapearing image of Kestrel fading into the distance making a climbing bank to the right with each and every swan following in close formation. The sound of some children can be heard cheering in the distance, but as the female is too amazed to notice, those cheers go un-heard.

**\- A few minutes later -**

Standing looking up at the sky, her long dark blue ponytail just letting out a tiny flutter as a breeze pushes her hair to the right for a second, the Japanese beauty known as Tomoe stares up at the sky, her summer dress makes her look utterly stunning as does her figure. The female occasionaly proceedes to turn herself round looking around and behind her as she scans the sky for the long black haired Kestrel that only an hour or so ago took to the skies in an effort to decompress himself from any possible stress. The dark blue haired beauty despite feeling nervous at the fact that the PTSD stricken youngster has taken to the skies does not however mask the small and happy smile on her face as she scans the blue summer sky. However she is NOT the only one whom is eager to greet little Kestrel upon his return home, though she has only just come out of hospital the older sister of Tomoe... known as Megumi also scans the sky, the long dark blue hair of Megumi seems to gracefuly cascade down the female's back as she joins her sister in observing the sky for the scar faced Kestrel.

Sat down on summer chairs sits the dark haired Yui, interpreter of Kestrel, the blue haired Kazumi, mother of Tomoe and Megumi... and last but not least the ageing couple from next door to Tomoe whom seem to enjoy watching the lively spirits of both Tomoe and Megumi as they watch the skies like a pair of females from some romance movie awaiting the arrival of their beloved male. Though Kazumi raises an eyebrow at the sight of her daughters whom seem to act like schoolgirls, the woman does however have a pleasant smile on her face. Which is no surprise the woman as young as she looks, understands what its like to be in love, even if its only just a small amount of which one will deny every now and then, Kazumi has a good idea of how her daughter's feel.

Yui is equaly proud of the sight, though some would say its down to the fact that Kestrel has people he can trust or turn too, it really does not matter either way. No matter how one is too look at it, Kestrel has people that DO in fact care for him, which as far as a youngster of Kestrel's caliber is concerned, that is a good thing to have when it gets taken into account that Kestrel has had nothing but pain, misery and torture for as far as he can remember. Though Yui wishes to comment on how wonderful the sight is, the woman is unable to find her voice and instead just stare with a pleasant motherly expression, but thankfuly, Yui's attention is gained and the woman is able to find her voice again as Kazumi breaks the silence in the air.

"You seem to be happy, I take it your thinking of what I'm thinking am I right?" - Kazumi asks in a very friendly and careing way sitting up straight in a white metal framed summer chair and casting a very kind and happy look at the black haired female.

"Hm!?... Oh... Yeah I guess I am... I think" - Yui replies first in a startled manner before closing her eyes briefly and sending down a friendly smile of her own to Kazumi.

"You say that Kestrel has post traumatic stress, tell me... I know its none of our buisness... but have you considered providing the boy with medical aid? You know? People that specialise in cases like his?" - The mature woman known as Hanako asks in an inquisitive yet very friendly manner, shooting a questioning look over towards Yui, whom is at first taken by surprise by the woman's eyeing up expression, but thankfuly Yui is able to shake off the gaze and maintain a happy facial expression. Yui's response to Hanako is equaly pleasant as she proceedes to explain in a very friendly tone back to the mature female.

As Yui proceedes to exchange words with the mature Hanako, Megumi and Tomoe whom now stand side by side each other finaly get the very thing they have been so eager to see come into view, the shape of angel wings set upon a black armored IS body that gleems in the sunlight. For those whom know who it is that operates that particular IS, they too would be excited at the sight. Tomoe feels her heart leap in excited joy as non other than Kestrel makes a flypast over the tops of houses, the other thing that captures Tomoe's attention is what it is that is flying along side her beloved young friend. Megumi does not need a restraint as she looks down the street in the direction of which Kestrel is coming from, the dark blue haired beauty points with an index finger her arm is outstretched and with an excited voice shouts the words - "HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!".

Megumi proceedes to jump up and down like an excited child, ignoring the facts that her large cleevage is bouncing in a very seductive manner, but that thankfuly nobody notices, apart from Tomoe whom rolls her eyes and casts an annoyed glance towards her sister, the glance does not involve the turning of the head, but the rolling of the eyes to left is a big indication that if Megumi is going to try anything with Kestrel, she better be ready to feel pain! As Megumi ceases jumping up and down like an excited child, Tomoe looks up with a happy expression, the female lifts her right arm up and opens the fingers of her right hand as if waving to someone as Kestrel proceedes to soar over head with the flight of swans. For Yui, Kazumi, Hanako and her husband whom slowly get out of their summer chairs and stand, the sight is overwhelming, all four people have wide eyed expressions, their mouths are open slightly, litteraly placed in a state of awe as Kestrel soars away over some houses and proceedes to bank to the left with the swan flight keeping formation.

All four adults slowly step out from under the summer umbrella and into the sunlight as Kestrel proceedes to make a sharp turn to make a landing approach towards Tomoe and Megumi, the thirty seconds that pass are the most iconic for the adults, not least for Tomoe and Megumi as the scar faced Kestrel still maintaining his small smile swoops over a house and then... just like a wild bird, with his large white IS Angel wings spreading open like a landing bird, makes a gentle touch down on the pavement of the road that runs past just mere feet away from the front garden wall of Tomoe's home. Kestrel then begins to de-activate his IS, slowly vanishing in a flash of large blue glowing light the angel wings are in a closed position as the blue light engulfs every inch of Kestrel and his IS. However what makes everything all the more awe inspiring is the flight of swans that proceede to flock around the youngster like a shield of birds swirling around the youngster before taking off into the sky, scattering and going in which ever direction suits each one.

As the swans take off and vanish over houses and out of sight, the scar faced Kestrel with his innocent looking smile merely lifts his small left arm and proceedes to wave goodbye to the water birds as if saying to the animals 'We'll meet again soon'. At first, all eyes are upon the swans as they flock away, all four adults unsure of were to look before finaly turning their eyes to the ocean blue eyed Kestrel whom calmly and casualy walks up towards the front gate of Tomoe's home and proceedes to open it, a small metalic squeak fills the air as the scar faced youngster opens the gate and walks into the front garden of Tomoe's home. Tomoe and Megumi waste no time in walking up to greet the Israeli boy whom has just returned from his leisure flight. However, the approach to Kestrel is not without challenge as Tomoe and Megumi seem to rush up to Kestrel and take an arm each, with Tomoe lovingly taking Kestrel's left arm and Megumi rushing round the side of the long black haired youngster to take his right.

"My, My... looks like our little dude here is popular with the ladies eh Hanako?" - Hanako's husband playfuly exclaims with an impressed yet playful and supportive look on his face, casting down a caring look at the scar faced Kestrel and casting down a playful nod.

"Looks like it, but why do you seem so happy about it? Are you by any chance envious or jealous about young Kestrel here?" - The mature Hanako replies to her husband with a mixed looking smug expression on her face, the mature woman seemingly taking pride the possibility of playfuly insulting or embarrassing her husband.

"Oh no,no! I'm proud of the lil' guy, kind'a reminds me of me when I was his age!" - Hanako's husband replies with a look of a person whom is proud of himself or is taking pride as if its a matter of fact. The said male even goes so far as to ball his left hand and point a thumb at himself in an effort as if stating a true fact, the said male has closed eyes, yet has a very triumphant look on his face.

"Heh! You wish!" - Hanako responds shooting her husband a scoffed expression with a raised eyebrow, but non the less houses a smile on her face, ressulting in her husband laughing out loud in a jokeful manner, the male proceeding to hold his ribs and howl with laughter as if he expecting his wife to say something along those lines.

Kazumi and Yui proceede to cast very kind and parental like expressions to each other, both women clearly happy about the fact that there is a pleasant aura in the air. Yui despite not being Kestrel's biological mother is non the less very happy at the sight that Kestrel is making more and more friends by the second, and whats more important, the MORE female friends he has, and the more comfortable he is around those female friends, the more likely it is that the scar faced infant is going to overcome his PTSD, even though it wouldn't really be a definate recovery, it would be a real step in the right direction to a much needed recovery, and from Yui can see at the sight before her as Kestrel walks upto her with Tomoe and Megumi either side of him, it is a good bet that Kestrel's battle to overcome his PTSD and those god awful turns and nightmares... is looking VERY promising in terms of winning.

Kazumi is smiling herself, in one sense because she's proud of her daughters efforts for welcoming this strange foreign youngster into her familiy, and secondly... its good to see both her daughter's doing very well with each other, normaly Tomoe and Megumi are notorious rivals with each other and are often seen at each other's throat over the most ridiculous of reasons. The amount of times the blue haired Kazumi has seen her daughter's squable over small personal problems or non-important problems would cause anyone to either go wide eyed with amazement or fall asleep with throbbing ear holes. So although both females are in all likelihood rivals, maybe the scar faced Kestrel could be a VERY good peace maker to both females, after all... it saves Kazumi being caught up in Tomoe and Megumi's small hostile wars with each other.

"So... you were saying about Tomoe wanting to take Kestrel out on some day out is it?" - Yui suddenly states in a questioning yet pleasant tone, turning to look down and face the blue haired Kazumi with a friendly gaze.

"Hm? Yeah, that's right. Its an organised treasure hunt in the country by the local carers association" - Kazumi replies in a kind and friendly manner, looking the black haired Yui directly in the eyes as she speaks.

"Oh, well thats great. What day does this sponsored treasure hunt start on? I have no problem with Kestrel going but its just that, I kind'a booked him to see a psychiatrist, I know that Tomoe knows how to deal with people whom have PTSD but, according to instructions from Orimura Chifuyu, it would be considered a wise thing to do to book Kestrel into Psychotherapy" - Yui replies in a calm and peaceful tone, the woman maintaining eye contact with the slender curved and attractive mother of Tomoe and Megumi.

Upon hearing Yui's words, Kazumi's smile drops but not in a way that shows any serious concern, the look that replaces the cheerful expression on Kazumi's face is merely one of a person whom is stating a fact. The blue haired mother of both Megumi and Tomoe blinks for a few seconds before in a very careful way as if hoping not to hear bad news speaks the words - "Well... it starts in three days time, is there a problem with that?".

Yui's concerned face immediately turns into a face of pure relief, a smile forms on the woman's face. The said female even closes her eyes and lowers her head letting out a very relieved sigh, though Kazumi is not a mind reader, it does not take a rocket scientist to know that what Yui says next is NOT bad news. The black haired female straightens herself up and immediately after letting out yet a secondary sigh speaks the words - "Thats a relief, I booked Kestrel into seeing a psychiatrist the day after tomorrow".

Smiling kindly herself the mother of Tomoe and Megumi closes her eyes and lets a feeling of relief wash over her, though Kazumi has done nothing wrong nor has heard any bad news, the woman feels as though she has just dodged a bullet of VERY bad ressults. The blue haired female then turns her head to glance down at the summer table, the much needed shade given from the summer umbrella helps soothe everybody from the blazing hot summer heat. Maintaining her smile and wanting to continue a very much needed kind and casual discussion, Kazumi then turns to look the black haired Yui in the eyes, only to find the said woman is looking away from her and looking in the direction of Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi, but at least Yui looks Kazumi in the face when the said mother of Tomoe and Megumi speaks.

"So... what exactaly is going to happen when you take Kestrel to see this psychiatrist?" - Kazumi asks with a pleasant expression and vocal tone.

"Well to be honest, the main thing were going to be covering is the fact that Kestrel suffers these turns, I know its going to take a while for Kestrel to be comfortable in talking about his troubles but non the less just managing to keep him calm during certain situations would at least be a beginning. So I guess when we go, the psychiatrist is going to be asking Kestrel just a few simple questions about how he feels, what is frightening him and if he has any worries playing on his mind, it won't be a big start to getting Kestrel cured from PTSD but at least its a step in the right direction" - Yui responds in a pleasant manner of her own, looking Kazumi in the face while speaking very kindly.

"Well thats a good thing no question about it, but... won't the police be involved in these interviews?" - Kazumi asks with her smile dropping slightly and her voice being mixed with worry.

"Well... firstly, since Kestrel is sort of needed for questioning for saving Megumi.." - Yui begins with the closure of her eyes, a sweatdrop on the side of her head forming for just a few seconds, to which Kazumi responds with a sweatdrop of her own and sending up a chuckle - "..The police are'nt dealing with Kestrel's medical mental review, in any rate anything that may concerns the law is being delt with by Orimura Chifuyu and Shinonono Tabane, but just to be on the safe side to gather first class evidence that Kestrel is a vulnerable person whom has a mental diagnosis, there will be some form of offical law pressance, but they won't have any authority on the medical premisses" - The black haired female states, her tone and facial expression returning to one of peaceful happiness.

"Oh, thats great... but all the same, some form of officialness is going to be present at this mental diagnosis interview?" - Kazumi asks with a questioning tone.

"Yeah, but there won't be any need to worry, nobody can do anything to Kestrel since he's getting a medical note that protects him, and at any rate this interview isn't going to be benifical of us but also Kestrel also. Since he has PTSD, and clearly suffers from what is known as an anxiety disorder, this psychiatrist interview should help get a lot of pressure of Kestrel's chest. Which from a humanitarian point of view is the correct thing to do, to have Kestrel keep suffering constant pressure and stressful situations would be considered an act of cruelty, and as certain laws protect human rights from certain amounts of pressure, Kestrel is going to be given a much needed break for a while" - Yui replies, a gleam can be made out in one of Yui's eyes as she speaks very happily to Kazumi.

"So even that crazy bitch'es family and friends attempts to press criminal charges against Kestrel for his saving of my Megumi won't even be able to touch him?" - Kazumi asks with a slightly smug, yet very hopeful smile.

"Well... more or less yes" - Yui replies with a kind and slightly excited tone, the said mature woman whom is often seen wearing office attire seems to hold in the desperate want to jump up and down and cheer in joy, even though Yui is kind and good hearted enough to not want to wish bad on any person, the woman can't deny it, if that girl hadn't of been such a scumbag in the streets that day and tried to attack Kestrel, then she wouldn't have ended up loosing her arms. After all... that is the moral issue is it not?

"GREAT!" - Kazumi responds in an excited hiss, balling her hand into a fist and cheerfuly thumping the top of the summer table with the side of her hand. Yui's response is silence, but the woman still manages to put on a smile and at least show the fact that she supports Kazumi's enthusiasm.

"Well at least you've got something to be happy about, at least Kestrel is someone whom keeps himself out of trouble and likes to enjoy a peaceful uneventful life... which is more that can be said for those damn daughters of mine!" - Kazumi states, though Kazumi has a hint of grumble in her voice as she speaks the ending of her sentance, the woman still houses a smile on her face. The woman even goes so far as to lean back in her white summer chair, rest her elbow on the chair arm and place a hand at the side of her face as she looks over towards her daughters whom appear to be squabbling in a comedic, yet very adoreable way.

Kazumi closes her eyes to a half open state as she casts her attention on Tomoe and Megumi, whom appear to be engaging each other in a death glare stare down. Both blue haired beauties are standing either side of Kestrel, their soft and attractive bodies masked in the sweetest smelling perfume and graceful looking summer wear seem to sandwhich the scar faced Kestrel, whom as usual is completley confused as hell. The youngster remains silent and rolls his small ocean blue eyes to look up at both Tomoe and Megumi, the youngster even goes so far as to roll his eyes left to right while looking up, whenever Tomoe speaks, Kestrel rolls his eyes to look up at her, and in turn... when ever Megumi speaks, Kestrel rolls his eyes to the opposite side to look up at her, the sight looking somewhat very cute for some whom have tastes for innocent comedy moments.

Yui can only sweatdrop and cast an awkward yet sheepish grin over in the direction of the girls, the mature Hanako whom looks across at the two females whom seem to be hating each other in the summer heat remains silent, she too has a sweatdrop. Who could have thought it... the offer of a photograph would lead to this!?

Hanako's husband seems to be on the razor's edge of cowering at the feet of Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi, whom as adult like as they try to make themselves look, just continue to make themselves look like schoolgirls fighting over a crush! Hanako's husband is shaking violently upon feeling the firey hate aura of flames burning around both females as they glare each other down in an angered death stare competition, both keep eye contact, not blinking for a single second. The camera that is an old Nikon is on the ground at the feet of Hanako's husband whom is cowering in terror at the sight of the sisters looking as if they are seconds apart from ripping each other to pieces in a bloody catfight.

Thankfuly... the only form of action both sisters proceede to take against each other, is simply grabbing a hold of one of Kestrel's arms and proceeding to pull Kestrel to either side, with Megumi giving Kestrel a tug towards her only for a few seconds later for Tomoe to do the same.

Megumi is the first to speak, the blue haired beauty despite holding a confident expression on her face speaks in a very calm, yet challenging manner to her younger sister - "Look Tomo', you get to be with Kestrel nearly all day, everyday, Give me some quality time with him!".

"All day, everyday? I haven't seen Kestrel in a week! Besides Kestrel needs to rest and recover, not start goofing around!" - Tomoe replies in a tone of irritation, the dark blue ponytailed beauty shooting her sister back a nasty death glare.

"Goofing around?, All I want is a photo of me and Kes! If it wasn't for him I'd be dead by now!" - Megumi replies, a serious hint of pride is heard in her words as she speaks to Tomoe.

"Yes.. And what was THAT caused by? Goofing around!, I'm trying to get Kestrel to recover from a trauma, NOT cause him to suffer more!" - Tomoe responds to her older sister with a serious tone of aggression.

"Are you saying that I'm a bad influence on my dearest hero that saved my ass!?" - Megumi snaps back at Tomoe her eyes maintaining costant gazing contact with that of Tomoe.

"Well it don't take a rocket scientist to work that one out!" - Tomoe replies in a near angered yell, once again pulling Kestrel towards her almost as quickly as Megumi does when ever she herself speaks.

"Look Tomo' just stay out of my way, I'm getting the first photo with Kes here even if it kills me!" - Megumi hisses in a type of cattish manner, the female though maintaining her somewhat very creepy smile, holds a look of irritated anger on her face, a temper patch is on her temple as she continues to exchange words with her younger sister... once again pulling Kestrel to her once again, causing Kestrel to blink in a form of alarmed confusion, the youngster somehow able to remain oblivious to the two radiant females that are clearly fighting over him.

"Stay out of YOUR way!? Look who's talking! Your the one who's getting the way, if your wanting just to get one measly photograph with Kes, then it can clearly wait, you can get a picture with him ANYTIME!" - Tomoe replies, putting a lot of emphissis on the words 'YOUR' and 'ANYTIME', the female speaks in a deep low voice, speaking as clearly as she can to get her message to be acknowledged by her older sister.

"Get bent Tomo'! This is the first day I get to greet my Kestrel upon his return to Japan!" - Megumi snaps back leaning forward and putting her face and forehead very close to that of her sister's.

"YOUR Kestrel!? For god's sake Megu' he's not the damn moon! You don't honestly think you can just put a flag on him and claim him as your own!? If you do then clearly you aren't the person to trust around Kestrel!" - Tomoe barks back, leaning forward herself ressulting in her forehead making contact with Megumi's, Tomoe and Megumi's eyes seem to be ablaze with anger, both females clearly not about to back down from the fight at hand, one can consider it a miracle that both girls don't have claws or hackles, because if they had the situation by now would have caused both girls to draw their claws and the hackles on both females would be raised to maximum levels. Even so, even though they aren't hissing at each other like wild cats, the looks on both female's faces, aswel as the look of fury on both of the female's faces is a clear indication to each other... that neither is backing down!

"Anyway you can go to hell Megu'... look at him, Kestrel's exhausted... worn out, for the love of god, don't you think you wanting to mess around with him would be considered an act of cruelty!? If you want a picture with him then you can get one tomorrow, but for today, we LET Kestrel rest!" - Tomoe firmly states in an angered manner, once again putting a lot of emphissis on the word 'Let' in an act of getting her point across that although Kestrel may be a younster with energy, he isn't a machine that can be turned on and off just when someone feels like it.

"Oh yeah!? And were are you going to let Kestrel rest? Let me guess, with you in your bed am I right!?" - Megumi puts in a challenging look, her tone matching a person that is highly offended and quick to remind everyone of the other person's faults.

"Now you KNOW that Kestrel only does that because of his PTSD! Secondly, when I say rest, I mean by letting Kes sit down, lay down, take it easy... I'm trying to get Kestrel to relax and see for himself that not everyone in this world is a scumbag. For once try to think of what is best for Kestrel and NOT yourself!" - Tomoe hisses back at Megumi, the female's eye twitches as she speaks. From a third person's point of view it can't be denied that both Tomoe and her older sister are quite the stunning beauties, but non the less look VERY formidable when angered, if there was such a thing as real life fire auras, then both females would be ablaze with blue flames.

"Oh yeah? I've seen how well you put the effort into showing Kestrel about people you can trust, before Kestrel saved my ass I saw how close you were to Kes here, you two looked very cosy during night time!" - Megumi suddenly adds with a challenging smirk, taking pride at making her younger sister blush a fierce red colour and suddenly yelp in a bashful manner, however Tomoe is far from finished in this fight.

"Well at least I'm making an effort and keeping Kestrel happy and calm, which is more that can be said for you who does nothing but builds her own selfish happiness on someone else's missery and even worse, skanks herself up when ever theres the smell of money and fame!"

"Say... that... again!" - Megumi hisses in a VERY low and scary manner, the female looks as if she is about to violently murder someone, her left eye twitches as she looks into the challenging eyes of her younger sister.

"Oh, touched a nerve have I!? Looks like a base woman has emotions after all!" - Tomoe replies in a violent and aggressive manner, the female herself hisses as she and Megumi place their foreheads against each other and proceede to push and shove each other by the head like two mad bulls.

"Is there anything else you want to say sister!?" - Megumi responds in a sinister tone.

"Oh would you like to hear more sister!?" - Tomoe replies, virtualy spitting at the word 'Sister'. Tomoe's tone is also one that matches the malice and rage that Megumi has herself.

"Go on! Say it, BITCH!" - Megumi snaps out in anger, the blue haired female yelling out in rage, but what starts now is a fight that now gets to what can only be described as 'Childish' name calling, with both Tomoe and Megumi exchanging insults on a violent level. It can be considered a miracle that little Kestrel does not suffer a turn or is alarmed by the sight as both females continue to tug and pull him from side to side like a pair of little girls in a play ground. Tomoe is the next to shout an insult, which in turn is responded to by her older sister in an equaly furious tone, matching that of Tomoe.

**\- "COW!"**

**\- "SLAG!"**

**\- "WHORE!"**

**\- "VIRGIN!"**

**\- "PROSTITUTE!"**

**\- "HAG!"**

**\- "SAGGING TITS!"**

**\- "NO PUBES!"**

Wide eyed and stunned at the sight of her daughters behaving in such a manner, the woman places her face in the palms of her hands, the woman unable to believe that her daughters are behaving in such a manner and causing a scene as the shouting of both females are causing passer bys to stop and stare in shock, in just a matter of minutes four males in summer clothing have stopped and are stareing in shock, joining them are seven females, and one mother walking hand in hand with her little girl, soon moving away, the black haired Japanese mother placing her hands over her child's ears to prevent her child's ears from being assualted by foul and vulgar words on such a level.

Pulling the very front of her hair and slightly scratching the front of her face, balling her open fingered hands into fists, Kazumi is soon ablaze with anger, the mother of both females has just about had enough of her daughters and is about to scream and charge at her daughters. However, the woman is able to hold in the urge to bellow at her daughters, which is mostly due to three reasons, reason one... Kestrel is in the middle of everything, and the first thing to do is get him out of the way, after all... Kestrel is innocent in this case and by the looks on the youngster's face, is VERY un-comfortable with Tomoe and Megumi pulling him from side to side by the arms as if he's some large stuffed bear. Second reason, shouting won't solve everything, at least not immediately... a raised voice for scolding can be used later, and thirdly... there's neighbours and a visitor, to start getting involved would cause even greater problems, and theres far too many people looking at the sight playing before them.

Kazumi simply slams her hands down on the white summer table, stands up rapidly, looks with fury at her squabling daughters and proceedes to march up to her daughters. Yui despite not wanting to get involved rushes forward, the woman intending to get up to Kestrel and get him away from trouble. As the two women proceede to march upto Kestrel and the two females, up in the air, a flight of four F-15J Eagle fighter jets fly at over 14,000ft in a finger four formation.

**\- Lead F-15J fighter pilot -**

Wearing a dark green flight suit, black gloves and wearing a pitch black fighter pilot helmet that gleems in the sunlight, the lead fighter pilot of the F-15J Eagles reaches forward, his left hand leaving the throttle controls of the F-15 and reaching forward towards the instrument panel. A pair of green flashing radar screen like panels flash showing VERY sophisticated data readout. The lead fighter pilot of the F-15s turns to look at his right, to look at the two F-15s flying on his right wing, then... turning his head to the left to look at the one F-15 flying on his right.

The lead pilot then looks ahead of him and at his fighter jet's hud, the Japanese male proceedes to speak in a very clear voice, while looking down to confirm other flying objects on his jet's radar.

"Kazama Airbase HQ, this is Arrow head flight off southern Gamma point X one seven, three B, confirmed unidentified flying objects on bearing one five six".

As the lead fighter pilot proceedes to speak through his oxygen mask, transmitting his words and data back to his home airbase, from a third person's point of view from outside. The four F-15J Eagles would clearly put any flying display team to shame, all of the F-15J Eagles are clearly armed and dangerous. Each fighter has a single underwing fuel tank under each wing hardpoint, which that in turn houses 2 Aim 9 sidewinder missiles each. As for the bellies of the fighter jets, each are armed with 4 white Aim 7 Sparrow missiles, two on each side. One thing is for sure, if someone loves generation 4 fighter jets, then clearly the U.S have built a fighter jet that deserves REAL praise, even if the F-15 is not the world's number one fighter, it is still very impressive, but in the next few minutes... the power of the F-15 may yet be put to the test!

Okay readers, I hope this chapter is good enough for everyone. Now I realise that I am falling behind with chapter postage times but please remember my reasons for being delayed and bare with me if you can. I know I'm not the best fanfic writter on earth, and my first fic is a bit grim in some areas but take it easy on me, I just like to add some drama here and there. Please remember that if anyone has any requests, or wants to send over a commented review, just place them in the open review box please.

_**Okay... well... I don't have much to say on closing address, which I guess is something because I sometimes have some words to say, but what the heck! I guess it don't matter that much!**_

_**Right, so... until the next chapter, I wish all you readers well, may your own fics get all positive reviews and likes.**_

_**Stay cool**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	83. Chapter 83: A new threat

_**Okay readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned after a break, right... lets just cut to the chase in this chapter, I know you readers like the occasional chapter with action, so I guess its time to give you readers a break from peace all the time. Its time to get this fic going in the direction I intend it to go, not just with drama but with some turn and burn combat. Also I want to say thanks to everyone that has stuck around and been patient with me, its nice to know that there are some VERY good hearted and considerate people that can understand me and bear with me, due to my conditions... those that you will be all too aware off if you've stuck around, and read the explinations on the previous chapters intros and closings, so thanks again... 1000 times over!**_

_**Please remember to place all reviews and comments in the open reviews section... thankyou.**_

_**Okay... please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 83:

Rushing up to her daughters, a serious expression on her face, hips swaying and cleavage swinging, the blue haired mother of Tomoe and Megumi, known as Kazumi rushes forward. The female clearly in a hurry to cease her daughters whom have proceeded to be at each other's throats, though its not the first time that Kazumi has had to break up a very turbulent confrontation between Tomoe and Megumi, this time is differant... for once, Kazumi has never seen either of her daughters become so hostile towards each other in just a matter of seconds. Her breath seems to have stopped as she scrambles from a white summer chair and dashes towards her daughters whom seem to be frightening the scar faced Kestrel whom at this vital moment manages to somehow break free of both Tomoe and Megumi's clutches and dash forward towards the summer dressed Yui whom rushes forward herself, not to intervine in the fighting between Tomoe and Megumi, but to see if the scar faced Kestrel is in good condition.

Though young Kestrel is confused as hell towards both Tomoe and Megumi's behavior, the Israeli youngster is clearly wise enough not to stick around and find out why, the infant does not look up at the two squabbling blue haired beauties but rather dashes forwards towards Yui with a plain and emotionless expression, young Kestrel appears to be un-effected by the raised voices of Tomoe and Megumi, but never the less has gotten the message that there is trouble in the air. For Yui it is a big moment of relief as the scar faced infant rushes up to her and comes to a stop and takes an innocent glance over his right shoulder, blinking and letting out a confused "Hm?". Yui wastes no time in checking the youngster for any signs of damage, which obviously comes as a real big moment of confusion for Kestrel as he watches the black haired Yui carefuly look at his small arms.

The infant then goes so far as to lean backwards slowly and blink in a minor moment of surpise as Yui places the plam of her left hand on his small forehead. Kestrel remains silent and regains a feeling of confusion as Yui drops her head and lets out a large sigh of relief, the woman is down on bending knee as if to propose marriage to someone, which for Kestrel only adds ever more confusion in some innocent way. Kestrel's star of David pendant gleams with elegance in the summer sunlight, the shine slightly catches Yui in the eyes as the woman stands straight again, looks down to look Kestrel in the eyes and sends him a very kind and pleasant smile with half closed eyes. Kestrel's response is only to be expected, just a simple innocent tilt of the head to the left and a few eye blinks, remaining silent as the grave.

However, almost as quickly as Yui and Kestrel share this moment of relief, ( or in Kestrel's case - Confusion ), the pair are instantly brought out of their moment of peace as an angered shriek shatters the air, the voice belongs to Megumi, the combination of the volume of Megumi's voice aswel as the sudden burst out is enough to cause Yui to go wide eyed and very nearly leap in alarm the woman casts a shocked expression over towards the Shizuka sisters while Kestrel simply turns himself round to the right to look at the two dark blue haired females whom by now are joined by Kazumi. Luckily Kestrel doesn't understand much Japanese, so for once its a blessing that Kestrel can't make much of a conversation with Ichika or the others, because the words that Megumi shrieks are hardly appropriate to be used in front of a youngster, especially one with PTSD.

**"F**K OFF TOMO'!"**

**"GO TO HELL MEGU!"** \- The dark blue ponytailed beautiful Tomoe barks back, a fierce blood thirsty expression is on her face, and on the side of her temple a very big temper patch, Megumi has one of her own and by now both females are realy after each other's blood, looking each other fiercely in the eyes and not blinking for a single second.

**"TOMOE! MEGUMI! THAT'S ENOUGH!"** \- Kazumi suddenly yells out in a demanding manner, the mother of both females clearly fed up with seeing her daughters behaving in such a childish and VERY deploreable manner. It had only taken a matter of seconds for Kazumi to get between her daughter's but even then, the pressance of the mother had NOT quelled the hostility that both females have aimed to each other. Ever since both Tomoe and Megumi were just mere grade school girls, and even before that, Kazumi has seen her daughters exchange blows, insults and squabbles many times over, but this is one is on a scale never seen before... but then again... both girls are in their teens, so maybe its no surprise that the hostility that both females are showing to each other is on a scale not yet experianced.

Kestrel despite only being confused at the sight allows Yui to pull him back slowly, and before the youngster knows it, the infant is being held in Yui's arms and is at the very door step of the Shizuka household. Yui and Kestrel blink in silence and watch with wide open eyes as Kazumi gets between her daughters and joins in the heated argument, the mother of both girls however barks and shouts in fury, shouting orders for both females to cease their confrontation and seperate themselves from each other. The mature aged Hanako and her husband take no chances in the pressance of the aggressive females and together, hand in hand, rush away as if their lives depended on it, directly out of the Shizuka household front yard and back to the safety of their own front yard. However, neither leave the scene, in a comedy like manner, both Hanako and her husband get on their knees and peer over the wall that seperates their own home from that of the neighbouring Shizukas.

Hanako and her husband ignore the slight discomfort of the rough ground and cast wide eyed looks at each other, matched with the slow turning of the heads as if to say 'WTF, or OMG', before looking directly at the furious looking sisters now being seperated by their mother. The blue haired Kazumi has a furious expression on her face as she places a hand each on the foreheads of her daughters, forcing both apart. Kazumi had intended to use a more peaceful approach, but as she approached both females, both Tomoe and Megumi had begun to get VERY cattish with each other but thankfuly the only blows exchanged against each other was a bitch slap in the face, both Tomoe and Megumi were just about to exchange proper blows with each other, it was only by the actions of Kazumi that both females have not ripped each other apart, but non the less have a red stinging right cheek each.

**"THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"** \- Kazumi roars in an angered manner, causing both females to break eye contact with each other to look and see the furious expression of their mother, but in just a matter of seconds the pair are exchanging angered snarls at each other, clearly a demanded command is not enough to defuse this sibling confrontation.

"Don't blame me mother blame this bitch!" - Megumi exclaims in a flat and annoyed tone, the female not dropping her bloodthirsty expression for a single second.

"That's rich coming from that black hearted piss drinker!" - Tomoe replies in her own angered and flat tone, the dark blue ponytailed female maintaining eye contact with her older sister. Neither Tomoe or Megumi seem to feel the press of the palms of their mother's hands against their foreheads, the woman clearly summoning all her strength to ensure her daughters do not get the slightest inch closer towards each other.

"Why hell are you two acting like this!?" - Kazumi asks in a loud demanding manner, rolling her eyes left to right in order to make sure her daughters are not going to behave any more badly that what they are doing.

"BECAUSE SHE RUINS EVERYTHING!" - Megumi yells in a very angered manner, keeping her fierce gaze upon her younger sister ignoreing the pressure forced onto her forehead by her mother's hand.

"RUINS EVERYTHING MY ASS! IT'S THE OPPOSITE WAY ROUND!" - Tomoe yells back, her forehead pressing hard against flat palm of her mother's hand, and just like Megumi, holds a very fierce expression on her face.

From where they are standing, the black haired Yui slowly moves her left hand towards the gold shinning door handle of the Shizuka household. The sound of the door being opened is hardly even heard as Yui is moving and proceeding to reach her goal of shelter as stealthy as possible, even as the woman slowly opens the front door of Tomoe's home the black haired female wraps her right arm around Kestrel's chest, the long smooth hair of the youngster seems to shine a little as Yui reaches and places her arm as carefuly yet as firmly as she can. Kestrel's response is a simple confused blink of the eyes as Yui pulls the youngster back towards her, the black haired Yui speaks one phrase in Isreali to the scar faced infant. Yui's voice despite speaking in a foreign tounge is clearly full of nerve and fear, the look on her face is a clear indication of how scared the woman is feeling at the moment.

Kestrel with his blood red face scar blazing in the daylight says nothing, but rather allows Yui to pull him indoors, the Isreali boy though being confused does not think or say any differant to the phrase Yui has just spoken to him, which goes along the lines of 'We better stay out of this'. By now neighbours Hanako and her husband have also begun to sneak away, clearly the pair had noticed Yui and Kestrel slipping away to safety and must of thought that it was a good idea to do, however... what comes next... causes everyone to forget the current sitaution and become bewildered with something else as the roaring buzzing sound of a piston driven engine causes everyone to cease what they are doing and stare up.

The sunlight that shines on everyone is briefly taken away for a second or so as a shadow engulfs the front yard of the Shizuka household. Tomoe, Megumi and mother Kazumi are taken by surprise as a gust of wind roars from above causing all three of the female's hair to flutter and blow violently, dust seems to be kicked off the ground as an aircraft like object skims directly over the roof of the Shizuka house. Kestrel and Yui immediately snap their attention off Tomoe, Megumi and Kazumi and look upwards and notice a large airplane shape coloured gray fly over head. Hanako and her husband stare up stunned as a Reaper Drone flies low over head. The drone immediately pulls up and makes a climbing turn to the right into the clear blue summer sky, everyone's eyes are fixed upon the object.

Kazumi drops her hands, the woman's arms fall and hit the woman's side as she slowly turns round, blinking with a very serious expression on her face with a slightly open mouth. Megumi and Tomoe ease up and stare in bewilderment, the fight that both females were so keen to have seems to have vanished in an instant. Even as four more Reaper drones proceede to make fly overs to the left and making a climbing turns of their own. The air is filled with nothing but the loud buzzing sounds of the propeller engines that power the drones and keep them airbourne. Though everyone is too stunned to notice it, underneath and each and everysingle wing of the drones are hard points, each of which has a bomb that one would expect to be seen fitted on a strike fighter or bomber aircraft. Set directly at the side of the bombs is a multi-rail pylon holding what appear to be Hellfire missiles. On the hardpoint closest to the edges of the wings is a single type of missile, the classic sidewinder.

Several drones at 300 or so feet make a flyby over some houses, each flying in close formation and giving the group on the ground a very good view of the fly passing drones. Everyone is silent as the grave, Tomoe and Megumi despite having stinging red cheeks due to slapping each other seem to forget the pain and slight marks on the sides of their faces and look up and look around upwards. Kazumi herself looks around, the woman looks up over her shoulder and notices a number of drones flying in a diamond shape formation, as the woman turns her head to look ahead of her and looks to left in the distance the woman can see more drones flying in close formation with each other.

Kestrel and Yui blink and remain silent, slowly and timidly opening the ajar door and walking out of the Shizuka home. The air is filled with the sounds of airplane engines, each of which buzzing and filling the air with what some would describe as 'The sound of a bee swarm'. Hanako and her husband point and look at each other with confused yet stunned expressions before pointing to the sky and muttering words with each other. However, what happens next is what one would describe as 'Too bizarre for words', as a pair of Reaper drones flying single file make a fly past to the right in the distance, banking to the right. A flash that ressembles someone striking a light on a lighter to light a cigarette appears from under the left wing of the drone. A burst of white flame appears from under the drone's wing as a Hellfire missile is fired, long grey'ish white smoke trails the launched missile, the faint but clear sound of a 'whooshing' sound is heard, everyone blinks and as if on cue... slowly turn their heads to the right to follow the flying missile as it vanishes over some homes of residential areas. A second or so later a large orange ball of flame errupts from the distance, blackish smoke quickly follows and the sight of debris from either a roof or a house wall is seen tossed into the air.

Everyone is silent, stunned... unable to breathe or think, even as the sound of a loud boom fills the air, followed by the shock wave that shakes the ground hits. Hanako and her husband cast shocked and terrified stares at each other. The bewildered sound of the woman's voice is heard whisper to her husband - "Did I just imagine that?".

The earth seems to rumble for a second as the sound of another explosion fills the air, five seconds later, another explosion fills the air shaking the earth. The only moment that everyone scatters and runs back indoors is when a single solitary Reaper drone flies over head at over 100ft, everyone's eyes track the lone drone as it flys over head, though Kestrel is the smallest in the group, the youngster's ocean blue eyes do not fail him as the infant notices what appears to be a pea drop from under the left wing of the drone, amazingly, it is only Kestrel whom watches the object fall from under the drone's wings as everyone turns to look left right and center, everyone looking skyward. Many would say that people would have scattered and ran for cover by now, but those people have to put themselves in this situation. Only then would they understand why everyone is fixed where they stand, as far as everyone is concerned, everything is too bizarre to be real... it looks like something out of a game or movie. Everything is happening that fast and all at once that time to react is respectively slower than what is expected,  
but what Kestrel sees is about to get everyone's reactions to suddenly spark to life.

Kestrel watches in silence as the object dropped by the drone silently falls towards the earth, the sounds of drone engines fill the youngster's ears for a moment as the scar faced child watches the object become the size of a pea, falling down at an angle and heading directly for some nearby homes just across the road, but thankfuly the area which the object is going to land is a bit behind the houses that are across the road. Kestrel does not blink for a second as the pea object becomes the size of a grape, then slowly becoming the size of a baseball, then the size of a grapefruit, then as the object becomes the size of water mellon, the scar faced youngster slowly but surely begins to back away slowly towards the open door of the Shizuka household.

Kestrel is first to react correctly and turns and dashes into the Shizuka household, the infant's eyes are wide with nerve, Yui is just about to turn and follow when the inevitable happens. The object Kestrel was watching lands just behind the houses across the road, instantly... a massive earth shattering explosion knocks everyone off their feet, Tomoe, Kazumi and Megumi are blown off their feet and back towards their home as red hot blast of wind seems to lift and throw them backwards. A large glowing yellow and orange ball of flame erupts from across the road debris and shrapnel the fills the sky, the sounds of wood splintering and glass shattering fills the air, Hanako and her husband stumble backwards, their eyes widen for a second... Hanako's husband wastes no time and shouts in very loud and demanding manner - "GET INSIDE!".

Megumi, Tomoe and Kazumi scramble to their feet, the sounds of screaming and shouting fills the air, but not one comes from the three females, Yui wastes no time and shouts out as loud as her lungs will allow - "GET IN! HURRY!". Which is considered just in the nick of time as red hot shards of wood, glass, rock and metal begin to rain down upon the Shizuka household, black smoke and erupting coloumns of flame engulf the houses across the road as smoking shards of rubble rain down upon Tomoe, Kazumi and Megumi as they rush into the house.

The four females only just manage to get indoors just in time as a single drone armed with underwing 6 barrelled miniguns begins to strafe the street, some white hot stray tracer rounds wiz, ring and crack past shattering the white table and chairs just mere feet away from the front door, the front gates to the Shizuka household are knocked and shot to pieces as subsonic tracer bullets smash and tear up the front garden lawn of Tomoe's home, ripped up grass and flower heads fly and soar as the drone strafes the street. The humming buzz of the minigun's fills the air as the drone flies over head, its guns till blazing. As the front door to the Shizuka house slams shut, down the street a group of parked cars explode and erupt in a mass of burning, twisted explosive debris causing the earth to shake, the strafeing drone pulls up and makes a climbing turn to the left as if nothing has happened.

**\- Elsewhere, hotel resort area -**

In the outskirts of the nearby city, nobody is yet aware that the coastline of Japan is under attack by drones of unknown nationality, though the sounds of a clear but growing humming buzz fills the air, the only sounds of trouble so far is the odd sounds of a distant boom or crack, the drone attack has been underway for just a few seconds and nobody is aware that trouble is in the air... that is... not yet at least. Even in the most active parts of the city outskirts, nobody is yet aware that there is an attack underway. The fact being proven as the famous British blonde Cecilia Alcott lays down on a seat like bed beside a large swimming pool of the hotel that she is staying at with her French friend Charlotte. The British blonde is dressed in nothing but a white skimpy bikini, a white summer hat and black sun glasses, the female is laying down relaxing with her eyes closed enjoying the morning sunlight, set beside the female is a small mahognay painted table with a round silver platter set upon it. A tall glass with a large orange drink with ice fills the glass, a straw is in the orange liquid filled glass that rests beside the floating ice.

Across from Cecilia on her right, the French blonde Charlotte is laying, she too is scantaly dressed, just like Cecilia not afraid to show her slender body with nothing but a bikini. The French blonde is wearing a blue bikini and just like Cecilia has a set of sun glasses on her face. Unlike Cecilia, Charlotte is resting under the shade of a summer umbrella, and has a half filled glass beside her, Charlotte too is layed back enjoying the summer weather, which in a time like this is what many people should do. Other people that are at the swimming pool are either staff in red uniform walking around tending to other males and females whom are either layed out sun bathing or requesting a drink having just completed swimming.

From where she is laying, Cecilia can make out the sounds of the drone engines, but as this is the summer time, the British blonde... like so many other's mistakes the humming drone of insects that are able to resist the blazing heat of summer time sun. The blonde female does not get the hint of suspicion as a single Reaper drone armed with Hellfire missiles and Paveway bombs flies low over head. The brief buzzing drone of the un-manned aircraft's engine sounds like nothing but an insect flying past, causing Cecilia to twitch. The blonde female briefly lifts herself up for a few seconds and turns her head to the left, then to the right. The female then lets out a frustraited huff and proceedes to lay back, the female only speaks one phrase showing the obliviousness to the situation - "Why did the good lord even want to create those damn annoying insects?".

Charlotte's response is a groaning and irritated - "Ugh" -, the French blonde only moves her body for a second, only to adjust her comfort, then gets back to her much needed rest and relaxation.

**\- In the city -**

With an open invitation to head towards the city areas, numbers of Reaper drones then fly at a height of 500 to 100ft, only the drones armed with light armament like underwing Miniguns and silver tank like objects under the wings set on twin rails set on a pylon each, fly at low level. The entire air is filled with nothing but the sounds of buzzing engine sounds, many drones fly in groups of 10 flying in V formations. Others fly in a group of 20 set in large bird flock like formations, the low level flying drones fly in finger four formation, and yet... even now... nobody is aware that anything suspicious is taking place, despite that in the distance back the way the drones came, bursts of yellow flame and coloumns of smoke are rising from already burning residential areas, that are being ravaged by drone attack.

In just a matter of minutes after reaching the outskirts of the city, the first drones that enter the city itself are low level flying drones armed with miniguns and silver underwing tank like objects. The first person to look to the sky with a stunned frown on the face is a young Japanese male in a blue T-shirt, black pants and white cap set back to front. The Japanese male looks to the sky with a confused and stunned frown on his face. Just a few minutes later nearly everyone else in the main street to the city is looking up, even the drivers in the many differant coloured cars that have stopped slowly seem to get out of their vehicles to look to the sky, as low level drones swoop and buzz over head, weaving, twisting and turning to avoid tall buildings while higher flying drones begin to make fly overs.

People in shops, cafes, resturants all seem to be drawn to the sound of the drones, many proceede to leave their meals and slowly walk out into the streets, others in buildings tending to office work seem to stop what they are doing as groups of Reaper drones armed with bombs and missiles make fly pasts, some of which are very close to large skyscraper windows, and still... nobody is prepared for what is about to hit them... just like with Kestrel and his group, everything is so bizarre and sureal, and the reaction of what to do is slow to sink in.

Finaly, after five minutes of flying through the city streets, and flying overhead... the drones finaly make their move... one Reaper drone in a flight of 5 heading towards a large tower with an anime style billboard atop of it, enters it's sights. Flying directly towards the tower, the drone proceedes to launch a Hellfire missile, a resounding clicking noise is heard as the missile detatches itself from the pylon rails and proceedes to ignite. The Hellfire then proceedes to roar away from the drone leaving a long white smoke trail behind, the flame that helps propel the missile appears to be a bright white, miniature burning star. The Hellfire roars past a row of tower blocks, and above some smaller buildings, heading directly towards the top of the tower, heading straight for the billboard.

Working on the top of the tower beside the billboard, are a pair of workmen. Each of which are dressed in dark blue overhaul like clothing, both have a pair of thick, hard leather boots and have white workman's helmets upon their heads. The two men are unable to find their ability to move and are not given any time to react, both appear to be frozen on the spot as they follow the incoming Hellfire missile, slowly turning their heads and stareing in either fatal confusion or disbelief. In just a matter of seconds noticing the missile, its all over as the missile smashes into the billboard exploding in a massive flash of yellow and orange, both men let out a short lived scream as they are killed out right in the explosion that engulfs them both.

Almost at the same time as the drone attacks the tower billboard, in the streets, 3 low level flying drones proceede to strafe the city streets, the humming buzz of minigun fire fills the air along side the drone of the unmanned aircraft engines. Brass bullet cases rain and scatter from the drones like a form of rain as white hot tracer rounds are fired into the helpless crowds in the streets. Many people are ripped to pieces as bullets blow away and rip apart anyone standing in the streets, most bullets fired puncher and go through lines of parked cars, immediately causing explosions, balls of fire and earth shaking explosions, any cars in motion never see the drones coming as many are struck by direct bullet hits, some drivers are killed in their seats as bullets pierce both car, bus and taxi-cab roofs and body work.

Blood and body parts fill the air along side ripped up pieces of concrette, car body metal, flame and smoke that are caused by the explosions, now... many people begin to scream, others that are in the streets become immediately panicked like wild mice trying to escape some combine harvester mowing down their nests in some corn field. The sounds of car alarms blast and wail mixed in with the sounds of gunfire, explosions, people screaming and the humming drone of drone engines.

**\- Elsewhere again, at a nearby shrine -**

The dark haired childhood friend of Ichika known as Houki rushes from away from the large safe looking shelter of her shrine. The shrine maiden dressed Houki despite being a distance away from the city has been perfectly able to hear the distant sounds of trouble. The Japanese female having heard the first cracks of explosions had immediatley thrown down her broom and rushed towards the entrance to her shrine. From where she stands, the Japanese female has a good view of the city, her face at first was one of concern and seriousness... but what she sees now causes her eyes to widen ever so slightly. The female seems to be unable to breathe as she looks out towards the city areas that stand out beside the grand blue looking ocean that is virtualy at the city's feets.

Flashes of yellow are beginning to erupt from the city, Houki seems frozen on the spot as she notices flying objects buzzing around the tallest buildings of the city areas, the female then turns her head to look to her left and notices a sight that makes her blood very nearly freeze up. The neighbourhood area that Ichika lives in appears to be under attack, fires and smoke are already rising. Then as if on cue, Houki then lifts her head to look up as a flight of low flying Reaper drones fly low over her head, the wind generated by the low flying drones causes the girl's hair to blow and flutter, the rustling sounds of the tree tops are drowned out by the sounds of the drones as they fly over head, Houki... just like everyone else appears to be stunned by the sight, however... unlike everyone else so far, the dark haired female is able to find her voice and speak in a bewildered tone - "What... the heck?!".

**\- Back with Charlotte and Cecilia -**

Its amazing to know that just a few seconds ago Cecilia and Charlotte were layed out enjoying the morning light which is turning to mid-day light. Cecilia having mistaken the buzz of a low flying drone's engine for that of some buzzy insect, but by now, both females are now on their feet, but are not rushing around like some people whom can be heard screaming, shouting and rushing around in panic. Cecilia and Charlotte stand very close together, both blonde females looking up at the blue summer sky, Charlotte turns herself and her head around from left to right in order to gain sense of what ever the hell it is that is going on. Cecilia simply remains standing in one spot just feet away from the large square shaped swimming pool, that by now is occupied by five people, and they are about as confused as Cecilia and Charlotte.

Most of the people that were sunbathing or taking it easy have gone inside leaving only the staff standing idle looking at the sky as four drones proceede to make a fly by to the left, all of which are fully armed and yet to participate in the drone attack. Charlotte blinks in silence as she watches a ten more drones make a fly past to the right dissapearing over the roof of the hotel which stands out proud in its grey colour against the blue summer sky, the buzzing sound of drone engines fills both Charlotte and Cecilia's ears causing both girls to remain silent and continue looking around at the sky with confused expressions.

Charlotte gazes, the female is bewildered... Charlotte has seen drones before, in this day and age they are the primary weapons of war but as far as she was concerned only America, Britain, France and Germany operated drones, so that is one form of confusion that rushes through Charlotte's head... the second is the plain and simple question that anyone would ask in a moment like this 'What the hell's going on here?!'. Charlotte remains in a silent state, blinking and turning herself around to watch as more and more drones appear from out of the distance, many are coming in groups of ten to twenty, some are flying diamond formation, others fly in V formation while others fly in flock patterns. Even the roar of explosions, the shaking of the earth does not seem to cause Charlotte to react like a person defending her country, not that Japan is the girl's country, but non the less... reaction is slow to sink in. Everything is happening so fast that the female can't understand what is happening... but with every rumble and tremor of the earth matched with the adding of explosion sounds and people screaming, reality is sinking in very effectively.

It is at this very moment, just a matter of seconds from turning to look into the distance to look in the direction of Ichika's home that the familiar sounding voice of Cecilia Alcot seems to pierce the French blonde's ear drums, Charlotte virtualy leaps out of her flesh, the female's eyes widen slightly and the female only gets the chance to turn to the left when the voice of Cecilia breaks the French blonde out of her trance - "LOOK OUT!" - Charlotte, has no time to react as a blue glowing flash suddenly erupts from out of nowhere. Less than a second later the bikini dressed female is suddenly glomped by Cecilia in full deployed IS. Cecilia having fully deployed Blue Tears dashes towards her blonde friend and proceedes to act as a shield as a Reaper drone suddenly dives down in a swoop as if from nowhere, lethal underwing miniguns flashing.

White hot tracer rounds land and slam into the red tiled floor of the swimming pool area causing a massive break, crack and shattering sound, aswel as causing small to moderate sized shrapnel to fly and scatter through the area. Some tracer rounds land into the swimming pool as the drone strafes the hotel, Cecilia despite being a straight girl holds her blonde friend as deeply as she can into her as the tracer rounds fired from the drone slams into Cecilia's IS shield. The ressult makes it look like rain fast down pouring rain drops landing on the flat water surface of a lake. Though Cecilia's IS suffers no shield depleation and no damage from the strafeing drone, the sound alone is frightening enough as some rounds ricochet, crack and ring past the two females, white hot bullets shatter and break apart as they hit the shield of Cecilia's IS. In just a matter of seconds people are screaming in panic as some scramble as best they can from the swimming pool, trying not to slip and fall on the tiles, or be caught by any bullets that land in the pool water causing erupting spurts of water to raise over 12ft high, even the bottom of the large swimming pool is cracked as some bullets strike the bottom.

Cecilia remains tightly clung to her stunned blonde friend until the drone flies past over head ceasing its gunfire, however, the drone is not yet finished attacking as it proceedes to drop 2 silver coloured tank objects, one from under each wing. The 2 silver tanks land on a set of buildings just 1 building considered next door to the right of the hotel that Charlotte and Cecilia are staying at. Both Cecilia and Charlotte are just in time to see some REAL large fireball bursts of flame, a resounding 'Fwoosh' as flames engulf and spread over the buildings, the sounds of people screaming in agony fill the air. The Drone itself flies further on and drops 2 more silver tanks on what appears to be a main street, once again large flames erupt and spread, moving in a fast rushing forward motion. 5 cars parked in a line explode just a matter of seconds after being engulfed in red hot orange flames. From where they are standing Cecilia and Charlotte wince, close their eyes and briefly proceede to take a few steeps back as seering heat slams into their faces, though the girls are not exactaly near the roaring the fires, they are still close enough to feel the scorching heat that gives the impression to have the ability to shrivel skin.

As Cecilia places an IS arm round Charlotte and drags her back away from the heat waves, the females are just in time to see five more large explosions as a pair of drones drop 2 bombs each on some untouched buildings, thick concrette, glass shards and fragment shrapnel of god knows what erupts like a gigantic firework, causing the earth to shake and cause some uniformed staff members guiding some people to safety to fall flat on their face.

"You stupid cross dressing frog! We're being bombed! We're being bombed!" - Cecilia shouts in a very frustraited manner, the British blonde just confirming what Charlotte was trying to doubt just a few seconds ago. The British blonde looks Charlotte in the eyes as she shouts her in insult, as well as the obvious matter of fact. Charlotte blinks and remains silent before joining Cecilia in observing more drones flying high directly over head. Charlotte then feels her heart freeze up, her blood seems to go cold as a chill goes up her spine, the female then looks back in the direction of Ichika's home. Though Charlotte can't actualy see the house of the Japanese boy that she loves so very dearly, the distant black smoke is a perfect indication that this so called 'Bombing' that Cecilia has just mentioned has more than one certain target in its sights, even though she has no idea of what the targets of these drones could possibaly be. One word escapes the lips of the French blonde as she stares in horror at a sight that she would never want to see in a time like this - "No".

"What are you talking about? For god's sake work with me you spineless snail eating skank! That stuff droped was napalm!" - Cecilia barks in a mixed nervous and stressed tone. Charlotte does not reply to Cecilia's words, but instead points with an index finger at the sight of distant fire and smoke, Cecilia with a rapid beating heart and scowling expression follows the hand and finger of Charlotte. What she sees seems to make her gut churn with shock and awe, almost as quickly as she notices the drones flying in the area, the thick black smoke and numberous spreading fires, does Cecilia share the same shocked expression as that of Charlotte's.

Both females remain silent, wide eyed, slightly open mouthed and proceede to slowly turn thier heads to look at each other, as their eyes meet, both females seem to be unable to hear or feel the earth shaking tremors of explosions, along with the sounds of destruction, drone engines and minigun fire. Both females speak at exactaly the same time, the eyes of both females meet each other as they speak only one word, or there case name - "ICHIKA!". In just a matter of seconds, both females, still scantaly dressed in nothing but their bikinis suddenly take to the skies, blasting away off the ground in fully deployed IS as fast as they can manage.

**\- Elsewhere in the city -**

Rushing out of a resturant, the pig tailed brunette known as Rin appears to be stunned. The female just like everyone else has been caught completely by surprise just like everyone else the shock of what is happening is causing reality to hit at a very slow pace, from were Rin has been these past few minutes of the city coming under attack, the female has had a relatively quiet experiance with the drones. All that Rin has noticed so far is the sounds of drones, though Rin would deny it, the female had been busy helping herself to some light treats and was just finishing off when the tremors of explosions caused the female to become suspicious of the commotion that was happening at the other side of the city area, yet... even then... like everyone else, Rin has been doubtful, but Rin's silent ordeal is about to come to an end as she looks up and to her amazement notices wave after wave of Reaper drones flying high over head. Just beside her is a male police officer, whom as far as anyone is concerned is powerless in a case like this, instead the officer of the law mutters only one phrase in a mixed whisper of shock and horror - "Jesus christ!".

From up above at over 800ft, the camera lens on the lead Reaper drone rotates to the left, then slightly back to the right, focusing on the ground. Slowly but surely, the drone makes its way towards a large rail marshaling yard. Through its camera one would notice numbers of other drones flying along or in numberous directions left, right and center a few small flashes on the ground, either in the city streets or on the roofs of buildings mark the spot where bombs have hit there mark. The drone camera then proceedes to let out a series of 'Whirrs' as it zooms in on an idle stationed frieght train in the large marshaling yard. On the ground however its a differant story as a railroad worker, dressed in the typical usual rail workers uniform, the male worker works calmly along side a long and heavy hauled looking frieght train, each car reveals itself to be a large black tank car, shinning in the sunlight. The sounds of drones don't seem to cause the slightest bit of suspicion in the rail worker as he walks calmly along side the idle line of frieght oil or fuel cars. The fact of flammable material is revealed as a large fire symbol with an exclimation point can be seen on both ends of each black tank car.

The targeting camera and system on the Reaper drone begins to procees what appears to be data as a bomb targeting system finds its mark directly over one of the black oil/fuel cars. Then, just as a bunch of small numbers reach zero, the drone makes its move as a single Paveway bomb detaches itself from under the drone's right wing, the resounding click gives it away that the drone has just released a bomb. The Paveway bomb silently soars down at a level angle for just a matter of seconds before the nose of the bomb begins to dip down, time seems to slow down as the bomb begins to dive down at a diving angle, slowly spinning round as it dives in a nose dive straight towards the ground. From 800ft, it takes just a few seconds for the bomb to reach the ground. From below, the railworker looks up, the said male ONLY now releasing that something very wrong is going on, but what he sees next is the last sight he ever sees, the brown eyes of the Japanese male notice a falling object directly above him. The Japanese male's eyes widen and his mouth opens in shock... within a matter of seconds its all over as the bomb lands and explodes vaporising the poor soul instantly. The explosion causes a chain reaction that ignites the oil/fuel cars of the idle standing train.

From underground a pipeline carrying diesel fuel fractures and that too ignites causing flames to rush in both directions underground, pipeline becomes the perfect channel and blood vessel for flames to pass through, eventualy hitting a nearby refueling stop for trains and sending the entire station, aswel as 5 large frieght trains up in an earth shattering and catastrophic explosion that would strike shock, awe and terror into any god fearing man, woman or child.

The explosion that follows is the largest non-nuclear blast ever seen on Japanese home soil as the colossal fire ball explosion soars over 2,000ft high, the sound of the explosion is so powerful that the roar can be heard for over 20 miles, people in the city including Rin end up holding their ears for the second time this month. Windows in buildings shatter for 2 miles, the entire rail yard seems to vanish in a coloumn of fire, smoke and utter carnage, shards of ripped apart trails and rail stock become deadly rain that scatters and falls upon some parts of the city, the blast cloud itself is noticed for 10 miles alone. Rin and numbers of terrified people immediately begin to scatter and rush away in which ever direction, hopeing to escape the destruction that is befalling their home city.

Rin thankfuly with stinging eardrums and a rapid beating heart has it easy as she fully deploys ShenLong and without a moments hesitation takes to the sky, the female weves and twists to avoid incoming Reaper drones flying at her. Rin's ears seem to sting but at least, unlike last time her ears were subject to loud noise, she is not suffering tittinus. It is Rin's intention to turn and battle the drones, but as she reaches 2,000ft, the Chinese female is stunned by the size of the just recent explosion, for at least five minutes of standing idle in the sky utterly speachless at the size of the explosion cloud which is virtualy up in the girl's face, reality returns to hit Rin in the face.

The Chinese female proceedes to look around, accessing the situation, and to her horror notices the sky filled to near brim with Reaper drones, and with destruction only just starting its a good bet that more is about to come. The Chinese brunette frowns as she looks around, a blue flash appears in both Rin's right and left IS hands as the female deploys Souten Gagetsu. In just a matter of seconds the Chinese brunette is on the attack, the female twists herself to the left to pick out which drones to attack first, the female's hair flutters in the roaring wind as the said female dashes forward to battle. As Rin approaches a V formation of drones, the female feels a terrible feeling of sickness hit her in the gut, a sudden question hits her in the face like a woman giving her a bitch slap.

As far as the said girl is concerned, she is the only one bringing some fight back to the attacking drones, although the IS is a far more powerful machine than that of any convential weapon of war, Rin knows just as much as any body else, that no matter how strong she or her purple and black ShenLong is... she can NOT deal all the attacking drones at once, at the rate Rin can battle, by the time she is finished, the ressult will be... herself to exhausted to fight on... or the city will be bombed to hell beyond recognition and worse... nearly all inhabitants will be killed, even now... god knows how many people are hurt as a ressult of the attacking drones.

Rin is all too aware of the facts as she dives down tightly gripping her twin Souten Gagetsu, her mind is a rush with questions as she flies through a rising coloumn of black smoke and with with a single swing sythes through a single pair of drones as if she is cutting open a slice of butter. The twin Reaper drones are diced directly at the wing tips joing the body fuselage, the two drones spark slightly before lossing their noses completely, both drones immediately begin to go into a dive falling from the sky, breaking apart as they tumble down. Rin then proceedes to make a climbing turn to the left towards a diamond formation of Reaper drones, the female then proceedes to twist and turn, snapping her direction multipule times over in the sky as she slashes and dices open drone after drone, within a matter of seconds the Chinesse brunette has ripped open 10 drones. Four of which explode in mid air like some great set of fireworks and falling in black shard debris and wreckage, the other six drones simply break apart and fall like the first 2 drones claimed by Rin.

The Chinese brunette then twists herself and makes a high bank to the right heading over to take out 20 more or so drones, as the Chinese female heads over to engage her targets, down below the situation is going from bad to worse as police officers find it nearly impossible to gain control of any panicking crowds. Some male officers stand with their hands raised, shouting at the top of their lungs in a desperate attempt to gain control of the situation, only to turn their own tails and run also as a drone appears strafeing the streets, ripping apart men, women and children in a lethal wave of gunfire. Blood, brains and guts paint people's faces red as they continue to scream and rush around, anyone seriously injured is left where they stand, the fact being proven as some men and women are seen laying either on their backs or on their front's in the streets or in the middle of the street with limbs or worse... with painful shrapnel wounds.

From in the towers themselves, people in office dress attire leave their work stations, one such office man whom appears middle aged with glasses, a bald patch on the top of his head leaves his large silver coloured desk and stares in horror out of the large wide windows. From behind him a bunch of colleagues rush up, all of which are male, and in dead silence... all seven or so men in one of the top office floors stare out in awe as the sight of Reaper drones flash past windows, some at very close quarters. A matter of seconds later every last person from floor sixty to the very top scream and leap back in alarm as the cleaming tower just across from them is subject to very horrific and violent explosions, all of which caused by Hellfire missiles that smash into the walls ressulting in massive fire balls, flying debris, concrette and glass shards that rain down in a deadly rain. One phrase escapes the middle aged man that is clearly the boss of the building, the man's voice is a mix of terror and fear, his eyes are wide and the colour has drained from his face - "My god!"

Less than a second after speaking that phrase the worst happens as Reaper drone proceedes to strafe the buildings, glass shatters as tracers pierce the windows, rip open the office desks in the room, break and rip apart computer monitiors and shreading office chairs apart causing foam to become mixed with wood and metal shards that fly across the floors. The office men are cut to pieces as tracers rip open bodies causing blood, organs and fragmented bones to fly and spread throughout the room, the boss like male himself is struck directly in the head, utterly blowing off the unfortunate man's head.

3 more Reaper drones join in the attack, flying single file one behind the other, strafeing the sides of the tower, killing and wounding vast numbers of stunned people and causing panic and alarm to spread. As the 3 drones fly past the tower all 3 proceede to attack another tower, not yet touched by the attack, there all 3 drones proceede to fire Hellfire missiles at the walls of the tower, ressulting in yet even more violent explosions to occur. One can only guess how many people are killed out right in the swooping attack, even as the drones pull up and make right climbing turns the carnage only keeps getting more and more intense. The fact being proven as low level flying drones weve and turn past towers and medium sized buildings in order to get clear runs to drop their napalm on the city streets.

**\- 20 miles away over the ocean, 3,000ft in the air -**

Observing the violence from a safe distance away and hovering idle in the air is an unknown IS. The IS is coloured blood red with black orange patterns, the IS has a body appearance very similar to that of Ichika's IS. From round the back of the unknown IS are metalic wing like objects that are completley blood red and have an appearance nearly identical to those of Houki's IS. The biggest standing out feature on this IS is large black holographic bat wings set in an open position, as for the IS pilot, the appearance of a young female between 15 to 19 can be made out. The female's face has a very fair complexion, and has a mild facial appearance that ressembles that of Kestrel. The female has catish green eyes, black hair that only just goes down past the female's shoulder blades, red highlights can be seen in the female's hair. The unknown female has blackish red lipstick on her lips and has pitch black eyebrows. The female is dressed in a black Ninja style IS flight suit, on the right arm sleeve of the flight suit an emblem is emblazoned, the emblem is a pure white skull with a rattlesnake coiling round.

The body of this unknown female is attractive but not bouncy like that of Tomoe, Megumi and Kazumi, a sinister looking smirk is upon the female's face as she narrows her eyes and enjoys the sight of the destruction and death that is engulfing the home land of Ichika Orimura. For at least ten minutes the unknown female observes the carnage in the distance, though exact personality and indentity of this female is unknown, the look in her eyes, the look on her face aswel as the aura that radiates off the female has something very abnormal and sinister about her. Even as the female slowly lifts her right IS arm up, hand balled into a fist, the female moves her IS arm to a position that looks as if she is looking at the time on a wrist watch. A unknown female voice is heard echo in the stillness of the air, the voice is electronic as if someone is speaking through a phone or through a microphone to a speaker. The words spoken in Israeli...

( In Israeli ) - "Has the package been delivered?".

The dark and sinister appearing female maintains her suspicious looking smile, her eyes remain narrowed, the female does not take her eyes off what is happening on the horizon. The female speaks in a very low and pleasant tone as if trying to hold in excitement or arousal, her words are also spoken in Israeli - "Affirmative... Phase one is underway".

"Has the viper appeared from out of the nest?"

"Negative"

"Very well... stay in the area, upon confirming the pressance of the runt, proceede to phase two".

The black haired female, her green eyes seeming to hold vast un-controllable levels of excitement and dark intentions grins ever so slightly, flashing what appears to be very sharp fangs for a second as she VERY slowly licks her lips, as she finishes licking her lips the female pauses and through a pearly white toothy smile breathes very heavily, her eyes seemingly going a little wider as she maintains a very suspicious and sinister look. The female responds to the electronic woman's voice as she lowers her arm slowly from her face, the female replies only one phrase in Israeli - "Love to!"

With that... the wind seems to blow just a slightly bit harder making the female look ever more sinister.

_**Right that's Chapter 83, been a long wait I know, but I can honestly say that I'm glad to get this chapter out of the way because from here on out, for you guys whom want justice for Kestrel, that path is about to start, but to keep the future from being spoilt, I'm not going to give any details away.. because a lot of action, horror and drama is going to take place from here on out. I will also try to put a bit more comedy in some of the peaceful chapters, I don't know if it works or not, but at least give me credit for trying. As I've said before... if anyone has any requests or reviews, place them in the open reviews section.**_

_**Sorry for the delays, but they can't be helped... I won't burden everyone with explanations, other than please look at the intros and closing addresses on the previous chapters. Medical reasons mostly, but then again... I guess that I've not done very bad, I managed to get past my 50th chapter so that was something, I do intend to get past 100, but obviously can't tell you when that happens. **_

_**The next chapter will have more action in, and lets see how our heroes take on this new almighty challenge.**_

_**Okay then... until the next chapter, remember I'm wishing everyone the best. Stay cool everyone!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	84. Chapter 84: Attack of the drones

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned again with a brand new chapter, for those that have stuck around for so long thanks a lot. For those that have only just begun to like this fic then thanks a little bit more. Right, thankfuly I don't have much to say for introductions in this chapter which I guess is a big relief as I know some readers just want to read fics and be done with it, and I understand and respect that... but for you crazy fanfic loving monkeys that acknowledge and respect any explinations and such, thanks a bunch! As explained many times over, when you finish reading this chapter, please place all reviews and requests in the open reviews section, refrain if you can from sending me PM's unless you really must... thankyou.**_

_**OH YEAH! Also remembered, Its been over a year exactaly when I first started this fic, I don't know if that is something to celebrate or not, I'll need opinions of you crazy fanfic loving monkeys XD!**_

_**Okay... with out further ado, please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 84:

**\- Town/City area -**

Car alarms, cracking sounds of automatic gunfire, roars of explosions mixed in with the shrieks and wails of men, women and children fill the air. The worst sound of all for those that are already aware of what is happening is the sounds of piston driven airplane engines. Filling the air is rising coloumns of thick black smoke, the smell of burning wood, wires, rubber, metal and cooking flesh fills the air, the smell is god awful, sickening and able to cause anyone's throat to singe with pain from the intense heat that fills the air caused by raging and intense fires that are spreading and growing larger by the second. The taste of burning human flesh, wires, rubber tires, wood and god knows what would make anyone feel sick, it is all mixed in with the smell of death and destruction that finds its way into each and every last person's nose, for those panic stricken souls that run and dash around panic and terror stricken, the taste is all the more worse.

Flying as if from nowhere all by itself is a grey coloured Reaper drone, the un-manned aircraft looking sinister as hell as it swoops past some un-touched sky scrappers and dives towards an already slightly burning city street, cars, buses, taxi cabs and trucks are destroyed on the ground, fires and smoke are belching in a constant manner. From underneath the drone's wings are sets of gleaming silver Napalm tanks and dark black'ish green coloured Hellfire missiles. The Reaper drone proceedes to fly through a rising tower of black smoke and heads towards a street of moderate sized buildings, some appear to be appartments where as others appear to be nothing but shopping malls. The Reaper drone appears to be completley lifeless as it proceedes to fire a Hellfire missile and begins to pull up to the left in a banking turn.

The sound of the ignited missile aswel as the roar that fills the air is drowned out by the sounds of chaos that fills the city areas, the Hellfire is nothing differant from the many others that fly and spread across the city like areas causing ever more death and destruction that is spreading on a rapant basis as more fireballs erupt from the city streets, aswel as the large bursts of explosions that erupt from the sides of the largest buildings. The deployed Hellfire screams downwards at an angle people on the ground that notice the missile merely shout, scream, point and attempt to get to cover as the missile soars through the air until finaly finding its mark against the third floor of a seven story building, the explosion caused causes brick, mortar glass windows and what ever was inside rooms destroyed to fly and scatter, from inside the building five people are fataly struck down by shrapnel as the explosion rips open the walls in the hallway, wooden shards, sharp tile fragments land into the backs of the running people. Some resounding "Gacks!" and screams of pain fill the hallway mixed in with the sounds of destruction before all struck down people end up collapsing to the ground in a horrible bloody mess.

As people become caught in the stricken buildings, every now and then 2 Reaper drones fly roughly side by side each other down burning or intact city streets, the buzzing sounds of the drone engines fill the air a lot louder than what it does down on the ground, which for any one whom is at a high level would find somewhat comfortable, the sounds of screaming and shrieking would be less haunting than what it is on the ground. On a what appears to be a nearby TV station, 8 or so young men, all of which dressed in civilian clothing rush out of a white door and onto the roof, all of which are white in the face, one such young man whom wears black jeans and a white T-shirt is litteraly shaking in terror and looks to be on the edge of wetting himself as he looks up to see 2 Reaper drones make a low flyby over head. In another part of the city which is for the moment untouched, some men and women in what appears to be a love hotel open the windows on the verandas, some men are bare chested with nothing but white towels covering their lower half, others however have white vests and appear to have been in the middle of undressing as they rush to look outside and see what is happening.

Women are umongst the stunned people that step onto balconys and verandas, some are dressed only in their underwear, some scimpy and illicit where as others are mearly plain... never less the sight that greets both male and female is the same for each and every last person as Reaper drones flyby and overhead, all of which are armed with bombs, missiles and napalm.

**\- Briefly with Kestrel -**

Knelt down with her right side pressed firmly against the wall, the dark blue haired Megumi pears out of the living room window which has somehow been able to survive the shock waves of bombs and explosions. The female despite being stunned at what has just happened has been able to scramble from hidding in the backroom and been able to ignore her mother's orders to "Get back here". The blue haired beauty is able to make out the shapes and detail of the un-manned attacking aircraft that for the moment are merely swooping and making fly pasts from outside. In a stunned yet amazed vocal tone, the voluptious curved Megumi speaks out one phrase - "They look like drones".

"MEGUMI GET BACK IN HERE NOW!" - The blue haired female known as Kazumi shouts out in a near desperate tone, the earth is shaking with every sounding explosion. The female stands roughly in front of Tomoe whom has her back pressed against the wall of her home, even though standing with a back pressed against the wall is not the best thing to do in such a nasty air attack, what more can the said female do? Nobody knows what to do, Yui is in the back room and is sat underneath a large black dinning room table, the woman clutches tightly onto a confused yet equaly stunned Kestrel.

The scar faced Kestrel himself blinks and turns his head and looks around, rolling his small head from left to right with every sounding rumble and roar of an explosion. The scar faced youngster despite not understanding what is going on is clearly NOT stupid in knowing that there is danger outside. The black haired Yui clutches Kestrel in a type of bear hug from behind, the woman clearly concerned for the youngster's safety and as spooky as it seems, looks as if she is prepared to give her life to protect that of young Kestrel's.

"HOLLY GOD!" - Megumi suddenly shrieks, scrambling to her feet and rushing away from the front room window, the blue female is wide eyed as she dashes towards her mother whom has her hands balled into fists from the frustraition of the situation. Just as Megumi reaches the back room the female makes a running jump forwards, then proceeding to make a forward roll eventualy coming to a stop underneath the black metalic dinning room table which has a thick glass coloured top. The black haired Yui with eyes full of fear looks the startled Megumi in the eyes as the said female looks up to meet the gaze of Yui. Though Yui does not intend to ask the question that is best not to ask in a time like this, what Yui experiances is one of those horrible moments which one would describe as 'Just slipped out'. - "What? What just happened?".

"Those CR-Aaazy un-manned bastards just dropped napalm on some houses just behind the ones across the street!" - Megumi replies, the female putting a lot of emphissis on the begining of the description 'Crazy', along with being unable to hold in the foul language of her words, but then again.. it is natural to speak in a vulgar manner when faced with such a heavy moment of stress and pressure. Suddenly everyone, including the scar faced Kestrel looks up, even though they can't see what is happening outside everyone can clearly hear the buzzing sounds of drone engines as some un-seen drones can be heard flying closely overhead. The living room curtains are drawn as usual, so that restricts anyone from seeing what is going on, not that watching would help, as the situation is simply getting more and more heavy by the minute.

Though it does not help, Tomoe whom is looking up at the ceiling with a nervous expression states the one phrase that everyone in the city by now must be thinking - "Where the heck is the Self Defence forces?". The sounds of explosions and rumbling motion of the earth continues as Tomoe speaks, everything not bolted or fixed down to a certain spot is shaking and falling out of place, even the large TV screen is close to falling off its table stand area.

**\- Briefly back in the city -**

Flying directly side by side each other yet another pair of Reaper drones begin their attack, this time both drones roll inverted and pull down making dives on two large sky scrappers, a pair of bombs are underneath each drone's wings as they proceede to dive on their targets, after a matter of seconds, both drones release their bombs and pull up, banking away to get to safety. The very top roofs of the 2 sky scrappers seem to explode in a large ball of fire, flame and black smoke, metal and glass becomes mixed in with the debris that scatters and rains down over the city streets.

From below in the streets in yet another part of the city people are running and scrambling over cratered roads and torn open vehicles, order has completley gone, leaving all in the city at the merciless mercy of the attacking drones. The situation gets all the more worse as the top of a sky scrapper is blown completley off the main tower body, leaving a mass of twelve floors on a blown off mass of steel, concrette and glass to come soaring down to the ground, many people that are in the path of the tumbling wreckage are killed instantly as black, greyish white dust and smoke fills the air - the horror of the sight can only best be described on what happened that god awful day on September 11 2001.

Elsewere in the city, a group of five drones drop their bombs over some narrow streets causing buildings to vanish in a cloud of black, gray and brown'ish smoke, the worst sight is the vast numbers of poor unfortunate civilians that are killed out right in the carnage, god can only guess how many more are killed as the five drones bank away from the destruction and death that they have just created, and still... the attack seems nowhere near over as a trio of low flying drones drop their napalm on a city street, destroying vast numbers of police and SAT team vehicles, civilians of both genders and all ages seem to be catapulted into the air by the power of the explosions caused, others that are not so lucky are engulfed in the flames spread by the burning napalm, SAT team members seem to dance in the fires, before throwing themselves to the ground screaming in agony, litteraly being burned alive by the naplam that is claiming so many innocent lives.

Even as five more drones proceede to make pulling up climbs to the right from flying low level, the explosions caused by dropped napalm set off a chain reaction of explosions that engulf 4 large blocks, the earth shakes violently, the heat is so intense that anyone even 200ft away from the blast suffers 3rd degree burns, buildings themselves collapse and crumble after being blown apart and away by the blasts causing ever more black smoke to rise from the ground. As some drones proceede to circle the outskirts of the city just above the coastline, the entire city area seems to have become a massive lit up, firey target, the black smoke is gaining height every single second, and still... more and more drones are on the approach to the city area.

**\- Briefly with Laura Bodewig -**

As amazing as it sounds, the silver haired eye patched German female known as Laura is the ONLY one at this point un-aware of the fact that an attack is underway. Only now while the earth shakes and the sounds of explosions continue does the eye patched female stir and wake herself up from what appears to be a white sofa bed. The eye patched female despite hearing of her 'so called' wife's return to Japan had clearly been in no hurry meet Ichika in person, but instead had the unfortunate ability to get herself... what some people would say as "Plastered" last night. Normaly in Japan its impossible for minors to get their hands on alcohol, but due to Clarissa Harfouch's insistance aswel as her ability to provide... had managed to persuade the silver haired female to indulge herself in a rough adult like drink. The fact being proven as silver beer cans lay scattered around a clear, smooth laminated floor aswel as a good number being set on a small round white table.

To make matters worse at a time like this Laura is suffering her first, if yet VERY mild hang over, the silver haired German is dressed very scantaly, she is dressed in her black bikini like swimsuit that she wore to the beach during her first year at the IS academy. The eye patched female slowly closes her solitary eye and places her left hand to the side of her badly acheing temple. The female is in such a state that she can't tell if the tremors she feels under foot are real or not, her head is splitting and she is feeling lifeless even though she only managed to down only a small amount of alcohol last night, but never the less... the beverages she and her colleages downed last night were very powerful. The sounds of the distant yet loud and clear explosions seem to make things all the more worse as the silver haired female struggles to stand to her feet, causing the female to freeze on the spot wincing in pain with her hand placed firmly to the side of her head.

Around the silver haired Laura, lay the wiped out bodies of her comrades, all of which are scantaly dressed in very little, some of the German females are laying on their fronts, some are layed on their backs, a long blonde haired female with her schwarzer haze hat lip at her side still wears her military uniform but even then, that is un-buttoned and loose. A short red haired German female has no bra on and is laying on her front on a differant sofa bed to that of Laura's. Laura, snarling in pain as she staggers towards a pair of white framed french doors is surprisingly able to avoid falling over her plastered comrades, the cool laminet floor is soothing to certain extent, but the feeling of the warm, rough concrette steps that lead upto the unknown 'what some would call' vacation home is what realy helps bring the hung over female back to reality, even though it is mild and the warmth of the morning sun aided by a blast of cool wind isn't considered enough to fully get Laura on track, it is however just enough to cause the silver haired female to open her solitary eye for a brief moment, the blurred sound of a drone's engine helps the female's hearing to recover.

At first, as Laura looks up, shielding her eyes with her right arm, everything is a blur... but as the female lowers her arm, the un-doubtable shapes of flying objects begin to slowly... but surely help give themselves away to the hung over female. Eventualy... after what seems like a life time of trying to overcome the splitting headache, blurred images and sounds, the sight of some low flying by drones help snap the female back to reality, ironicaly... at the same time some of Laura's still tipsy comrades begin to stagger out of the vacation house that gives all occupants a very good view of a golden beach and rolling blue waved ocean, even the tropical plants that grow around the two floored building is enough to help people consider the vacation home a true paradise.

Just like Laura, a total of 7 German females, one of which very close to being naked shields their eyes from the morning sunlight, before regaining their eyesight and turning their heads towards the direction of where some low flowing Drones are heading, the sounds of explosions and faint rumbles of earth helps bring the German females back to their senses. What happens next can be considered incredible in terms of Laura showing that the is in fact a female and not some male in a girl's body as she feels a god awful chill run up her spine as she watches yet more heavily armed drones fly overhead and towards black clouds that are forming in the sky in the direction of the city. Laura's single solitary eye widens, the female seems to loose colour in her face, the silver haired German girl slowly raises her arms and hands, eventualy placing both hands over her slightly open mouth in a cup manner.

The eye patched German female seems to be unable to breathe as the thought of Ichika enters her head, the female feels sick to her gut with terror as more and more drones fly over head in order to ensure that the blood spilling and horror continues. Then, as soon as Laura's commrades begin to regain some senses, the silver haired Laura wastes no time in activating her IS, the German female seems to vanish in a blue flash of light before being seen in fully deployed IS form. The German female then swivels to the right to look at her colleages in the face and in a loud, slightly distressed form shouts as loud as she can manage, giving her commrades a nasty headace due to suffering a slight hangover.

"EVERYONE! TO MY WIFE'S HOUSE!"

**\- With Ichika Orimura -**

To say that Ichika and mighty older sister Chifuyu were oblivious to the drone attack would be a total lie, since the opening shots of the attack occured both Ichika and Chifuyu had been just as stunned and bewildered as everyone else. During the first shots of the attack, both Ichika and Chifuyu had been busy getting back to the simple lifestyle of being at home, aswel as getting the problem of the broken front door seen to. As a matter of fact, Ichika had been on the phone speaking about such matters and had ONLY just managed to find a reasonable company to aid in such a matter when the first bomb was dropped, the explosion though not close enough to cause any damage was still powerful enough to shake the entire Orimura household to its core, causing both Ichika and Chifuyu to fall flat on their faces.

At first, Chifuyu and Ichika, just everyone else had rushed outside to investigate only to be greeted by the sight of flying drones, a towering coloumn of fire, black smoke and destruction rising from just a matter of homes away. Both Ichika and Chifuyu had at first looked at the sight stunned before heading indoors, THAT itself was led by Chifuyu whom although being stunned with a serious expression was virtualy immediate to know what was happening, leading to her grabbing her younger brother by the collar of his shirt and litteraly pulling him back indoors, the Japanese male virtualy lifted off his feet and pulled through the air as Chifuyu rushed back indoors like a little girl rushing foward pulling her plushie or ragdoll in tow... or in Chifuyu's case her younger brother.

Unlike with Kestrel, Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Kazumi... Ichika and Chifuyu have had a differant story of being subject to the drone attacks, with the said pair immediately being strafed as both made it into the safety of their home, which in truth was only just in the nick of time as Reaper drone had immediately begun strafeing the Orimura household, the brick wall of the Orimura front yard was litteraly shot to pieces causing shrapnel of brick and concrette to become lethal rain, the black metalic framed gates that provided the entry in and out of the Orimura front yard was bent and buckled as white hot tracer rounds ripped and badly damaged the metal black frames, as for the house itself, bullets pierced the roof, exiting the ceiling and slamming into the ground of the Orimura living room, white plaster from the ceiling covered both Chifuyu and Ichika in white, but that itself can be called a narrow escape as it was not only 1 drone that had begun strafeing the Orimura home.

The first that had badly holed and damaged the front yard wall and black gates had VERY nearly managed to clip Ichika's legs as Chifuyu dragged him into the safety of the Orimura household. However the pair where faced with a new horror as white hot tracers entered the living room, shredding the sofa and living room chair causing leather and foam to blow and scatter aswel as tearing apart the TV and causing parts and components to rip, shatter and fly openly, the worst that both Ichika and Chifuyu endured was when the living room window shattered causing masses of large to small fragments of glass to scatter and fill the living room. Ichika in a fit of terror stricken nerve was later overwhelmed with surprise as his older sister pulled him to the floor wrapping her arms and legs round him, clinging on for dear life... that is until Chifuyu realised what she was doing and released her brother with a fierce blush on her face.

Thankfuly Ichika brushed off the moment as the sound of an explosion and the violent tremor of the earth had brought both back to reality. As Ichika and Chifuyu had gotten back on their feet, the pair was litterly blown off their feet again as another Paveway bomb landed just 5 houses away, soon followed by the dropping of napalm just 2 blocks away, even though both Chifuyu and Ichika were indoors of their home, the now windowless window pane had allowed at first a faint, before gradualy turning powerful blast of heat to enter the Orimura household. Both Chifuyu and Ichika had even gone so far as to lift an arm to shield their faces from the waves of heat that had entered their home.

However the situation had turned from bad to worse as another pair of drones had begun to strafe the Orimura household, this time the damage inflicted was far more serious, the entire roof was badly ripped open exposing bedrooms and bathroom to the open sky. The house walls had been badly holed, the kitchen area was ripped open badly knocking and shattering the refidgerator, destroying cabinets and cupboards, shattering plates, glasses and cutlery. Ichika however had been just in time to take action, deploying Byakushiki to full form and being able to shield both himself and Chifuyu from a third strafeing attack. Just like with Cecilia and Charlotte, Ichika had glomped his big sister and shielded her from a VERY nasty incoming death. Bullets that ringed, whistled and dashed past caused both Ichika and Chifuyu's ears to ring, and though Ichika felt a serious effect of hammering on his back as bullets hit his IS shield and causing a rain droplet effect on Byakushiki's shield. However, that was a taste of what was soon to come, because what came next was far more worse as a Reaper Drone flying at 12,000ft released 2 Paveway bombs directly over the block one bomb landed in between a pair of houses metres away and utterly destroying the pair, the second however landed litterly next to the Orimura household, the ressulting explosion engulfed the house for just a matter of seconds, but never the less the intense red flames that engulfed the exposed parts of the home litterly helped set the house a'flame.

Thankfuly ever since there has been no further attacks, but non the less, the Orimura home looks litteraly like a wreck, black smoke engulfs the top floors of Ichika's home, some of the walls are blown in, not a window has survived and nothing but wreckage and rubble litters a large circle two hundred metres, amazingly... the ground floor is still standing, but what is more amazing is that both Ichika and Chifuyu have survived... but only just... Ichika is the only thing that seperates his big sister from sudden death as the male holds up a collapsing part of the walls and ceiling, Chifuyu is a slight mess with the female having dark patches from smoke or soot on her face and hands, the female is bruised but thankfuly her clothing helps conceal any black and blue bruises.

Ichika despite being in IS form feels the crushing weight of what was once his home's walls and ceiling on his back as he stands in full IS form with his legs parted, leaned forward slightly in order to prevent any sudden collapse on his stunned older sister. The black ponytailed female scrambles, ignoring the terrible discomfort of the wreckage and debris that digs into her hand palms and knees as she gets from underneath her IS deployed brother, the sounds of explosions, drones and blasts continue to fill the air as she scrambles to her feet and gets away from the dangerous collapsing structure, however as the female gets just 10ft away from where she originaly positioned, the female turns to look her struggling brother in the face. What Ichika sees on his sister's face is an expression that he hasn't seen since the day he was abducted by terrorists... mixed in with the serious expression on his sister's face, Chifuyu has another emotion that ONLY can be seen in her eyes... fear, worry and panic.

Ichika keeps one eye closed and his mouth is partialy open as he strains to keep up the collapsing walls and ceiling that is virtualy on the verge of coming down on top of his head no matter what he does. Chifuyu's heart beats rapidly, nerves begin to tremble out of control, even though Chifuyu maintains her serious expression, the female is clearly terrified at the sight, not for her own safety, but rather that of her brother's safety. The black haired female despite being nervous as hell, is surprisingly able to maintain a look aswell as an aura of control of the situation, but if one has ever been in Chifuyu's shoes... aswell as having to face terror after terror... its a good bet that one does get stronger and stronger, and gets the ability to handle a situation a lot better than that of any ordinary person... but then again, it does not mean that a person even like Chifuyu does not feel fear. Chifuyu would openly deny it... but its not rocket science to tell that the emotion that Chifuyu feels is utter levels of panic, worry and terror.

"Ichika! Get out from under there!" - Chifuyu speaks out in a loud and clear tone, the woman's heart beating wildly and though its only a slight fraction, a bead of very cold sweat starts to roll down the left side of the woman's temple.

"Hnng! Are you nuts Chifuyu-nee? I'll be crushed if I move!" - Ichika replies in a very strained tone, the Japanese male keeping both eyes closed tight as he speaks. Even though Ichika is in full deployed IS form, the Japanese male can still feel the amass weight of what was originaly his home walls, ceiling and roof. Another reason for why Ichika is struggling may also be because of being slightly out of practice since leaving the IS academy, that along with Chifuyu's strict instructions to never use IS outside the academy.

"Ichika! Listen very carefuly... When I say go, move towards me as fast as you can, think of nothing else... just come towards me" - Chifuyu speaks in a low, deep but very calm and instructional tone, the female looking with overwhelming nerves at Ichika's struggling facial expression. Even though Chifuyu is well aware of the prospect that the IS will in all likelyhood protect Ichika from being crushed, the possibility that today is going to be very much fatal still lingers in the air, which in all possible truth is the reason for why Chifuyu is suddenly full of nervous emotions, which for Chifuyu is very, very rare to experiance and even then... it has to be a VERY heavy situation for the ponytailed woman to feel such a high amount of tension.

Ichika's eyes open to a natural state, the black haired, brown eyed male speaks in a confused yet stunned vocal tone as he looks his sister in the eyes - "Chifuyu-nee?"

"Ichika do as I say" - Chifuyu replies, the woman standing straight and maintaining her serious frown, though the woman looks as though she normaly does when she is either teaching or observing an IS battle, the woman's nerves and heart is still rapidly on turbo, the female feels as if she is going to be sick at any minute but thankfuly the said female is able to maintain her strict, firm posture aswel as show her frown in an act of keeping herself under control.

"Chifuyu-nee?... H..How can you.." - Ichika speaks in a questioning manner, the black haired male unable to believe the words his older sister is saying. As far as the black haired male is concerned, Chifuyu is in one way asking him to commit suicide where as in the other, Chifuyu's words are not to be ignored, from what the black haired male can tell Chifuyu's words are of that an experianced person in a crisis would do, or has done before... which is made clear again as Chifuyu cuts him off, maintaining her calm and collected expression and vocal tone. The ponytailed female looks her younger brother in the eyes as she speaks - "Ichika... Just do as I say".

Ichika's response to his older sister is one of bewilderement, the black haired male blinks as he looks his mighty big sister in the eyes, his arms and back straining under the weight of the collapsing walls, ceiling and crashed down roof. The Japanese male's heart seems to stop, as does his ability to breathe as he maintains perfect eye to eye contact with his big sister. - "Chifuyu... how can you be sure that I'll be okay?".

"Ichika... C'mon, just do as I say... Trust me" - Chifuyu replies, the female speaks in a vocal tone Ichika has never heard before in god knows how many years. Its the tone of a person whom holds vast amounts of love, to make Ichika's face become even more flabbergasted, Chifuyu's face is one of a person whom is filled with overwhelming levels of happiness, tender loving care and comfort. Its a side of Chifuyu that Ichika has never seen before in god knows how long... a Chifuyu that is warm, loving, kind, filled with compassion and care, a sister that Ichika can only remember from back during his childhood. Ichika freezes on the spot, a wonderful, heavenly feeling of comfort washes over him as he looks his older sister in the face, her small smile is surprisingly beautiful in such a time like this.

Ichika frowns, lowers his head, the weight of the collapsing home weighing down upon his head, shoulders and back, then after looking up at his sister one last time, the perfect motivation to move and react the way as in instructed kicks in after recieving a very slow, and encouraging nod from Chifuyu. For the nervous and overly pressure filled Ichika, a strong powerful feeling of confidence kicks in, had Ichika the ability to rapidly open and close his hand at times like this then its a good bet that he would be doing that one habit more faster and rapidly than usual. Time seems to slow down, then after looking at the rubble covered ground one last time, the Japanese male closes his eyes, kneels down slightly, dust falling upon his head and around him... and then after taking a very deep breath, blasts himself forward letting go of the collapsing structure around him. From outside, what was once Ichika's home seems to collapse and fall into nothing but a cloud of black and grey coloured smoke and dust a resounding crash shakes the earth as Ichika's home crashes in upon itself.

From in the air at 500 or so feet in the air, incoming at speed, the two blondes known as Charlotte and Cecilia in full deployed IS form come to a sudden halt in mid air, both females loose colour in their faces as they notice Ichika's home suddenly crash down in upon itself. The cold air that engulfs their mostly exposed bodies seems to vanish as a terrible feeling of sickness engulfs them both. Thankfuly the ill feeling is short lived as the bikini dressed French blonde known as Charlotte suddenly regains colour to her face and points down towards directly above both herself and Cecilia, the British blonde whom also is dressed in Bikini follows the orange IS arm and black finger of Charlotte and to her overwhelmed relief notices Ichika in full IS form hovering with his older sister Chifuyu in the air, the Japanese male holding his older sister bridal style and stareing into space with a utterly shocked expression having just escaped something very nasty, though maybe not fatal... still horribaly nasty, regaining breath in deep heavy gasps.

Charlotte and Cecilia watch in a manner of emotional joy as Ichika slowly hovers down towards the ground, both females seem to forget the numbers of Reaper drones that buzz and fly around in the air around them. Numbers of residential homes and blocks are in flames, black smoke is rising and explosions are still sounding in the air, the two females are in such an overwhelmed happy state that the two fail to notice 4 more drones drop their bombs on residential homes ressulting in ever more destruction, explosions, fires and flying debris. Less than a few seconds later a large coloumn of orange fire walls erupt in the distance as drones drop napalm on whom ever else is on the heartless end of the drone attack. Cecilia and Charlotte wait and watch slowly following Ichika down to the ground as the drones fly circles, fly overs and flybys, it is not until Ichika reaches the ground when both females make their pressance known.

From where Ichika is standing, having just set Chifuyu down on the ground, the familiar sounding voices of Cecilia and Charlotte are like music to the said male's ears as both Cecilia and Charlotte call out Ichika's name as loud as they can manage, both females trying desperately not to let their relieved emotions get in the way of their call out - "ICHIKA!". Both Ichika and the set down Chifuyu blink and exactaly at the same time turn their heads to look up in the sky, what greets their sight is as far as Ichika is concerned as the most wonderful sight in the world as both Charlotte and Cecilia are seen slowly decending from the sky through a pair of intwining coloumns of black fire smoke.

"CHAR! CECILIA!" - Ichika yells back in a clearly over joyed manner, the Japanese male raising his right IS arm to wave at the pair as they slowly decend downwards towards him. Chifuyu despite regaining her strict offical face even goes so far as to smirk in a very affectionate manner, the woman feeling large amounts of pride as she watches her two IS students decend from the sky as if they were the cavalry riding to the rescue. The ponytailed Chifuyu hides her smile as both Cecilia and Charlotte proceede to land just infront of Ichika, sure... Chifuyu is thankful to some extent but not enough to show her other side that she had only just shown Ichika just moments earlier.

Just before landing, Cecilia is first to up and speak out, the British blonde looking Ichika in the eyes as she speaks in a loud and clear voice - "Ichika! Are you okay!?", A matter of seconds after Cecilia speaks her words, a overly emotional happy phrase from Charlotte quickly follows, the French blonde showing her cheerful smile as she lands just 2 seconds behind Cecilia - "Thank goodness to see your alright!".

"Char, Cecilia, I can honestly say I'm glad to see you guys!" - Ichika replies with an equaly happy expression on his face, the Japanese male focusing his gaze firmly on the faces of both females. Chifuyu however is the next to speak, the woman returns to her ice queen self, maintaining a serious frown and looking both blonde girls in the faces, a very serious gaze is on her face as she speaks. - "Dunios, Alcott... for once I can say that I'm happy to see you two, I'd rather have seen our self defence forces coming to our aid, but I guess I can trust you two a lot more than what could some strangers".

"Orimura Sensei?" - Charlotte suddenly speaks out in a very surprised tone, the female had been so overly focused on Ichika that she had the innocent misfortune to forget the pressance of Ichika's mighty older sister.

"Ah... Orimura Sensei, ah... do you happen to know what is going on here?" - Cecilia asks, she too suddenly surprised at being reminded of the pressance of Ichika's sister, but unlike the French blonde beside her, is able to find her voice and say the first words that come into her head, only to find herself feeling like a fool as Chifuyu shoots her back a very piercing frown and speaking in a tone that is used by a person whom is highly offended with some drunken or innocent remark.

"Do I happen to know what's going on here? Does it look like I know what's going on here? Take a look, were under attack!" - Chifuyu practacly barks out at the last of her sentance causing both Cecilia and Charlotte to leap in fright in alarm, Ichika however is less effected, as far as Ichika is concerned that response was to be expected, but non the less grins in an awkward manner with closed eyes, the male remains silent as the grave. Even as Chifuyu proceedes to speak to both females, Ichika chooses to not for one second say a word, in times like this its best to remain on Chifuyu's good side and do as he's told, the fact been proven as he blinks and looks at both Charlotte and Cecilia, the faces of both females looking tense with nerves. Even though both Cecilia and Charlotte are in full deployed IS form, there is no telling as to how powerful the black haired Chifuyu realy is, and that in its own way is something that demands some very big respect.

"Look... now's not the time to discuss anything, all I want you girls to do is nothing more but to do exactaly as I say" - Chifuyu speaks in a very calm yet still cool big sister tone, the ponytailed woman lifts her left arm and points the index finger on her left hand directly at the pair as she speaks. Both Cecilia and Charlotte turn their heads to look at each other, both females exchange blinks in utter silence before looking back at the mightly black haired Chifuyu and together in slightly nervous voices speak only one word at exactaly the same time - "Okay Orimura Sensei".

"Okay... first... I need to get to Maya, and in order to get to her I need to get into the outskirts of the city, so I need some help to get to her. Secondly, when I meet Maya she and I will meet up with Clarissa and all three of us will get to safety, and once again I fear I'll need your help to do that. Thirdly... after me, Maya and Clarissa have got to safety, I order you two and Ichika to get to safety, doesn't matter where just get somewhere away from here and stay there, I'll contact you afterwords when I want you three for something else... and finaly... if you happen to meet anyone you know from the academy, do NOT try evacuating that person to safety, if you encounter anyone else in IS get that person to follow you to safety, no acceptions to those whom try to be a hero. Is that understood?" - Chifuyu speaks out in a low and very strict tone.

A moment of dead silence fills the air, a blast of wind from a nearby explosion causes both Cecilia and Charlotte's hair to blow wildly to the left, the sound of explosions and drones continue to fill the air, and as both females including Ichika turn to exchange looks with each other, a terrible heavy feeling of pressure befalls the group, the moment can best be described as a moment that goes along the lines of 'My god! Its the real thing!'.

However, for Ichika the situation is going to get all the more horrible as a terrible thought suddenly enters his head, the said male turns round to look in a direction that he would normaly look at with a happy and joyful expression, but this time its a look of worry and fear. The Japanese male's eyes widen slightly as black smoke from a large roaring mass of fires engulfs a set of nearby ressidential homes, the male feels his blood freeze up slightly as he looks in the direction of where one particular person in mind is living. Cecilia and Charlotte catch Ichika looking away in silence and in a moment of confusion speak the Japanese male's name at exactaly the same time - "Ichika".

"No... KESTREL!" - Ichika suddenly shouts in a moment of fear, Chifuyu is quick to turn her head to look in the direction Ichika is looking but is unable to react in time to stop Ichika from blasting off. Cecilia and Charlotte cast terrified looks at each other and are about to up and go after the Japanese male as he takes to the air and vanishes through a rising coloumn of black smoke when suddenly stopped on the spot by Chifuyu. The ponytailed female shouts at the top of her lungs as a means of stopping the two blondes from going after her younger brother, which is ofcourse very effective as both females are stopped in their tracks - "NO! YOU TWO, STOP!".

"Orimura Sensei? Ichika... Kestrel.. they.." - Cecilia states in a bewildered tone lifting her right IS arm and pointing in the direction of which Ichika has just blasted off towards. The blonde female unfortuneatley is cut off as Chifuyu proceedes to speak in her usual tone of authority the woman looks the british blonde in the face as she speaks in a flat and demanding manner - "Kestrel is only a few houses away, he'll most likely join us and head to safety, you two on the other hand are to do exactaly as I've just said, Cecilia... I pressume you can carry me right?".

"Yes but.." - Cecilia speaks out in a deflated and moanful like tone, only to be cut off once again by the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu whom this time points an index finger at the British blonde as a way of reminding the girl whom it is that is in charge in a situation like this - "YOU, can carry me to Maya, In this case I can make an acception because Kestrel is so close to us, but that does not mean that the orders and terms have changed, is that understood?".

Cecilia closes her eyes, places her top teeth over her bottom lip and nips down slightly before looking Ichika's mighty older sister in the face and with frustraited expression, matched with an equaly frustraited tone speaks the words - "Y..Yes Orimura Sensei".

As Cecilia carefuly proceedes to lift Ichika's older sister in her arms in a bridal style fasion, the French blonde beauty known as Charlotte turns to look the mighty Japanese female in the face and in a nervous yet curious tone asks one question that in a way questions Chifuyu's orders but also can be considered a sensible thing to ask - "But Orimura sensei... what if any enemies attack us? What do we do then?".

Chifuyu's response to the French blonde is a simple flat and non hesitated phrase as if talking to someone whom appears to be an utter idiot - "Your IS has weaponry doesn't it? Use your imagination!".

With that, both european blondes take one last look in the direction to which Ichika has gone before looking forward and together, with just a simple kneel down on the ground motion proceede to leap up and take to the skies, both females seem to be a mass of mixed emotions as drone after drone fills the sky mixed in with the black smoke and sounds of destruction. Carrying Chifuyu in her arms Cecilia looks like a mass of mixed emotions as she heads off in completley the opposite direction of which Ichika has gone, but as Chifuyu is the ultimate figure of authority and that her words seem to make perfect sense, the british blonde merely takes in a deep breath and proceedes to soar towards the city which by now is a bright burning icon in the distance, with virtualy every last white building burning or hidden behind a coloumn of pitch black smoke. Flying directly on the left of Cecilia the French blonde beauty known as Charlotte proceedes to deploy twin Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns (SMG). Though at first the French blonde appears to be on the razor's edge of nerve and worry the female suddenly gets an overwhelming feeling of anger build up from deep inside her heart, the trigger of it is amazingly down to one simple reason... the drones that have forced her to be away from non other than the popular Ichika Orimura.

In her mind Charlotte is thinking one phrase over and over again, her mind's voice speaking in a very angered and steamed hiss - ( "These things have forced Ichika me away from Ichika, these things have destroyed Ichika's home, these things just tried to kill me... HOW DARE THEY!" ) - Less than a second later, upon tightly gripping her submachine guns in hand, another thought enters Charlotte's head as she swerves, twists and evades drones, fires, smoke explosions in a flat out chase towards a city in peril, her mind's voice is dark, flat and very sinister as she glares very, very fiercely at the swarming drones in the air - ( "Time to bring some fight back!" ).

A powerful battle aura radiates off the French blonde as she blazes beside Cecilia towards a city close to utter destruction, from a third person's point of view it does not take a rocket scientist to know, that a VERY heavy and serious battle is about to erupt, a clash of war machines and malice is about to begin... and only one side, will leave this battle alive.

_**Okay readers, that's chapter 84, shorter than the recent ones I know but I needed to get the battle prep chapter out of the way, Please continue to read and review, place all messages in the open reviews box if you can. Also... as this current month of March is the 1st anniversary of this chapter's beginning, I'd like to thank EVERYONE for their followings, support and general friendliness for helping to keep this fic in shape. For those whom really like this fic, I have one question to ask everyone... What is it they like about this fic? If it is about our scar faced hero then what is they like about him?, what the best description you readers can give him?**_

_**If its because of other things, then don't hesitate to say... right... The next chapter will be coming as soon as possible, but of course I can't say when so please bear with me on that one. **__**If anyone has any requests just place them in the open reviews section, NO PMs unless you really have to give me one thank you.**_

_**See you cool guys again soon, Stay cool!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	85. Chapter 85: Intense combat

_**Hello again fellow readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned to the nest with a fresh new chapter. Okay, now... I know its not an important thing to make clear but I'm just going to answer at least one question in case anyone has running around in their heads, I have already explained this to a close chum of mine ( Mr Beaver Buttington ), so just to make everyone else feel respected and welcome I'll answer it to you just incase you had it running around inside your head. Also I've read some fics written by Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov, for those of you whom like a change from my fic, I would recommend you give those by Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov a shot, they are VERY nice and VERY interesting. Right on with the answer...**_

_**If anyone has been wondering why I have made Kestrel an Israeli is due to three reasons. Firstly, I have never read any mangas or fanfics that have the main character as an Israeli, nor for that matter have I seen any animes with even a single character as an Israeli, so I guess you can say that I'm giving an unsung country the spotlight for once. Secondly, I have always admired the Israeli's for their ability to defend themselves and defeat much larger, powerful enemies ( Like Kestrel with adults ) - For proof of this I suggest you readers watch documentaries on the Six Day war and the Yom Kippur war, to which both ended in Israeli victory, in particular the successful Israeli air force... and thirdly, some aircraft used in the anime Area 88 were indeed used by the Israeli air force... so I guess you can say that as an admirer of the Israeli fighting skill and ability... I'm making it somewhat known, that whomever you are from which ever country... NEVER look down, nor spit on an Israeli, especially one like Kestrel... because you don't know how tough and skilled that Israeli really is.**_

_**No! Just for your information incase you were thinking it, I'm NOT jewish, I'm a christian believer... and as much as I like Israel, I stay true to my real country.**_

_**Most of this chapter consists of IS combat.**_

_**Right, that's all for introductions, now... please without further ado, please sit back read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 85:

**\- Ichika's neighbourhood area -**

Black smoke rises in the air, the smell of burning fuel, rubber car tires, wood, metal, electronic parts and wires, flesh and ruptured gas lines fills the air as grey coloured Reaper drones continue to buzz and fill the air with their gut churning tone that matches the humming drone of an insect swarm. Flying with his bushy black hair blowing fiercely in the wind, the Japanese male known as Ichika Orimura in fully deployed IS form summersaults through a coloumn of black fire smoke as he proceedes to hop from what was once his proud and beautiful home and towards that of his academy schoolfriend Tomoe, where his new and somewhat 'Closest' schoolfriend is being harboured safely. Ichika's mind is set on only one thing as he fights the urge to look back at his once beautiful home now heartlessly destroyed by the attacking drones that show no sign of giving up their attack on his homeland. The Japanese male does not deploy his weaponry even though he has the urge to do so as he dashes over a large burning set of houses and towards the home of Tomoe.

Despite the fact that many homes have been hit badly already by the drone attacks, the home of Tomoe appears to be amazingly intact, much to Ichika's relief as he slows down and prepares to land on the rich green grass of Tomoe's front yard. The black haired Japanese male maintains his serious facial expression, stareing with his brown eyes at the standing home of the Shizuka household, the said Japanese male is in such a hurry that he wastes no time in landing and reacts on instinct, the Japanese male at first has an overwhelming urge to break in to the Shizuka house, but instead bangs on the wooden door with the side of his right IS hand, the Japanese male almost instantly at the same time takes in a deep breath through his nose and shouts litteraly at the top of his lungs... which none would blame him for doing so... "KESTREL! KESTREL!".

The Japanese male does not hesitate and continues to bang on the side of the Shizuka front door like a wild panicked person, it can be considered a miracle that the door does not break free from its hinges as Ichika continues to bang with such force that not even a sleeping person would fail to hear. The black haired male thinks of nothing, his heart beat if it exsists can't even be felt, the said male is running on the strength that every nerve, muscle and adrenaline ounce that his body is providing him. If one was to say that Ichika can breathe right now then that would be untrue, everything is so bizzare, and heavy to take in all at once, as far as Ichika is concerned everthing happening today is like some powerful action packed computer game come to life, only with a horrible differance and reality that its player has just the one life, can feel every pain that can be inflicted and can NOT afford to make a mistake.

A moment passes as Ichika continues to bang on the front door of the Shizuka house before yelling his small scar faced friend's name again in a very loud and clear manner, eventualy after what seems like a life time for the impatient Japanese male, the front door opens to reveal a wide eyed and nervous Kazumi, mother of both Tomoe and Megumi. The blue haired Japanese female is at first stunned to find the black haired male in fully deployed IS form and is about to up and speak as she quickly looks the Japanese male up and down but is immediately prevented from speaking as Ichika looks the mother of Tomoe in the face with a mixed facial look of nerve and seriousness. As Ichika speaks, its obvious that the said male is trying to remain calm and keep the situation calm but non the less is obliged to speak in a hurry as the situation around him is clearly getting more and more beyond anyone's control.

"Mrs Shizuka, sorry to come at you like this but listen, Kestrel has to get outta' here, Chifuyu has told everyone with an IS to get out of the city areas and meet up somewhere, I really need to see him and take him out of here".

The blue haired mother of both Tomoe and Megumi blinks and maintains silence, the female clearly bewildered at what Ichika has just said, the fact being proven by the stunned look on her face as the sounds of explosions, drone engines and destruction continue to fill the air. The earth continues to shake violently as the blue haired Kazumi blinks in nerve before stating in a calm and bewildered tone - "Huh?... Say that again".

Upon hearing Kazumi's words, the black haired Japanese male groans in irritation, leans his head back and rolls his eyes as a wave of clear annoyance hits him hard like a crashing wave but thankfuly Ichika is able to keep his cool and not up and shout at the top of his lungs. Instead, the black haired Japanese male lowers his head and by lifting up both IS hands in a form of reasurance speaks in a low and calm tone, the Japanese male maitains perfect eye to eye contact with Kazumi as he begins to try the calm and rational way to get round a problem, rather than use the mad bull charging tactic - "Look.."

**\- With Charlotte Dunois -**

Since leaving Ichika's neighbourhood area the blonde ponytailed beauty known as Charlotte Dunois cruises at over 2,000ft above burning and ruined sets of houses, vehicles and multi-floored buildings in full deployed IS form. The French female having left what was once Ichika's home has in what many would say 'began to loose it' as the female's face was just a few minutes ago a serious scowl, which by now has gradualy built up into a furious glare. Cruising directly beside the French blonde is the British Blonde known as Cecilia Alcott whom has had the duty to carry Ichika's mighty older sister to a rendezvous point with the dark blue haired Clarissa and then sortly later the Green haired Maya. While Cecilia is currently in a state of 'Hands full' due to carrying the ponytailed Chifuyu bridal style, Charlotte on the other hand is a state which is able to bring some fight back to the many hundreds of attacking Reaper drones which continue to swarm and fly around not only the distant burning city but now residential areas.

Flying fully deployed with her bright orange Rafale Revive Custom II, black IS hands clutching tightly onto a twin pair of Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns, the French blonde is clearly ready to take the fight back to the attacking drones, and as far as anyone else would be concerned, Charlotte has every good reason for being so heavily fired up and in an ever growing tempermental state as the sounds of drones and continous agonising screams mixed with death and destruction would be enough to get anyone in an angered state, but in all likelihood the main trigger may yet be because of what just happened to the home of Ichika Orimura, even though Ichika is not officialy Charlotte's lover, the Japanese male is clearly very dear to Charlotte and to upset him and destroy something precious to him is clearly enough to get Charlotte put in an angered state.

All it takes right now is for one more act of destruction to take place to get the French blonde to snap, and obviously it does not take long for the next moment of destruction to take place as several Reaper Drones flying in an arrow head formation proceede to fly past to the Charlotte's right and as if like what one would see in a computer game or some action movie, fires all Hellfire missiles under their wings towards a set of beautiful residential homes not yet touched by the attack. The ressult is complete destruction as an entire street of homes is levelled in earth shattering and violent explosions, cars are sent flying over 200ft into the air, some cars and vehicles break apart and explode in the air, some break apart and crash back down to earth without blowing up, but the worst hit are the houses, pavement and front yards. Houses seem to break apart and turn to masses of flying debris in large fireball blasts where as grass, flowers are incinerated. Brick, wood and pavement shatters and fragments to become lethal missiles and shrapnel that rains destruction on an 800 meter circle, in less than a matter of minutes 139 inncoent people are killed outright in the carnage, many thankfuly don't see it coming and die in the explosions others are not so lucky and are left bleeding in splooges of red blood and guts.

A single tear of explosive tempermental frustration rolls down Charlotte's left cheek, the female seems to get a sudden burst of power surge through her body as she halts herself in mid-air and lifts both Garm .61 cal sub machine guns up and with the look of utter violent anger in her eyes, matched with the snarling clentch of teeth pulls the triggers of her twin IS machine guns, the sounds of automatic gunfire fills the air as tracer rounds ring away from the French blonde, the seven guilty drones don't see it coming and are litterly blown apart in the air, exploding in large mid-air fireball explosions. The French blonde does not take her fingers off the triggers and proceedes to twist herself to the right and fires wildly at flying group of drones yet to fire missiles or drop their bombs, the five drones don't stand a chance and explode in mid-air as Charlotte's rounds rip through the drone bodies and wings. Two more groups of drones join the mid air explosive spectacle ressulting in 10 more aerial explosions, 2 stray drones are ripped apart in mid air with one drone loosing its tail and falling down in an non recoverable dive towards the earth, the second looses its tail and both its wings and rolls down towards the earth crashing into three floored, white walled building and exploding on impact.

The French blonde still snarling with her teeth clentched twists herself round to the right, looks up and fires wildly once again at a high level group of passing drones, the female decimates 15 more drones in a matter of seconds, all drones join their previously guilty counter parts and explode in mid air, the sounds of her 61 caliber submachine guns are like music to Charlotte's ears and the sight of her tracers ringing through the air and destroying the attacking drones is litteraly like heaven to Charlotte in her angered state, the only time she ceases fire is when she gets bead on another set of targets. The next set of targets to which Charlotte takes aim at becomes a large formation of drones, all of which are carring bombs and Hellfire missiles. The French blonde seems to loose her ability to think as she quickly blasts to match the incoming drone's altitude, the female positions herself in a manner to face the incoming formation head on, the female thinks of nothing, her mind is blank... all that matters to her is the death of the un-manned scum that is flying and so heartlessly taking the lives of thousands of inncoent people.

The French blonde has the urge to scream in angered frustraition as she lets loose with a full automatic burst from her twin submachine guns, the female firing wildly and quickly succeeding in ripping apart numberous more drones in the air, each and every one exploding in a large yellow burst of fire in the air before dissappearing in a cloud of black smoke. In just a matter of seconds from beginning to open fire the blonde female destroys a total 45 incoming drones before twisting herself to the left and pointing slightly upwards and downing 8 more drones, all of which carrying napalm and exploding in large, intense firey explosions and falling in a mass of burning, twisted debris. As quick as Charlotte destroys one set of drones the female is immediately on to the next, this time after blazing a short distance towards the burning city twisting herself to the left and dashing downwards slightly and letting loose with yet another full auto of submachine gun fire, once again... drones explode in the air, 10 of which however are merely clipped and ripped in the air and plummet down like burning aircraft towards the earth, some fall into residential neighbourhood streets, but others land on houses, but never the less... the sight of the explosions and knowledge that a VERY hated foe has been killed is the perfect motivation for the angered and crazed Charlotte to continue the slaughter of any attacking Reaper drone in sight, which pays off well as Charlotte eventualy goes on to down 56 more drones in a matter of seconds, each one of which going down in firey, twisted wreckage after exploding in mid air.

Even though Charlotte, just like Cecilia, is merely dressed in nothing but a bikini, the freezing wind is unable to effect the furious european blonde whom then proceedes to blaze in a differant direction, still firing away at ever more incoming Reaper drones.

**\- Scene change/ Elsewhere with Houki -**

Blazing in fully deployed IS form over un-touched residential areas, the dark haired childhood friend of Ichika is 'un-knowingly for the moment' in the same boat as that of Charlotte and Rin both females of which are out of sight for the moment. Having grown tired of standing idle doing nothing and feeling helpless at the sight playing before her eyes, the dark haired female had taken to the skies in the same manner as Ichika and the rest of his self proclaimed lovers have done. The female still dressed in shrine maiden wear had simply ignored orders from both her friends and some passing police on the ground and taken to the sky, though Houki would deny it if one was to say it... but maybe after turning over a new leaf somewhat she would not, it was the sight of Ichika's neighbourhood area going up in flames what triggered Houki to deploy her Akatsubaki and take to the skies, the female having deployed twin Katanas and made ready for battle.

Though Houki has yet to take any fight back to the attacking Reaper drones, the female does make out the distant exploding flashes of a battle taking place which than in its sense is enough to get Houki fired up and ready for combat. As Houki comes to a to a stop in the air, the female suddenly takes the chance to observe the distant flashes from explosions taking place close to Ichika's neighbourhood area. The dark haried Houki narrows her eyes and looks carefuly at the distant sight of combat taking place before taking a quick look back towards the city areas to which mid air explosions can be seen in the air, clearly giving the hint that combat is happening in the city aswel as over Ichika's neighbourhood area, but in full honesty its hard to distinguish combat from attack over the city area as the city itself is becoming an ever growing mass of death, misery and destruction by the second as drones fill the air, buzzing and swarming around large to small buildings at high to low altitudes like a swarm of bee's around a hive.

As Houki turns to look around her, the female then pauses and feels a chill go up her spine as she notices more drones incoming from the distance, though Houki can see that there is a large number of the un-manned aircraft in the air, the numbers are in such a manner that she can't count them, the female feels the urge to feel sick as dread washes over every nook and cranny in her body. The female has a slightly open mouth and her serious expression gives way to wide eyes as she quickly looks back towards the city and notices the amount of damage already inflicted by the drones that are already on the attack. Houki's open mouth gives way to a serious snarl as she looks back towards the next incoming wave of Reaper drones that are clearly en-route to unleash more death and destruction on the helpless souls in the city, god knows how many lives have been lost already, aswel as the number of woundings, but it dosen't take a rocket scientist to know that the incoming waves of drones are going to increase that number.

For a total of 2 minutes Houki turns her head left to right, constantly looking in one direction towards the city which is becoming a bright burning target and then back towards the incoming waves of drones, debating on which way to go in order to bring some fight back to the attacking drones, either way the female turns her head the fact remains that she has to sacrifice and leave god knows how many lives to an un certain fate but either way, the female feels the overwhelming fact that she has to do something and fast. Eventualy, after what seems like hours to Houki, the female opts for the second option, as much as she hates to do it, the female turns and flies away from the burning city and directly towards the incoming mass flight of Reaper drones. The sound of drone engines becomes very uncomfortable for the Japanese female as she blazes towards the mass numbers of grey drones, all of which armed with bombs, missiles, gun pods and napalm. The sound is one of which that Houki won't forget any time soon, its like an endless buzzing roar of an insect swarm, that in its own sense is enough to give Houki the perfect motivation for her to engage the drones in combat.

Upon reaching just 100 or so feet of the mass swarm of drones, Houki with a serious expression begins her counter attack, unleashing a very hard swung Karaware attacking and immediately decimating at least 30 drones in just one move causing a mass of explosions as armed and live munition on the destroyed drones explode and mix in with the massive blasts as drones vanish in a massive yellow glowing blast causing a mass of red glowing debris to rain from the sky. Houki does not blink and immediately continues her attack unleashing 5 more Karaware attacks causing a total of 87 more drones to vanish in the same spectacular manner as the previous 30 drones. The dark haired female swallows her feelings as she dives, attacks, then climbs and attacks through the sky unleashing attack after attack, destroying 145 drones in less than 5 minutes. The childhood friend of Ichika ignoring the continous incoming masses of drones that seem to be non stop.

At first, Houki's tactic is planned to cut down drone after drone directly at the head of their formation which seems fine at first, but as Houki destroys formation after formation of drones the female finds herself gradualy being pushed back by the formations that simply show no sign of easing up, but never the less the dark haired female manages to take down 213 or so drones in just 10 minutes, constantly climbing, diving, turning, rolling and summersaulting herself in full IS form attacking and destroying drone after drone, flying through the intense heat and fire bursts caused by the exploding drones. The dark haired female despite being in IS form is not spared from being hurt herself in return as tiny, red hot shrapnel shards impact the softness of her face, her arms too also sustain tiny punctures as the thin shrine maiden dress rips apart slightly, the IS sheild protects her from the destructive power of the blasts and the majority of the shrapnel, but with each blast the female feels the stinging agony as tiny metal shards rip impact her face and body causing thin but nasty looking cuts to form.

Thin trails of blood from ten tiny scratches on Houki's face spread out and make the female's face become a painting of red, thin red droplets fly away from Houki's face as she dives, turns, climbs and swoops, ignoring the pain as she continues to go on the attack, even going so far as to shake her head as small drops of blood fly away from her face and accidently make hits into her eyes, her serious angered expression not dropping as the female then proceedes to blast as fast as her IS will allow towards the very end of the mass drone swarm, as Houki blazes forward with her dark hair blowing fiercely in the freezing wind, the female then summons all the strength in her arms to make violent swings, firing barrages of Karaware attacks into the mass of drones, causing large and numberous explosions that fill the sky and cause drones to vanish in large clouds of black smoke and intense flames. Houki rolls, evades and snaps herself from side to side to fly through large firey blasts and mass shrapnel showers that are caused as formation after formation of Reaper drones vanish in large catastrophic blasts.

In an incredible 2 minutes the dark haired friend of Ichika finds herself at the tail end of the drone swarm, there to be greeted with the sight of blue summer sky, coastal mountains and the distant sight of Self Defence force fighter jets, an in that time the dark haired female downs 309 Reaper drones before proceeding to make a 180 degree turn to the right, and with a bloody face and ripped open clothing proceedes to flying back after the mass of drones, their ranks decimated and now fewer in number, but all the same a fair number still remain and at least now after over 14 minutes of combat, Houki can now count the amount of drones in her head. With a brain speed that can best be described as a super computer, Houki counts an unbeliveable 2,054 remaining drones in the swarm she had just flown through and with not a single drone not showing signs of easing up their attack, the dark haired female clutches tightly to her twin Katanas and with a fierce look of frustraition blasts back into the battle, thinking of nothing but the destruction of her enemies.

**\- Scene Change to Rin -**

Swerving around the side of a large sky scraper, twin IS blades tightly clutched in IS hands roars the Chinese brunette known as Rin, the female narrowly skimming past a coloumn of roaring flames and blasted apart superstructure to reveal a large burning hole in the side of the large grey sky scraper, 80 stories above the ground. The Chinese female then noses down in a dive and in just a matter of seconds passes through a large coloumn of pitch black smoke before leveling up and climbing to the right slightly to attack her 214 to 224th drone targets. For the past half hour or so the Chinese female has been the only one that has taken the fight to the attacking drones and unbeknowst to Ichika and the gang was at one point the highest scoring IS pilot of the moment but unlike Houki whom obviously has the ability to take down large numbers of drones at once, the Chinese female has it somewhat harder, having to hunt down and attack scattered numbers of drones that continue to swarm around the city that is still taking numbers of bombs and missile attacks, the fact being proven as Rin finishes taking out her next targets with single slashes of her twin IS blades, only to look to the left and down to notice numbers of explosions erupting on the ground, flattening a line of small sized buildings as a group of drones flying away from the destruction having dropped their bombs.

The Chinese female despite being able to reduce the destruction is making slow progress as the horrible fact remains that no matter how many drones the Chinese female faces, she can't deal with all these attacking drones all at once, whomever has plotted and sent in this attack is using the sometimes cowardly tactic to use numbers to wear down their opponent, and as much as Rin hates to admit it as she swoops low into the city streets to dice open another 50 or so low level attacking drones, the female is overwhelmed with stress, aswel as suffering a slight ache that travels all around her body due to having to keep up the pressure of fighting harder than what is normaly expected of an IS pilot. As Rin blasts through a large wall of flames and smoke causing both to part as she roars through the firey wall, the female has already got black patches around her face, sweat has started to roll down her brow and temple.

Then, as Rin climbs verticaly up and along the wall of a sky scraper to attack some high flying drones the female is suddenly forced to weave left to right, rolling herself and snapping herself left to right as a bunch of Hellfire missiles smash into the walls of the sky scraper, detonating and causing mass shards of glass, dust, debris, steel pieces and internal matterials to come falling down in a large firey black cloud. Rin closes her eyes and turns her head to the right as if to look away in an act of sudden desperation, as the female flies directly into the path of the tumbling glass shards and debris the feeling of hard falling hail stone hits her in the face as she attempts to vear her head clear of the sharp glass shards that land on her face and head, amazingly despite the feeling of being pelted with hard sharp objects, the Chinese female escapes any real injuries and sustains nothing but a slight cut on the left side of her forehead and a small set of scratches on the left side of her face, as a ressult a small stream of blood rushes down the left side of the girl's face, but thankfuly Rin is unable to feel any pain due to the stress of the situation.

The flight through the flames and debris is a bit more unpleasant, the Chinese brunette feels hot and hard objects like marble, pieces of steel and god knows what else hit her in the head, but just like with the glass shards, virtualy no injuries are sustained, but it does not spare the girl from smelling and tasting the destruction as dust and particles of destroyed material suddenly travels up her nose, the female then gets the brief feeling of heat as she blazes past a newly started blaze of flames. Then, as quick as it begins as Rin blasts through the falling wall of destruction, Rin exits the debris cloud and continues to rocket upwards her eyes are wide open and her mouth is slightly open as she blazes upwards, stunned at what just happened and feeling the amazement of the moment, before mentaly slapping herself and with hands still clutching to her IS swords roars up in a climb before leveling flat out over the top of the sky scraper and then blasting as fast as her IS will manage towards a set of 10 formation flying drones.

In just a matter of seconds with just a single slash of her IS blades into each drone, the brunette landing slashes left to right then finaly in an X shape forwards, each struck drone slides apart into numberous pieces, sparking a violent blue wash of sparks before exploding in mid air. Rin does not look back for a single second but snap rolls herself to the right to go after a single file line of drones that suddenly come into view, one behind the other rapidly firing underwing miniguns and spraying some low level buildings with hot tracer rounds, glass and concrette shatter and fragment, it is easily seen from Rin's point of view, this in turn gets the Chinese female completely fired up, every muscle in her body reacts to her minds comand as she dives with a very frustraited scowl, blood trails down one side of the female's face, burn patches and white dust that had settled over her face, body and IS armor is blown off as the said brunette dives after the attacking drones, the female is amazingly able to ignore the explosions, screams and utter sounds of destruction that erupt around her as she levels off at only 100 or so feet and then, one by one... takes out the line of drones, once again, scytheing the drones in half, taking off the tails, wings or noses. For any of the 11 drones that are diced in half, they join their previous counter parts by coming apart in mid air, sparking blue before exploding in mid air, for any drones that loose their wings, noses or tails... they simply fall to earth before crashing into either streets or buildings and exploding in a wave of death and destruction and setting ever more parts of Ichika's home city area alight.

Upon banking to the left having destroyed her previous targets, the Chinese brunette notices a sight that makes her blood virtualy freeze up as she notices distant residential areas burning, large smoke and bright distant glowing fires are proof of that it isn't just the city areas that have come under attack, however... before Rin has the chance to acknowledge the sight, the female is drawn back to the city as a large cracking roar fills the air. What Rin sees next is something that she wouldn't dare have wanted to see even in her nightmares as the largest sky scraper in the city begins to collapse down upon itself. The Chinese brunette's eyes widen and her face in that moment loses colour upon watching the spectacle, the sounds of distant screaming, the sounds of explosions and the sounds of drone engines make the entire sight look like a nightmare come real.

Rin at this moment feels a terrible gut feeling of hopelessness wash over her, and though the female feels compelled to leave the Chinese brunette merely tightens her grip on both IS swords, looks forward at the sight as black, greyish smoke begins to engulf the lower halfs of the other sky scrapers, swallows her fears... and with a sudden burst of un-explainable power rushing through her body speaks just one phrase in a bewildered yet angered tone before blazing back towards the scene of destruction and to take out any drone in her path -

"God help us!"

**\- Back with Charlotte -**

Briefly skimming over a main road beside residential homes that suddenly explode into shards of wood, tiles and debris is the French blonde Charlotte, just like her 'so called' love rivals for Ichika's heart, Charlotte maintains a tight grip on her twin IS Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns, the female deeply drawn in and sucked deep into climax of combat. The French blonde holds a stressed and angered expression on her face, sounds of tracers whiz and ring in the blonde's ears as she banks upwards in a climbing turn to the left, IS arms and legs parted slightly as she continues to fly in IS form, the female too deeply lost in the moment of downing the mass of Reaper drones to notice a sight of catastrophe playing just away from her in the distant city areas, but perhaps for now that is for the best as in times like this one requires a very steady head, and for Charlotte to have kept it up for so long already is very impressive, sure its true... Charlotte has been in many IS battles, but nothing on a scale like this, its as if a nightmare has come true... like a hardcore level combat game where one false move could mean death, only in this world... there's no second chance. Even though Charlotte's IS prevents her from being killed by conventinal weapons like drones the feeling alone still remains.

Then as Charlotte performs a 180 degree turn to the left, the female is met by a sight that makes her pause for just a brief second before continueing to fight, flying directly towards her in full IS form is the familiar sight of Ichika, whom on his left is joined by the full IS form of the long black haired Kestrel, the two boys flying side by side in close formation heading straight for the battle shaken French blonde. Charlotte maintains her serious expression as to remind Ichika that there is no time to exchange pleasantries and in the loudest voice she can manage shouts towards the incoming pair of boys - "Ichika! Look behind you! Incoming!"

Ichika rolls his eyes to the right before snap rolling himself round to look at what it is Charlotte is talking about, there his eyes meet a large V formation of drones flying at 300ft. Ichika blinks for just that brief second before frowning seriously and deploying 'Yukihira Type 2' in a brief blue flash. Almost immediately at the same time beside Ichika the scar faced Isreali youngster Kestrel turns himself round in a moment of curiosity rather than a moment of alarm like Ichika. Upon witnessing Ichika deploy his weaponry, the black IS suited Kestrel merely stares for a second before summoning his own IS weaponry, unlike Ichika whom summons his blade, Kestrel's weapon of choice is the long, shinning black barrelled cannon 'Prometheus' the scar faced Youngster's holographic 3D angel wings open wide and spread making the infant look surprisingly beautiful with his long black shinning hair blowing elegantly in the wind.

Kestrel had originaly intended to remain with Tomoe and Megumi, but the scar faced infant was eventualy convinced to join Ichika, though it took a lot of persuasion and effort from Ichika non the less in order to convince the females that Chifuyu's instructions were the most reliable to follow, rather than remain still and risk getting blown up. Kestrel however is at ease having been told by Yui that Megumi, Tomoe and Kazumi had, 'Much to Kestrel and Ichika's surprise' an old bomb shelter converted into a cellar under their home, so in terms of Kestrel being convinced that Tomoe, Megumi and everyone else are all safe, the terms reach a good convincing 75% out of 100 at the most. Only NOW does Kestrel have the chance to acknowledge the scene all around him on the outside. The ocean blue eyed youngster is confronted with nothing but smoke, fires, attacking drones and explosions. Kestrel unlike everyone else is unprepared for the sight and hesitates as Ichika dashes forward upwards into the air and quickly despatches at least 19 drones with his IS blade.

Kestrel's eyes remain open wide, the scar faced youngster does not blink as he watches the black bushy haired Ichika destroy an entire formation of 30 drones in less than a minute, as the explosions fill the sky, the scar faced infant closes his ocean blue eyes and shakes his head violently, the infant clearly shaking off that brief feeling of negativity and preparing himself for combat. Which is made clear as the scar faced Infant turns to look over at the French blonde Charlotte whom maintains course straight towards both males. Upon reaching the scar faced infant, the French blonde casts over a very pleasant smile and in a pleasant tone clearly rocked with relief speaks after letting out a brief sigh - "Kestrel! Your safe, thank goodness".

"God damned sneak attack!" - Ichika shouts out in an angered tone as he heads to rejoin Kestrel, whom by now is joined by Charlotte. Together after looking each other in the eyes, Kestrel and Charlotte hold their positions in the air looking up as Ichika descends his altitude to rejoin his friends. As Ichika makes it towards both Charlotte and Kestrel, the French blonde regains her serious expression and in upon raising both Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns up to show that she's armed, speaks in a clam yet very serious and combat stressed tone -

"Looks like its just the three of us Ichika".

Then, just as Ichika is about to reply the Japanese male suddenly goes wide eyed with shock and ducks as both Charlotte and Kestrel raise the barrels of their weapons up to his head level, the sounds of automatic gunfire fills the air as Charlotte fires a violent and effective full auto burst into an unseen group of drones flying directly towards the trio at equal low altitude level. Mixed in with the sounds of Charlotte firing an automatic burst is the resounding boom sounds as the scar faced Kestrel fires his own powerful bolts of plue plasma at the low flying drones, together both Kestrel and Charlotte's shots find their marks and in a matter of seconds the pair obliterate 18 drones, all of which vanish in large roaring explosions and falling in masses of twisted wreckage into a set of burning houses.

Kestrel blinks, turns his small head from left to right looking around before opening his large holographic angel wings and with a resounding burst of speed that causes Charlotte to go wide eyed and tumble slightly from the sonic boom, blasts upwards and away into the air. Charlotte quickly regains her briefly stunned motivation to fight and then proceedes to join the scar faced infant in combat. Charlotte frowns, narrows her eyes and levels her Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns at a low level flight of Reaper drones. Once again gold flashes from the mussles of her twin machine guns flash proudly as the sound of automatic gunfire fills the air. The 10 or so drones are ripped apart by Charlotte's gunfire, 5 of which explode in the air while the other 5 burst into flames and fall nose first out of the air like burning airplanes from some war movie.

Kestrel on the other twists and barrel rolls in the air for a brief moment before selecting his own targets, the scar faced infant levels Prometheus up towards his face and fires three powerful blue glowing shots of plasma at three drones attempting to gain altitude in a climbing bank to the right, all 3 drones vaporise in large yellow explosive blasts as Kestrel's shots hit home causing all 3 to dissintergrate almost instantly, leaving nothing but black fragments raining from a black explosion cloud in the air. As the scar faced infant climbs for height in the air, Ichika joins the fray, quickly charging 4 drones in single file formation in the air, the Japanese male dispatches all for 4 drones with a single slash each, all 4 of which come apart in halves in the air sparking before exploding in mid air.

Almost immediately as Ichika and Kestrel take out their own targets, Charlotte is drawn to attacking a group of low flying reaper drones having dropped their naplam on a set of intact homes, a row of 4 beautiful looking homes vanish in a small ocean of flames that engulf not only house but garden and front yard. The sight alone causes the perfect reaction as Charlotte charges forwards towards the set of 7 low flying drones, the female lets loose with an automatic burst from her twin Garm - .61 cal sub machine guns, shreading all 7 drones in the air and causing all 7 to fall down towards the earth burning fiercely, Charlotte does not stick around to watch the drones impact the ground but instead lifts herself upwards and proceedes to climb for atlitude.

As Charlotte climbs for height, the long black haired Kestrel has already selected new targets, the scar faced infant takes aim with his black shinning Prometheus and fires 10 bolts at a set of drones, the scar faced infant watches as his blue glowing shots rip apart one drone after the other, each drone vaporises and becomes nothing but black fragments after exploding in the air, and thinks of nothing as he climbs to the right in a bid to gain height and take out some high level flying drones loaded with Paveway bombs and Hellfire missiles. From behind the scar faced Kestrel an explosion occurs in the sky as Ichika takes out another drone of his own, this time taking off the nose with just one swing of his IS blade before climbing for height in a bid to aid Kestrel with the mopping up of any high level targets.

As Kestrel and Ichika begin to climb for height, disaster on the ground occurs as a single Reaper Drone releases its single pair of Paveway bombs, both of which find a lucky target parked idle on a main road. Both dropped bombs find their mark, a parked fuel truck, loaded to the brim with fresh fuel, the ressult is a massive earth shattering explosion that engulfs 4 already damaged homes, 2 on either side of a residential street. The explosion rises to over 200ft in a massive mushroom cloud and causing shrapnel to slice through a line of untouched cars on a residential road, there all 13 vehicles break apart and explode, turning an entire street into a sea of flames and smoke. Ichika feels the shock waves in the air and turns his head to look down at the sight and in a horrified tone, matched with the look of shock and awe on his face whispers only two words - "My god!".

The sounds of three more large explosions fill the air as Charlotte notices the sight and in her own feeling of shock looses track of what she is doing for just a brief second before closing her eyes with a violent shake of the head hisses to herself in an act to ensure she remains focused on what she has to do - "No! No!, Focus! Focus!". The blonde ponytailed female then recovers from the moment of shock, ignoring the intense heat that smacks itself onto the ponytailed girl's bare skin and blasts away into the sky, the cold freezing wind soothing the burning up feeling from that god horrific blast that has just shaken the earth violently, even though it wasn't the largest explosion that has occured today, it goes without saying... what just happened was REAL heavy. Upon reaching 400ft in the air, Charlotte selects her next targets, the female twisting herself round to the left, aiming up, drawing her twin submachine guns and firing a 40 second long burst into a single file formation of drones. Each drone is litteraly ripped apart, explodes and bursts into flames before tumbling down from the sky in masses of torn and twisted metal, in just a matter of seconds after knocking down 15 drones, the French blonde then twists herself to the right and blasts upwards in a bid to persue a set of high level flying drones.

As the bikini wearing Charlotte gains height to persue more targets, the scar faced Kestrel is already engaging targets of his own, twisting himself round in the air and firing a single bolt shot in one direction before turning to fire in another direction, the scar faced youngster picks off drone after drone like a sniper, each drone vanishes in a single explosion. Kestrel effectively keeps this up for over 20 minutes, doing nothing but twisting, summersaulting, barrel rolling, climbing and diving, picking off drones one by one with ease, the scar faced infant ignoring the sounds and sight of carnage and devastation on the ground. In the time that follows, the scar faced youngster takes down 145 drones, Ichika whom remains close by takes down 140 and Charlotte 148.

The 20 minutes that pass seem like hours as far as Ichika, Kestrel and Charlotte are concerned, but by the time the trio take down the last noticed formation of drones swarming Ichika's neighbourhood, the trio soon get a surprise as they find the majority of the sky clear, but even then, large numbers of enemy targets still remain, the main majority coming from the lowest of flying targets, Charlotte makes this clear as she turns to look over in the direction of Ichika and at the top of her lungs yells out in a near desperate tone - "Ichika! Their shooting at houses, we have to knock them out of the air!".

Ichika turns his head to look above to the right and notices the Charlotte hovering suspended in the air, by this time Kestrel has rejoined the trio having picked off his recent airbourne flying targets. Ichika briefly looks at Kestrel before looking down towards what was once his home neighbourhood and notices as many as 175 or so drones remain, all of which fire underwing miniguns into the streets, ripping apart house roofs, front yards and cars. The brown eyed Ichika leans his head back and snarls fiercely, a highly angered and irritated groaning hiss comes from the Japanese male before he proceedes to dive down at the attacking drones. As Ichika dives the Japanese male makes his fury of the sight known by roaring in a highly angered voice -  
"MURDERING SON'S OF BITCHES!".

"We're right behind you Ichika!" - Charlotte yells out as she dives from out of the sky, she too frustraited and stressed at the continous rain of destruction that still shows no sign of easing up. Kestrel keeps formation behind Charlotte as they dive after the furious Ichika from over 500ft reaching ground zero in a matter of seconds. Ichika performs split second moves by snap rolling, banking and twisting himself violently in the air to miss buildings, fires and burning wreckage before reaching a selected target and slicing it in half with is glowing IS blade. Charlotte and Kestrel clearly take the fight personaly to the drones also, Charlotte seems to get up closer than usual to the strafeing drones before knocking them out of the sky with short and accurate fired automatic bursts of gunfire. Kestrel on the other continues the tactic to pick off one drone at a time with very accurate fired bolt shots.

"TAKE THAT YOU BASTARDS!" - Ichika roars out in a violent yell as he quickly takes out a group of 8 drones all flying single file having fired their underwing miniguns. Charlotte upon hearing Ichika's roar in anger quickly casts a glance towards the said male and in a surprisingly calm yet loud and clear instructional manner speaks the words - "Careful Ichika! Don't loose your head, that's what they want".

"I Don't care what they want but their asking for a kick in the ass!" - Ichika replies in a violent bark before quickly proceeding to take the heads of 4 more drones before moving onto the next selected group of targets, the explosions in the air for that brief moment make Ichika look like the spitting image of his sister when she piloted the Byakushiki, eyes full of fury, a level head and a scheer look of determination, the yellow glows that the explosions generate make the Japanese male stand out for that brief moment before the black haired younger brother of the mighty Chifuyu turns to look in a left direction and blast away after another set of low flying, strafeing Reaper drones.

As Ichika blazes over a burning set of residential homes, both Charlotte and Kestrel come to a stop in mid air just 100ft off the ground. Charlotte by now is wide eyed at the sight, the blonde ponytailed female has only ever seen Ichika this mad since the time she pulled her party stunt at the IS academy, too which she had felt all hope was lost in winning Ichika's heart. The french ponytailed female lowers her arms and takes the moment to rest, the majority of the fighting over Ichika's neighbourhood is over by now, but its been one hell of a struggle, Kestrel on the other hand stares as Ichika becomes a shinning bright object in the near distance, flashing through the air and destroying the last few numbers of drones. Knowing that the fighting is all but over, Kestrel closes his eyes and looks down toward the ground, the child's IS holographic angel wings spread wide for a brief moment before closing to a half open state, a blue glow envelops the black IS hands of Black Phoenix as Kestrel de-activates Prometheus.

Charlotte blinks for a few seconds, the female is suddenly brought back to reality by the glow caused by Kestrel's de-activating of his IS weaponry, the female turns her head to the left to look at Kestrel and notices the youngster hovering idle in a neutral manner, Charlotte holds her twin submachine guns at her side and stares in a concerned manner at the Kestrel before looking back at the direction of Ichika whom by now has finished off the last of the drones. In all, the battle over Ichika's neighbourhood has lasted nearly an hour and together as a team, Charlotte, Ichika and Kestrel have destroyed a total of 2,386 drones... not a bad day's work.

Sharing a sense of peace in the air, Charlotte proceedes to de-activate her own IS weaponry, and together Charlotte and Kestrel remain idle in the air, watching in silence as Ichika heads over, now somewhat calmer than that he was feeling just a matter of seconds earlier, both Charlotte and Kestrel blink in silence as Ichika de-activates his own IS weaponry. The Japanese male at first holds a serious angered scowl on his face, but as the bushy haired Japanese male's eyes meet those of Charlotte and Kestrel's, a small smile returns to his face aswel as a look of relief and pride. The silence in the air is wonderful to all three of the trio's ears, that horrible sound of drone engines, the sounds of gunfire and the sounds of explosions have come to an end, the only sounds that remain is the rumbling thunder sound of explosions that continue to take part in the city areas.

Ichika lets out an exhausted and frustraited sigh as he happily looks both Charlotte and Kestrel in the faces, the Japanese male proceedes to speak very calmly in an overwhelmed tone of relieved joy at seeing his two friends intact before his eyes - "Are you guys okay?".

"We're okay over here Ichika, looks like thats the last of em" - Charlotte replies in an equaly happy tone ressembling that of victory. However, as Ichika and Charlotte begin to exchange words in Japanese, Kestrel with his trademark facial scar blazing with fury, turns to look in the direction of the city and though the youngster can't understand a word that Ichika and Charlotte are saying too each other, a horrible feeling of dread washes over the youngster as the distant mid air flashes of explosions, rising black smoke from a bright burning city give the indication that the fighting is not yet over. Even as Kestrel blinks and stares towards the sight of Ichika's home city ablaze, the horrible feeling seems to be running around deep down inside the youngster's heart. A feeling that can only best be described along the lines of 'I think I know who's behind this attack, I just hope I'm wrong', the fact being proven as the scar faced infant looks down towards the debris ridden ground below him, a very worried expression is on the child's face.

"Kes" - Ichika's familiar voice suddenly calls out causing the long black haired infant to jump in alarm, Kestrel's worried expression changes to one of surprise as he turns his small head to the left to look at the face of Ichika. The Japanese male lifts his left IS arm up and with a black IS index finger on the left hand points towards the city. The Japanese male has a neutral expression on his face as he looks his small Israeli friend in the face and speaks in a calm and rational voice - "C'mon Kes, let's go, Chifuyu's waiting for us".

Kestrel blinks and stares at the Japanese male with a wide eyed expression for a moment, but upon hearing the name Chifuyu, the scar faced infant looks down, blinks and then looks back up at Ichika with a plain and straight expression. The Japanese male smiles warmly and with a motion of his right IS arm gives the ocean blue eyed youngster the hint to follow, Kestrel responds immediately, the youngster leaning forward opening his large 3D holographic angel wings giving the indication that he knows what Ichika is saying. Ichika smiles kindly and gives the child a reasuring look and in a kind big brother voice speaks the words - "Don't worry, you'll be alright with us" - then in a confident and kind voice ends his phrase by saying happily - "Let's go".

Charlotte smiles warmly at the sight, a feeling of comfort washes over her as she watches Kestrel prepare to blaze away with Ichika, the French blonde prepares herself and then... completley at the same time, all three blast away towards the burning city areas, an aura of freedom and hope seems to radiate off the three IS pilots as they cruise directly side by side each other with Kestrel being in the center of the flight flanked by Ichika on his left and Charlotte on his left, if one was to see them on the ground, it would surely be a sight to cheer... the three would appear to a classical movie lover as the three musketeers charging away into battle giving an all for one, and one for all like atmosphere in each other's pressance.

_**Okay then, this is the longest battle chapter I have ever written so far, I'm leaving it here for now but don't worry the next chapter will continue and hopefully conclude the battle. The next chapter will reveal another secret weapon Kestrel's Black Phoenix has hidden from everyone so don't despair at this sudden end, I am still working on these chapters and I'm still coming up with new stuff to put in it as I follow the written plot.**_

_**Please read and review this chapter, all comments please place in the open reviews section. I don't have much to say on the closing address for once except for those giving me support, Thanks a lot, I do appreciate it and I'm wishing all you readers the best and may your own fics get all the positive reviews in return.**_

_**I'll be back as soon as I can, so stay cool everyone**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	86. Chapter 86: A new surprise

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised. Okay... now before you read I just want to make an announcement first, its an annoucement related to the fic but it realy isn't anything to worry about. Its just that the plot line for this fic, although already noted, hadn't been given a certain location for when Ichika, Kestrel and Co get to visit areas around Japan itself and as Tomoe has already planned to take Kestrel out and about somewhere beside people with disabilities, I've been in a few minds as to where to send them. Also I don't know if you readers were aware... but Japanese call people with Aspergers and ADHD people as "Mentaly impaired", which I guess sounds abusive but then again people in differant countries have differant cultures, but even then some of those cultures are cruel in some cases, where one person's rules may seem as a crime against humanity here in the west, but anyway... on with the location matter. So far I've wittled down locations for and Ichika, Kestrel and Co to be in Tokyo and such but I think for after the battle chapters where the characters take it easy to start can be in Izumo or other country areas, I'm in two minds where to send the characters just for a chapter or two, but I think I'll get it in the end. If anyone can think of anywhere else don't hesitate to speak out.**_

_**Been very busy lately so this chapter is obviously delayed, personal problems aswel as trivial matters so forgive me. Stress and I don't mix and its left me suffering depression, but thankfuly I'm on the anti-depressants so thats something I can be thankful for.**_

_**Okay... Also, for those that stick around and find this fic as interesting or inspiring thanks a lot, keeps my morale up... Right, I won't keep you readers waiting, on with the chapter.**_

_**Read and Enjoy.**_

**Taming Kestrel Chapter 86:**

Roaring in full afterburner out of a thick white cloud single file appear 12 Japanese Self defence force F-15J Eagles, the summer sunlight seems to gleam off the fighter jet's wings as they level out in a lined formation following a tight bank to the right drawing trails in the blue summer sky. The SDF Fighter jets having not seen any combat at the moment are about have their wish granted at last due to permission being granted from home base. From inside the cockpit of the lead F-15J, the pilot takes his left hand of the fighter jet's throttle and raises it to his helmet, pulling down the dark shade. The pilot then turns his head to the left raising a hand in a moment of getting acknowledgement from his 5 comrade wingmen on the left now having pulled alongside their leader to form a faned out Parallel line of fighters in a formation ment to charge enemy air contacts. From his place in the cockpit, the lead fighter pilot makes out his wingman raise a thumb in a form of acknowledging his latest hand signal. Not a whisper comes from the lead fighter pilot as he turns to look to his right, looking outside the F-15J's plexiglass cockpit and briefly taking his hand of the control stick to lift a hand signal. Once again, the lead pilot is answered with a thumbs up from his wingmen, satisified with the sight the lead pilot looks down at the radar pannel of his fighter and then in a calm voice speaks in a cool and collected tone - "Okay boys, range on... choose targets with independence, keep your eyes open and take down as many of these bastards as you can, lets give em a kick up the ass!".

"Love too lead!" - A reply comes back through the pilot's head set inside the pilot's helment. Almost as quickly as the first reply comes a various set of more replies come through, causing the lead fighter pilot to give a firm nod - "Right behind you lead!", "I've got your back!", "I hear you!", "Will do", "Copy leader, attacking", "Starting my attack now", "Okay, beginning attack", "Roger and wilco", "Attacking targets", "On it lead!", "Engaging targets".

With in a matter of seconds the 12 F-15J Eagles flying in a perfectly straight line blazing at over 2,000ft over the ocean unleash their first shots of battle as a single Aim 7 Sparrow missile comes of each of the 12 F-15J Eagles. The flash of missile ignition ressembles the flash of a lighter when someone gets ready to light a cigarrette, the thin smoke trails draw perfect straight lines in the air as the Aim 7 Sparrows fly slightly downwards beyond vissual range and towards the distant shape of Japan below the F-15J's altitude. A moment or so later a flash of twelve distant explosions appear, contacts on the F-15J Eagle radars show a previously locked on target vanish immediately from screen signal a confirmed kill. Nosing down to descend altitude slightly the F-15J Eagles remain in perfect formation before unleashing their next wave of Sparrow missiles, once again... perfect ignition, each sparrow missile follows the invisible radar beam from the F-15J Eagle and heads straight and true towards its own independent target. A moment passes, and then once again, distant explosions signal the successful kills of 12 drones. Upon getting confirmation of the successful kill each and every fighter pilot speaks out indpendently over their radio, just two words come from each and every pilot - "Splash two".

A moment passes with each F-15Js maitaining a strong and steady course towards the Japanese coastline, descending down at a 20 degree angle fire a third wave of Sparrow missiles, a matter of seconds later the twelve fired Sparrow missiles splash their respective targets ressulting in visible distant explosions in the sky, each and every fighter pilot speaks out the same pair of words upon confirming their kills - "Splash three". - Then selecting their last remaining Aim 7 sparrows, each F-15J pilot carefuly selects their targets before firing their last wave of Aim 7 Sparrows. Quietly muttering to himself one of the F-15J fighter pilots speaks in a excited yet nervous tone - "Last Sparrow, then its close qaurters with the sidewinders". Less than 13 seconds later, all 12 F-15Js unleash their last wave of Sparrow missiles, however this time, the pilots have no need to look at their radar screens and merely look up to see the 12 distant explosions that appear in the distance. By now the fighters are moving at speed and are now able to visualy see the mass numbers of Reaper drones attacking their homeland. Upon hearing all pilots call out - "Splash four", the lead fighter pilot clutches both the throttle and control stick tightly and with a sharp tone of authority speaks the words - "Okay! Break! Break! We're going close quarters, after everyone's fired their sidewinders we'll fight with guns, remember short controlled bursts, get up close and make each shot tell!".

Immediately upon hearing the call of the lead fighter pilot, all 12 F-15J Eagles break formation, 8 roll inverted and dive towards the incoming coastline where the others form into a small group and proceede to make a diving bank turn to the right in an act of pursuit after the Reaper drones.

**\- With Houki -**

Making a short barrel roll over before hovering herself steady in the air, the dark haired childhood friend of Ichika, slightly wounded and worn out from after 20 long hard minutes of fighting remains idle in the air following the successful downing of as many as 200 drones with her IS weaponry. However despite being somewhat tired out slightly, the female is in a sunny mood due to noticing drones being destroyed in the air. Though Houki has yet to see Japan's self defence air force in the flesh, upon noticing missiles fly through the air and down 12 drones with each and attack wave, the female's spirits began to rise. The fact being proven due to Houki's smile and relieved look on her face, in her mind the female is cheering, her mind's voice is proof of how happy she is feeling right now - ( "At last, the good guys are here!" ).

Even though the F-15J Eagles are yet to appear and that the battle is far from over due to the final mass wave of drones being present, the female's morale has clearly improved. With as many as 500 drones remaining, the Japanese female summons all remaining strength in her arms and with both IS hands clutching tightly to her IS katanas blasts forwards to the last numbers of drones in the air. The female clearly motivated to finish off the drones holds a very fierce yet confident expression on her face as she dashes towards the last wave of drones. The dark haried female unleashing a barrage of Karaware attacks destroying a large number of drones in the air, the female twists and turns as she flies into the heart of the drone swarm, a series of mid air explosions fill the air as the dark haired female vanishes into the swarm.

Though it takes a further 2 minutes, the first F-15J Eagles arrive on the scene, breaking formation and making fly overs, 5 F-15J Eagles upon making a flyover break hard left in a move to get above and behind the formations of Reaper drones. Each of the F-15 fighters seem to gleam for a moment in the blue summer sunlight, the lead fighter pilot is first begin the battle for the SDF air force at close range just a matter of moments after selecting a twin pair of Reaper drones armed with underwing napalm and gun pods. The lead fighter pilot remains silent as he rolls his F-15 into the battle selecting his Aim 9 Sidewinder missiles as the next weapon of choice, the black shade shines as the lead figher pilot closes on his first close quarter targets. The F-15J Eagle upon rolling behind a loose twin pair of drones reduces power, the briefly deployed afterburner is shut off in order to keep close speed with the slower moving drones. The lead fighter pilot remains silent as the growling seeker tone of his Aim 9 sidewinder begins track one of the four selected Reaper drones, the tone of the Aim 9 sidewinder upon groaning for a matter of minutes suddenly comes alive and growls beautifuly in the lead fighter pilot's helmet. The lead fighter pilot reacts instantly and presses a black button on the top of his control stick, the pilot calmly calls out - "Fox two".

The Aim 9 Sidewinder comes off the F-15J and flies in a elegant manner through the air, leaving a thin smoke trail behind, less than a 7 seconds after firing the missile finds its mark, hitting exploding and ripping the left wing of one of the Reaper drones, causing the guilty craft to plummet to earth in a mass of burning twisted wreckage. Almost instantly after firing one of 4 sidewinder missiles the lead fighter pilot switches weaponry to guns, quick as a flash from an outside point of view, the F-15J lets loose with a three second burst of 20mm vulcan fire, glowing yellow tracers rip apart a second drone causing the craft to join its partner on the ground in a mess of twisted burning wreckage. A moment passes as the F-15J Eagle positions itself behind the last 2 selected drones and gives a two second burst with its 20mm vulcans, the third drone explodes in a massive blast ressembling some massive firework. The fourth drone is ripped apart just as easily with a three second burst, the fourth drone looses its wings and dives towards the earth in flames. However the lead F-15J is not finished yet and fires its second sidewinder at a lonesome drone armed with bombs and missiles, the drone vanishes in a large explosion as the sidewinder finds its mark directly on the nose of the guilty drone.

As the lead F-15J puts on afterburner and pulls into a climbing turn to the left to regain height and speed, another F-15J fires its sidewinder, the missile finds its mark and blows a drone out of the sky, just as quickly as that said drone vanishes the same F-15J fires another sidewinder missile, that too finds its mark and blows another drone apart. A few seconds later another F-15J engages the flock of drones from directly behind the formation, letting loose with a five second burst of gunfire shreading two close formation flying drones to pieces and causing both to fall to earth in large glowing yellow flames. Upon ceasing fire, the F-15J Eagle pauses while flying straight and true, firing an Aim 9 sidewinder which finds its mark and blows a drone armed with napalm out of the sky causing a rain of wreckage to plummet in dozens of burning pieces.

At the left flank of the drone swarm another F-15J Eagle fires four second burst of gunfire, the burst proves to be well aimed as the rounds rip apart one drone causing the unmanned aircraft to explode, some rounds yet to find their mark fly through the mid air fire ball and hit another untouched drone, that drone too bursts into flames and begins to fall nose first towards the earth. The victorious F-15J Eagle then goes on afterburner and climbs for height in a banking turn to the right barrel rolling before joining another F-15J Eagle having completed its first attack approach on the drone swarm. At the same time on the right flank of the drone swarm, another F-15J Eagle fires its guns, a brief three second burst destroys a single Reaper drone, causing a large mid air explosion and causing shards and shrapnel to rain from the sky. At this point Houki reaches the end of the drone swarm flashing past the trailing F-15J Eagles, the female casts a relieved smile towards the friendly F-15 Eagles that effectively cause Houki to relax in the air before she twists herself round to the left and banks to go after the drone swarm and the attacking F-15J Eagles.

At the front of the drone swarm a pair of F-15J Eagles unleash their own attacks, one F-15 fires a three second burst which rips a drone to shreeds causing it to break apart and fall to earth burning brightly in three pieces without exploding. The second F-15J Eagle fires a single Aim 9 sidewinder that smashes into a single drone blowing the unmanned aircraft to pieces in a massive fireball explosion. The two F-15J Eagles then go on afterburner, climb and make a high yo-yo in an effort to remain on the tails of the drones. At the same time another F-15J Eagle engages the drones, this time on the right flank firing a pair of Aim 9 Sidewinders, both missiles find their mark slamming into a pair of drones and destroying both unmanned aircraft in burst of flame and smoke. A few seconds later another pair of F-15J Eagles fire a single sidewinder missile each, both missiles hit their mark destroying two drones armed with bombs and missiles, the combination of destruction and falling wreckage collide smash head on into an untouched pair of drones, the combination of 4 drones exploding and falling from the sky cause both F-15J Eagles to barrel roll in victory before one of the F-15J Eagles fires another sidewinder missile, in a matter of seconds the sidewinder finds its mark, blowing the tail off a drone armed with bombs and missiles and causing the unmanned aircraft to plummet down tailess trailing a large trailing flame.

At the tail of the drone swarm another F-15J opens fire with its guns, firing a seven second burst and downing three drones, all of which appear to break apart and dissintergrate as each and every drone bursts into flames and tumbles downwards torn to pieces. At the same time another F-15J fires away with its guns, this time firing a two second burst that cuts open the belly of one drone and causes the unmannned plane to roll on its back and dive towards the ground trailing a thin smoke trail. A few moments later another of the twelve F-15Js attacks the left flank of the drone swarm, firing a three second burst that rips open two drones, the first drone explodes where the second banks to the left and dives down with its entire right wing ablaze, thick black smoke trails the unmanned aircraft. A matter of seconds later another F-15J attacks the drone swarm's left flank firing a sidewinder missile that smashes into the nose of a lead drone and causing the guilty craft to explode to pieces.

As this happens three F-15J Eagles attack the center of the drone swarm, one F-15 fires a pair of sidewinder missiles, the first missile slams directly into the tail of one such drone blowing the craft apart and causing wreckage to fall in a shower of burning flames. The second sidewinder detonates inbetween a pair of drones, the combination of the blast ressults in the downing of two drones in a single explosion with one drone exploding and the second simply falling to earth belching thick black smoke. The second F-15J fires its guns in a two second burst, ripping off the left wing of a single drone and causing the craft to roll downwards out of control before exploding in a large blast. The third F-15J Eagle is the one that deals the most damage to the drones, firstly by firing a long ranged two second burst from its 20mm guns and ripping one drone apart, causing the said drone to burn and nose down before exploding, the F-15 then pauses for a moment before firing an Aim 9 sidewinder that slams home and destroys a single drone in a large explosion. The F-15 then fires another sidewinder that downs another drone in a single explosion. The F-15 then finishes its attack by letting loose with its guns in a two second burst destroying another drone in yet another large fire ball explosion.

The next F-15J Eagle to score a kill comes from the end tail of the drone swarm, as a single F-15 fires a three second burst ripping apart 2 drones in large explosions, successfuly banking away from the debris cloud the F-15J then pulls up and makes an overhead barrel roll before diving at the center of the drone swarm and firing its 20mm guns yet again, downing another three drones, all of which dissapear in a large fire ball cloud. Victorious, the F-15J Eagle pulls up its nose just in time to avoid accidently crashing into a line of drones, but as the fighter is victorious, the misjudgement of the moment can simply be down to a fortune of war.

As the F-15J pulls away into the sky, another trio of F-15s make their attack on the center of the drone swarm, firing a three second burst each, the ressult is magnificent as 10 drones are ripped to pieces in just a matter of seconds, observing the explosions from behind. The dark haired Houki smiles with comfort but holds herself back allowing her both her heart and body to ease up for a moment, after all over doing it never was a wise thing to do was it not? The next F-15Js to score appear on the right flank of the drones as a pair of F-15J eagles take down a pair of drones each with a four second burst of 20mm gunfire. The explosions that follow are considered magnificent to any action fanatic as the yellow flames stand out beautifuly against the black smoke clouds. As the pair of F-15Js successfuly complete downing the four drones, the pair then climb for height before rolling to postion themselves over the center of the drone swarm, there the pair of F-15Js realy take the fight back to the attacking drones. One of the attacking F-15J eagles have a field day by downing 4 drones with all 4 of its sidewinder missiles, then another 5 with 2 seconds each of gunfire. The second F-15J merely fires the last of its 2 sidewinder missiles at the attacking drones downing a pair armed with napalm causing more blasts to fill the air, and ever more wreckage to fall from the sky burning brightly.

Motivated by the sight the dark haired Houki wastes no time and upon tightly clutching to her IS katanas blazes forward into the heart of the drone swarm, prepared to join her countrymen in the defending of her homeland.

**\- A few minutes later With Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel -**

Ever since leaving Ichika's neighbourhood area Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel's formations have changed, Ichika now takes the center of the flight towards the city area, Charlotte flies on the left side of Ichika while Kestrel takes the right, all three IS pilots keep close together as they fly towards Ichika's home city area which is in crisis. The sight of over 16 massive large coloumns of thick black smoke blackens the sky over Ichika's home city stealing sunlight therefore ressulting in the sight of large intense fires giving off a much more brighter glow than what would normaly be expected during day time. Though the trio are flying close to each other, the sight of Ichika's home city in crisis gradualy getting closer and closer towards the trio is enough to force all three IS pilots to slow down to half speed, the smell of the devastation is one thing but the sight adds just as much pyschological pressure as the smell. The sounds of drone engines, explosions and buzzing gunfire fill all three of the IS pilot's ears.

"Hey Ichika! Wait a moment!" - Charlotte suddenly calls out in a loud and clear tone, causing both Ichika and Kestrel to turn their heads to the left to look at the face of the French blonde Charlotte whom proceedes to stop herself in the air. Upon noticing Charlotte halt herself in the air, both Ichika and Kestrel blink and cease cruising in their tracks, both boys cast confusing looks at each other before heading over towards the French blonde whom deactivates one of her twin submachine guns. Confused and unsure as to why Charlotte has suddenly come to a stop in her tracks, the Japanese male known as Ichika looks at the French blonde with his chocolate brown eyes and in a confused tone speaks the words - "What? Why'd you stop for Char?".

"I forgot to mention, We need a plan before we get involved in the city" - Charlotte suddenly calls out looking Ichika in the eyes and speaking in a tone as if its a matter of fact.

"Huh?... Char, can't it wait!? People are dying out there!" - Ichika responds in a frustraited and deflated tone, causing Charlotte to point with her free IS hand towards the city areas and towards the heaviest concentration of swarming Reaper drones. The French blonde chooses to speak calmly, even though she wants just much as Ichika to simply dive in head first with all guns blazing.

"Look Ichika, we have to think about this, we have to come up with a strategy" - Charlotte responds, the female trying not loose her cool due to the pressure of the situation.

"Char no offense but there's realy no time for this!" - Ichika replies bank as friendly as possible despite very nearly yelling in angered frustration, the Japanese male even goes so far to turn and point towards the burning city which continues to take missile after missile and bomb after bomb, Charlotte pauses upon following Ichika's finger but then, as if suddenly been given the power of persuasion from god, the female looks Ichika square in the face and upon placing a very kind and friendly smile on her face speaks the words - "Ichika, look... just do as I say,  
trust me".

The combination of Charlotte's friendly face and kind words cause Ichika to roll his eyes, lean his head back and groan in frustraition and upon lowering his head in a defeatist manner speaks out the words - "Okay Char, but we best make it fast". Charlotte's response to Ichika is a pleasant and kind smile, yet even then, that isn't enough to hide the cold sweat that is running down her temple due to frustraited nerves.

As Charlotte and Ichika turn to face each other, proceeding to speak umongst themselves in an attempt to come up with a reasonable strategy to take on the mass hundreds of drones that swarm and buzz around the masses of fires and smoke like some mass swarm of bees around a bee hive, the scar faced Kestrel whom stares ahead at the sight of destruction and devastation is pale in the face and is hardly able to breathe. The infant has a slightly open mouth and can do nothing but blink at the sight, his small heart is beating violently and though it isn't litteraly, the israeli infant can feel the vibrations of his rapidly beating heart in his neck and mouth. The smells of fire smoke, burning rubber, fuel, oil, flesh and god knows what is making the youngster feel utterly sick to the gut, the child wants to vomit but is unable to get his stomach to respond to his mind's command. The feeling of distress and hopelessness is increased as the scar faced child looks down in an attempt to keep some cool which ultimately backfires as the child is greeted with the sight of a roofless home surrounded by burning wreckage and debris. From where the scar faced infant is positioned the said infant can clearly see the god awful sight of some ripped open and mutilated human remains, though the bodies are layed flat on their front a good portion of the body parts are missing, huge holes bigger than a head have made it look as though the two headless remains are close to breaking in half due to loss of flesh that exposses broken bones and gushing organs.

Kestrel's small eyes open to a horrified state and the child despite hovering in the air floats backwards for a second, his small mouth is wide open and his eyes are beginning to fill with tears of pure fright for a brief second before the child closes his eyes tight and with a distressed expression proceedes to shake his small head from left to right causing his Star of David pendant to flutter and move around and his long shinning black hair to wave in a strangely elegant way in the air. The blood red scar on Kestrel's seem to glow a little redder than usual as a tiny single tear rolls down the side of his face, over the scar before leaving Kestrel's small soft face due to the said infant shaking his head so violently. The infant's actions are best described as a moment of desperation as one would do if they wanted to wake up from some terrifiying nightmare, but as expected as Kestrel lifts his head up to look out at Ichika's home city in crisis, the hope that everything is a nightmare is met with the horrible look of drones remaining in the air swarming and buzzing around burning buildings. Explosions erupt from the ground like some great set of fire crackers as bombs droped from the drones land on residential areas already hit earlier in the attack.

Kestrel closes his mouth and swallows a slight combination of sloober in his mouth, in his small tormented mind the scar faced infant is a mass with desperate questions, ( 'Why is all this happening? What are these flying objects and why are they doing this? Why don't these violent objects just go away?' ). So many questions are rushing around in his mind as the sound of gunfire and explosions fill the air along side that horrible chilling tone of drone engines that make the air sound like a swarm of insects are close by and everywhere one looks, even the sounds of both Ichika and Charlotte's voices seem to fade and drown away as the scar faced infant's ears are filled with the god awful combined sounds of chaos and destruction. Desperate in an attempt to be sure this isn't a god awful nightmare the black haired infant closes his eyes for a brief second one last time before opening his eyes to look once again at the VERY real sight before him.

Kestrel lets out a very frustraited sigh before lowering his head slightly with a distressed expression. Then as the child lifts up his small head and blinks, the child's hopeless emotion is quickly changed to surprise as his 3D holographic HUD system changes from its usual shape to the size of a large TV screen, so large from Kestrel's point of view that it looks like some cinema screen about to show a movie, from a clear normal image the child's ocean blue eyes are met with a sight covered bright green due to the changing of the HUD system. Golden icon boxes are set on both sides of the screen, each of which ressembling some sci-fi computer sending over various amounts of data feedback and readout yet nothing is centered except for the green coloured image of Ichika's burning home city and mass black object shapes of the drones that continue to swarm around in the sky. Startled at the sight, Kestrel hovers backwards slowly for a second or so blinking again, ressulting in another surprise as a set of large white, flashing 3D Holographic letters appear before the infant's ocean blue eyes forming one word in english -

**'Fenrir'**

The scar faced infant blinks rapidly for a few seconds before a 3D readout image of Ichika's home city is displayed before the youngster's eyes. Though the 3D model readout of Ichika's home city also displays damage inflicted, causing a mass of very small icon data boxes to appear before Kestrel's ocean blue eyes. Though the words in the small gold framed icon boxes are in Israeli, Kestrel hardly gets the chance to read anything as the icon boxes dissapear just as quickly as they appear as the scar faced infant blinks again. However as the icon data feedback information closes another surprise reveals itself as the black dotted objects being drones suddenly become highlighted in red, flashing rapidly from red to gold and then back to red. Though Kestrel can't count the numbers of highlighted drones on the green 3D Holographic screen before him its clear that over 2,000 drones are highlighted, though Kestrel does not notice it... in the bottom right corner of the green 3D Holographic screen, a pair of silver iconed boxes are set, each with a perfectly detailed 3D model layout of two Reaper drones, the rectangular boxes forming towers above the two boxes holds large amounts of Israeli text.

Kestrel blinks again, and once again another surprise reveals itself before the infant's face, as predator bio mask style targeting rectacles suddenly lock onto a distant viewed set of drones in a matter of seconds, Kestrel hesitates, remaining silent for a moment before slowly rolling his small ocean blue eyes to the left to look at red highlighted drones, targeting rectacles follow the direction of the youngster's eyes as Kestrel... though startled, rolls his eyes from left to right, up and down trying to follow each and every single highlighted drone on his green glowing 3D screen. White rotating triangle shaped targeting rectacles lock onto each and every drone that the infant looks upon, and within a matter of just 2 seconds over half of all drones highlighted are locked on by Kestrel's newly discovered surprise. As Kestrel rolls his eyes to look at each and every single drone on the screen not yet locked on, the holographic Angel wings on the said child's 'Black Phoenix' open and spread wide, glowing a rich bright green, growing and expanding to become twice their normal size, an aura of vast growing power seems to radiate of Kestrel's 3D holographic angel wings as the child finishes locking onto the vast number of drones swarming and buzzing heartlessly around Ichika's burning home city.

As all highlighted drones are locked on by rotating triangle rectacles, a blue rectangle bar appears before Kestrel's ocean blue eyes, white words are set in the bar forming only one word that flashes blue and white before the infant's eyes in Israeli - 'Padlocked'.

Only know from where they are positioned does both Charlotte and Ichika notice the massive size of Kestrel's 3D Angel wings that are spread open in a proud and powerful manner like the wings of an eagle soaring. Though the wings remain white, the glow of green energy and power radiates and becomes even more brighter and powerful. Charlotte is first to notice Kestrel stareing at the sight of death and destruction and is also first to hear a faint humming whir that is generated as Kestrel's Angel wings freeze stiff before sparking blue for a quick second. The French blonde goes wide eyed and hovers backwards the female motions with her head for Ichika to turn his head and look behind him. Ichika blinks, frowns and turns to look behind him, the Japanese male feels his heart beat a bit harder than usual as he feels the power radiating off Kestrel's 'Black Phoenix' that shines with pride in the summer sunlight. Ichika is unable to find his words due to the overwhelming surprise of the sight and is only able to speak Kestrel's name before both he and the French blonde Charlotte are taken by surpise by what happens next.

Ichika with a slightly open mouth and taking a slight hover backwards speaks in a very low and concerned tone mixed with a tone of bewilderment - "Kestrel?.." - What happens next causes both Ichika and Charlotte to yelp in surprise and causes Ichika to nearly jump out of his clothing, and Charlotte to leap out of her bikini as a loud ear piercing sound that ressembles the ring of rapid flying past metal fills the air for a fraction of a second.

**\- FSWEAK! -**

Before Charlotte and Ichika have the change to blink, Kestrel's IS wings flash in a blinding green flash for a brief second before firing over 2,000 thin, green glowing beams of light towards the mass of distant drones in the sky. As quick as the flash itself, nearly every single drone in the air, numbering 2,104... is litteraly vaporised in an instant with each and every single drone upon being struck by the thin hair like beam of light exploding in small catastrophic mid air explosions. Explosive missiles, bombs and napalm tanks explode along side each of the 2,204 drones causing the mid air explosions to be ever more brighter causing the air to be filled with large 50ft or so large explosions that swallow and disintergrate each and every drone into nothing but tiny red hot metal fragments. The yellow mid air explosions last for a total of 10 seconds before fading to become nothing but large massive black smoke clouds that rain black and red hot shrapnel shards downwards like light rain. It all happens in less than a second, causing both Charlotte and Ichika to freeze in the air and stare at the sight like coloured ice as the sight of 2,204 drones forming the main backbone of the attack on Ichika's home city vanish in an instant.

Charlotte looking scantaly clad in her bikini slowly turns her head to the right to look at Ichika whom in return turns to face the French blonde with a terrified face of his own. Nothing but silence fills the air, the sounds of drone engines cease as the sound waves of over 2,000 large explosions combined rumble and fill the air like loud stormy thunder. The teenage pair then brake eye contact and look back towards the city which is cleared of nearly all exsisting drones leaving only a few stragglers numbering only 239 in total, all of which appearing lost and confused, flying erratically in strange un-controllable patterns before falling from the sky in a lifeless manner, landing hard nose first into either burning buildings, roads and apparments of the city exploding upon impact signaling the end of the attack on Ichika's home city.

"What... was... that!?" - Charlotte exclaims in a horrified tone, staring in silence, watching as Kestrel's 3D Angel wings begin to return to their normal state, the green glowing aura fading as Kestrel's IS HUD returns back to its normal self, the scar faced infant clearly looking as shocked as both Ichika and Charlotte. Merely staring in shock with a pale and frightened face, clearly Kestrel is unable to explain what has just happened, though Kestrel is aware that the destruction of the drones are due to his actions, the said infant is clearly unable to explain how he just managed to pull off such an action, but either way... as far as Ichika and Charlotte is aware, the majority of the work to sweep away the attacking drones has just been completed and as a positive bonus, as heavy as the moment is, any one in the city or in areas coming under attack don't have to worry about any more bombs or rockets coming down upon their heads.

Ichika responds to Charlotte's horrified question in a silent yet loud and clear mutter - "I... Have no idea!".

"Kestrel... I.. I can't believe it!" - Charlotte exclaims in an overwhelmed stunned and surprised manner, deactivating her IS weaponry as she stares at the long black haired infant whom remains idle in the air un-armed in full IS form. The scar faced child with his usual confused and bewildered expression merely looks back at the wide eyed expressions of both Ichika and Charlotte and simply tilts his head to the right in a very innocent and adoreable manner.

**\- With Rin -**

The Chinese brunette despite being worn out and exhausted, black patches on her face, smelling of smoke has had a front row seat to the destruction of the Drones, the said brunette having been flying at low level when Kestrel releashed the coup de grace that litteraly sweeped the sky clean of the attacking drones. The Chinese brunette though stilling clutching tightly to her twin IS scimitars remains frozen on the spot, hovering directly at 200ft above a burning main street, facing the sky, staring at the fading black smoke and surrounded by twinkling tiny, shinning fragments of destroyed drones and munitions that sizzle and fill the sky like some gleaming spects of newly discovered snow. Though Rin feels vast amounts of relief and gratitude that everything appears to be over, the female unbeknowingly feels the same as Ichika and Charlotte at the moment, shocked and stunned and unable to explain what has just happened. A chill seems to run up Rin's spine as she stares up at the sky, watching as the blue summer sky begins to appear from behind the fading thick clouds of black smoke. The Chinese brunette has a slightly open mouth and is unable to breathe.

Then, upon lowering her head and taking one final look around to make sure the air is clear, proceedes to blast away out of the burning city that although is free from attack, is still very much filled with death and destruction as fires and stray explosions continue to fill the air, only god knows how many people have died. The very thought and fact is rolling over and over again in the Chinese female's head as she proceedes to leave the scene trying in vain to ignore the sights of fires, smoke and small odd explosions that erupt from the ground. The smell of burning fuel, oil, bodies and god knows what else fills Rin's nose making her feel sick to the gut, as it would anyone else's stomach. However, thankfuly, Rin is able to keep down sour feelings as she flies through a large thick coloumn of smoke, her mind at the moment is fixed on what the hell it was that just cleared the sky of the attacking drones. The fact being proven as she banks to the right and with arms parted from her side like some comic book super hero flies towards Ichika's neighbourhood area at a comfortable cruising speed. As she leaves the area, Rin rolls her eyes and shakes her head for a brief moment before blinking and speaking out the words - "What the heck just happened?".

**\- Back with Houki -**

Coming to a stop in the air, breathing heavily from fatigue, the Japanese female known as Houki despite being cut from shrapnel and exhausted seems to be a perfect match in the summer sunlight, having just moped up the last of the drones with aid from the F-15J Eagles, though victorious the dark haired childhood friend of Ichika shows no sign of wanting to celebrate, which as weird as it may seem to many, is completely normal for any fighter having experianced such a long and tiresome day. To say that Houki has just missed the somewhat spectacular display of destruction deployed from Kestrel would be untrue, the female was just in time to see the mass of explosions that filled the air, followed by the large clouds of smoke. Though Houki was somewhat of a distance away the female was still able to notice the mass of destruction that filled the air for just a matter of minutes or so. The ressult was a serious frown to form on Houki's face, and instead of a chill being felt, the feeling of amazed awe was on the female's face. Even now, after only just watching the sight, the female holds a very straight face... unlike Rin, Ichika and Charlotte, the female is in a calmer mood, but that maybe because of having to see quite a lot of bizarre sights today, aswel as getting involved in what can best be described as a rather HEAVY event.

Looking at the distant burning city that is now clear of drones, the wind seems to soothe Houki's brow of high temperatures and sweat, even the stings of the small cuts suffered seem to numb down as she stares with inquisitation at the fading black smoke from the vast numbers of mid air explosions in the distance. The roars of the F-15Js seem to make Houki look surprisingly hard core as she hovers still at over 500ft in the air, the ground below is littered with burning wreckage of Reaper drones yet Houki does not look down to look at the mass of burning wreckage that thankfuly has landed on green forest and hilly coastal areas, so at least the last of the fighting Houki has had to take part in hasn't happened over residential areas. Stareing in silence blinking only now and then, the Japanese female suddenly gets a strange feeling rush through her body as the sudden thought of Ichika and Kestrel come to mind. The female is doubtful ofcourse,  
but thinking carefuly while she deactivates her IS weaponry, Houki begins to think twice about the possibility of what just happened being linked to Ichika's small black haired friend, having noticed Kestrel's IS in combat before and seeing it fly in an un-matched manner, Houki's hunch is unknowingly correct as she calmly speaks one phrase between small tired out breaths - "Was..  
that caused.. by Kestrel's IS?".

_**\- Elsewhere over the sea, 3,000ft in the air -**_  
_**( Please refer to the end of chapter 83 to remember this character )**_

Having observed the destruction of the drones from a fair distance away, hovering in full deployed IS form, blood red and black orange patterns standing out proudly aswel as the the holographic bat wings that spread out proud. The dark haired, unknown female figure frowns in a fierce and angered scowl, her catish green eyes focused firmly on the distant burning object of Ichika's city. The female appears very angered, the female makes it clear as she lowers her head and snarls, flashing a sharp fang set amoungst a set of pearly white teeth. The female then slowly raises her right IS arm up to her mouth as if to talk into a wrist watch, the female's voice is cold, sinister as is the look on her face. The female's long black hair with red highlights appears to scream the very word death and misery, as does the white skull and rattlesnake emblem. The female speaks in a cold hiss in Israeli..

( In Israeli ) - "This is Daniella, This is Daniella... we have a code five four seven, the operation has failed, confirmation of suspect is true... the little fag has Black Phoenix, all drones have been destroyed, confirm".

The female inhales deeply through her nose and lets out a snarl for a second before the computer sounding voice of a woman replies in an equaly sinister and cold manner, the female reply is in Israeli also - "I see... well... don't pout Daniella, it doesn't matter that the runt took out our drones, merely just a taste of what's soon to come. In the meantime... proceede to phase two".

Upon hearing the female's words, the black haired female now known as Daniella smirks in a very evil and sinister way, the female licks her lips in a slow manner before replying a slightly excited manner - "Consider it done, leaving combat area... consider my next gift to that little bastard, VERY special!".

With that the female lowers her IS arm, turns herself round in the air and with a final glance over her right shoulder grins suspiciously with a confident expression before kneeling forward and blasting away into the sky, the female's IS bat wings partialy sweeping back as she rockets away into the atmosphere. At that moment as if on cue, the wind dies down and the distant sounds of destruction from Ichika's home city can be more easily made out, an aura of darkness seems to fill the area as the female leaves the scene.

_**Okay, that's chapter 86, its the best I can do for now, please note that the name Daniella means "God is my judge.". Not that names must matter much but all the same I thought it would be interesting to add a bit of fact with this chapter. Please read and review, if anyone has any requests just give me the message in the open reviews section remember this is a community friendly fic and everyone is welcome to add their own ideas and requests. Thanks for sticking around despite the delays. I know I didn't include Laura in this battle but don't worry you'll understand why in the next chapter, remember all the original characters get thoughts given to them.**_

_**I'll get round to the next chapter as soon as I can, and for those that like this fic and stick around despite my grammar and spelling errors then god bless you and thanks, keep sending that support coming my way and please remember I'm wishing all you readers the best and may your own fics get all the positive reviews in return.**_

_**Stay cool readers**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	87. Chapter 87: After hours of battle

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned has promised with a fresh new chapter, this chapter is longer than the last so don't worry about quality this time. Just for the record in case you readers were thinking, every action and battle chapter is part of the plot I made up which in turn answers a question that some of you maybe asking. The previous battle chapters are a major part of the plot for this fic, and for those whom have enjoyed a touch of violence, blood, gore and action then don't worry, more is soon to come and should involve the IS character cast. For now... PLEASE review everything you've read so far, and if anyone has any requests remember to send them my way, and as always please post all reviews in the open review section. This chapter is set a few hours from where we left off but only by 6 or 8, so don't worry nothing BIG or important has been missed out. Also forgive the spelling mistakes and grammar errors, REMEMBER, typing a lot and coming up with special extra addatives does ressult in the occasional mistake and it IS very tiring, so give me some supporting encouragement for that, I DO need it at times.**_

_**Okay, thats it for introductions, please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 87:

-** Ichika's home town/City area - ( Use your imaginations well! )**

Screaming fills the air, most are screams of terror, but umongst the shrieking and panic a differant type of scream is in the air, its that of the wounded whom thrash and struggle on either the ground or on an ambulance stretcher. By now after 8 hours of chaos and confusion Japan's self defence forces are finaly able to get the situation under control and establish a matter of defence around what remains of Ichika's home town/City areas, even though the attack is long since over and there are no further attacks underway, a feeling of security no exsits in the air with the simple pressance of SDF armored vehicles, black military dressed soldiers in the streets of residential areas either unscathed or hit during the drone attack, and the roar of fighter jet engines in the sky from F-15J Eagles and F-2A Vipers help prove that although the SDF is too late to do anything about the matter of the drone attacks, any possible further attacks WILL be met with some resistance and at least now the emergency services are able with the tackling of fires and more importantly the wounded. The worst thing about the air is not just the sounds of the dying and the wounded, but a horrible lingering smell of burning flesh, wood, steel and various other liquids and materials.

Even though the Japanese goverment has been able to take control of the situation for the past hour or so, news of what has happened has by no surprise spread across the world by now, the fact being proven as news and media helicopters fly miles outside the vacinity of Ichika's home city areas due to military restrictions to civilian air traffic being in place, the only acceptions in the air are medical helicopters. Black Hawk helicopters and Chinooks hover and fly throughout the burning areas of Ichika's neighbourhood aswel as through the burning areas of Ichika's home city areas, while above numbers of fighter jets make overhead flybys and flyovers monitioring the air and establishing a firm aerial perimitter.

The majority of people that have survived the attack unscathed remain in their homes by order of both civil and military law, which in a sense is good thing to do, the mood outside is nothing but one of defeat, devastation, hopelessness and misery. The fact being made as medical crew from white and red coloured ambulances rush and scramble to gather the wounded from the streets, one such crew appear to be panicked as they lift an horrificaly burnt Japanese male from the ground, the male is pitch black with red patches, the clothing is burnt and the flesh appears to be trying to leave the body, the male is screaming violently, the only non-burnt feature on this male is his white teeth that can be seen as the male twists his head from left to right, eyes closed tightly screaming in agony, but maybe he won't have to wait long for relief, many others in such a horrible way such as his own are dying off very quickly, but never the less the fact remains that its going to be a slow drawn out one full of pain, a VERY horrible way to go.

The same scenes of distress is repeated on the ground floors of the exact same hospital that Megumi was in not too long ago, which by now is over filled by the amounts of dying and wounded that continue to flow through the hospital doors like an endless flood. White coated doctors and nurses rush around, turning to face each other and shout, the sounds of chaos is so loud that its very hard to understand what someone is saying due to the amount of people speaking and shouting at once. One such nurse with short green hair and thin framed glasses is clearly too badly overwhelmed with nerves and emotions and drops a silver tray containing medical tools on the floor beside the lifeless body of a middle aged man whom's face is covered by a green towel, the nurse has tears rolling down her face as she falls to her knees to pick up the silver metalic tools, the woman scrambling to pick up all needed tools to aid in the saving of lives. On the upper floors the struggle is becoming situation critical as doctors rush over to patients laying on makeshift stretchers and beds. One such doctor with short black hair is covered in blood that covers his white coat aswel as his arms and hands and yet the male seems cool and collected, knowing what he's doing in the face of a hopeless situation.

Many men from ages of 20 to 60 clentch their teeth and hiss, scream and thrash as they are tended to by the medical staff whom are trying desperately to deal with multipule patients at once, some others however shake and tremble violently as their nerves go out of control, one such nurse with red hair in a bun and no white head wear stabs a young 14 year old boy's arm with a shringe in an attempt to dose the youth with a local to quel the nerves and the pain, but even then the feeling of hopelessness remains. As this is happening, in the floors above the situation is more undercontrol than usual as a doctor dirty with dark patches on his white coat and blood coating his arms and hands turns to look a light brunette nurse with bushy hair in the face the doctor's green eyes making contact with those of the brown eyes of the nurse. A serious expression is upon the doctor's face as he shouts in a loud and violent tone - "You gotta mark em, those that require locals, those that are dying and those that are critical! Mark em!".

The brunette haired nurse does not reply nor does she ask questions and simply turns away from a newly admitted patient being a young 19 year old male whom although has been spared from burns is clearly in peril due to have blood stains over the top half of his body, the male's eyes are virtualy closed altogether and is gasping deeply, trying desperatley to hold on to his life. The brunette nurse returns a matter of seconds later with a thick black marker pen, the white uniformed female takes the top off the marker pen and simply discards it to the ground without a second thought and proceedes to lean over the dying Japanese male, writing down a large black letter C on the male's head. No more words are exchanged between the doctor and the nurse, instead the white uniformed nurse, drenched with sweat and patient's blood rushes over to more patients, writing down various letters on the patients of both men and women, in the first five or so minutes, the nurse writes down 25 letter Ds to indicate a patient dying, 10 letter Cs to incate those in critical condition and 43 Ls to incate those in pain and needing medical drugs to cease the pain that the victim's are suffering.

The exact same thing is happening on several more floors with both dirty, exhausted and blood soaked doctors and nurses rushing round trying desperately to save lives from death, those that are screaming can be considered the lucky ones due to having plenty of energy and signs of life about them, those that are silent and still are clearly in urgent need of attention, and to make matters worse for the medical staff of the 'all ready' overcrowded hospital, some surgeries have to take place in the corridors, in the wards and on the ground floors with doctor's having to work and administer drugs on the spot, even though the SDF military have medical posts set up in areas untouched by this morning's attack, its clear that the loss of life is going to be high, unless a miracle can come forward and aid the desperate situation. The smell in the air is foul, its a mix of urine, flesh, burning substances, and medical equipment and medicines, and the screaming from men, women and children make it worse, the most horrible and dramatic of these sounds is the wail and crying from children whom have been caught up in this morning's drone attack. For the doctors whom cut open people's clothing in order to get to the wounds on their bodies, they need a medal and a very good one at the effort they are making, one such male has his teeth clentched and whimpers in pain as blood suddenly spurts like a geyser out of his chest as a doctor attempts to tend to the wound.

A woman patient thrashes on a nearby bed that is drenched red with blood, her legs are gushing and spurting red as 4 doctors try to hold the female down on one of the ward beds in an attempt to make tending to the wound easier. The female is screaming and shouting large vulgar words, the female whom has long black hair and slight burn patch on her left cheek keeps her eyes closed tightly as she twists and rolls her head left to right yelling swear after swear while clutching tightly to the metal bar structures on both sides of the bed. On another set of beds, doctors and nurses hand and toss each other blood soaked medical tools, each and every single doctor and nurse more or less has to shout at the top their lungs as way of calling out what they need, for those that can't hear a word being said, the ressult is shouting down each other's ear in an effort to maitain communication. Communication itself isn't a problem just because of the screaming patients, but also because of alarms that sound outside and inside, from outside a mix of car alarms, fire alarms and emergency services sirens fill the air, while indoors... calls come from speakers in the corridors and halls while alarms sound for staff to go to certain areas, but even then... staff are so badly stretched it maybe in vain to call a staff member to one place from another, or risk the death of another man, woman or child, the age critteria is ignored by that horrible power of death that takes life after life.

Bandages run out fast, so many nurses proceede to remove their dirty and bloody white shoes and take off their stockings ignoring that their underwear can be seen as some have to lower their skirts or remove them in a bid to get make shift bandages for dying patients, but even so... the heroisim shown is one to be proud of, for one to be able to handle such a perilous situation and be able to handle things with a swift choice and use their creative minds, is SOME skill, as one has no doubt discovered if they themselves have been in that situation and experianced it first hand.

Outside the hospital, the scene is going to get far worse as doctors and nurses run outside to pick out victims that can be saved from death, for those victims that can tell if they are going to get a certain mark to determine if they are going to die or not, it must be an unspeakable moment. Many victims that meet the doctors and nurses that rush outside are burnt badly, many that can still stand are screaming, head back and screaming in agony in the hot summer sunlight and still the doctors and nurses are dealing with the numbers with untold courage, aiding the medical staff are numbers of SDF troops whom have discarded their firearms to aid in carrying the dead and dying to safety, some SDF troops have the red cross patch on the sleaves of their arms, but even then, the numbers of casualties are too great for everyone to handle at once.

Nurses and doctors rush left, right and center, some nurses can be seen without a cap and covered in dirty uniform and pointing to certain locations in an effort to tell where a certain type of patient is to go, one such nurse with black hair in a bun and thin black framed glasses stands on the top of bullet holed car and shouts at the top of her lungs - "Critical patients and those that bear the letters S, place them over there!" - the female points to the entrance to the hospital that has its doors stuck open, the mechinisim to open and close has obviously been frozen to allow for perminent access for those that can be saved. At the same time another nurse points to the direction of SDF armored APCs and shouts at the top of her voice - "Patients with the letter F are to go over there!" - tears are rolling down the blonde haired nurse's face as she speaks, it takes all the female's strength not to suddenly burst out crying at the pressure of the situation. The grim truth is that all patients with the letter 'S' indicates those that have a chance, and those with 'F', its too late to do anything to help.

The hospital itself hasn't been spared in the attack, a large open gaping hole ressembling a bit out chunk is at the very top floors of the hospital, though the structure damage clearly isn't enough to jepordise the building, the black smoke that rises from the gaping hole is enough to cause ever more panic and distress, but even then at the top of those floors that have been hit, the fight to save the wounded and the sick is still underway, even the roof, just 2 floors above the floors that have been damaged is smoking from light fires that are being put under control by firecrews operating from red coloured helicopters, the large red crosses upon the top of the building are twisted and bent each are riddled with holes from machine gun fire. From on the ground a random silver haired nurse with a hair bun looks up and feels the urge to be sick, the female is distressed as the sounds, sight and smell concocts and becomes some god awful feeling of hopelessness at the sight, the female seems to forget directing people to safety and lowers her head, the female half closes her eyes and allows tears to roll down her face like a rainstorm, the female can only speak in one low, sorrow cracked voice - "Why is this happening?" - the female places her left hand over her mouth as she looks in distress at the lifeless body of one of her colleage nurses whom stares up at the sky with half closed, very dead looking green eyes, a thin trail of blood rolls from out the right side of her mouth, the nurse has long blonde curly hair and has to be between 17 to 23.

**\- Elsewhere with Laura Bodewig -**

Hovering at 70ft in the air and in full deployed IS form, the silver haired, eye patched Laura points with her left IS arm, directing SDF troops to areas that desperately require attention. Her German comrades are scattered but can be carefuly made out in the distance each of which hovering low off the ground and moving from one place to another aiding in the rescue being made by the SDF. Laura's hair blows very gently in a light breeze, and in that moment the female slowly turns her head to the right to look towards Ichika's home city area, its a choice the female quickly regrets as the smells, the sight and the sounds mix and give the German haired female the feeling of humiliating and utter defeat, and for a military ace like Laura, its a sting that hurts like hell, and not physically. Laura had intentionaly wanted to go to her 'so called' wife's home, only to get involved in the mass of chaos, being drawn into a battle of her own with her comrades whom by now are busy helping with SDF forces.

To say that Laura has had a quiet fight would be untrue, together with her comrades, Laura had played a vital role in the fighting, downing over 200 or so drones, and with the help of her comrades whom too are in full deployed IS form, made a combined score of 1,399 drones, so although Laura and her comrades had missed out on the fighting with Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel, the female was probably a blessing in disguise as the coastal areas of which Laura has been spending the nights have escaped with mild damage, so as hopeless as the sight maybe... and although Laura and her comrades can't feel any significance at the moment, she and her girls have saved a lot of lives and helped reduce the damage from spreading. Laura had also witnessed the demise of the drones due to the 'at the moment' unbeknowst actions of Kestrel, but that is only one out of may other questions running around the female's mind at the moment as the female stands stareing in bewilderment and shock at the sight of Ichika's home city which looks like an apocalypse.

The German female can't find her words for some strange reason, the female is feeling levels of negativity not yet felt before, shock maybe one of the things that Laura is feeling right now. The female blinks with her single solitary eye, not taking it off the sight of Ichika's home city which is burning brightly, emitting tons of thick black smoke into the sky and casting a dark cloud over the city, like a cloud of death and despair. In all, over 70 to 88 large black smoke coloumns rise from Ichika's city, that matched with the many hundred smaller coloumns seem to blot out the remains of buildings that once dominated the sky line, for buildings that have collapsed during and after the attack, large orange and yellow fires burn and roar like some massive sets of bonfires, metal structure, concrette and glass scatters and fills the rubble and debris filled streets, SDF forces have already begun to advance into the city but its clear that this event has clearly become a national crisis, more units are going to be needed and from what Laura has seen, it could take months just to gather enough man power to clear away the wreckage that fills the city, fires still burn in the streets and many buildings have lost their windows.

Laura can only find one phrase after speaking in a horrified whisper, her face is pale and her single eye is open wide, the sweat that has poured down the female's brow can't even begin to describe what the female has seen and experianced this morning and the aftermath seems to be the final nail in the coffin - "My god... Look at it!".

The seconds that pass by seem to be like hours as far as Laura is concerned, the female remaining silent in the air and motionless, hovering in silence not speaking or muttering another word before lowering her head and letting out a very frustraited sigh. As Laura raises her head, a serious scowl and look of fury is on her face, invisible blue aura flames of rage engulf the German female as she looks back at what was once a city of happiness, the female snarls as a loose tear of mixed emotions rolls down from her single solitary eye, sure... Laura is a tough female whom may seem emotionless, but the fact remains... that no matter how hard one may be, and no matter how hard one tries to hide their emotions, the horrible powers of fate mixed with the cruelty of the hand of the human race, WILL draw emotions to the surface, so as horrible as it maybe... Laura's tear is the humblest of reminders that no matter how hard and tough the German female may seem, she too is like everyone else on planet earth, a human being... whom too MUST cry or feel emotional every now and then at such a sight or experiance, the proof that she worries over Ichika is perfect proof enough of that matter.

Laura, with her head held high and snarling in rage, allows another tear to roll down her face before closing her eye tightly, deactivating her weaponry, balling her IS hands into fists and feeling an overwhelming surge of power and life in her lungs lets out at first a quiet scream which quickly builds into a furious shriek in fury the female raises her IS arms above her head as she throws her head back, her eye still closed, and fires a loud, emotional and blood drunken scream in frustraition, those in the streets below her, mostly consisting of SDF troops cease what they are doing and look up as Laura fires out the loudest scream she could ever hope to manage. The female's lungs don't even seem to begin bursting as the female begins to cry in a mixed emotional manner, even as the female ceases screaming and lowers her IS arms, her hands are still balled into fists. The female dares not to open her eye as she keeps her head lowered, tears continue to roll down the female's cheek as she trembles, still in full IS form.

**\- Briefly elsewhere with Chifuyu, Maya, Rin and Cecilia -**

A large light gray coloured Atago-class SDF destroyer cruises just 4 miles off the coastal docking areas of what was once Ichika's home city. The destroyer is just one out of 4 other Atago class destroyers that have arrived on the scene as a means of securing the coastal areas of Japan against any further possible attacks. Helicopters hover and fly over the large light gray coloured SDF warship that now houses four popular females. Standing side by side each other, the black ponytailed sister of Ichika known as Chifuyu stands leaning against a protective guard rail that prevents anyone falling over the right 'or starboard' side of the vessel and into the sea. Chifuyu despite having a fair taste of violence today has a surprisingly less aggressive expression on her face, rather than being one of anger, Chifuyu's face is rather one of dissapointment. The female seems unphased as the freezing wind blows her long black ponytail and the sounds of the destroyer engines are a very welcome sound that covers up the sounds of continueing chaos in the destroyed city that was once civilization. Standing on the left side of Chifuyu stands a distraught and distressed Maya whom appears to be fighting tears of fear and sorrow at the sight.

Maya's voice appears cracked with sorrow and shock as she places both hands over her mouth in an act of bewilderment as the SDF destroyer passes by a large section of burning dockyard areas that were subject to attack this morning. Maya's words are short as she speaks in a horrified manner - "Dear god!" - though Maya's words are muffled slightly due to hands being over the green haired woman's mouth, the words are still loud and clear enough for all four females to hear.

Harbor cranes are mangled, twisted and black chard messes of steel toppled over and laying on their sides, dockyard buildings, warehouses and staff vehicles have litteraly been wiped out in this morning's attack, small yatch marinas are a mass of flames with sunken yatch masts sticking out of the shallow dock waters like black painted cocktail sticks, and the stentch of cooking and burning fish mixes in with the smells of death and destruction as burning fishing trawlers settle and sink in the dockyard waters.

From where the four females stand, a good view of the city docks can be seen utterly devastated, most ships that dock are large super tankers which have not been sparred this morning, some large vessels have sunk in shallow waters, their decks awash and their cargo of containers spilt overboard and into the shallow waters. The water around the docks are a mix of wood splinters, oil, blood and human remains. Large bright burning fires, bright orange and roaring wildly rise from the worst of the stricken merchant vessels that have been hit in this morning's attack causing ever more large coloumns of thick black smoke to rise, obscuring the sun and causing a horrible amount of grim darkness to blot out the afternoon sun and give that horrible feeling that the world and everything in it is dying. Amoungst the sunken tankers is a sight that causes the Chinese brunette known as Rin to lower her head in solomness, the female stands directly to the left of Maya and stands legs stiff, the female's long pig tails blowing in the freezing ocean wind.

Having joined up with Cecilia after the destruction of the drones the intention was to head for safety on the outskirts of the city, only to be stopped by Chifuyu whom suddenly got the feeling that her students would be safer in SDF hands, that along with the fact that she had to speak to someone to find out what the hell happened, or for that matter WHY the hell this attack was allowed to happen this morning. So far any questions Chifuyu has haven't been answered, as far as the SDF crews are aware this morning was just as surprising for them as it was for the victims caught up in this morning's unprovoked attack.

The blonde haired Cecilia whom stands beside Chifuyu on the said woman's right also stands straight, and thankfuly is now able to cover herself up with a towel provided by the SDF crews, even though Cecilia wasn't naked and was in a bikini, the female still needed to cover up either way, one of the reasons was due to the fact that Chifuyu was tired of seeing one of her students in a practacaly naked state. Cecilia herself is feeling just as depressed and as effected as Rin, remaining silent as her long blonde hair blows in the wind, the female staring in silence at the upturned hull of an oil tanker engulfed in large amounts of oil flames that burn on the surface of the water. The female's can't see any bodies thank goodness, but the sight alone is a real mess. A sight so foul that it can best be described as pearl harbor of 1941, ships ablaze, black smoke in the air blocking out the sun and people either on land or in the sea powerless to do something about it. The smells of burning fuel, oil and human remains fills the air, indicating that clear up will take months, maybe even days, and the cost of the damage is clearly out of this world, however worst of all... the total of fatalities is yet to be made clear, those facts mixed close together is enough to make everyone feel sick to the gut.

For a while Chifuyu had been mulling things over in her head, trying to come to a choice to think if it was a good idea for her students to remain with both her and Maya, but now that the female looks at the sight of devastation before her, the female thinks that maybe it WAS a good idea to have her students remain at her side, the attack this morning was traumatic enough, the last think Chifuyu needs is to see the horribaly mangled and messed up state of dead bodies, Kestrel has PTSD and has seen horrors far worse than this its true, but as far as Chifuyu is concerned, she will NOT allow her students to experiance horrors nearly equal to that of what Kestrel has seen, which puts a feeling of proud responsibility somewhere in the womnan's heart.

**\- With Charlotte, Houki, Ichika and Kestrel -**

Sitting ontop of a high cliff area some fair distance away from what was once Ichika's home city, the trio of Ichika, Kestrel and Charlotte has now been joined by Houki, whom wasted no time in running up to both Ichika and Charlotte and exchanged comforting hugs in relief, the hug that Houki had given the shocked and nerve ridden Kestrel was more like a loving smother of relief, not that Houki has feelings for Kestrel, but rather like a relieved good friend whom knows how dear the vulnerable and timid scar faced infant is to her dear precious love interest with black busy hair and brown eyes. Having followed Chifuyu's orders following the end of the fight, Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel had intended to flee to the safe outskirts of Ichika's home town and city, but had 'rather than wanted' to make a stop off at the residence of Tomoe and Megumi, and as a ressult had taken turns transporting the females of the Shizuka household to safety. Ichika had transported Yui and Kazumi under his arms like a person carrying a pair of bags, much to the female's shock and nerves. Charlotte had carried Megumi to safety bridal style while Kestrel had carried Tomoe in exactaly the same manner.

Only after leaving the city areas did the trio notice a meeting assembly area under guard by Self defence troops, a large number of APCs and military transport vehicles had successfuly boarded off and barracaded roads leading in and out of Ichika's home city, and having noticed red cross tents and medical posts set up for people whom had evacuated and managed to get to safety out of the city, Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel had chosen to land in an act to ensure the safety and protection of Yui, Tomoe, Kazumi and Megumi. Though the females had escaped death and destruction and their home had taken only shrapnel damage from the attack this morning, the females were shaken up slightly with light nerves, which was only to be expected after all. When one isn't used to traumatic events happening, or being close to death, they do feel shaken up, as one has no doubt experianced or found out themselves first hand. With the four females now amoungst the numbers of other victims of this morning's attack either getting medical attention or are giving statements to either SDF troops or police officers, a feeling of security now hangs in the air.

It was also on the ground that Ichika, Charlotte and Kestrel had met Houki, getting light treatment for the small cuts on her arms, hands and face caused by shrapnel during this morning's battle with the drones. To say that Houki is a mess would be untrue, the female despite suffering small cuts appears completely intact, except for a large band aid across her left cheek, give it only a few days and the wound will be healed completley. Ichika had also taken some light shrapnel hits but only a few scratches at least, nothing serious and they too will be gone very quickly. Kestrel and Charlotte having fought with firearms have escaped intact, but just like Ichika and Houki, both are trying to assess what the hell has happened this morning. As Charlotte, Houki and Ichika begin to converse with each other, Kestrel remains silent, stareing at the burning sight of Ichika's home city with a 1,000 yard stare, but thankfuly there is no sign of a turn taking place. Everyone is no longer in IS form and is taking in the peace and quiet of the air, or what there is of it as the sounds of people screaming, emergency service alarms and the roars of fighter jets continue to fill the air.

Kestrel sits with his small legs crossed under him on some soft grass just a few feet away from the rocky edge of the slopeing cliff that overlooks a highway road just below them, just beside that is the sparkling blue majesty of the ocean, with its waves rolling and moving as naturaly as they should be. Ichika sits in between Houki and Charlotte, turning his head from left to right to look at both females, the Japanese male has an exhausted look in his eyes, as does Charlotte and Houki, however all three of the trio are clearly ready to take on another attack if it comes, but thankfuly there is no such attack coming even though that feeling of a possibility tugs on their hair every now and then. The words that Ichika, Charlotte and Houki speak seem to go un-noticed by Kestrel as the long black haired youngster looks in silence at Ichika's home city, black smoke engulfs and hangs over the entire city area making it look like some giant storm cloud or early night has befallen what was once a city of tranquility and peace.

The scar faced infanty lowers his small head and blinks before keeping his eyes to a half closed state, a look of depression and upset is on the youngster's face even as the said Isreali infant looks down at the boarded off coastal highway leading towards Ichika's home city. Time seems to freeze for the scar faced youngster as he looks down at the empty highway roads, the cool feeling sea breeze soothing and blowing at his small brow. Not a seagull is in the sky due to the shock and awe caused by this morning's drone attacks, but wildlife isn't all gone altogether as a ressult of the drone attacks, the fact being proven as a warm, small and soft feeling with a hint of sharpness suddenly crawls over his small lap, causing the scar faced youngster to suddenly blink in surprise and look down at his lap. What Kestrel sees is a surprising sight as his ocean blue eyes, glazed and troubled meet the small black eyes of a gray furred squirrel.

A moment passes with both Kestrel and the wild furry animal keeping eye to eye contact, the scar faced youngster's heart slows down and beats at a very calm pace, the sea breeze seems to blow away a horrible weight of pressure off his small chest and a moment of warmth and comfort engulfs him as both he and the wild gray furry squirrel with its thick busy tail look deeply into each other's eyes. The voices of Charlotte, Ichika and Houki aren't even heard, nor is the sounds of abnormality and chaos on the ground below or in the air. Little Kestrel with his long black hair shinning along with his silver Star of David pendant tilts his small head to the right for a second before very slowly moving his small right hand off his lap, tilting his small head back into its natural position as he moves his small hand towards the squirrel which sits comfortably on the infant's lap, its small nose twitching as it sniffs the air and keeps eye contact with Kestrel. Within a matter of seconds Kestrel's small right hand has made it within a few inches of the squirrel's head, the small gray furred animal twitches and moves in a tiny moment of alarm for a second having noticed Kestrel's small hand moving towards its head.

Fortuneatley the squirrel does not jump nor flee and maintains its posture and postion on Kestrel's lap and lowers its forward limbs from its reared up position to rest on the scar faced youngster's leg. Kestrel opens the fingers on his small hand, the small hand palm facing upwards towards the sky as the infant moves his hand over towards the squirrel, the squirrel sniffs the air and then, as quickly as the encounter began, Kestrel's hand comes within an inch of the squirrel, the wild furry animal reaches forward with its forward limbs and places its small paws over Kestrel's index finger, the scar faced youngster ignores the sharp feeling of the squirrel's claws as the wild animal allows him to put his finger towards the wild animal's face. A second later the squirrel makes the rest of the moves as it opens its small mouth and covers the index finger of Kestrel, Kestrel himself ignores the brief sharp feeling of the squirrel's teeth and allows the animal to continue, what follows next is a soft, comfortable moist feeling as the squirrel gently begins to lick Kestrel's index finger.

A small friendly and kind smile appears on Kestrel's face as he tilts his head to the left and wiggles his small finger in the squirrel's mouth, the squirrel keeps its small paws placed over Kestrel's small hand as he effectonatley plays with the wild animal, the squirrel responds by licking the tip of the scar faced boy's index finger a little bit faster, yet that small gentle and tickling feeling is perfect indication that the wild animal is happy in Kestrel's pressance. Kestrel's eyes remain glazed in a 1,000 yard stare which is beginning to dissipate and recover to become that of a normal set of eyes set in an innocent infant's face. Then as Kestrel moves his left arm slowly, the squirrel remains frozen on the spot allowing the infant to place his small arm directly infront of the wild animal as a perch offering, to which the wild animal seems to happily accept, releasing Kestrel's finger and small hand.

Responding to the friendly attitude of the squirrel, Kestrel rolls his right hand over to allow the back of his hand to face upwards as normal, the infant then moves his small hand towards the squirrel's back and with every last finger on his right hand, carefuly touches the soft, smooth furry back of the squirrel. The squirrel remains still and sits calmly on Kestrel's right arm as the infant carefuly strokes its back. The wild animal seems to fall in love with the scar faced boy's careful touch and moves its head, burrying itself in the soft palm of Kestrel's right hand, nuzzling the soft palm of Kestrel's right hand, the smooth soft furry body of the wild animal causes Kestrel's glazed stare to fade, the child's eyes seem to regain their normality as both he and the wild gray furred creature share a moment of tranquility in each other's pressance, and before Kestrel knows it the small animal climbs up the infant's arm and rests itself on Kestrel's shoulder, laying itself down on the youngster's left shoulder and keeping still, Kestrel rolls his eyes to the left looking happily and calmly at the wild furry animal that feels so wonderfuly soft, warm and comfortable on his shoulder.

From where they sit, Ichika, Charlotte and Houki remain oblivious to what is happening until the French blonde Charlotte just happens to huff and sigh, the female looking down at the crowds on the seafront below her at the bottom of the cliff, her mind wandering and causing the female to go into a daze of missery. Only after looking down at a group of children whom are embracing both their mother and father in a comforting family hug does the French blonde suddenly think of Kestrel, ofcourse only out of curiosity. The female has a neutral expression on her face as she looks over in the direction of Ichika's small Israeli friend, what she sees next causes her to go wide eyed for a second as a hammer of bewilderment suddenly smashes down onto her head, a small open smile appears on her face as she looks with amazement at Kestrel whom closes his left eye as the squirrel places its small paws on the side of the said infant's head before effectionately beginning to lick the side of the scar faced infants' left ear lobe. Little Kestrel replys to the squirrel's kind act by carefuly placing his right hand over his small shoulder allowing his small fingers to come into contact with the furry back of the squirrel, the squirrel lays back down as the scar faced infant slowly rubs its back, neck and head for a few seconds.

Stunned and overwhelmed with amazement, Charlotte leans forward, slowly and carefuly lifts her right arm and points with the index finger on her right hand as a signal for both Ichika and Houki to look over in Kestrel's direction. The French blonde dares not take her eyes off the sight for a second as she whispers in a loud yet careful manner to both Houki and Ichika whom are engaged in conversation. - "Hey, Look!" - Ichika and Houki immediately cease talking upon hearing Charlotte's words and cast confused and worried looks down to the French blonde. Ichika is first to speak in a nervous yet wonderous tone - "What? What is it Char?".

"Look at Kestrel" - Charlotte replies motioning with her head for both Houki and Ichika to look to their right, the French blonde lowers her arm as she whispers in a slightly louder tone to Ichika's question. Immediately responding to Charlotte's words, both Houki and Ichika turn their heads in a quick manner both are slightly confused yet worried at what it is about Kestrel that would cause Charlotte to whisper. However its a choice that both quickly enjoy making as both are met with the sight of Kestrel and the wild un-tamed squirrel breaking the barrier that seperates man from beast, not that the squirrel is considered a beast, but is non the less a wild animal that has in all likelyhood never encountered a human up so close before. Both Houki and Ichika blink and go wide eyed in amazement for a second before looking each other in the face and exchanging very warm and effectionate smiles to each other, before turning to look at the black haired Kestrel whom allows the wild gray furred creature to climb down his left arm and into his small lap, there the wild animal seems to curl itself into a ball shape, its thick bushy tail more or less providing extra comfort as the creature begins rest happily on Kestrel's lap, the scar faced infant carefuly stroking the small furry creature on the top and back of its head with the index finger of his left hand.

Even though its not the first time that Ichika, Houki and Kestrel have seen the scar faced infant in contact with wildlife its still a sight to behold, especially since the ability to befriend a wild animal is not what many get the privalidge to have. The fact being proven as Houki looks at the scar faced infant with a look of pride and excitement on her face and speaks in an amazed and happy tone - "Remind me to ask Kestrel how he does that".

"At least Kes gets some pleasures out of what ever crap life throws at him" - Ichika states in cool yet very kind and effectionate big brother like tone, the Japanese male has a warm and friendly expression on his face as he speaks in a happy tone.

"He has a gift, no doubt about it... and to be honest I can see why you like spending time around him, having a friend like him is someone I would happily like to boast about" - Charlotte puts in with an equaly friendly tone. Though both Houki and Ichika hear Charlotte's words, neither turn to look at the French blonde, but either way Charlotte knows that both have heard the female's words. The fact being proven as Ichika gives a very small, single and silent nod upon hearing Charlotte's words. A matter of moments later after Charlotte's words travel through the air, the Israeli youngster blinks and with an overwhelming feeling of concern and curiosity turns his small head to look to the left, though the sight of Ichika, Houki and Charlotte stareing at him is at first a bit startling, the scar faced Kestrel feels at ease relatively quickly upon seeing the kind and friendly smiles on the trio's faces.

Kestrel's response at first is a confused expression and slight tilt of the head to the right upon looking at the trio ahead of him, but upon noticing Houki motion with her head very silently for Kestrel to look down, does the vulnerable and troubled infant finaly understand what Houki is getting at. The small gray furred squirrel remaining curled up on the infants lap, using his young right thigh as a pillow. Kestrel remains silent as the grave as he looks back at the friendly trio with pleasant expressions, at this moment Ichika speaks one phrase that any random person would say at a time like this. - "I wish I had a camera on me, Kes and that squirrel look like bosom buddies".

"Inseprabable, as if they've met many times over and this is their first encounter" - Charlotte puts in as she slowly and as quietly as possible shifts her self over a bit closer to Ichika in an effort to get as close as possible to the scar faced Kestrel and his small furry friend. Houki however feels a warm feeling of warmth inside her and completley without thinking twice speaks in a calm and silent tone as not to frighten the gray fury animal on Kestrel's lap - "I wonder if that squirrel will let anyone else touch it". - Ichika and Charlotte's response is a silent turn of the heads to face each other with bewildered yet straight expressions before looking over at the back of Houki's head, Ichika's voice comes in an awkward yet pleasant tone in an act not to dishearten his dark haired childhood friend whom just like Ichika and Charlotte is overwhelmed with excitement at the sight -

"I shouldn't think so, I mean... Kes has the ability to win over the hearts of any wild animal, so maybe Kes is the only one whom that squirrel trusts"

"Don't take it the wrong way but, if you disturb that animal and it runs off from Kestrel, it may upset him, it has been a hard day after all and we need a break" - Charlotte states in a calm and pleasant tone, causing Houki to suddenly cease in her tracks due to her leaning forward towards Kestrel, her shrine maiden dress has dry blood stains caused from where shrapnel tore the fabric and entered her skin, yet her body feels as if its in good condition. Houki's happy and excited face changes from excitement to disheartenment almost immediately. The female had gotten on all fours and begun to crawl ever so slowly over towards Kestrel and the wild squirrel when Ichika had begun speaking, Kestrel clearly oblivious and petting the relaxing wild animal on his lap with his small left hand. However as Kestrel turns his small head back to the left to look over at the trio, the infant is ever so slightly surprised to see Houki on her hands and knees in a crawling forward position. The look on Houki's face is one of upset as if someone has suddenly realised that they have done something stupid and clearly regrets the choice.

However, what happens next can only be described as the promise of a beautiful friendship being established as the scar faced Kestrel briefly looks down at the squirrel, then back up and over to Houki whom remains frozen on the spot and upset with something. It takes a few minutes of Kestrel repeating looking at the curled up squirrel then over to Houki, but then... after a few blinks of the eyes and with a straight and innocent expression on his face, Kestrel slowly raises the right hand of his right arm up to his face, the infant balls his small right hand into what appears to be a fist but raises an index finger and places it to his small lips as if to say 'Ssshh quiet'. Everything seems to freeze in time, even the sounds of chaos seem to be blotted out as Kestrel lowers his right hand and arm from his face slowly, before tilting his small head to the right, at the same time lifting his left arm up, the infant's left hand is open, the palm is facing sky ward and the small fingers are parted as if offering a hand to be taken.

Houki is now wide eyed and silent and though Charlotte and Ichika turn to look each other in the face Houki remains still looking over to Kestrel whom looks the female in the eyes. Houki's heart seems to slow down and speed up in an abnormal rate as she casts looks over to Kestrel's hand and then to his small face. The twenty seconds that pass seem to be hours as far as Houki is concerned, but after taking her tenth glance at the neutral face of Kestrel, the infant suddenly places a small yet very timid smile on his face, though faint, it is noticeable and the expression on the scar faced youngster's face is one that says 'I trust you'. Houki then takes a breath and without a seconds hesitation crawls forward very slowly before reaching out with her right hand to take the smaller left hand of Ichika's small Israeli friend.

Ichika and Charlotte remain silent, casting continous looks to each other with wide open eyes and partialy open mouths as Houki allows the long black haired child to guide her over towards his lap. There as Houki rests herself beside Kestrel, the black haired infant still with his small left hand maintaining contact with Houki's own, suddenly lifts his left hand from his side ever so slowly before resting it ontop of Houki's right hand as if to reassure the female of safety aswel as encouraging the female to allow Kestrel to take the lead. Houki suddenly looses the ability to breathe as Kestrel slowly guides Houki's right hand over towards the curled up back of the squirrel, the small fury animal aparently oblivious to Houki's pressance, yet the girl feels that the animal is about to up and run away in alarm as her heart beats violently with a mix of excitment and nerves.

Ichika and Charlotte suddenly find themselves crawling forward slowly to watch in amazement as Kestrel slowly and carefuly guides Houki's hand over towards the curled up squirrel. Houki dares not blink as Kestrel with his small smile and calm attitude guides the female's hand VERY slowly to the back of the squirrel, in just a few seconds the waiting will be over. As Houki's fingers make contact with the soft warmth of the wild squirrel, the female opens her mouth and lets out a deathly silent exhale as she feels the smooth softness of the squirrel's fur. That soft comfort of fur is like the most heavenly padding to the female's skin, sure Houki has felt fur coats, both real and fake, but nothing compares to this feeling and to be guided to such a moment by a youngster whom has PTSD and hardly trusts someone is sure as hell a moment to feel proud of.

Houki slowly rubs and pets the back of the wild squirrel ever so carefuly as not to disturb it for a total of 20 seconds, the female is so heavily bewildered at the moment that the female silently whispers out three words - "Oh my god!". The female then breaks into a wide and overjoyed smile for a few seconds as Kestrel's small soft hands leave that of Houki's in an act of allowing the female to continue. From behind Ichika and Charlotte slowly stand up straight, the pair have excited expressions on their faces as they turn to face each other, neither take a step any further as not to disturb what is happening at the moment. For a total of 2 minutes, the squirrel allows the soft feminine hand of Houki to pet it before suddenly awakening and scurrying in alarm round the side of Kestrel, climbing up the youngster's arm and seeking shelter on the youngster's shoulder.

Though everyone is suddenly alarmed by the sudden lightning fast reaction from the squirrel, the experiance alone for Houki is enough to cause the female to break into a very kind and friendly smile, after all... its not everyday that one gets to be in close contact with wildlife. Smiling warmly and allowing the wild animal to recover from sudden shock and surprise, Houki chooses to back away, the female makes eye contact with the scar faced Kestrel whom looks at the face of Ichika's childhood friend with a confused yet interested expression, the infant blinks in a very innocent manner as Houki looks the infant in the eyes and makes a very ladylike bow in respect, the female's smile does not drop from her face as she makes eye contact with the ocean blue eyes of Kestrel, the female's words are clearly sincere as she speaks - "Thank you, you have a gift to be proud of, I can see why Ichika likes you".

Kestrel's response is a very timid and confused - "Hm?" - matched with a couple of blinks of his eyes, which is only to be expected, due to the fact that Kestrel's still learning the basics of Japanese lingo. As Houki straightens herself up Ichika looks over with a proud expression as if congratulating his childhood friend for a great achievement, which in a way... is what has just happened. Even though Ichika and Co don't know as much about PTSD as that of Tomoe, the explinations that have been drilled into their heads that state that even allowing another person to come into contact with something that PTSD holds precious is a sign of progress in the fight of healing psychological wounds.

"Way to go Houki" - Ichika states in a cool manner, balling his left hand and giving the dark ponytailed female the thumbs up as he speaks. Upon looking at the smiling face of Ichika, matched with the smile and encouraging praise is enough to cause the female to blush fiercely and look away with a bashful yet smiling expression, the smile on Houki's face does not leave as Ichika smiles and sends over a very kind smiling expression. Thankfuly Charlotte does not notice the moment of a Romance flag being raised and merely gets down on her hands and knees in hopes that she too can follow in the current footsteps of Houki.

For the rest of the afternoon, a pleasant aura fills the entire air around the four IS pilots that sit atop of the 40 or 50ft cliff side and though what has happened isn't enough to erase the horrible and negative effects and feelings of what has happened this morning, it can safely said that morale... despite only by a fraction, has been successfuly raised.

_**Okay... not much of a chapter I know, but its one I wanted to get out of the way fast, its following the plot I've made up so bare with me that this is a debriefing chapter on what has happened so far, the next chapter should get the characters back together in one group in following the aftermath of the drone attack, there some more peaceful yet serious chapters should have a free window to take place. The next chapter should reveal how many people have died in the drone attack and what treatment our heroes will receive following their acts in battle. Remember if anyone has any comments just write them down, and if anyone wants to see anything happen feel free to speak out.**_

_**Keep sending that support my way and for those that like this fic then thanks a lot, means a lot and keeps the morale up. Remember I'm giving you all my support in return and may your own fics get all the positive reviews and comments in return.**_

_**Don't have much to say during this closing address so yay!**_

_**See you readers soon, stay cool!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	88. Chapter 88: Debreifing

_**Hello again readers, been 2 months I know but I needed the break. For those that have stuck around then thanks a bunch, means a lot and keeps the confidence and morale high. This chapter should involve all the main characters in this fic coming together providing the debriefing on the recent big event that has taken place, the chapter after this should also inform you readers on the full scale of the damage Kestrel's Prometheus has done to the Ryuku Islands. This chapter is peaceful, which makes a change from the recent action and violence, but for those that still want a hint of action then they should get the information of how much damage has been inflicted by the drone attacks following previous chapters. This chapter should also involve the beginning of Kestrel getting medical aid from psychological experts, ( Refer to chapter 82 when Yui mentions psychotherapy ). Some comedy moments will be coming back aswel as some positive moments, aswel as the raising of romance flags for the characters, along with the discussion of where Ichika and Chifuyu will be living due to the loss of their home.**_

_**In any case, there should be a lot of answers to some questions in this chapter, so for those whom want some peace to return then this is one of such chapters for a while, Japan and the outside world will show you their reaction to the mass drone attacks. Ichika and Co should also be recognised for their heroisim in this chapter... so there will be some progression of the characters from here on out, as more and more events occur and answers to Kestrel's past come through.**_

_**Been looking over this fic from the beginning and I know its not as good as it is now, so maybe at some point I'll remake those chapters, can't be sure when but... the thought is there and at least I'm getting better, and at the most am trying my best. So... for those whom can forgive me for that then thanks!.**_

_**Been VERY busy lately so that also helped with delays, but... it happens.**_

_**Also, IF at any point I make a sequel to this fic, it will at the most be one of the investigation of the crimes made by Phantom task, aswel as the finding out of the culprits responsible for Kestrel's PTSD, however, as an acception, there will be action and some drama, Kestrel will remain at his young age, but as for what happens in the future, there will be NO spoilers. It is after all better if its a surprise is it not? Also as a bonus I suggest you readers go on Youtube and watch a very interesting documentary about PTSD, its called "Understanding and Treating Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder", though I'm sure you readers can see where Kestrel comes from, but that documentry should help you readers see things more from that infant's point of view.**_

_**Right... I won't keep you readers any more, please... sit back, read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 88:

**\- IS academy/ Teacher's lounge/ 05:00am -**

It feels as though its been a lifetime since Ichika was back in the IS academy, but that is understandable due to having being involved in a lot of very BIG events that have taken place. The same can be said for Charlotte, Cecilia, Houki, Rin and Laura, having spent a week or two out of the IS academy and being involved with busy and tiring matters, they too are surprised by how welcoming the IS academy is, though it is understandably strange without the mass of IS students to which Ichika and Co are used to knowing and being apart of. The fact being proven as Ichika sits on one of the large, soft and comfortable sofas, a look of amazement with a mix of joy is on his face as he looks around at the teacher's lounge. Sat right beside Ichika on the said male's right is Houki, the female leaning back and allowing the comfort of the sofa to ease her exhausted body, yet her face and spirit remain wide awake, as strange is it may seem, Houki too is in the same boat as that of Ichika, but unlike the energetic male that still remains full of ( Much needed ) adrenaline, the female is enjoying the solitude of peace and quiet, a small but tired smile is on the girl's face as she presses her back against the sofa and stares up at the gray coloured ceiling.

Sat beside Houki on the right is the blonde haired Charlotte, the female looking very tired out and drained of strength, unlike Houki and Ichika whom remain in the clothing they wore during the drone attacks, Charlotte has at last had the ability to get changed, the blonde ponytailed female wears a small blue miniskirt, a pure white short summer shirt and red coloured sandals. Charlotte for one looking very worn out and struggling to remain awake, the female rests her right elbow on the sofa arm and is slumped forwards slightly, the female rests her head on the knuckles of her right hand which is balled into a fist, keeping the female supported up, preventing her from falling to her right side, the female keeps her expossed, smooth legs close together as she sits in her slumped upright position, battling the urge to fall asleep.

Across from Ichika, Charlotte and Houki, sits the British blonde Cecilia, the Silver haired German Laura and the Pigtailed Chinese brunette Rin. Cecilia sits up straight apparently stareing ahead of her at Ichika yet she pays no attention to the sight ahead of her, having seen some very gruesome sights yesterday, the female is somewhat shell shocked if only very mildly. Cecilia wears a light green coloured sleeveless shirt, and a light gray mini-skirt, the female is barefooted. Laura on the other hand is wearing the Schwarzer Haze military uniform, including the small black forage cap on her silver haired head. The female looks down at her lap, her hands are placed together, the female's white fingers virtualy interlocking hands, the female is frowning to herself and remaining silent, not a breath escapes her nose or closed up mouth. Rin wears the exact same clothing as she did yesterday, having not gotten the chance to change like Cecilia or Charlotte. Rin's expression is one of a serious scowl mixed with nerve, the female is feeling numb from head to foot having had her fair share of the experiance that Ichika and everyone else had just a matter of hours earlier.

Joining Ichika, Cecilia, Charlotte, Rin, Houki and Laura is the scar faced infant with deep oceanic blue eyes known as Kestrel. The scar faced infant lays on his back on what appears to be a large red coloured bean bag, the infant's arms are spread apart from his sides as if swimming or floating on the surface of a large swimming pool, the scar faced youngster's legs are also parted, the infant's long shinning black hair spreads apart in some elegant manner as if in water, Kestrel's ocean blue eyes are open, the infant looks up at the gray coloured ceiling, staring into space. Kestrel can best be described as an infant with a zero mind, or in short the lights are on in Kestrel's head, but nobody is at home, but then again... that is only to be expected, having spent 24 hours awake and being expossed to a real heavy event, the child is unable to think of anything. Just like Ichika, Houki and Rin, Kestrel is dressed in his summer time clothing, having not gotten the chance to change clothing or shower, not that it would make much differance to Kestrel ofcourse when one takes into account what has just happened these past 24 hours.

Along side Kestrel is the two dark blue haired beauties, Tomoe and Megumi. Tomoe sits on large green coloured bean bag on Kestrel's left, just a few feet or so from the sofa where Ichika sits, Megumi is on Kestrel's right, the female looking litteraly dazzeled and impressed at being inside the legendary IS academy of Japan, the fact being proven as the female has a slightly open smile on her face as she slowly turns and rolls her head from left to right, savoring the sight of what is inside the teacher's lounge, the female clearly unable to find her words. Tomoe and Megumi despite getting medical checkups yesterday afternoon by SDF medical staff are just the same as Kestrel, Ichika, Houki and Rin, they too remain in their clothing from yesterday, ignoring the sticky and unpleasant feeling of dried up sweat and the fact that they haven't had the chance to change or even bath or shower, but in cases like this... one can make an acception. Megumi sits on bright yellow bean bag. On the left side of Megumi sits the mother of both females, Kazumi... whom just like Megumi is bewildered at the sight of the IS academy, seeing the great building from the outside is impressive enough, but to see it from the inside for the first time ever, its a moment to be impressed with, unlike her daughters, Kazumi has the privalidge to sit in a visitor's chair provided by the great Chifuyu, Maya and supportive Yui, whom for the moment at least remain absent from the gang.

A set of 6 other visitor chairs remain, but they are clearly already spoken for by Clarissa, Maya, Yui and 3 of the military German girls of the Schwarzer haze, giving the hint that the coloured bean bags to which Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi rest are from the Gym storage room. The mood in the air is one of bitterness and depression, the silence in the air would give the false impression that the IS academy is un-inhabited, the atmosphere is heavy and thick, so thick that the pressure that the inhabitants feel clearly helps restrict the breathing. Though the IS academy is obviously unable to restrict the gang's ability from the terrible feeling of grimness from the outside, the fact that the IS academy has been left un-touched by yesterday's drone attacks has in some way helped ease the feeling of utter defeat that hangs in the air. Despite being in a hurry last night, going here, there and god knows where else under personal instructions by Chifuyu, the gang DID notice the comforting sight of the IS academy that was unscathed, not a scratch was upon the academy walls, roof or grounds, and were equaly surprised when told to head there pronto to recieve what Chifuyu claimed as "Further and final instructions for the moment".

Now sat down and finaly getting the chance to rest and ease their exhausted bodies, the gang are finaly able to earn some much needed silence and solitude, but even then... what has happened these past 24 hours is still clearly playing on everyone's mind. In his mind's eye, Ichika can still clearly make out the sight of his sister pointing at him, scowling fiercely, speaking in a very strict and low tone voice, the female was in the pressance of SDF officers and troops, all of which were wearing the usual army camoflage dress, there were some men and women in what appeared to be buisness office suits, but just like Chifuyu, were also in the pressance of SDF members, even though Ichika had never seen those people before it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that whom ever they were, they had to be people of authority... or at least, people classed as important, otherwise the SDF wouldn't have been in such a big hurry to ensure their safety. Even as Ichika blinks and lowers his head to look at the floor, the Japanese male can still see that those men and women where dirty, dusty and in some areas covered in blood, much like his older sister as she gave the Japanese male strict instructions to head straight for the IS academy and to stay there until her own arrival. As a ressult... the black haired Japanese male, still covered with slight traces of dust and debris on his shoulders and in his hair, is litteraly a mass of questions, and having to bring Tomoe, Megumi and Kazumi along didn't help much, due to the female's strict determination not to let Kestrel out of their sights, though that may have been down to nerves... or maybe down to worrying... it non the less caused Ichika to feel ever more uncomfortable... even as the gang traveled on foot through the darkened streets last night due to Chifuyu's orders to NOT use IS.

Now having spent the remainder of last night's hours in the IS academy, aswel as the early morning hours also... it can be safely said that a good portion of weight has now been lifted off the gang's chest, though its not a vast amount, it non the less is very much welcome to the gang, and the solitude of the IS academy makes a very much welcome change from those god awful sounds of people screaming, SDF armored vehicles rumbling, SDF Jets roaring, fires crackling and burning and emergency services sirens whineing and blasting away at the air. Another welcoming factor of the IS academy is the pleasant scent of nothing, having spent over 20 hours of smelling nothing but burning oil and fuel, burning wood, steel, rubber and human remains, the freshness of un-poluted air is like the sweetest perfume to the gang's noses. It was originaly intended to have the gang eat something due to instructions of Chifuyu, but thankfuly Maya had other ideas... having experianced a big unpleasant event, aswel as smelt and ( In a way ) tasted the foul mix of death and destruction, the gang wouldn't be able to eat something anyway... even if their stomachs were empty.

Ichika and Co are perfect proof of the matter, the smells remain up their noses, the tastes are still in their mouths and the sights of devastation continue to replay over and over again in their heads, and it sure as hell isn't easy to overcome an event that in some way is still happening outside the academy grounds. Not a whisper escapes even a single one of the gang's mouths, the only breaths are slow and silent, and it doesn't take long for Megumi and Kazumi to overcome the novelty of the IS academy and join in the emptyness of everyone else's emotions. Despite the fact everyone has been alone in the teacher's lounge for over 5 hours, it feels amazingly shorter than that due to everyone being to strained, and their mind's pre-occupied with... what can only be described as 'Other matters'.

Some words have been exchanged, but the conversations have been short and not lasted very long due to everyone being strained, the only one that had spoken anything was obviously Kestrel, which clearly has no trouble due that being one of the most noticeable features about the said scar faced youngster, but never the less the long black haired Israeli child must be feeling just as low and foul as everyone else, infact it can be an incredible sense of good luck that the infant hasn't suffered any turns, and how the infant can stay awake for so long is also admirable, but then again, young people from 10 to 24 are able to hold out against tiring events and only feel the strain and pressure after the event has passed. Eventualy after a matter of hours the dark haired Houki finaly breaks the ice by turning her head to look at Ichika and in a low and careful voice as if trying to maintain the tranquility, speaks the words - "Ichika..."

"Hm?" - The black bushy haired male replies turning his head to look at his childhood friend, whom looks at him with a very concerned and worried expression.

"I saw your home, I heard what happened to it... Can I just be the first to say that... well... I'm sorry about whats happened" - Houki speaks out in a very careing and solemn tone.

"Oh... well... can't be helped, just one of those things I guess" - Ichika replies in a careful way, placing a very brave smile on his face, though its clear that he is deeply effected by what has happened. How it is that Ichika can look at things with such a positive face in the face of such a grim and hopeless sitution is clearly beyond Houki's belief, though Ichika is smiling kindly the Japanese male surely must be feeling some grevious loss, sure people move houses and set up new lifes in other places, but to have a home taken away from them by such a malicious act is clearly an entirely differant matter. On the other hand ofcourse, as far as Ichika is concerned, as long as everyone is safe and alive... then there is clearly nothing to regret or be upset over, which after all is the main thing that matters is it not?

"The hotel me and Cecilia were staying has been destroyed aswel, we've lost all our clothing and belongings, so we're kind of in the same boat as Ichika... I guess thats what you call equality in a case like this" - Charlotte suddenly puts in with a pleasant yet troubled tone, a small yet exhausted smile is on the French blonde's face, causing both Ichika and Houki to cast very friendly and sympathetic smiles over towards the female whom remains with her head placed on the top of her knuckles, the female trying not to fall asleep.

"The hotel I was staying at was bombed out... so I'm sort of... well... homeless also" - The Chinese brunette known as Rin suddenly puts in with an awkward yet pleasnat expression of her own,  
the female closing her eyes and shaking her head as she speaks in an affectionate manner, her arms positioned in the 'Wha?' manner.

"So... where are you three planning on going for the time being?" - The dark blue haired Megumi suddenly asks in a concerned manner, the female suddenly feeling the urge to become a part of the conversation, which comes as very welcoming for everyone else.

"Actualy me and Chifuyu-nee haven't got round to that at the moment, I've heard that the Self Defence Forces are setting up some sheltered accomodations for people that have either lost homes or are unable to return home at the moment, but I personaly don't know if we're going to go to sheltered accomodation or not" - Ichika responds with a kind and pleasant tone, the small smile that is on his face drops slightly as he speaks out in an explinatory tone, looking Tomoe's older sister in the face as he speaks.

"Ah, you need not worry my wife, had you forgotten that married couples live together? Clarissa has a temporal outpost set in a mountain range not far from here, the Schwarzer Haze will be your home" - The eye patched Laura suddenly states out in a calm and eager tone, though the female isn't smiling and has a straight yet slightly pleasant face on her, its clear that deep down the German female is dancing with excitement at the thought of Ichika staying at her side, the fact being proven as a small and faint blush can be seen appearing on the female's face, causing Ichika to sweatdrop slightly, and ofcourse causing Houki and Rin to frown in a slightly annoyed manner, casting slight bitch glares over towards the German female.

From where they sit, the dark blue haired beauties known as Tomoe and Megumi at this very point just happen to cast a glance to each other, only to roll their eyes at excataly the same time and look back at Ichika and his self proclaimed lovers, both females feel the usual 'Oh boy' moment, and in an act of sensibility choose to not say a word, nor comment on the moment. However the same can't be said for the brunette pigtailed Rin whom shoots a very annoyed stare over at Laura whom sits just a few inches away on her right. The european blondes Charlotte and Cecilia merely cast a quick look at Laura before rolling their eyes and shaking their heads, clearly they too are not about to get involved in another lover's squable, after all... now is NOT the time for petty quarrels.

"Ah... well... I... err... Well, I'll keep it in mind if thats okay with you?" - Ichika replies in a careful and awkward manner, trying to keep the peace in the air, the sweatdrop on the side of his temple not leaving for a single second, which to his credit comes as quite a positive answer to the eager faced looking German female whom responds with a very pleasant smile and lowering of the head in a form of a respective bow, the female speaks in a very calm and pleasant tone, responding to Ichika's words - "Ofcourse... please do".

As Ichika lowers his head to look down at the floor for maybe the hundreth time, a sudden wave of dread hits home causing the male's smile to drop, Cecilia upon noticing this chooses to open her mouth and prevent a horrible layer of ice from forming over the group, the female despite being slightly glum as much as Ichika speaks in a pleasant manner, the female therefore succeeding in keeping a pleasant atmosphere in the air - "I hear that Kestrel destroyed a large number of drones, I sort of knew it was him when I saw all those explosions in the air... tell me, how exactaly did he do that?".

Upon hearing Cecilia's question, the dark haired Ichika lifts his head to look up at the British blonde, a small smile returns on his face and the voice on the male is kept to its usual bright and cheery pleasantry, the Japanese male blinks a few times, looking the female in the eyes before speaking the words - "To be honest, I really don't have any idea on how he did it, and by the look on Kes's face when it happened, I don't even think he himself knew how he did it".

"We saw his angel wings open large and wide, glowing green for a few seconds and then came this blinding flash and then... bang! No more drones" - Charlotte suddenly states in an interested and amazed tone, the female clearly still surprised and bewildered at how fast Kestrel destroyed the majority of drones during yesterday's battle. The French blonde suddenly brought out of her realm of tiredness to give her statement on what she saw yesterday.

Houki is next to speak, speaking in an equal surprised tone, keeping her smile as a way of showing her support on whatever it was Kestrel did yesterday, it came in what can best be described as the 'Nick of time'. Though the female clearly had her own taste of battle yesterday, the female was just in time to see in proper detail the full extent of Kestrel's newly introduced weapon which at that moment in time was never seen before - "I saw a brief flash myself, but I did also see all these thin streaks of green flash towards the drones flying over the city area and just as Charlotte said... bang, no more drones".

"Theres clearly a lot more to know about that IS that he operates, what we have to go on at the moment is just a fraction of information" - The eye patched Laura states in a calm and rational tone, the female turning her head slightly and looking over towards the long black haired Kestrel with a calm and neutral expression on her face. Tomoe and Megumi look away from Laura and look down at the layed out Kestrel whom holds a mix of emotions on his face, not saying a word and maintaining his gaze towards the ceiling of the teacher's lounge. Tomoe having noticed Kestrel's mixed emotions within the said infant's ocean blue eyes, merely exhales through her nose, keeping her mouth closed, not speaking but allowing her curious expression to be replaced with that of a gloomy expression, mixed with a good amount of fret and worry.

Thankfuly, the dark blue haired mother of both Tomoe and Megumi is next to speak out, the woman keeps a pleasant expression on her face as she looks towards Ichika and Co, speaking in a very pleasant manner as a way of maintaining a warm and welcoming atmosphere within the group - "If I may say... In the end, regardless of what power this.. IS of Kestrel holds, the one thing that matters the most right now is the fact that everyone is alive and well, what ever secrets Kestrel holds will in time come out, if you look carefuly at him... he's recovering from a lot of shocks, and if anything the people whom he trusts the most right now is us. Also... if you look not so carefuly at him, he's trying to take it easy right now... and to be honest, I find it sort of... well... inspiring, Look at us, we're a lot older than him and we're nothing but a sack of nerves and misery, Kestrel's clearly gone through worse and yet... look... he's the one that is... in a manner of speaking, being strong and not letting whats happened slow him down.."

As Kasumi speaks, pausing every now and then with her words, looking down with a happy and joyful smile at the layed out Israeli youngster between her daughters, a very warm and welcoming atmosphere begins to descend upon the shoulders of the gang. The fact been proven as everyone begins to look down at the layed down scar faced Kestrel whom upon hearing his name merely blinks and rolls his eyes towards the direction of Kazumi, yet the infant is in such a relaxed state that the so called youngster dares not to lift himself up to look the dark blue haired female in the face, yet, from where he lays... Kestrel has a good look of Kazumi whom remains sat comfortably down on one of the IS academy visitor chairs, listening not with intrest but confusion as the blue haired Kazumi effectively casts a very good aura of comfort down upon the shoulders of Ichika, Cecilia, Laura, Charlotte, Rin, Houki and Laura.

.."I know that what I'm saying can't erase whats happened, or solve any problems concerning Kestrel's past or his IS, but for now... what we have to do is look on the positive side of things. Whats happened is foul, I won't say anything against that, but truly... for now... the wisest thing to do is stay strong, keep things in perspective, NOT begin to panic nor fret, what ever problems we face, we will deal with when we get to them. So... I do appologise if these words aren't very helpful, all I can do is try to help... just, for a moment... I suggest we just swallow what ever concerns we have and deal with what ever matters Orimura Chifuyu has... Its the least if not the best thing we can do right now" - Kazumi explains, finishing her words with a very kind and friendly smile, the female turning her head to look into the eyes of Ichika, Cecilia, Laura, Charlotte, Houki and Rin, whom by now are bewildered with amazement at how warm and pleasant the atmosphere has suddenly become, along with being made to feel like fools and being out performed by a mere young Israeli boy in terms of dealing with a mass of problems.

A moment of utter silence befalls the group of females and one Japanese male in the teacher's lounge, all six teenagers aside from Tomoe and Megumi blink in amazement and begin to exchange looks of amazement to each other. Kestrel simply remains still on the large bean bag, the infant is simply too exhausted with fatigue to be bothered to sit up straight, its been over 28 hours since he last slept, and the limited softness which the bean bag provides is proving surprisingly relaxing, causing the infant to become heavy eyed, but despite the urge to simply fall asleep on the spot, the scar faced boy simply stares at the ceiling, fighting the desire to fall asleep with half open eyes. Ichika and the others on the other hand simply exchange looks at each other and allow Kazumi's words to sink in, however... they aren't the only ones to have been listening to Kazumi's words, as if on cue the brief twenty seconds of silence is cut as the voice of Chifuyu Orimura herself causes everyone apart from Kestrel to leap in alarm, her words are perfectly timed on the mark, more or less congratulating if not being demanding at the same time to end Kazumi's words -

"A wise thing to do aswel, thankyou Kazumi... now before anyone speaks, be silent. Do as Kazumi says, deal with matters I have on hand for now and forget everything else!".

"Orimura Sensei!" - Laura yelps in alarm, the German female suddenly jumps to her feet swivels round to the right and stands immediately at military attention, saluting the black pony tailed Chifuyu whom is followed into the teacher's lounge by Maya, Clarissa and a the party of German military females, all of which are dressed in respective schwarzer haze uniform and effectively marching behind Clarissa whom leads the way just a few feet behind Maya.

"Miss Orimura!" - Charlotte and Cecilia put in respectively, both european blondes nearly falling from their seats from the sudden startlement of Chifuyu's entrance, which in a sense helps bring Charlotte from out of falling asleep and brings Cecilia out of her nervous trance. Charlotte's eyes open to a full state and the female's posture returns to that of a lady like position,sat upright, legs set together. Cecilia looks over her shoulder for a second to watch as Chifuyu walks towards a large oak coloured wooden desk, where a large black office chair is waiting. Houki and Ichika remain silent, the pair cast quick looks of shock and wonder to each other, both blinking a few times, wide eyed and stunned but non the less remain silent, following Chifuyu's words immediately to the second. The Chinese pig tailed Rin does the same, but non the less stares at Chifuyu with an open mouth, unlike Houki and Ichika, Rin does not look at any of the others, but merely watches in silence as Chifuyu makes it to the oak coloured desk, pulls out the office chair and proceedes to sit.

Megumi and Tomoe sit up straight immediately, sitting up straight in a very lady like manner, Kazumi does the same. Tomoe and Megumi cast a quick glance towards each other before looking over at Ichika's mighty older sister, Kazumi merely keeps her eyes fixed on Chifuyu as she sits at the oak coloured desk. Tomoe is a mix of curiosity, Megumi on the other hand is one of pure excitement, the female makes it clear as she sits frozen, her eyes wide, her mouth is partialy open. Having clearly heard so much of the legendary Chifuyu Orimura, whom in many ways has inspired her to certain limits, Megumi is unable to speak as she finds herself in the pressance of one of her idols, the dark blue haired female would deny her excitement ofcourse, but non the less, just to be in the pressance of the great Chifuyu is overwhelming enough. Kazumi however is more observant and effectively scans Chifuyu as she sits at the oak coloured desk just a few feet away from her, though Chifuyu looks her usual cool and collected self, Kazumi notices one emotion that others can not see, though Chifuyu's posture and expression say differant, Kazumi can see in Chifuyu's eyes that the female is bursting with mixed emotions, some are negative where as others on the other hand are positive. Since Kestrel's arrival its a good bet that the scar faced child has brought a lot of Chifuyu's human side to the surface, though one would dare NEVER to mention that to Chifuyu or risk a brutal thrashing, or at least a traumatic event that will leave one un-able to speak for a few days.

As Chifuyu rests herself in the office chair, leaning back and closing her eyes for a few moments, Maya whom remains on Chifuyu's left, stands straight, the green haired female with her thin framed glasses appears to have a very small smile on her face, though it is only noticeable by Kazumi whom like any other person is bewildered and full of questions at what has happened within the past 24 hours, however... if Maya is smiling, then something good must be happening, or at least in the negative side of things, Maya may just be smiling in order to make an effort to be strong, which for a person like her is very admirable.

Clarissa and her German girls, all with their black eye patches march smartly into the lounge, and upon stopping just a few feet from Maya, suddenly halt on the spot. Then... the females swivel to the left to face Ichika and the gang, then after a moment of ten seconds of standing ridgedly to military attention, the females then all stand at ease, the sounds of the female's feet stomping onto the ground echoes throughout the teacher's lounge, a second or so after that, nothing but silence fills the entire IS academy. Laura then slowly proceedes to sit back down, being as quiet as possible. Cecilia and Charlotte join Rin, Ichika, Houki, Tomoe, Megumi and Kazumi in remaining sat down, sat up straight and keeping their eyes firmly set on Ichika's older and mighty sister whom remains layed back in the large black office chair, the female placing her hands together, resting them on her lap, not speaking a word, just breathing slowly and silently. Maya, Clarissa and the German females remain still, blinking every now and then to show that they are not coloured ice statues.

The silence that fills the air, makes the atmosphere become the heaviest felt so far in the pressance of Chifuyu, and the silent treatment only helps increase the numbers of nerves and butterflies that run and tremble within the guts of Ichika, Houki, Rin, Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura, only Tomoe, Megumi, Kestrel and Kazumi appear to be relaxed and at ease, but maybe that is only to be expected. It feels like an eternity until the silence is broken, even though its an incredible 8 minutes, and when the almighty Chifuyu does speak, the female props herself up, her fierce and serious scowl is upon her face. The female leans forward and rests her elbows and arms upon the oak coloured desk before her, the ponytailed female puts her hands together as she speaks and in her usual calm and cool big sister like tone speaks in a low and frosty manner -

"Okay you lot... lets get down to buisness, and before you ask me any questions I'll stop you by saying that here and today, I'LL be the one asking questions, you will answer them. Secondly, I won't be telling you all the details that I've gone over with Maya and Clarissa so far because I want you all to get rested up, what ever you all want to know, you will know in due course, and thirdly, I want to dicuss what you lot did during yesterday's... event".

Chifuyu frowns and seems to cause a horrible chill to hit Ichika and the gang, the female pausing at the mentioning of yesterday and choosing her words very carefuly, trying not to become stressed with talking about something that is best to not be spoken of at such and important time like this. Ichika, Houki, Rin and Charlotte suddenly feel the urge to stand and object to their innocence like a group of children accussed of lifting the last cookie from the jar. However, Ichika, Houki, Rin and Charlotte are able to maintain their postures, keep their cool and remain sat down where they sit. Cecilia and Laura on the other hand look confused and dumb founded at what Chifuyu ment during the mentioning of yesterday, however... whatever the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu has to say, it doesn't just revolve around yesterday... what ever Chifuyu has to discuss does not just revolve around just one topic, it never does, so what ever Chifuyu has to say, it has to be something as equaly important as yesterday's event.

Tomoe and Megumi blink in silence and keep their eyes fixed upon Ichika's older sister, both females now unaware of Kestrel shifting his position on the bean bag from being layed down to being one of the fetal position, the infant laying on his left side and remaining still for a good few minutes before releasing his knees and shins from his arm lock, allowing his arms to go limp and letting his legs be placed in a bent position as if the infant was about to dive into a swimming pool, the scar faced infant's eyes then begin to close, very slowly, and before the infant knows it, after a hard battle not to do so, the infant is overwhelmed with the power of exhaustion, ressulting in the long black haired child falling into nothing but a void of peaceful slumber. Amazingly, nobody else notices, or at least... not yet anyway.

Maya blinks in silence, maintaining her small smile while Clarissa and her military girls remain standing neatly at ease, military style. Chifuyu rolls her eyes from left to right before lowering her head, closing her eyes and after taking in a deep breath, lets out a very frustraited and worn out sigh. A brief second or so later, Chifuyu raises her head, keeping her arms and hands placed upon the oak coloured desk, the female despite being tired out from a busy 24 hours is incrediably able to maintain a strong image, the fact being proven by her eyes which seem to go straight through each and everyone whom she casts looks upon. Chifuyu's words are as cool as her collected image as she speaks, the female rolling her eyes to the left to look at Ichika as she begins to get straight to the point -

"Okay... Ichika, Dunois, Shinonono and Huang... Now... I'm not going to shout nor get violent, but I want to ask you four something, at one point... did it seem a good idea, to start fighting against those drones yesterday?".

Anticipating this question from his older sister, the black haired Ichika is the first to respond to his older sister, almost to the second, the Japanese male is a mix of confusion and shock at hearing his sister's words. As far as anyone else is concerned Ichika and the gang came under attack yesterday, was backed into a corner and forced to fight, nobody has been given a thankyou, nor any acknowledgement for their acts of bravery yesterday and now Chifuyu is having a go at them... at least, that is what Rin, Ichika, Charlotte and Houki can see and are concerned. Even though Ichika wants to yelp in shock and protest, the Japanese male keeps his voice cool and calm and merely speaks as normal - "Believe me when I say Chif.. Ah... Orimura sensei, Char and I were going to go along with your instructions to flee the area but when we got airbourne there was simply too many drones in the air for us to breathe freely".

"What Ichika just said Orimura sensei, we attempted our best to try and follow your instructions to the latter, but it was only after you and Cecilia had left the scene that Ichika and I was forced into battle" - Charlotte quickly puts in with a calm and clear voice, even though the French blonde is virtualy trembling with nerves at the thought of being in trouble due to doing nothing but following her own choice of judgement. To which Chifuyu does nothing but blink and maitain eye contact with the said european blonde before resting her gaze on Houki whom very nearly leaps in alarm upon feeling Chifuyu's ice cold stare land on her face.

Chifuyu speaks again, once again, keeping her voice calm and collected which in a case like this is very impressive due to the fact that Chifuyu is usualy roaring in anger at matters like these, but maybe because Chifuyu has been awake for over 28 hours may have something to do with it. Chifuyu does not blink, not even paying any attention to the appearance of Yui whom now appears in the teachers lounge, moving as silently as she can trying not to cause any disturbance. The black haired Yui is just in time to hear Chifuyu's words - "And you Shinonono, what motivated you into going into battle instead of doing the wise thing of leaving the scene?".

"Ah... about that, It was my first intention to leave the scene but when I happened to notice Ichika's home being destroyed I thought it would be wise to make sure if everyone was alright, I had only gotten a few miles when I noticed a mass swarm of drones coming from behind, and when faced with the choice that I could either by time for Ichika to escape, or run and leave my friends for dead, I thought it honourable to opt for the first option" - Houki replies in an honest and calm tone, the female trembling slightly upon looking Chifuyu in the eyes and responding to the mighty female's question.

Chifuyu smirks in an affectionate manner to herself, though nobody except Kazumi notices this smirk, its an indication that Chifuyu was expecting Houki to say something like that, but in all honesty for the Japanese woman, she was expecting Houki to use a differant excuse that went along the same lines as the one she just mentioned, but then again... since Kestrel's arrival, the female has been somewhat more honest with herself, rather than use childish antics that she used to use. Then, as quickly as it appears on her face, the smirk on Chifuyu's face drops and the female then turns her attention towards Rin, whom in turn tends to suddenly become ice blooded due to the fear of being given a serious scolding from Chifuyu, but the Chinese female is a lot more comfortable than usual, if Charlotte, Ichika and Houki are in the same boat as her then maybe it would be good company to know that she isn't alone in facing any punishment, the Chinese female briefly lowers her head but keeps her eyes fixed on Chifuyu, the Chinese female is all ears as Chifuyu turns her attention from Houki to the said pigtailed brunette.

"And you?... What's your explination for getting involved in the fighting?" - Chifuyu asks in a calm yet strict tone of authority.

"Ah... well, I guess you could say I just got carried along with what was happening... Everything was happening at once, I didn't start fighting immediately, but when I noticed that there was no sign of any self defence forces in the area, I thought it would be a wise thing to do if I could at least provide some aid to the people caught up in the attack... I... I saw people dying, people getting killed... I didn't know what else to do". - Rin replies in a calm yet nervous tone, the female pausing as she mentions the horrible truth of witnessing people getting killed. It was all over the place yesterday, so no matter how one looks at it, even if Rin chose to leave the scene, the female would have seen some god awful images either way, and that in turn would have helped trigger the girl's motivation to fight.

Cecilia and Laura are about to up and begin to get involved in the conversation, only to suddenly be startled out of their flesh by Chifuyu casting over a death glare, to which both females choose to immediately respond to with a positive effect, the fact proving that Chifuyu does not have to use physical contact in order to ensure that her rules are followed, and that those bitch glare eyes are one of her most dangerous weapons. The ressult is as Chifuyu expected, both Cecilia and Laura remain sat down, despite trembling with nerves at what Chifuyu may do if they go against her demands, both females remain sat up straight, which in a way is very impressive when one takes into account that it is next to impossible to not run and hide from Chifuyu when she's in a mood like this. Rin, Charlotte, Houki and Ichika all seem to gulp with nerve as they catch a brief glimpse of Chifuyu's death glare that silences the absent voices of Cecilia and Laura, both european females merely shrug and cast looks over to the four troubled teenagers, both females have awkward smiles upon their faces and their eyes are closed, the messages that Laura and Cecilia effectively say to the rest of the gang go along the lines of "'Sorry, your on your own'".

Tomoe and Megumi despite being at each other's throats most of their time during summer breaks amazingly seem to be able to aggree with each other in what they are thinking, both females although they don't speak a word cast raised eyebrowed expressions to each other, both females unknowingly think one phrase at exactaly the same time - ( "So much for team mates and close friendship!" ). - How it is that Tomoe and Megumi can withstand the freezing aura of malice and negativity in the air is anyone's guess, but that maybe due to the fact that both females aren't the ones in trouble. Kazumi and Yui at this very moment just happen to look at each other and sweatdrop, both females cast small smiles to each other with closed eyes, neither is about to say anything incase it gets on Chifuyu's bad side, and even if they did say something to object to Chifuyu's treatment of her students, the likeliest of probability would be Chifuyu's countering of any words or phrases with a short but breif strict lecture to 'Stay out of it'.

A moment of silence fills the still air of the teacher's lounge, the atmosphere becomes ever more heavy as Chifuyu lowers her head and shakes it in a very glum and frustraited manner, a mixed emotional sigh is heard escape from the said ponytailed female, ressulting in a very unpleasant dye to befall nearly every single inhabitant. Even Clarissa and Maya are effected as they both turn their heads to look at each other with concerned expressions. Chifuyu remains silent for a further 4 minutes before rolling her eyes to look to the left then back to the right, the female places her hands together and places her nose on the top of her intertwining fingers, the ponytailed female's elbows rest on her large desk.

"Let me tell you some words... at what point, did it seem like a good idea, to put your lives at risk, disobey an order and to risk the mentality health of a vulnerable ten year old boy?" - Chifuyu asks in a very deep inquisitive yet slightly frustraited tone. At this point, Houki manages to summon some confidence and is about to speak, the female's voice is clearly one that is about to speak the truth and protest her innocence, the dark haired female only just begins to raise her left hand with an index finger pointed upwards in a bid to explain, only to be cut off immediatley by Chifuyu.

"Ah.."

"NO!" - Chifuyu hisses in a slightly furious yet calmly held in tone, which remarkably is maintained on the levels of calmness. The mighty Japanese female removes her hands apart from each other and virtualy slams her left hand onto her desk, the resounding bang and the mix of fury in the woman's voice and angered expression on the woman's face causes all but Tomoe, Megumi, Kazumi, Kestrel and Maya to leap in alarm and go white in the face, though Maya, Kazumi and her daughters where in a manner of speaking expecting Chifuyu to snap, with the exception of Kestrel ofcourse whom is laying on his side overwhelmed with exhaustion and is in the grip of slumber. Houki, Ichika and Co on the other hand go white in the face and virtualy leap out of their flesh, terrified and sick with nerve at the prospect of recieving a very nasty hiding. Chifuyu at this moment sits up straight and raises her right hand, an index finger is raised and the woman's eyes are a mix of fury like a mother about to discipline her children.

"Do you insane orangutans realise that I am responsible for your saftey? Do you realise that if any of you was to get hurt or even killed, I have to break the news to your families? Ichika's case is even worse because I would have to live with the loss" - Chifuyu's voice holds a slight hint of worry and a slight tear forms in the woman's right eye, but thankfuly it can't be seen by Ichika and the others, with the exception being Kazumi whom only raises her brow and widens her eyes. As far as Kazumi is concerned, she herself has been in this position many times when she herself has disciplining her daughters when they where a lot younger, but chooses to stay silent. What comes next from Chifuyu is once again not surprising as far as Kazumi is concerned as the mighty Japanese female raises her voice to high levels, balls her right hand into a fist and slams it down with such amazing force it can be considered incredible that the desk does not break in half.

"Do you realise THAT YOU MAY HAVE INCREASED DAMAGE AND CASUALTIES DURING YESTERDAY'S ATTACK, BY ENGAGING THOSE DRONES IN COMBAT, AND ALLOWED HIGHLY DANGEROUS FALLING OBJECTS TO FALL INTO MANY LIVES, AND RISKED THE LIFE OF A TEN YEAR OLD!?" - Chifuyu roars in enraged fury, the woman leaps out of her office chair and points fiercely towards the sleeping Kestrel whom amazingly remains asleep, though the infant's small left ear does twitch and even though the infant is slumbering, the infant feels a cold chill run up his back for a brief second, before the infant regains control of his sleeping nerves and returns to exhausted emptyness of a dreamless sleep. Tomoe and Megumi's reaction to Chifuyu's yelling is one of surprise and both girls merely cast shocked looks at each other, both remain silent. Clearly both girls are relieved to know that at least THEY aren't the ones on the recieving end of Chifuyu's fury. Ichika and everyone else ofcourse, are white in the face and litterly trembling. Ichika has his top set of teeth placed over his bottom lip and is virtualy like a dog with its tail between its legs, the male is pale in the face and a bead of cold sweat rolls down his temple. Houki is trembling and looks as though she is on the verge of crying, the female has tears of terror and guilt in her eyes as the sting of Chifuyu's words matched with the volume of her voice echo through one ear and out the other.

Cecilia and Charlotte can't help but remember when Chifuyu gave them a scolding from when they dressed Ichika ( or forced ) Ichika in drag against his will, its like a repeat of the punishment all over again. Cecilia has her legs pressed tightly together to prevent the horrible possibility of wetting herself, tears are in her eyes and the blonde is shaking from head to foot, the French blonde Charlotte is pale, but unlike Cecilia, her tears are rolling down her face and the blonde has her head low, the female trembles every now and then. Rin has her head held low and a gloomy expression of fear and sorrow is on her face. Laura on the other hand is clinging her knees in desperation, the female has the overwhelming urge to leap into the arms of somebody, but is able to maintain her stiff soldier image, the German girl does however shake and tremble in a mess of fear. The German army girls whom accompany Clarissa all cast nervous expressions to each other, but remain silent, Clarissa on the other hand keeps a shocked gaze on the ponytailed female, whom clearly is going against her word of being violent or aggressive, but then again,  
the woman is stressed, and you do tend to go off what you've said when your filled with frustraition and anger.

Thankfuly, Chifuyu is quick to recover and instead of roaring in anger, the female merely sits back in her chair, the female has her head lowered, Chifuyu relaxes her posture and moves her hands onto her lap as she regains her seated position. Chifuyu however is not yet finished with her students and lets out a very frustraited exhaled sigh, before lifting her head to look at the nervous gang of teenagers. The woman's voice returns to its usual cool big sister manner as she continues to speak to her students - "Also I gave... or have, for many times over have given you lot strict instructions to never use IS for reckless or impropper purposes, the sight of you all blazing around the sky in full IS form attracts the attention that nobody in the IS academy should attract. I'm sure you are all aware of the fact that Phantom task, the terrorist organisation uses IS in their campaigns of terror, so even if you was acting in the best intentions then there could have been a chance people on the ground could have mistook you all for being a part of yesterday's attacks, the last thing I want is to see my students, at least my own younger brother be mistaken as terrorists that murder in cold blood".

As Chifuyu speaks, a level of ease and calmness befals the group, though everyone is still shaken by the ponytailed female's outburst, a brief level of clam returns, that of which is made clear as everyone now exchanges looks to each other. Only to suddenly go cold once again as Chifuyu raises her head to send over a freezing bitch glare towards them, despite going cold and awaiting another hiding, Chifuyu proceedes to speak in a very low, calm and logical voice, the woman keeping her attitude one of strict discipline, yet a mix of warmth and praise can be heard in the woman's voice as she speaks towards her students.

"You all may not believe it, but according to news media and a fair amount of people, you all are seen as heroes. Your actions were seen and observed, and... I can not believe it for myself, caught on security cameras from buildings and by amatuer footage. Now... I can not stress, the seriousness of the situation that you all may have put yourselves into, where the people behind the attacks may discover your identaties and plan further attacks in the future, but I can however... offer and pass news of congratulations from as many as twelve thousand people that managed to survive the attacks".

Upon hearing Chifuyu's words, the gang's spirits rise, but only by just a fraction... Though Charlotte and Rin raise their heads, widen their eyes and regain colour to their faces, they remain on a constant state of alert in case of Chifuyu raising her voice again. Looks are exchanged and from where they stand, the German army girls cast small smirks and smiles to each other before Chifuyu speaks again. As always, Chifuyu speaks in her icy cool big sister tone as she slowly proceedes to stand, a remote control device is held in her right hand as she speaks. As Chifuyu speaks, all eyes, apart from the sleeping Kestrel is drawn towards Chifuyu.

"Now I'm not a person about to share in belief that all of you deserve nothing but praise, because the stunts that you all pulled yesterday was very, VERY foolish" - Chifuyu puts a lot of emphasis on the word 'Very' as she speaks, causing Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Rin, Laura and Houki to lower their heads in guilt, but their heads are soon drawn to look up again as Chifuyu continues to speak, her words are amazingly calming despite being that of her usual vocal tone - "However, on the other hand, I will stand and say... that situation yesterday was very intense, and in the extreme circumstance of those events I can offer some good word and say that if I was in your flesh I would have taken action into my own hands aswel. I'm not your mothers or fathers, or even a gaurdian of you girls, so as such its technically not my place to give you all a firm hand, with Ichika I can get away with it... but for once I'll give him the slip".

Upon hearing Chifuyu's words, Ichika's eyes widen and the Japanese male eases up on being nervous, but non the less is still filled with shock and surprise as he hears his big sister's words flow through one ear and out of the other, the male's brain clearly bewildered at hearing his sister's words.

"Non the less, I will stand and give you all one final warning for future referance, one... the IS, is not a personaly toy or tool to be used recklessly. Two... strict instructions and orders will be obeyed and observed at all times... and after today, you will NEVER, repeat NEVER use your status and names... for private, personal joy or to gain fame".

Virtualy all but Tomoe, Megumi, Kazumi, Kestrel, Yui and Maya frown in confusion at hearing Chifuyu's words, what exactaly does the woman mean by 'Status and Names to gain fame'. For Ichika and his self proclaimed lovers, its a lot more confusing than it is for Tomoe, Megumi, Kazumi and Yui, Kestrel being asleep does not have to hear about what is being said, but in time... he too, will be given a full repeat of Chifuyu's words from Yui, and will join the same boat as Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki. Chifuyu appears to blush fiercely as she lifts her remote device up slightly and before pressing the on switch speaks in a slightly bashful manner - "And finaly... and god alone knows why I have a personal message from non other than the Prime minister of Japan himself, the message is addressed personaly to you seven hot shots, so you'll have a chance to hear it in person, for now... I'd like to say... good work, good work in saving those lives you saved yesterday, and finaly... I think you all may want to look at these headlines".

As Chifuyu finishes speaking, the sound of a clicking of a button is heard, in virtualy a fraction of a second a 3D holographic TV screen is presented before Ichika, Charlotte, Rin, Cecilia, Laura and Houki, whom are bewildered at the words coming from Chifuyu, everyone is turning to face each other with wide eyed expressions, not one of the teenagers are able to breathe. Was that just imagined?... Did the almighty Chifuyu say 'Prime Minister'? Did Chifuyu just praise everyone for their acts yesterday?, Everything is happening all at once, its as the gang has just been made millionares, its just so bizarre. The fact being proven as Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki continue to cast stunned expressions to each other with wide eyes, mouths are open and not a breath is heard escape their lips. As the 3d holographic screen displays itself before the gang, Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki do not dare to blink as their eyes meet the photographed stills of their faces. Though their faces are captured in a rough photographic manner which clearly must come from images captured of them during yesterday's combat, the images do not tell lies as it shows the faces of Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin, Houki and Kestrel. Below the stilled images of the seven youths, a large red rectangular box houses large white letters emblazoned in the words of - "Seven youths, Seven heroes of over half a million lives".

From where they stand, Clarissa and her German girls exchange proud smiles on their faces, Maya and Yui look at each other and smile, both women remain silent. Tomoe, Megumi and Kazumi at first blink in shock, but after a matter of just 20 seconds, reality sinks in and confirms the truth, Ichika, Kestrel, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki... though inadvertantly and un-intentionaly just became next in line of a string of already well spoken and very famously idolised celebrities, Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki remain overwhelmed to speak and not even a smile appears on their faces as they look at their images on Live news media, even the voices of the news reporters do not seem to be heard by the six teenagers as they feel hairs stand up on the back of their necks and become subject to a massive wave of emotions that has swept them with its powerful and unstoppable force. Tomoe and Megumi are the first to break into a smile, even though they are only small smiles, and upon taking another look at the 3d holographic screen notice kestrel's image, the stilled camera image shows the young Israeli with his wind roaring through the air and blowing furiously, the expression on the youngster's face captures the neutral and emotionless look, but when one looks twice they can notice a slight look of seriousness, very befitting of a young, brave hero.

Megumi at this moment is just about to break the ice of silence and speak, the dark blue haired beauty looks down and turns her head to speak to the youngster whom has clearly captured both her and her younger sister's heart. Ironically, Tomoe is about to do the same, only to notice the scar faced infant slumbering with an emotional and exhausted look on his face. However, the look is taken warmly and both females, though blushing mildly look down with loving faces at the troubled and vulnerable youngster and choose to let him rest, Kazumi glances and notices this, but she too remains silent, it is incredible for words at this moment... as smiles fill the room, one of which eventualy coming from Chifuyu, which is an affectionate smirk matched by the closing of her eyes and breif head shake, Ichika, Charlotte, Cecilia, Laura, Rin and Houki stare with awe at the news screen... in less than 24 hours, all six teenagers along with the scar faced Kestrel... have become, Japan's newest celebrities.

_**Okay readers, that's the best I can do for now, I don't know if I'm impressing anyone, if I am then I'm more than happy to be entertaining, if not... well, you win some, you loose some. Okay, now... I know you readers have waited patiently, and will continue to do so, and I can't thank you all enough for that, but I have to continue to ask for your fullest support and patience, because as I said during introductions, I have been very busy and it shows no sign of letting up, so if you all can continue to wait for the next chapter like you have done, then thanks a bunch. The next chapter will show how our heroes cope with becoming famous, and more importantly the scale of the damage Kestrel has done to the Ryuku Islands. The next chapter will be peaceful, and I can't tell you when the next action chapters come, but then again... that would be spoiling the suspense I expect.**_

_**Anyway... I've covered all my explanations in the introductions so I don't have much to say in the closing address, other than to please place all comments and reviews in the open review section and to stay cool and frosty, if anyone else has fics of their own, then may they get all the positive reviews and favs, keep it up in case you yourself are a writer.**_

_**See you readers again as soon as I can with the next chapter.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	89. Chapter 89: Houki confesses

_**Hello Readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised, been a few days... yes I know, but as I've said over and over, delays happen and I am very busy these days so its a bit hard for me to get round to writting, anyway... not much to say for introductions other than saying thanks a lot for sticking around despite the delays, I'm sure it gives you readers a break as it does for me at times. Summer weather has returned which seems very fast, but then again, when your busy time flies past without noticing. I'll make this fast for you readers, because I know you have all been waiting, Kestrel's psychotherapy should start in the next chapter.**_

_**This chapter jumps forward 24 hours after the recent attack on Ichika's home town/city in order to give the characters chance to recover. Also, I'm sorry to say that for this one time only I'm going back on my words, but rest assured the next chapter WILL have the calcualtions of the destruction that Kestrel's Prometheus has done to the Ryuku Islands, just for now getting more ideas on how best to describe the damage... BUT, this chapter will begin to show a shift in character relations, and for once it concerns Ichika's relations with the girls, I think its best to begin the battle for Ichika's heart.**_

_**Okay... for a change I won't burden you all with red tape intros and instead I'll give you readers compensation by letting you all get on with reading.**_

_**Please read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 89:

**\- IS academy grounds, 10:00am, 24 hours after the drone attack on Ichika's home town/city -**

What can be said aboud Ichika and Co recently? One would say a lot of things, most of which bizarre, and in many senses that prase would be right. Bizarre is just the word to describe what has happened since Ichika and the gang started summer break. First of all Ichika was had the fear of god smashed into him after what happened at the 'Ryuku Islands', but in a manner of speaking that wasn't really anyone's fault, and the destruction and terror to which Ichika experianced was due to either underestimating, not understanding... or simply not being prepared for the horrible limits of fate and possibility concerning a certain scar faced ten year old's IS weaponry, however that was obviously just the inflicting of the wound as Ichika was soon forced to bear witness to the nightmare images and sounds of his home town/city coming under attack by an army of drones. The second experiance concerning Ichika's home town/city was merely salt being poured into the wound as the male was forced to observe, listen and even experiance his home being destroyed, mass hundreds and thousands of men, women and children being killed by un-manned aerial war weapons and to fight for his life for the first time since the Silver Gospel incident.

The past two days that have gone by seem to have been weeks as far as Ichika and Co have been concerned, but at least now... after 48 hours of much needed decompression, Ichika is now able to relax and enjoy summer break. Even though the first days of summer break have been rightfully described as 'Unspeakable', the Japanese male has been able to follow his older sister's instructions to lay back and enjoy the tranquility of what ever summer break may still have. Some say that one can't put a price on peace, and for the first time ever, Ichika can understand the description, despite the gloomy realisation of what has happened recently is able to lay back and rest to the best of his ability. Ichika wasn't alone in feeling this way this morning, the fact being proven as he ate a small but much appreciated breakfast set up by Clarissa, Yui and Kuzumi this morning. Nothing but smiles was on everybody's faces, even Chifuyu seemed to be at ease, though it isn't enough to erase the thought and reminder of what has happened, it was enough to make the black haired male remember that has horrible as the experiance was, there is one major thing to be thankful for, his friends are all alive and well.

Now, laying on his back on a patch of deep green grass, the solitude of silence drowns out the god awful sounding memories of screaming, sirens, explosions, drone engines and fighting. The Japanese male has also been privalidged to have a change of clothes and good shower down. That wonderful feeling of being clean, matched with a much needed good days rest and recovery along side friends has been a good antidote to the stinging feeling of defeat that has been shared by everybody these past 2 days. Ichika wears a white summer t-shirt, black bagged shorts that only just cover the knees and a pair of black man's sandals. Above the male is nothing but the endless void of a beautiful summer blue sky with scattered white clouds, and though the summer heat is well and truly yet to make itself double as morning turns to day, the Japanese male has a small, weary but very pleasant smile on his face, the black haired male's eyes remain shut as he proceedes to enjoy the soothing cool breaze that brushes over his arms, legs and face. Ichika's arms are parted from his sides as the wonderful embrace of peace and traquility washes over.

From a distance away the two british blondes Cecilia and Charlotte sit underneath a green and blue stripped umbrella, the two blondes are clearly following not just Ichika but also young Kestrel's example to decompress and get weight of the chest. As Ichika reamains layed out upon the soothing embrace of the green grass, both Cecilia and Charlotte sit bare footed upon a large blue spread out towel, the shade of the umbrella makes both blondes look very pampered against the warmth of the summer weather, both Cecilia and Charlotte despite the pressure of being drawn back to what has happened recently, have been very successful in getting relaxed for the first time since before the drone attacks. Both blondes wear very revealing summer time wear, Cecilia wears a thin white dress and is bear footed, the females smooth legs and arms are the only things expossed to the open, and in an unintentional approach to nobody in particular only wears a pair of white plain underwear underneath her thin white dress. Charlotte can say the same, the female wears a blue bikini top and a thin blue mini skirt, she too is bare armed, bare legged and bare footed. A bottle of suntan lotion is between each of the females, but for the moment at least, the lotion is not needed and both females are sheltered from the sunlight for the time being.

The gang is resting on where the P.E incident occured with Kestrel, but as the past is past, along with the blue haired woman Kazumi issuing a 'NO Negativity' policy, the gang have chosen to rest on the P.E ground without a care in the world, and as far as everybody is concerned, the caring and welcoming warmth of both Tomoe and Megumi's mother has been very much needed in getting over the drone attacks and showing a positive determination that if someone was planning to kill or seperate Ichika and friends from each other, or even go so far as to do a selfish and callas act to inflict misery by using cowardly terror tactics, then... that would NEVER work and that Ichika and Co will show that not a single one of the gang will lower heads, give up or give in. To say inspirational was what effected Ichika and the others, then that statement would be more than right, and for once the wise words of much respected adult is in many ways what was needed, as Clarissa and Chifuyu made clear by smiling in a smug yet effectionate manner to the curvy and attractive mother of two of the most attractive females pressant in the IS academy. Kazumi's words where in many ways a scape goat and gave Chifuyu and Clarissa the all clear to discuss other matters, what matters they are remain secret for the time being, but all the same, Kazumi still did a very admirable task in getting everyone to blow off some steam, even if it is in a low energetic but pleasant manner.

Laura is with her German girl colleges of the 'Schwarzer Haze' by the metal monkey bars, the sounds of girlish German chatter fill the air, with Laura managing to follow the example of both Cecilia and Charlotte to talk about normal every day topics, obviously Laura's topics with her military comrades are differant from what Cecilia and Charlotte talk about ofcourse. A large black set of sheets is spread over the metal monkey bars to form a shelter from the heat that is sure to arise, and as for appearance, Laura is dressed in civilian dress, the female wears a sleaveless green top just coming to a stop above her navel. The female wears bloomer style short jeans and is bare footed and bare legged. The other German girls are dressed ligthly like that of Laura, two of the german girls wear nothing but black bras on the top halves of their bodies, while wearing just the 'Schwarzer Haze' black military skirt on the lower halves of their bodies. A single black forage cap is upon the heads of each of the German females. Three of the German females wear just the 'Schwarzer Haze' black military skirt and have green camo style bikini tops, the remainder of the number wear nothing but black underwear, discarded shirts and the odd skirt can be found hung neatly over monkey bars. Three of the German females lay pleasantly underneath some of the metalic bars on the ground with Laura on differant coloured towels, others sit up on their respective towel and lay back pleasantly in a relaxed manner.  
The only acception is that of the blonde female German known as Olga Ackerman - ( Refer to chapter 20 ), whom stands in nothing but black knickers and bra, staring with a single solitary eye with a pleasant expression at the blue summer sky.

Rin despite layed out on a pale blue wooden deck chair sits up straight ever so slightly, the Chinese brunette holds a freshly printed white newspaper in her hands, the entitled headline text reads out in large black Japanese letters - "Young Heroes Save The Lives Of Thousands". The Chinese brunette with her twin pigtails is dressed in very light clothing, the female wears a bright yellow T-shirt only just ending just below her naval, the female wears black shaded sun glasses set in white frames, the female wears a white short summer skirt and despite being out in the hot summer sun has a small white coloured plastic bottle of sun tan lotion set just below her. Though Rin is taking the chance to enjoy as much of the summer as she can, the female's mind is on other matters. What they are does not take a rocket scientist to work out, ever since she and everyone else saw their images on the news, the reality despite being denied at first has eventualy sunk in. She, Ichika, Charlotte, Laura, Cecilia, Houki and Kestrel have un-intentionaly made themselves famous celebrities, the news headlines of the papers say it all. In all fairness, to say that Rin has not been flattered would be untrue, and though the female had a slight smile, and gleam in her eyes when she woke up this morning, the girl has been surprisingly adult about the whole matter. After all... Ichika and Co did not fight just a matter of days ago to become famous.

Rin despite having her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses has the eyes of a person whom is experiancing the classical 'Oh boy' moment, Ichika and the gang have made the front page there's no doubt about it, but no matter what page the Chinese female looks upon, its the same article over and over again, though not always about Ichika and Co, but about the drone attacks, what could have caused the attack, whom could have been behind the attacks and ofcourse Rin's favourite, are any other cities of any nation safe from some bizarre oversea's terrorist threat? Its not uncommon for newspapers to kick up a stink or to go on and on about the same thing over and over again after a bizarre event, but non the less the papers could at least wait for the whole truth to emerge, rather than be the occasional blood sucking leech which paints a differant picture rather than that of the truth. At least for now, the Chinese brunette does not have to be at the heartless mercy of some sad assed journalist harrassing her for comments and information, that fact is shared by everyone at the moment. The feeling of frustraition and multipule swirling emotions is filling the Chinese female, even as she tosses her head back and slowly rests it against the back of her deck chair, the female does not fold the newspaper in her hands, she merely lets it go and allows it to fall flat on her stomach, a frustraited and multi-emotioned sigh escapes the female's lips as she gazes up in a relaxed yet energetic state at the blue summer sky. Moments later the Chinese brunette mutters a single phrase to herself as she looks upwards at the blue summer sky - "Talk about a heavy situation".

Not far away from Rin stands the childhood friend of Ichika, the dark haired ponytailed Japanese female Houki, the female's back is against the wall of the IS academy, the female wears a light green sleeveless shirt and small blue miniskirt, the female is barefooted like that of the other girls. Just like Rin, Houki has a neutral expression on her face, the female's emotions and mind is swirling in very chaotic ways. The fact being proven as Houki stands with her arms folded, gazing towards the ground with an expression changing from neutral to a glum state. So many things have happened at such a fast state these past few days, first the Ryuku islands were destroyed, then a drone attack occured on her homeland, the person whom she secretly loves with all her heart has lost his home and now she and everyone else has become famous. What can be said? Everything has happened all at once, the female hasn't had the chance to ascess the situation, but there is one thing that the Japanese female can smile and be happy about... non other than the black haired Ichika, to say that everything has been a complete disaster would be untrue, despite those god awful images of Ichika's home being destroyed in her mind, Ichika himself has escaped unscathed. Whats more impressive is the fact that unlike many others whom have been on the news crying and wailing at the fact of loosing their home, Ichika on the other hand has been a person to show the mirror opposite, the fact that Ichika is happy that he and everyone else is alive is first to be impressed with, and Houki knows all too well how many people would be devastated at the loss of a home and all cherished items, just seeing Ichika smiling and acting like a man was impressive enough... but to see him taking it in stride, taking the chance to have something free... like peace and quiet, that is something that is sure as hell something to be impressed with, just the very thought of Ichika acting like an adult makes a smile appear on the girl's face, and a faint flush to appear under her eyes as her heart seems to beat ever more faster.

Another trio not so far away from Cecilia and Charlotte set under a double pair of umbrellas are the two dark blue haired sisters Tomoe and Megumi, the scar faced Israeli infant with eyes blue as the sea known as Kestrel sits virtualy between the pair. Kestrel's choice of summer clothing is quite surprising for Tomoe and Megumi, rather than wear shorts like Ichika, the scar faced infant sits upon a large red towel wearing non other than his dark blue IS flight suit, it was originaly intended for the scar faced Kestrel to wear shorts, only to find them remaining on a bed folded and untouched, when Yui asked the infant if he was to wear shorts or not, the response was a firm head shake. The response was non the less surprising to everyone else, but upon Yui asking the infant why he was not going to wear shorts, the response was for one... very, very chilling, as the youngster pointed to his small legs, looked Yui in the face, closed his small eyes and shook his head rapidly. When that failed the infant did the unexpected by dropping his small summer pants ( or joggers ) and with a very pale and sick looking face closed his small eyes and presented Yui with a pair of VERY nasty scar covered thighs. Thankfuly Tomoe and Megumi had been moved out Ichika's IS academy bedroom due to Yui's insistance had they remained, Kestrel would have been in a far worse emotional state than what he was when he showed Yui. Upon leaving his bedroom dressed in IS flight suit, which covers the tops of his thighs, Yui was able to explain the situation to Tomoe and Megumi... whom in turn merely stared with pale faces at the back of the black haired Kestrel, whom kept his head low and held a pale coloured face with a 1,000 yard stare for the rest of the morning.

Now, sat down beneath umbrellas, the atmosphere has risen to one of comfort. True, some of Kestrel's scars you can still see, the occasional one or two on his small arms and on his small shins, but the scars to which Kestrel wants to remain hidden are still covered, after all... it is common for victims of PTSD to avoid certain obsticles, especialy if its something so upsetting and personal that it can't be said or shown directly... especially if in the pressance of someone you care for. Then again though, Kestrel came from the desert, so maybe it would have made no real differance if he kept summer joggers on or not, heat that Japan has is nothing compared to that of the middle east, but... as sweat was starting to gather in the clothing Kestrel was wearing, it was a lot more healthier for the infant to change and to allow his clothing to be washed. The summer wear of that of Megumi's is one of utter surprise, the dark blue haired beauty wears a white coloured bikini that hugs the slender curves of the female's hips and breasts, with the breast areas seeming as though they are on the verge of giving way and snapping due to Megumi's huge bust. Tomoe wears a small white mini summer skirt, and a light red coloured sleeveless vest that only just covers her naval, Tomoe's cleevage and beautiful crafted curves are first to be noticed like those of her sister. Megumi also wears a pair of dark coloured sunglasses and every now and then lowers them to allow her eyes to see the scar faced Kestrel's face with her own natural vision.

Kestrel sits calmly legs crossed upon one of the large red towels, the youngster is bare footed like that of the girls, the infant's long black hair cascades elegantly down his small back. Kestrel's small hands and arms rest on the infant's lap as Tomoe sits just in front of Kestrel slightly on the left the female rests herself upon her left thigh, her right thigh is crossed just in front of her left. Megumi however lays on her right side and places one thigh over the other, the female places her right hand palm against her right cheek as she gazes over at Kestrel with a playful expression, in the female's left hand is a slice of lemon, to which Megumi lifts to her lips to suck every now and then. Many boys would kill to be in a position that Kestrel is in, but as all whom know Kestrel knows... Kes is not just any boy. What some body parts a boy or man may stare upon, Kestrel stares at a face, which in some ways is perfect for a youngster like Kestrel, the gift of reading expressions and facial lingo comes very quick with it. Kestrel has done this to every last person whom he seen since meeting Ichika and though its only a hunch, but when Kestrel looks you in the face, you can see in some innocent yet crafty way... the scar faced child is looking straight through you, working things out and finding out if you are trust worthy or not. A fact which Tomoe and Megumi seem to be proud of, and ofcourse with good reason.

Unlike Ichika and the others, Tomoe and Megumi have been the most talkative today, Kestrel and Ichika's ability to take blows and stand firm has inspired the girls to good limits, Ichika is a man in the making, but Kestrel is some male for his age... but then again... after living a life of hell, its only to be expected, were one person's misery can't compare to a life that is unspeakable. Now ofcourse is not a time to dwell on the past, but to focus on positivity... as Tomoe and Megumi make clear, during breakfast the sisters joined Ichika and his self proclaimed lovers in jokes, laughter and merryment. As the group left the cafeterias to allow the adults to talk amoungst themselves, Tomoe and Megumi immediately saw the chance to learn Kestrel a bit more of the Japanese lingo, as Tomoe unwittingly had some picture cards saved in the pocket of her clothing the day of the drone attacks. Kestrel catches on very quickly Tomoe and Megumi teach him Japanese, so hopefuly it shouldn't be too long until Kes can speak phrases... but ofcourse... being silent as the grave most of his time, maybe Kestrel will speak only when he has too, which in some cases is very appropriate.

Mere seconds have passed since Tomoe had pulled out the picture cards and the suffling of the picture cards has for once been a bit tricky due to the heat of the summer weather, but at least for now, the heaviest of high temperatures is not one to suffer for the time being and when that time does come, the gang can turn to some very useful methods and ideas to keep cool from the heat, and its not just going to be sun block. Tomoe spends just 5 seconds suffling the picture cards before looking the scar faced Kestrel in the eyes, only to suddenly go red under the eyes as she notices the youngster's posture, the infant is sat down in a very innocent manner, like some timid and pure female character meeting her crush, yet the scar faced Kestrel remains alert and mostly emotionless, the only emotion being curiosity as the infant looks at the slightly red face of Tomoe whom seems to find this image of young Kestrel utterly adoreable. Megumi whom remains layed down on her side notices her younger sister's bashfulness of the situation, an smug image seems to appear on the female's face as she sucks very slowly on a slice of lemon, the female has half closed eyes for a brief moment before eventualy seizing the opertunity to make her younger sister look like a complete idiot. The dark blue haired female alows a minute or so to go by, Tomoe's defence is dropped gazing with a blush into the endless blue ocean of Kestrel's eyes whom merely blinks in confusion and stares into the eyes of Tomoe, whom seems to have forgotten what she was about to do, the female can feel her heart beating all the more faster for a moment before the familiar voice of Megumi suddenly breaks the silence and causes Tomoe to litteraly leap in alarm as the voice of Megumi suddenly speaks out in a voice that is not a shout, but is still loud enough to express the lack of being impressed -

"Today Tomo'! Today!".

Kestrel merely turns his small head to the right look down slightly at the scantaly image of Megumi, whom is surprisingly able to stop herself from laughing at her younger sister whom leaps backwards in shock and very nearly falls flat on her back, Tomoe very nearly losses grip on the picture cards ressulting in a nasty scattering, but thankfuly the female is able to hold on to the small cards in her hand. As the ponytailed female recovers a fierce snarl is presented on the female's face, but the blush does not leave, the female now being embarrassed at the prospect of being made to look an idiot in her sister's pressance, but understandably... its not the first time Tomoe has suffered the pain of being made to look like a fool by Megumi. Tomoe flashes her pearly white teeth at her older sister and resists the urge to raise her index and middle fingers on her left hand to form a V position, or worse a middle finger. The rage of Tomoe building up to a boiling point, but the female holds in the anger and merely silently spits at her older sister, whom in turn merely half closes her eyes, rolls her eyes down to look at the spot where Tomoe's tiny spit wad landed, just mere inches from hitting Megumi in the face and landing just infront of her large right breast which looks to be on the verge of appearing out of her bikini top. Megumi frowns, blinks... remaining silent, a deathly hostile aura lingers in the air as Megumi keeps a slice of lemon pressed between her lips, the female looks down at the tiny bead of spit and although the female feels like getting up and starting a cat fight, the pressence of Kestrel restricts the want to do so. Instead... Megumi merely smirks with her lemon slice in the mouth, eyes looking directly into those of her sister's and slowly... with one hand pressed against her cheek, raises her free hand and in a very slow manner, and with complete silence gives her younger sister a V sign with her two index fingers.

Kestrel's response to the moment is an innocent head tilt to the right and with an innocent blink looks back at Tomoe whom shifts herself a little further towards Kestrel. The dark blue haired female takes one last glance at her older sister, shooting down a snarl, only just catching Megumi's response of smirking at the sight and continuing to suck on her lemon piece. As Tomoe looks back at the face of Kestrel whom is being the usual silent as the grave self, the female's face lights up with friendly joy, the bouncy female's image returning to that of its common self. This time... Tomoe does not hesitate and merely smiles with a kind and friendly expression, the female blinks for a second, looks down and with both hands turns to pick out a card from the stack in her hands, the female turns the small card with her right hand while keeping the stack in her left. Kestrel leans back for a brief second as the picture card is shown to his face like some untamed timid animal... but as the youngster looks at the card, the infant's posture quickly returns to a relaxed state. The card held before Kestrel shows the image of a Dolphin. A moment of silence lingers in the air before Tomoe breaks the ice of silence and in a very friendly tone speaks the word - "Whale".

Kestrel's response is silence, but after a matter of ten seconds, the infant timidly opens his small mouth and in a soft, tiny and nervous voice repeats Tomoe's word - "Wh..Whale".

Megumi is the next to speak, the female speaking in her usual playful laughing self in the usual goal of making her younger sister look like a fool - "Or the creature that sounds like Tomoe when she's singing!".

Tomoe's response is a simple irritated frown, matched by the slow rolling of her eyes to the left to look back in the direction of her older sister, whom smirks with a challenging and crafty expression. Kestrel on the other hand merely casts a quick glance at Megumi whom remains layed on her side, looking at the back of her younger sister. As Kestrel looks back towards Tomoe, the infant notices the expression of irritation on Tomoe's face, but thinks nothing serious of it. Silence remains in the air for a brief moment before Tomoe clears her throat in a very casual manner, before setting her eyes back on Kestrel and continueing on with teaching, unaware that Megumi is about to make this so called lesson... very, distracting and somewhat of a handful for Tomoe's patience.

As this is happening, the dark haired Houki keeps her eyes on Ichika whom remains flat on his back in the summer daylight, the Japanese female feels her heart beating in a very violent and excited manner. As far as the said female is concerned, socialising mabye easy after everything thats happened, but for Houki... its a little bit more difficult. Though Houki would say differant if one was to state the fact that she is planning to get to the position where she and Ichika can be alone, the truth would be found amongst that blush, fierce head shake and stuttered voice. Its not the first time that this thought has been lingering in Houki's head, ever since being debriefed of the situation and reminded that Ichika is homeless, Houki has in her own personal way... come up with a very daring and effective plan in order to get Ichika alone. After all... how long has it been since she confessed her love, only to have it drowned out by fireworks? How many times has Houki given the hint that she loves Ichika? and ofcourse... ever since she pulled that stunt in showing her nastyness with the intent of harming Kestrel ... has the female not shown that she is a good person? Has she not shown Ichika that she can turn over a new leaf? Has she not shown remorse for the years of abuse and jumping to out of control conclusions?

All these questions are just a fraction of the emotional battleground which the female's head is in right at the moment, and the knowledge that Ichika is dealing with the loss of his home and the shock and awe of what has happened these past few days only just makes the desire to glomp the Japanese male all the more painful to resist. The female has been unable to take her eyes of Ichika all morning and as far as the female is concerned, the female can't care less if she has been noticed gazing at the face of Ichika. Houki's feeling of frustraition of not having a clue what to do only seems to get more worse as she tosses her head back and closes her eyes, the female places both hands on the top her head and in a frustraited manner hisses to herself through clenched teeth, the female then proceedes to toss her head forward, releasing her head from her hands and shakes herself in a frustraited manner, the fingers on her hands open and apart like demonic hands. Houki then rolls her eyes upwards and after balling her hands into fists tosses her head back one final time before slowly lowering her head to look in the direction of Ichika and with a desperate mixed emotion filled face blinks at the direction of Ichika and after taking a moment of silence to come to a conclusion... Houki swallows her nerves... in her mind one phrase is spoken - ( "Its now or never... I can do this... Why am I acting like a child? This is kamikaze time!" ).

Less than a second, for maybe the first time in ages Houki takes the chance and although the female proceedes to walk at a fast pace, the female sticks out her chest, her heart is beating out of control and the summer heat adds tension to the situation, and as Houki walks towards Ichika, a nervous face is replaced by a confident smile as the female looks down to the right closing her eyes and looking back at Ichika with a confident expression. The female's mind speaks again, this time the female has no trace of nervousness... the female has come this far in making the effort and there is no chance of stopping her now... afterall... if Houki had the guts to tell Ichika she loves him once before, then she sure as hell must have the strength to do it again, even if it is only coming in the form of inviting him to stay with her for a few days. - ( "I'm not backing down, I'm not a child any more... If I can tell him once I can tell him again... and I'm going to do it regardless of what happens" ).

Though the distance is relatively a fair ways to go to get to Ichika, the journey to which Houki takes seems like an eternity, and the feeling of being watched does not help as the Japanese female walks in the most casual manner possible towards Ichika. Thankfuly the first group that Houki passes is Tomoe, Megumi and Kestrel, fortuneatley Houki is already aware that both females as curvy and seductive looking as they are, do NOT want anything to do with Ichika, nor are they any love rival threats... so Houki's feelings are relatively calm and collected as she walks past the trio, however a smile forms on Houki's face as the atmsophere she walks through is plesant and calm and as a bonus, the Japanese female feels her spirits rise as she walks past and overhears the conversation. What Houki overhears takes a lot of will power to not titter or at least show amusement to what is happening with Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi. As the said Japanese female walks past the trio the voices of Tomoe and Megumi paint a clear picture of what is happening just a few feet away.

"This Kestrel... this is a Snake... SNAKE" - Tomoe is heard speak in a calm, pleasant and clear voice, speaking the word 'Snake' very carefuly and clearly to ensure Kestrel can pronouce the word in clear Japanese lingo.

"Sn..Snake" - Kestrel is heard reply timidly and softly, a few seconds after hearing Tomoe speaking the name of the image on one of her small white image cards.

"Yes, excellent" - Tomoe is heard reply in a very warm and pleasant tone.

"Or the blood sucking, cold blooded bitch queen animal to which Tomoe is related towards!" - Megumi is heard comment almost immediately after hearing her younger sister's words.

The response from Tomoe is silence, but as Houki walks by, the dark blue Japanese beauty is seen frown and slowly roll her eyes to the left, a temper patch appears on Tomoe's temple and the female snarls ever so slightly, though Tomoe is trying her best to ensure that Kestrel does not feel as though he himself is in trouble, its clear as day that Tomoe is finding it difficult to put up with Megumi's pressance, though Tomoe does not shout or snap, Tomoe's words can clearly be heard filled with malice and hate as she hisses a reply back to her older sister whom remains laying on her side with a smug expression. Tomoe's words are chosen on an equaly well chosen basis as that of Megumi's - "Yeah? Well anything that concerns evil snake eyes and slithering through mud and preying on the weak is ofcourse your area of expertease!".

To Houki's relief non of the trio pay any attention to her walking by, and ofcourse it adds a good amount of morale boosting power as the coversation she overhears causes a titter to arise to the surface as she can picture what is happening behind her very, very well. After a matter of seconds of walking past the trio, the voices of Tomoe, Kestrel and Megumi is heard again. Tomoe beginning again, as before with a pleasant and friendly voice as she holds up another picture card to show to Kestrel. Tomoe's voice is full of comfort as she speaks to the young scar faced infant. - "Kestrel... this is called Coconut...COCO-NUT".

"Coco..nut?" - Kestrel timidly repeats, the infant slightly hesitating as he repeats Tomoe's words.

"Yes... now try it fully... Coconut" - Tomoe is heard reply, Kestrel's response is virtualy immediate but still as always, Kestrel's timid voice is laced with nerves and hesitation as he repeats the bouncy and curved Japanese beauties words. - "Coconut?".

"Well done, thats right" - Tomoe is heard reply, and as expected, Megumi is next to comment with some ridiculous put down of her own - "The exact fruit to which is screwed onto Tomo's neck, pity that the milk has run dry out of her OWN coconut!".

"Be thankful that I haven't got a coconut on me because I would have smashed it clean over your head by now!" - Tomoe retorts with a malicious tone.

Houki raises a the back of her left hand to her mouth to hide a small playful smile mixed with humor and pleasntness, However as Houki walks away from the trio, another group comes up next this time Houki gets an uncomfortable chill run up her spine as she walks towards the two european blondes Charlotte and Cecilia whom at the moment are smiling and exchanging words of pleasntry, nothing that looks like a form of danger towards her getting close to Ichika, but rather a conversation that goes along the lines of simple girly girl talk, which is as far as Houki is concerned is nothing to be nervous or uncomfortable over. However, as Houki gets closer and closer by the second, the horrible feeling of discomfort increases heavily. The smiles that are set on both Cecilia and Charlotte's faces may yet turn to challenging frowns or dissaproval looks as Houki gets closer by the second, and Houki knows it. To ensure a casual image the Japanese beauty forces a smile on her features, yet the nervous expression does not leave for a single second and the heart beat in the female's heart is getting worse by the second, changing from rapid beats to out of control thumping, the female suddenly getting the horrible realisation of the horrors to which Kestrel must suffer when ever suffering a turn, and to be honest its helping to cause Houki to feel ever more respect for the traumatised infant.

Houki prepares herself to recieve a very nasty pair of expressions and a pair of evil glares as she gets halfway from Kestrel towards the two blondes, but the atmosphere is one of pleasantry and the two blondes seem oblivious to Houki, even though the female feels as though her footsteps are loud and her heart is banging in betrayal within her chest. Yet... as Houki continues to get in close to the two blondes, the atmosphere gets ever thicker and the fact that there is no negativity in the air makes the feeling ever more sickening, but in an incredible stroke of fortune as Houki gets within a matter of feet and proceedes to walk past the two blondes, the sounds of laughter and cheerful coversation that fills the female's ears makes it unbeliveable to think that the two blondes are love rivals and that they are clearly ready to fight for Ichika's attention, but then again... after what has happened during the past 24 hours, its no surprise that decompressing is done in a near careless manner, Houki ofcourse feels no dissapointment and is obviously cheering for joy from deep within as she walks past the two females. Though Houki does go wide eyed and opens her mouth, turning her head slowly to the left as if to look behind her before slowly turning her head to look forward, a breath held from deep inside is let out, and as the female turns her head to the left to look around, the female notices that both Laura and Rin for once are out of the way and that the path to Ichika is now clear.

Laura for one remains hidden beneath sheets and unable to see what is happening, and as for Rin, the female is clearly overwhelmed with the reality of being treated and seen as a hero with the others, and such has left the path to Ichika wide open. For Houki the opertunity is too good to miss, the female smiles widely and struggles to not yell and cheer with happiness as she walks onwards towards Ichika, whom remains laying flat on his back. As Houki looks forwards towards Ichika, the female gets a surge of strength rush through her body, the female sees her chance and without wasting any further time begins to pick up the pace, changing from a casual walk to a jog, and then after a matter of seconds... begins to start running, the female beginning to speed up and dash towards the black haired Ichika as if her life depends on her rushing to the scene. A smile is set upon her face and a look of utter joy is across her features, the distance to which Houki covers is impressive, and the speed the female is making can only match an olympic runner going for a gold medal.

**\- Briefly with Chifuyu, Clarissa, Yui and Kazumi -**

As the gang enjoy the peace and the solitude, from across the grounds the four adult females Yui, Clarissa, Kazumi and Chifuyu remain sheltered from the sunlight, the four adult females sit at a white set up retangular table, each of the females sit upon a white metal seat, Kazumi and Yui sit pleasantly, as one would expect of proper well brought up women with lady like manners. Clarissa however has her hands placed together, fingers interlocking, elbows rest upon a black laptop, the female has both hands virtualy covering her mouth and the female's single solitary eye is closed, a nervous and stressed expression is on her face. Chifuyu sits arms folded, the female leaning back in her own metal chair, the woman looks down at the white table that is just a few inches in front of her. Unlike the Ichika and the others whom are either enjoying peace and solitude and making the best of the situation before them, Chifuyu and Clarissa's calling of Yui and Kazumi to the table is due to more, what one may say... 'Important and Delicate' matters.

The silence that radiates of both Clarissa and Chifuyu shows and portrays a lot of serious hostility, or at the least strictness that demands a situation be looked upon pronto, but as Yui looks down and notices Clarissa's laptop, the female gets the sneaking suspicion that Clarissa and Chifuyu have called both herself and Kazumi forward due to matters concerning Kestrel, or the one thing that Yui fears the most... Kestrel's recently completed, yet disasterously made Prometheus test. The female clearly oblivious to how correct she is.

A moment passes, a few seconds that are in the air hold a nasty lack of illness of Yui whom seems to go slightly white with discomfort at the serious expressions that are on Chifuyu and Clarissa's face. Chifuyu takes a moment before she speaks, the woman lowers her head and lets out a glum and mixed emotional sigh, the female despite maintaining her serious expression can not say the same for the exhausted and frustraited feelings from deep inside. As Chifuyu lifts her face to look at the direction of Yui and Kazumi, Clarissa lowers her hands and places them neatly over the top of her closed laptop. Clarissa briefly lowers her single solitary eye down to look upon her laptop before raising it to look in the direction of Yui and Kazumi,  
Kazumi thankfuly remains oblivious to the situation.

As Chifuyu speaks the woman's voice is calm and clear, which in reality is very incredible when it gets taken into account of how serious the past few days have been, but ofcourse... with Kazumi a part of the effort to aid in young Kestrel's recovery and protection, the approach needed demands a careful approach. - "Okay... Yui... I take it that you have the idea of why I called you over, Kazumi you don't... so to save a long explination I'm going to speak very slowly and carefuly".

Yui and Kazumi have differant expressions on their faces, Yui's is a mix of worry and illness, the woman's hunch has proved correct where as Kazumi's response is a confused look and feeling that can best be described as 'Have I missed something?'. Kazumi obviously does not have to wait for very long as Chifuyu is quick to close Kazumi's moment of confusion, to which the approach taken is very appropriate, especially if it is to show respect to a friendly face. The mighty black ponytailed Chifuyu lowers her head for a brief moment, closes her eyes as if to take in a much needed dose of confidence before lifting her head to look the mother of Tomoe and Megumi in the face and speak in a very calm and careful tone - "Kazumi... What I'm going to tell you is very confidential, so I don't want any of this going beyond us four people... Now, as you know... the Ryuku Islands have recently been a media spotlight, the news is saying that the Ryuku Islands were destroyed in a nuclear explosion, but.. I'm afraid the truth is far more differant from what the news is saying, and before you state that you heard it was terrorists I suggest you look me in the eyes and listen to what I have to say. What happened in truth, was.."

**\- Back with Houki -**

The pace that Houki has been running is something to be impressed with, and the minutes that pass by seem like hours as far as Houki is concerned, but then again the girl is desperate to get up to Ichika, the female has been fighting these emotions in her heart for many, many years, and now that some very bizarre events have passed the uncomfortable feeling of never getting the chance to say it at all lingers high in the air. The heat of the summer weather seems to make the matter of speaking all the more difficult, even before Houki started running up to Ichika, the female had been sweating, but as she runs, sweat seems to roll off the girl's brow and into the air like some anime style tears as the heronie runs away bursting into tears after coming up against a nasty and emotional wall. However, for all the running and seemingly endless run to Houki's mind, the female is quick to get up to Ichika, and for other girls ( excluding Tomoe and Megumi ) to not see Houki rush up to Ichika and go on the offensive, it is like a miracle is in the air, and as the female rushes up to Ichika, the female suddenly gets quick reminders of the amount of times she tried to speak her heart to the boy she loves, only to get cold feet or for the other girls to interfere, but as far as Houki is concerned, this is NO time for cold feet, she's come this far so its now or never.

To say that Houki is the aggressive female whom is assertive and emotionaly confident would be untrue, at one point the dark haired female would have chickened out and run in the opposite direction, but as always... its a certain scar faced Israeli boy with long black hair whom is to thank for Houki's boost in confidence, a fact that Houki is yet to be aware of and thank the said youngster for at some point.

As Ichika lays basking in the morning light, the male's ear twitches as the sound of a person running on the grass causes the male to stir and with a slow opening of the eyes turns his head to the left and notices to his surprise his childhood friend Houki rushing forward, in that brief moment the Japanese male notices an over joyed and excited expression on his child hood friend's face. Houki upon noticing Ichika turn his face to see her at first causes a brief glitch of nerves to erupt, very nearly causing her to cease her running, but as she looks into the eyes of her childhood friend, the unexpected occurs... the Japanese female suddenly gets a feeling of confidence hit home hard. Ichika hardly gets the chance to lift himself up off the ground and is just in time to be tackled in a layed down position as Houki throws herself on the Japanese male with the force of a five star American football player, the ressulting momentum causes Ichika to roll over on top of Houki and before the pair know it, the pair are rolling sideways to the right, over the top of each other over 4 times before coming to a stop with Houki laying flat on Ichika's front pinning the Japanese male to the ground. Ichika at first keeps his eyes closed and groans in slight pain as a bruised feeling screams over his chest and ribs, but as the Japanese male slightly lifts his head off the ground and opens both eyes slightly, the Japanese male finds Houki's arms placed firmly against his chest, the female places her head on his left shoulder in a near hugging manner.

Ichika is non the less surprised, and in his usual dense and confused manner speaks the female's name, sure... Ichika is dense in terms of love, but the male does know one thing about another person, and that's respect. - "Houki?".

Houki's response to the Japanese male is instant, the female does not speak in an emotional tone, but non the less the female speaks in happy and relieved manner, like a female whom has been reunited with her lost puppy, treasured jewelry or even more so... love interest. - "Ichika, I'm sorry to do this out of the ordinary, but I need to talk".

A confused question mark appears over the black haired male's head, and though Ichika is at loss and confused as to what Houki could possibly want. The Japanese male replies to Houki's words with a pleasant yet neutral expression and tone - "Huh? Oh... Okay, what is it?".

As Ichika lets his head rest back, the Japanese male gets a surprise as Houki picks herself up off the Japanese male and looks down at the male she loves with all her heart with a unexpected smile and overjoyed dreamy expression. The ressult causes Ichika to blink and slightly jump to himself upon noticing this strangely unexpected behavoir of his childhood friend, but never the less, Ichika continues to look his childhood friend in the eyes and is virtualy all eyes and ears as to what happens next, unaware of the shots that Houki is about to fire at him, soon to light a war for Ichika between her and the other girls, or at least... that is the assumption in the third person's world.

Houki blinks at her childhood friend and a furious blush appears underneath the female's eyes, the red flush running from up her neck up towards her eyes, Houki smiles ever so slightly and as she looks away, the female suddenly appears to go bashful, like an eager schoolgirl confessing her love for her crush, which in some ways... is sort of what is happening, if one takes into account that Ichika and the gang go to an academy, to which a lot of highschool or colledge like moments that one may have experianced in their own educational days have risen. Ichika remains silent, blinking slightly and appearing overwhelmed with surprise at the wierd and un-characteristic behaviour of the long ponytailed female which is stradling his sides, and now placing her right hand against her left arm.

"Ichika, I... well, its a bit difficult to say how I'm feeling right now.. so, well.. ah.. lets just say, since everything thats happened recently, I've sort'a... well, gone over everything thats happened here at the academy, and I wanted to say that... well, I'm sorry" - Houki stutters, the female's smile slightly dropping as she mentions the academy past, to which causes Ichika to get ever more confused, the Japanese male suddenly gets the urge lift himself up off the ground and look his childhood friend in the eyes and question her reasons for apologising, as far as Ichika is aware, Houki hasn't done anything wrong, so why suddenly say sorry? Ichika makes this factor clear as he blinks and in a clear and confused tone speaks his feelings as he looks the gloomy looking Houki in the face, whom still holds a fierce looking blush on the face - "Eh? Sorry? What for? What about?".

"Well, those years and months that I used to treat you very badly, you know.. kicking, the slapping, the un-lawful assaults that I used to do and the facts that I used to jump to conclusions before hearing you out, along with that time I very nearly attacked Kestrel... I just wanted to say sorry" - Houki responds, the females voice holds a large amount of solemness as she speaks the female's voice also has a hint of desperation as she looks Ichika in the eyes as she speaks, the female rolls her eyes to look away from Ichika as she speaks, placing her right hand on the top of her top and clutching the fabric tightly as if clutching her heart.

"Hey, don't worry about that, I already forgive you for those things, remember that I did so that day when you said sorry the first time? All water under the bridge, don't worry about it" - Ichika responds with a kind and sincere voice, the Japanese male suddenly raising his hands as if to reasure the female that everything is going to be alright, but what comes next causes the Japanese male to place his hands by his sides on the ground, just inches away from Houki's knees and cause the smile on his face to drop as Houki continues on with speaking to the Japanese male, once again looking the bushy black haired Ichika in the eyes and speaking with a furious blush on the face.

"I know but thats not all I wanted to say, see... those days that I acted like a spoiled brat was... well, I wasn't being honest with myself, I guess... I was trying to run away from how I was feeling... and in doing so I made things worse, as a ressult... its left me unable to fight these problems any longer, so what I want to say is... that, I guess it was a bit of jealousy when I saw you talking and spending time with those other girls so... It sort of made me a bit more desperate, and when you didn't hear what I said to you that night at the festival it didn't help either".

"Oh? Yeah, guess I did spend a bit too much time with the others, but they are my friends, I like to be nice to all my friends, when ever you was mad I thought you wanted to be left alone, I thought that I had caused some hatred or something" - Ichika replies in a friendly innocent manner, the look on the male's face being straight and calm as he speaks to the furious blushing Houki. Upon hearing Ichika's words, Houki looks deeply into the dense yet caring eyes of her childhood friend and lets out a phrase in a desperate yelp.

"Thats not true!... I never hated you for anything... and when you left me alone I thought it was because you prefered spending time with the others. Now when I think twice, I know now that it wasn't because you prefered them, it was because of purely innocent reasons, so... I guess, if it comes to that I can tell you my reasons... well, a lot more easier" - Houki speaks out in a glum and nervous manner, the female turns her head to look down to the right as she balls her right hand into a fist and places it underneath her chin, the wrist facing her lips.

"Reasons?" - Ichika asks in a confused yet innocent manner, the male clearly at loss at what Houki is talking about, which is picked up instantly by Houki whom is immediate to respond to Ichika's confused question.

"Ichika, even when I'm saying it, you still don't get it... So... I'm going to tell you straight out... Ichika..." - Houki virtualy stutters, the female lowers her head as she speaks, the female summons all remaining strength in her body and in a bid to ensure no cold feet occurs, the female closes her eyes tightly as she lowers her head and places both hands on the collar of her top, a moment passes with dead silence in the air before Houki lifts her head and in a near yell, speaks the three words that Ichika never thought he would hear from his childhood friend.

"I LOVE YOU!"

Ichika suddenly losses all colour and seems to become coloured ice, resistant to the heat of the summer weather as he looks up at his childhood friend with wide eyes, the feeling of all breath seems to have left his lungs. The male can do nothing but blink as he looks up into what appears to be a desperate face with a fierce blush and love stricken eye pupils. Everything is happening all at once, the Japanese male is unable to think, and his heart seems to be beating slightly faster at hearing Houki's words. The Japanese male is in such a state that he can't seem to grasp the feeling of reality as Houki continues to stare down into his bewildered brown and shocked eyes.

"L..Love?" - Ichika responds in a stuttered tone, the male clearly overwhelmed at the moment.

"Y..You heard me Ichika, I love you, LOVE you" - Houki replies with her fierce blush plastered firmly over the female's face, the female adds more a bigger dose of bizarre to the situation by leaning forward and with both hands clutching the chest of Ichika's shirt and lowering her front forwards to put her face closer to that of Ichika's. From inside her body, Houki seems to get a big dose of confidence hit home, as if letting go of a terrible held in breath. The ressult helps Houki confess and speak the truth all the more easily, to which continues to cause Ichika to become all the more bewildered by Houki's words.

"Why else do you think I used to invite you to go with me to festivals, waterparks and shrines? Why else do you think I used to dress in my best clothing? Wear my best perfume and put on make up? Why else do you think I used to lose my nerve and lay out thrashes before hearing you out? Why else do you think I've been praying night and day for you to be the first one to come forward and confess first? I love Ichika, dammit I love you!, I've always loved you, and the fact that you never got the messages used to make be feel like an idiot so thats why I used to treat you badly at times, now since Kestrel's arrived and helped me act like a propper lady, I can finaly be true to my feelings and say that I love you from the bottom of my heart! Now that everyone else is after you I have to say that I want to reveal my dream of being your one and only girl, I can't tell you how many times I've longed for the time when I can take you in my arms and hold you and.. and.. OH, DAMN IT!".

What happens next is one of the most moving and incredible moments of Ichika's life as the dark haired Houki suddenly yanks the said male to her face and with the strength of a woman possessed pulls Ichika towards her lips, in less than a matter of seconds Ichika's lips contact those of Houki's. The Japanese female closes her eyes and tears begin to fill her eyes, the female feels nothing, her entire body seems to go light and her heart seems to beat in such a state that its close to exploding with joy as she puts as much passion and tender feelings into her first kiss, even though she is virtualy stealing that of Ichika's the Japanese beauty does not let it phase her for a single second. For Ichika the moment is indescribable as he feels the sweetness and warmth of Houki's mouth placed firmly upon his own, the male's eyes go into a half closed state as Houki places her hands firmly on the sides of Ichika's face and pulls in the black haired male into a ever deeper kiss.

The minute or so that passes seems to be like a lifetime as far as Ichika is concerned, the Japanese male seems to see his life flash before his eyes as Houki pulls him deeper and deeper into a heart felt, love stricken kiss of passion. Upon the breaking of the kiss, a thin trail of drool is seen come from both sides as Houki pulls her face away from Ichika's, whom in turn is paralyzed with shock on the ground, breathless and at loss for words, however as Ichika looks up into the eyes of Houki... the male can see an image of his childhood friend never seen before, no words can be found and the male is unable to move... all the said male can do is stare with bewilderment and shock, as the reality of the situation hits home hard and effectively slaps the said male in the face. As Ichika remains still on the ground, the male leaves himself open to Houki's next form of love declaration as the Japanese female leans forward and places her head against Ichika's chest, drawing the male into a loving embrace, the only form of reaction Ichika can give is a caring hug back which is made in the form of placing his arms on the back of the female and thinking of nothing. Everything is happening all at once and the Japanese male can't find his reaction, but for now... one step at a time, one thing is for sure Ichika has taken his first step into a differant world.

**\- Back with Chifuyu -**

Sat down with a wide eyed expression, Kazumi is at loss for words at the story she has just been told. Despite being peaceful and a woman whom is not used to dealing with a crisis, the mother of both Tomoe and Megumi has managed to take whats been said a lot better than what has been expected, but then again... after whats happened recently with the drone attacks, the woman is able to believe anything and take it on the chin, which in a very good way is quite the relief in cases like this. To say that Kazumi would be like a person informed of another person's death or any other form of out of this world announcements would be untrue, the woman is at ease with whats been said, and though the news is considered on a very heavy basis, the good comfort of knowing that nobody has been hurt and nobody has been left in harm's way makes the woman's acceptance of the news all the more better, after all... its not as if Kestrel intentionaly meant to cause devastation and in the child's defence, the scar faced youngster was being tested by adults, so maybe the overwhelming scale of destruction was only to be expected.

All the while Kazumi has been sat down, the female has looked into the eyes of Chifuyu, Clarissa and Yui and heard their own stories of what happened that day, and to be informed that all she has to do is not say a word of this to any one else isn't too much to ask, after all... it is a true saying, 'what someone does not know, does not hurt them'. Thankfuly, Kazumi is a very humanitarian person, whom strangely enough would forgive someone for nearly any form of upset, and after all Kestrel was victim just as much as everyone else, so... there can't be a much better friend to the problem than that of Kazumi. As she sits up, the female clearly shows her cool at the news and lets out a held in breath in a long blow from the mouth, without whistling. As Kazumi speaks the female's voice is clearly filled with interest rather than that of fear - "Well... what else can be said except... wow".

"So I take it you can deal with being around Kestrel? Are you realy sure that you can feel comfortable hanging round a person that has an awesome weapon at their disposal?" - Chifuyu asks in a very low, clear and inquisitive tone.

"I would have thought you all would have felt the same, are you all comfortable in being around Kestrel?" - Kazumi replies in a friendly and calm tone, the female clearly showing her confidence and the fact that despite that many would have run off immediately, the woman is unphased, the smile on the woman's face is proof of that fact. The ressult is so surprising that even Yui and Clarissa even go so far as to suddenly cast looks of amazement to each other, though Clarissa had made it clear that she would take custody of Kestrel and declare that the German army was in control of the situation if Kazumi was unable to care for the Israeli youngster, the ressult has been quite the eye opener.

"Right, well your taking it better than we imagined!" - Clarissa suddenly puts in with a surprised yet impressed voice, turning to Yui whom herself is overwhelmed with surprise.

Smiling in a very kind and playful manner, Kazumi happens to close her eyes for a brief moment before looking the German woman in the eye and replying in a very kind and warm tone, which strangely enough has the form that one would find in caring angel, and the words Kazumi says next more or less says it all for the personality that Tomoe has inherited - "Look, what happened was an accident, we ALL do or say something that we wish we had'nt done, and besides... I was always taught during summer church services that some people are like lost lambs, and that no good human being deserves being left alone and isolated, especially after the stuff young Kes has been through. Although I would never trust Kestrel when it comes to using his IS around my home, I think I can still trust him with both my daughters and my life... after all... everyone deserves a second chance".

"Your a christian?" - Yui suddenly asks, suddenly interested at the words of Kazumi, causing the mother of Tomoe to look the woman in the eyes and reply with a very kind and pleasant smile on the face.

"Heh,Heh.. Well.. long story, I'll explain later. In the meantime, I can safely say that as destructive as Kestrel's IS can be, Kestrel HIMSELF.. is not a dangerous fugitive, nor is he some child terrorist or criminal, and at any rate, he needs support and care... not some critising damning from a very careless adult made mistake" - Kazumi replies in a very warm and friendly manner, the female easily able to see the true factor faster then what normal people would naturaly see. Ressulting in all 3 females around her to look at each other and smile in a very nice and kind manner. Satisified with the ressults the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu smiles in mixed smug and friendly manner and casts a suportive cool big sis look into Kazumi's eyes, the tone that Chifuyu uses next is equal to her facial expression.

"Okay, well... Thankyou, we can't thankyou enough, after all... Ichika would most likely belly ache to me if he found out that the little kid was being punished for something that he couldn't possibaly have helped".

"I can't thankyou enough either" - Yui puts in, placing both her hands tenderly over those of Kazumi's, both women showing that each other has the same goal in mind.

"No, no... its no trouble at all, and I'm more than happy to stand and offer support for when Kestrel gets his first dose of psychotherapy tonight" - Kazumi replies, the blue haired woman shaking her head in a comforting manner before looking the dark haired Yui in the eyes and speaking from the heart.

"Once again, thankyou. Thats... one of the things that worry me" - Yui responds, letting out a frustraited sigh as she speaks the truthful factor of that tonight may dig up some of young Kestrel's past, which for all anyone may know... maybe best left buried, but as Kestrel is about to get expert help, support from the police whom are about to get vital evidence and survivor accounts from a terrorist orginisation, and with the fact that some good could come out of what happens tonight, Yui maintains her smile as she looks over towards the direction of where Kestrel is sat with the two blue haired beauties Tomoe and Megumi. Clarissa, Chifuyu and Kazumi join the in following the dark haired Yui's eyes towards the scar faced infant whom by now is lost in a world of his own, having surely felt the familiar temperatures of desert heat to that of Israel. The scar faced infant sits comfortably with legs crossed, the long black hair on the infant cascading elegantly down his back, the youngster looks up at the clear blue summer sky and blinks calmly. The youngster has remained silent for a few minutes since Tomoe had turned to Megumi to effectively 'Shut it', soon being engaged in a bitchy hiss clash of words and threats and leaving themselves open to what comes next.

The scar faced infant silently murmurs some Israeli words in a soft and timid voice, until after a strange unfamiliar tune appears in the youngster's mind, the scar faced Kestrel strangely enough can't seem to understand or remember where he heard the lyrics, or where he heard the tune, but the infant feels very calm and collected all the same, as a ressult as Kestrel finds his small voice and manages to sing in a soft, low but tender tune, both blue haired Tomoe and Megumi are forced from their exchange of words and eventualy end up staring in bewilderment and calmness as the soft and timid voice of Kestrel shatters an awkward silence, the infant's singing for all its timidness and soft tone has a very good and beautiful touch to it, so what if Kestrel does not say many words? Its worth knowing the infant if one hears the youngster get the courage to sing, and even then its a rare event. The ressult is a positive effect on Tomoe and Megumi, where as others such as Rin, whom at this moment has noticed the position of Ichika and Houki and bitting the bottom lip with a mixed emotional expression has differant emotions awash within her body.

Kestrel's song that is sung to meet the awaiting faces of Tomoe and Megumi translates as the famous Israeli song 'Jerusalem Of Gold', whom stare at the infant, both females bewildered and at loss for words as the timid voice of Kestrel raises to a soft, timid yet very clear level.

_**"Avir harim tsalul k'yayin,.."**_

\- _The mountain air is clear as water _

_**"Vereiyach oranim,.."**_

_**\- **The scent of pines around_

_**"Nissah beru'ach ha'arbayim,.."**_

\- _Is carried on the breeze of twilight,_

_**"Im kol pa'amonim,.."**_

\- _And tinkling bells resound._

_**"U'vtardemat ilan va'even,.."**_

\- _The trees and stones there softly slumber,_

_**"Shvuyah bachalomah,.."**_

-_ A dream enfolds them all._

_**"Ha'ir asher badad yoshevet,.."**_

\- _So solitary lies the city,_

_**"Uvelibah - chomah".**_

\- _And at its heart - a wall._

_**Okay readers, that's the best I can do for now, looks like things are looking up for Kestrel, and for Ichika a very nasty looking war for his heart seems to be on the horizon, now for once its time to ask as to whom you readers think Ichika should best end up with, if you have an idea whom Ichika should end up with, just write it down in the open comments section, special thanks for those of you whom are doing so! *Thumbs Up!***_

_**( Please note: Jerusalem of gold is played to two different translations, though some translations are different, they somehow co-inside with each other all the time, even so this translation is one of the pair, so it really doesn't matter either way, the song is in the right category anyway ). **_

_**Next chapter begins Kestrel's Psycotherapy, and the beginning of the very first steps on giving evidence on bringing those murderous bitches whom turtured Kestrel to justice. Not my best chapter I know but its the best I can do for now, A lot of things to cover so nothing major is being missed out on, so keep cool you readers and keep up the good work on your own fics if you write any. May all your own fics get all the best reviews and comments, busy these days so expect continous delays, doing by best to make sure that this fic meets all the interests of you crazy fanfic loving monkeys! XD!**_

_**Stay cool!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	90. Chapter 90: Psychotherapy

_**Hello readers, been a while I know but I'm back as promised. As you maybe aware, these chapters are getting longer and longer with every chapter, so I guess that's something to be impressed with and the fact that I'm cutting intros and closing addresses short must be a good thing to compensate for the delays. Anyway... Before you all start reading I want to quickly inform everyone that for this chapter, I had a bit of a challenge faced as this chapter sees the beginning of Kestrel's Psychotherapy aswel as sees a beginning in Ichika getting fought over in a mixed love war by his self proclaimed girlfriends. This chapter effectively sees Ichika become more imbroiled in the girl's emotional reactions to Houki's confession or at least Rin's as she so far is the girl whom knows of Houki's moves at this point, aswel as seeing Kestrel get some expert medical attention which no doubt is going to be a horrible experiance as one no doubt can compare to if they have to look back at some horrible memories which causes upset.**_

_**In any case, there will be some emotions flying in this chapter and its a challenge because I have to juggle with Kestrel's psycotherapy and the fact that Ichika has been confessed to and get that itself to progress aswel as having the other females to look upon. So, in all honesty, I have had a bit of a headache trying to go along with the plot that I have written because so far everything has focused on one thing at a time in a stable manner so for once I have to juggle between one thing and another in a single chapter, but as always I find my way round after getting the chance to do so after a few days, so I can be happy to say that for what I have posted now ( At the moment ) is something I can safely say I can happily get out of the way and move on with the plot as there is much to cover.**_

_**BE WARNED, This chapter contains some information of Kestrel's past life, so don't use your imaginations as well as you have been doing if you can help it.**_

_**Also as a partial spoiler, and a bit of factual matter... when this fic began it mentioned the Sinai Desert, that itself was a slight mistake to make, the real desert to which this fic began was actualy the Negev Desert, to which the Negev Desert is Israeli territory and the Sinai is Egyptian territory, so I guess you can say that this fic sort of begins on the boarders of both deserts. For the moment I won't tell you exactaly where Kestrel came from in Israel, but the youngster DID spend a lot of time the Negev desert, so that is most likely where he came from, look at the images on the internet and you'll see for sure what the Negev Desert looks like. - The Only Spoiler you'll have, the juicy stuff remains in my hands... for now anyway!**_

_**Anyway, I won't keep anyone waiting any further and simply say, please read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 90:

**\- Random location, Pyshical and Mental diagnosis medical center, 14:00pm -**

There is a saying that goes, 'One can't put a price on peace', and in many ways that is correct. For those that have encountered the dark and destructive hours of the past few days that has caused a horrible amount of shock and awe to befall Japan and world media, they can clearly understand where that saying comes from. The silence of the summer air set in a clear blue summer sky is like a saint from heaven for those that wish to get their heads straight and pull themselves round from as many as two large media events that have occured in relatively short time, first the destruction of the 'Ryuku Islands' and now the drone attacks. The silent and welcoming solitude of a set of large white walled set of buildings at least 2 floors high with dark coloured angled roofs at 30 degrees are the very pinnicale of solitude and retreat from the world, the only signs of life in the world are chorus of wild birds singing the afternoon air, the humming buzzing drone of insects to busy to mind the summer heat and a slight breeze that can be carefuly heard in the air.

To say that the summer heat has changed would be a total lie, outside the temperatures are still high and the haze of the summer heat radiates off every parked car and vehicle belonging to doctors, nurses and medical staff of the white medical center buildings set up to treat those with sensitive and delicate medical conditions. In total, there are 5 sets of buildings all set in a differant layout shapes with one set being in a hexagon shape, another being in an erractic near L shape, another building complex is in the shape of a V, set across from that building is a large rectangle shaped building and the last is in the shape of a pentagon. What one sees from above in a birds eye view is the pentagon building complex set in the center of a large car parking lot, with the remaining 4 buildings forming a near square formationed perimitter.

Flower beds enline permitters and boundaries of the building complexes and what appears to be a basketball and tennis court can be found beside the L like shaped building. What one also sees is a large green field with well cut grass surrounding all buildings which are essentialy in the center of the field. A large 12ft high perimitter fence in a typical wired manner coloured green boarders the entire grounds in a large square shape. There is only 1 road way in and out of the center area which is held under gaurd by a cream coloured security box with a car access barrier which effectively allows access in and out of the large building complex area. At ground view at the entrance of the vacinity is a large white coloured sign set on two large metal pipes rising 12ft off the ground and in large blue Japanese writting is the name of the vacinity, set below the large Japanese writting is a set of smaller english letters reading the words - "Hasegawa First Aid And Medical Treatment" - set upon a large white board at the front of the security box is a another set of Japanese black writting which states the medical treatment one is bound to get at this medical facility, but there is no english translation.

Aiding the boarding off of the facility to the outside world is a large line of trees that are set apart from each other behind the wire fencing, but clearly those trees have been put there for aiding in giving the medical facility a feeling of peace and tranquility, however despite the fact that peace is in the air, the feeling of summer heat is clearly a differant matter, and if one was to be outside the same question would keep rising over and over again, the question of issues at 'How can Kestrel deal with this heat!'.

**\- Inside Building A: ( The Hexagon Shaped building ) -**

Sat down on a set of blue plastic coloured visitor seats, sit a group of people, sat walls apart with both groups facing each other in a long cream walled coloured hallway, with white coloured doors lining both sides. The group sit close by some swinging oak coloured doors with rectangular windows set in a vertical position. The group if known is at this point become national media to the nation of Japan, and for at least 2 of them, problems seem to be mounting by the second. Sat one side of the hallway is the European blondes Charlotte and Cecilia, Charlotte is the female sat on the end of the group and closest to the swinging oak doors, Cecilia is on the blonde's left. Sat beside Cecilia is the European silver haired German girl known as Laura, with her black eye patch. Sat on Laura's left is Houki whom looks across from her towards the wall opposite her own with half closed eyes with a small but timid loving smile on her face. Sat beside Houki is the pigtailed Rin whom sits arms folded and glaring in a frown at the floor with her head lowered, Chifuyu is sat beside Rin with her arms folded and sat with her head back resting against the cream coloured walls, the woman's eyes are closed, Chifuyu is clearly taking the chance to enjoy some solitude.

On the opposite side of Chifuyu's group sits the two blue haired beauties Tomoe and Megumi, Megumi sitting close towards the oak coloured doors, Kazumi, the blue haired mother of the two curvy beauties sits beside Tomoe, the female constantly turning her head to the left and then to the right as if looking carefuly for a person to arrive. The Japanese male Ichika sits beside Kazumi, the black haired male sits with his head lowered and unable to think straight, the male's mind is a mix of confusion and shock, the fact being proven as the male has a confused and troubled expression on his face, having being confessed to by Houki, the male is at loss for words and has been silent throughout the rest of the day, not even saying a word when lunch came today. However, Ichika is not the only one to be troubled as sat beside him with his head lowered is the long black haired Kestrel, the scar faced infant too appears overwhelmed with mixed emotions, but that is to be expected as the infant has a lot of things to be upset over. Sat beside Kestrel is Yui, whom has hold of the infant's right hand and holds it very carefuly like a doting mother, whom too has a troubled expression on the face, the woman continously casting down nervous and worried glances towards the scar faced Kestrel whom has been silent as the grave since leaving the IS academy.

With each passing moment, as time ticks by in a seemingly endless eternity the situation becomes more and more awkward as the weight of worry weighs down heavily upon the shoulders of Kestrel and Yui. The feeling of difficulty is weighing down upon the shoulders of Ichika and the feeling of heartbreak and anger is weighing down upon the shoulders of Rin, whom for now has not made it clear that she saw how friendly Ichika and Houki was this morning, but its only a matter of time and with each minute the Chinese female sits beside Houki the more angered and upset the female becomes, the feeling of blood lust and temper is boiling with every second and it can be considered a miracle that Rin has not done anything irrational, but the struggle is becoming harder to bare with by the second, Rin has already gone past the point of crying, the female did not make her pressance known during lunch and had spent hours in the girl's bathroom in the IS academy crying her eyes out in a very heartbroken and crushed manner, the female's eyes can still be seen red and slightly swollen despite her best efforts to hide her emotions, but its clearly getting harder by the minute.

At least for now, Ichika can count his oblivious blessings, but at some point Rin is about to make it clear that she knows of Ichika and Houki's kiss this morning, for now... the most concerning matter is the shock and feelings of how to deal with Houki's heartfelt confession, the Japanese male feels a good sense of pride and excitement at the memory and the feeling is one he has never experianced, though everything happened so fast yesterday the Japanese male still feels the soft, wet and moist feeling of Houki's lips upon his own and though Ichika was unprepared for it, the Japanese male can still taste the sweetness of Houki's mouth upon his own, though Houki is inexperianced in matters of love, the Japanese female was clearly very aggressive in her approach yesterday, and the fact that Ichika has felt Houki's eyes burning into his back hasn't helped ease the nerves in his body. Though its a good feeling that Ichika feels, the male feels a horrible sense of illness, that at the same time something very complicated and un-pleasnat is looming on the horizon, though its probably just nerves from the shock of that kiss, and what the male should do next... the Japanese male still feels a horrible sense that something unpleasant is waiting for him and for once it does not include the feeling of a death threat. One thing is for sure, though its a big thing to experiance, sometimes the first steps into mature adulthood can be a real shock for some to experiance,  
but then again... if one takes Kestrel's problems, then one can say Ichika's had it easy in life.

The air conditioning provided by the the inside of building A is a pure blessing as it soothes and blows away the intense feelings of heat that everyone has experianced so far in summer time, though its the weather that one wants for summer break, its clearly a problem when one has other things to deal with and requires a steady mind, especialy this afternoon when today could see the start of a development in Kestrel's campaign to recover from PTSD. As for Kestrel himself, the timid and nervous youngster has been on the razor's edge of illness since he was informed of going to see an expert in his dealings to cope with his PTSD, though Kestrel has not been crying or shaking, the emotions that fill the infants eyes are ones of pure and unsettled negativity, the infant is like a wild and terrified animal, unsure of surroundings and paralysed with fear and shock. However, the friendly and motherly touch of Yui and the amounts of smiles and rubs on the back that the said infant has gotten from his friends have helped a great deal, including the big brotherly smile and hug recieved from Ichika, whom despite filled with problems of his own was more than willing to lend a friendly and pleasant hand to his young scar faced friend.

Though its only been a just 20 minutes since the gang booked into building A which was clearly specified mental diagnosis, psychiatrist aid and other various forms of medical treatment to aid any unfortunate person with either disabilities or PTSD, the minutes that have passed have seemed like hours. Even though the receptionists were expecting only Kestrel and Yui, the atmosphere was non the less very warm and pleasant as the receptionists gave the gang some very supportive gazes and smiles, even the exchange of bows seemed to have a good and promising feeling of safety and reasurrance, the exception ofcourse was that Kestrel did not bow, but that was only to be expected as the infant's mind was overwhelmed with god knows what and mixed levels of emotions. Even now the infant seems to be on the razors edge of suffering a turn, the look of a near glazed pair of eyes is proof of that factor, the infant's ocean blue eyes appear dazed and stunned, the infant's face is straight and near emotionless with the only noticeable feature being one of emotional exhaustion. How Kestrel is going to take his first dose of expert advice and attention today is in many ways take a big step into the unforgiving unknown realms.

Cecilia and Charlotte happen to look to their left and across from where they are sitting and notice that Kestrel is sitting down with his small head lowered, the infant's long black hair despite being in a neat and straight manner makes the infant look more and more gloomy. The two european blondes blink and stare over at the scar faced infant with sorrowful looks before slowly turning their heads to look each other in the faces, the two females remain silent as the grave and unable to find their voices, and even if they did it is highly unlikely anything that they could say could help in any way, and even then, who's to say that the girl's words could help even if they could speak some friendly and welcoming words?

Eventualy after what seems like an eternity, the sound of a door handle being pulled down with the resounding tell tale sounds of a door opening shatters the dead silence and almost instantly all eyes snap and look towards the direction of the sound, Chifuyu merely half opens her eyes and lets out a frustraited and tired out huff. Rin however maintains her depressed expression and looks with the others two doors down on the left of the hallway to look at the cheerful and pleasnat expression of a white coated nurse. The female wearing a white clean nurses cap on the top of her head, the woman's hair is brunette and in a bun at the back of the head. The female has brown eyes and has a very welcoming look on her face, Kestrel moves his small head very slowly to the right and blinks with an upset expression the face. Yui however appears to be the worst effected as the woman lowers her head and closes her eyes before turning her head, opening her eyes to look down at the infant with a mixed emotional expression before summoning all strength she can manage and giving the youngster's hand a small squeeze and in a very careful voice speaks something in Israeli. Almost at the same time the white coated nurse gives a slight bow and in a very chearful and friendly voice speaks the words - "Ah, next is a boy called Kestrel, please step this way".

As Kestrel and Yui rise from their seats and stands the atmosphere is heavy and very uncomfortable, the pair are unable to look in any other direction than that of the nurse as they stand for a moment before slowly taking a step forward before taking a steady walk towards the open door. As the pair walk away the chocolate brown eyes of Ichika do not leave the back of the long black haired Kestrel the entire time, the sounds of footsteps seem to echo very loud as if like some horrible funeral bells. The eyes of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers all gaze in dead and stunned silence, the hearts off all seem to be in the mouths or at least have stopped as Kestrel walks away to recieve his first dose of medical attention to his badly traumitised and shocked mind. Even more serious and more strict to the point is that what ever is going to happen or be said is going to be kept out of hearing range and out of view behind a large white coloured wooden door, to which nobody is going to be allowed to enter today, but maybe that is for the best, afterall Yui is to translate every last word and be the first to gain an image of what has happened to the scar faced infant, even if its only going to be a small amount of information and hardly anything of real big importance and interest, the infant has got to do the horrible thing to rub salt into the wounds by going over some very unpleasnat memories or descriptions of turns. Tomoe and Megumi are well aware of this factor as both sisters grab each other's hands and move close togther as if praying for a miracle. Kazumi blinks and smiles as if trying to sent over the silent brain message that 'Everything is going to be alright', but even then, the woman is clearly nervous and feeling the same discomfort of the moment as that of Ichika and the others.

Yui seems to hesitate as she gets towards the white waiting nurse to whom closes her eyes, smiles warmly and gives a very kind and pleasant bow, to which Yui does the same. Kestrel simply remains silent and still and is unable to hear or be bothered to wonder what the nurse says as she looks down at the infant and gives out a very friendly comment - "A nice looking little client, we seem to be lucky today".

As the trio begin to walk into the open door, a very unpleasant and ill silence seems to befall the group, Charlotte and Cecilia seem to flinch in an alarmed manner as the white coated nurse follows close behind Yui and Kestrel with a pleasant look on her face, reaching down towards the silver door handle and pulling the door shut behind her, the resounding click seems to be the loudest noise heard for the day and as far as anyone else is concerned, its almost as if a nail has been hammered into the coffin. Chifuyu on the other hand is un-phased and the reason why is soon made clear as the mighty ponytailed female with her half open eyes rolls her eyes to the left, the usual scowl is set upon the woman's face as she casts a somewhat very irritated and dissapointed look towards Ichika and Co. Chifuyu then proceedes to close her eyes and lower her head, then as the female lifts her head up, the female can be seen to roll her eyes and snarl in a very strict and angered manner. As Chifuyu speaks, the womans voice is clear and sharp like a blade, the woman's words seeming to cast a humiliating feeling of reality down onto the shoulders of Ichika and the others, yet at the same time scolding the gang for at least worrying and showing their caring side for the scar faced infant whom is now out of sight and touch.

\- "Oh for god's sake, be adults and think before acting like a farm animal about to be sent to the slaughter house! Kestrel's only going to be asked simple questions, like if he's able to sleep easy at night, if he can tell when turns are about start, how often he gets nightmares, what he sees when he suffers a turn, what he sees when he gets a nightmare and such. Things that concern tortures, what has happened in his past, the people involved and links that he can give is for the police to work on, not the medical staff. Reality check for once everyone, Kestrel is here to get medical attention, not dig up the past".

"We know that Chifuyu-nee, but according to what Yui has told us, the police are going to be interviewing Kes at the same time in the same room today, they claim that its going to be simple questions themselves, but you've seen it in the movies and you've also heard the stories... they start it as simple questions but then it turns into full fledged pressure filled questions that go against what is promised. How do you expect us to feel?" - Ichika replies in a flat and honest tone, the Japanese male with his black bushy hair lifts his head to lift his eyes from looking upon the floor to look into the half closed yet strict eyes of his older sister.

Chifuyu's reply to her younger brother is firm yet strangely reasuring, the woman's words fill the hallway, Kazumi catches glimpse of Chifuyu looking her way as she speaks and sends by a small and slightly affectionate smile, yet the woman's eyes clearly seem to state the obvious back to the mighty Chifuyu that 'No matter what you say, these kids will continue to worry about our little scar faced friend', Chifuyu in turn notices Kazumi's smile but shows no acknowledgement as she speaks to Ichika, the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu keeps her arms folded and opens her eyes to a full open state as she sits up and straightens her posture, turning her head slowly to look at the face of Ichika, to Tomoe and Megumi and then over to the girls on her right side. - "Just for your information Ichika, there is only going to just a single detective on the case of investigating Kestrel's past, a woman called Miss Otokawa. She's trained in dealing with people whom have experianced traumatic experiances, and I have spoken to her personaly on not to over step the mark, so if any of you crazy apes are frightened that the law is going to make Kestrel's mind worse than what it is, then believe me when I say, your all barking up the wrong tree".

"Yeah, but still..." - Ichika mutters in a glum manner, the Japanese male lowers his head to look down at the ground as he speaks.

"I think whats bothering us all Miss Orimura is the fact that so far we've been there when Kes suffers turns, been shoulders to cry on, been there to support him when he needs it, so its kind off spooky when people other than us get involved with his case" - The dark blue haired Megumi comments, the older sister of Tomoe having released her younger sister's hand and regained some self control after hearing Chifuyu's words. The dark blue haired Megumi looks into the half closed eyes of those of Chifuyu as she speaks, the dark blue haired female despite being a goof most of her time clearly shows the fact that as wild and uncontrolable as she can be at times... the female does indeed have a good heart, and is more than perfect to trust around the scar faced and troubled Kestrel.

"That sort of explains it in a very clear manner of why we are the way we are right now Orimura Sensei" - Houki comments out almost instantly, the female having a small smile on her face as she turns her head to look at the mighty Chifuyu as she speaks.

"Oui, what she said Orimura sensei" - Charlotte puts in, the French blonde placing her hands together and leaning forwards slightly, turning her head to make eye contact with Chifuyu as she speaks, the French blonde has a straight expression on her face, though Charlotte has not got an upset look on her person, the female does however have a very worried expression on the face and the image has traces of upset, like an older sister worrying for the life of her frail younger brother, to which causes the mighty Chifuyu to frown and sweatdrop slightly.

"Its not that we don't trust expert aid, its just that since coming here, we sort of... well, happened to read these pamphlets and we've sort of, well... gotten a bit to ate up in the fact that Kestrel's PTSD is a real serious and delicate case" - Cecilia speaks out, the British blonde leaning forwards and pulls out a rectangular paper pamphlet set in one would expect on a pamphlet discussing and announcing medical illness. The British blonde despite having a small smile on her face shares the worried looks similar to that of virtualy everyone but Rin, whom is full of mixed emotions with one half of her being in the same realm as that of the others and the remaining half still greiving at the sight she caught this morning of Ichika and Houki sharing a very friendly and loving kiss, thankfuly though... Rin's desire to be alone with Ichika and demand some answers may yet come sooner than expected as Chifuyu at this moment is on the verge of dragging all the girls into the reception area and give them a stern lecture, but thankfuly the warm pressance of Kazumi, Tomoe and Megumi prevent the woman from doing so.

The German eye patched Laura is next to speak, but unlike the others the female has a more positive posture and aura about her, the female seemingly taking a more adult and expert like approach to the problem than that of the others, Laura's words chosen are calm and rational, and obviously openly truthful as Laura has always had that skill to openly come out with an honest comment and take an assertive approach to problems and obsticles. - "I personaly am taking this case of dealing with our young friend's PTSD as a learning experiance, all my life I have been trained to deal with physical wounds in combat, I would personaly like to get a rough course in treating victims whom suffer similar cases of shell shock".

"Laura, Kestrel isn't a soldier like your friends in Germany you know" - Tomoe puts in, the female raising an eyebrow and sending an awkward expression over to Laura whom merely blinks back with her single solitary eye.

Kazumi having noticed Chifuyu's patience getting thin is immediate to speak, the female sits up straight in a very ladylike manner and with a pleasant expression on her face speaks in a very careful and pleasant tone, the female lifts her right arm and opens her right hand as if offering a hand of aid to Ichika's older sister, Kazumi effectively gives Chifuyu a much needed dose of relief as she speaks the words - "Ah... Chifuyu-san, shall I explain things to everyone? Me and Tomoe have more experiance in dealing with problems like this".

"Thanks, for the offer, but I guess it would be better if we both delt with these brats here" - Chifuyu replies in a cool big sister tone, the female smirks with affection as she turns to look the mother of Tomoe and Megumi in the face, the female even goes so far as motion with her head to the right as if to say '"C'mon, lets take these kiddies outside and give them a lecture about the birds and the bees"'. To which Kazumi responds with an affectionate smile of her own and proceedes to rise out of her seat stand in a very calm and collected manner, with both hands set together and set elegantly below her hips at the female's front. As this happens all except Rin, Tomoe, Megumi and Laura, suddenly go slightly open eyed with surprise at the sound of hearing Chifuyu's words.

Chifuyu speaks as she rises out of her seat and in a cool big sister tone speaks in calm and strict manner, which is very normal. The female stares over towards Kazumi with a strict glare as she speaks, the female more or less giving Kazumi the telepathic message to essentialy '"Work with me"'. - "All right you kids, I'm not going to shout or get nasty, but I am getting very tired so to make things be seen in a much clear point of view I suggest you all come with Me, Kazumi and Tomoe to some place more private, to where we can tell you all the same damn thing over and over again and then end it at that".

As Chifuyu turns round to face Charlotte, Cecilia, Houki, Laura and Rin, the female casts down a very serious expression towards Rin and Laura, to which both females get a slight chill up the spine before feeling a large wash of relief rush over their bodies as Chifuyu proceedes to speak - "Laura, Rin... you two stay here with Ichika, Megumi-san will give you all something to laugh about while we're away I'm sure". - Megumi upon hearing Chifuyu's words strangely enough smiles to herself in a very ammused manner, the female clearly not taking the words of Ichika's older sister very badly, as Chifuyu could have used that statement to say that Megumi is thick... or in a more polite sense, just plain stupid most of the time.

As Chifuyu leads Tomoe and Kazumi back towards reception, Charlotte, Cecilia, Houki, Rin, Laura and Ichika cast confused yet nervous glances at each other, a heavy weight of awkwardness is in the air as the mighty female walks back towards the reception area. Though the 3 females of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers gang are hesitant to follow, it is only when Chifuyu stops in her tracks, turns to the right and shoots back a very nasty threatening glare and with sharp and loud claps of the hands gives the signal for the three females to follow. Ichika watches in silence as the two blondes and childhood friend walk away, however as Houki walks away bringing up the rear, the Japanese male notices his childhood friend suddenly turn her head to the left to look over her shoulder and shoot down a very warm, loving and slightly flirting wink with her left eye, the female smiles kindly with a strange mix of love and warmth expressioned on her face as if to say, '"Don't worry about it Ichika, I'll be alright, I love you"'.

Ichika suddenly feels every last inch of his body heat up as he catches sight of Houki's gesture, the Japanese male clearly not over Houki's confession and confused as to his feelings is unprepared for Houki's flirtuous attitude, but then again... having being dense most of his time and unable to get the messages, it has to be some sort of shock, to the said Japanese male. The male looks away from Houki with a red flush going up his neck to his ears, the male is bright red under the eyes and his stomach is churning, the male can clearly remember the feeling of Houki's lips pressed against his own, and the strange taste of what its like to be kissed. Everything has happened very fast and nearly all at once, the Japanese male is overwhelmed with more than one problem, his major concern is for his small Israeli friend, then another problem is on his shoulders concerning where he's going to live now that he's homeless, the fact that he's been made a celebrity and now... Houki's confessed love.

Ichika then places both hands on his face and buries his face as deeply as possible into his palms, the male feeling his mouth dry up very badly with each second as the sounds of Chifuyu, Tomoe, Kazumi, Cecilla, Charlotte and Houki walk away down a corridor and into the distance. For what seems like hours afterwards, even though it is only 6 minutes, the Japanese male constantly raises his face from out of his palms, the male's fingers draw down his face as he looks up to the ceiling with a desperate expression of confusion and terror on his face before placing his face back into his palms and beginning to effectively fret and ponder over his set of problems that seem to be mounting by the second, all while this is happening the Chinese brunette Rin has been watching the male with intention very, very seriously and tears have begun to form in the girl's eyes, yet despite that horrible pain in her heart, Rin is able to prevent herself from breaking down, having spent a few hours going over whats happened over and over again in her head, the female has effectively reached a conclusion in her mind, as far as anyone else is concerned... Houki may have confessed her love for Ichika and made the first move... but Ichika hasn't chosen on whom he wants as his girlfriend yet, and appears to be at loss for words or knows what to do... afterall... when one excludes Kestrel from the saying, '"Men are weak when women make the first move"', that means that Ichika is still up for grabs.

Rin despite being childlike when it comes to fighting for Ichika isn't some immature girl whom says no to a challenge, after all... Rin has always been the challenging type, so... if Houki wants a fight for Ichika, and the others aren't involved, she's got one! Its just a question of how to come out and show Ichika that she cares for him just as much as Houki, and for the last few hours, Rin has made these plans over and over again in her head, and as she is feeling very foul and upset, there is no better time to show Ichika that she loves him just as much as Houki, after all... a girl crying broken hearted in a case like this would realy grease up her chances of scoring Ichika's heart, the only obsticle at this moment is Laura, Megumi is no threat, so for now at least, Rin whom fights against the urge to bawl with upset has to buy her time, wait for the moment and be ready to pounce.

For the moment at least, while Rin scowls and stares at Ichika with a heartbroken frown, to the oblivious state of Ichika, Laura and Megumi have taken the chance to exchange pleasantries. What words Laura and Megumi exchange seem to pass through one ear and out of the other of the mixed emotional Ichika, the Japanese male is feeling very nervous and his stomach is swirling with mixed doses of excitement, panic, fear, sorrow and bewilderment. The five minutes or so that soon pass by seems like hours as Ichika finds himself looking down at the floor with a glum expression, eventualy the Japanese male's dry throat and mouth seem to pay off greatly and the Japanese male responds to the beckoning call of a water drinking machine which came into view when the said male entered reception, along with the sign on the ceiling hanging by a pair of silver metal chains, white arrows set in green rectangles pointing the direction to the bathrooms. As the Japanese male stands to his feet, Rin's eyes open with surprise and though Ichika does not look towards Laura, Megumi and Rin, the gaze from Rin is fixed firmly on the Japanese male, Laura and Megumi whom look into each other's eyes don't notice the black haired Ichika walk by. Rin seems to feel her heart leap for joy at the chance to confront Ichika and demand some answers, and at the same time declare her own love for Ichika... Rin has always been a fighter at heart, so as far as anyone else is concerned, the said girl is not about to give up Ichika without a struggle.

Seeing her chance, Rin silently yet quickly rises to her feet and pursuses the walking Ichika, the Japanese male being as silent as the grave and amazingly unable to hear or detect Rin's pressance as he walks down the corridor and back towards the entrance, the black haired Ichika's mind is focused on other matters and as such is a perfect target for the emotional Rin. Ichika keeps his eyes focused on the floor for the best part of his journey but lifts his head up to look ahead of himself as he walks onwards towards reception. Rin having calculated that the best chance to get to speak to Ichika alone is the gamble that he may want the bathroom is the best time to make her move. If Ichika should not want to go to the bathroom, then the option to wait a bit longer is the best choice of action for the Chinese brunette. In order to avoid the gaze of the people in reception, the female chooses to give Ichika some distance and then, if all goes according to plan... Rin will have her chance to pounce.

Rin maintains her serious scowl, some dry tears have only just started fading from under her heartbroken eyes, and as if like a jewel theif trying to escape security, or some eavesdropper listening to a secret conversation, places her back flat against the corridor wall, and as stealthy as possible shifts herself along the side of the corridor, ignoring the possibility of being seen as person up to no good, or discovered by Laura and Megumi, whom are just a matter of doors along the corridor behind her. Ichika oblivous to Rin's pressance behind her walks onwards, the forehead and brow of the said male seemingly sighing in happiness at the cool air of the corridor, and the slight beads of sweat the roll down the male's temple seem to be a lot lighter than what one would be seem when out in the scorching heat, so at least the male can enjoy the pampering of the cool air despite his problems.

As the black bushy haired Ichika walks through the set of swinging doors and towards the ever growing closer reception area, Rin slows down and moves a lot more slowly and silently, slipping through the silently swinging doors and moving at a near crawl pace, the female holding her breath and keeping her stern gaze on the back of Ichika. Every now and then leaning forward and then placing the back of her head against the corridor wall as if trying to keep the lowest profile possible. Ichika remains unaware of Rin being behind him, and continues onwards, the Japanese male continuously hell bent on getting a drink for his parched mouth, so its obviously no surprise that Ichika gets a relieved and overwhelmed smile on his face when the sight of the water dispenser, with its white plastic cups and blue iconic plastic water filled container. Ichika remains silent as the grave as he reaches the water dispenser, takes a plastic cup and places it under the vertical nosel of the water dispenser.

As Ichika presses down on the black switch, the sound of water filling his cup is like the sweetest music to his ears, a relieved smile is on his face as if rejoicing at the sound and the sight as cool, fresh and sweet water fills his cup. The Japanese male's mouth is soothed instantly as the male raises his cup to his lips and takes a swig of the cool water, the male seems to savour every drop of the drink in his hand and for a moment can understand where people in the desert value water instead of gold and silver. The Japanese male seems to drink slower and slower with each second that passes and remains unaware of Rin behind him, continously gazing at the back of Ichika. Ichika meanwhile closes his eyes and leans his head back as the cool substance of the flavourless liquid leaves his cup and goes down his throat and into his stomach, the black bushy haired male eventualy after a good three or so minutes of slow drinking ends his drink as the male leans his head back to a vertical position and finishes the water in his cup. Though Ichika is compelled to get another drink, the said male resists the temptation and instead turns his head to the right and looks down a differant corridor to the one that he was in just moments earlier. The Japanese male's mind is in such a state that he does not even bother to crush his plastic cup and simply throws it into a white coloured litter bin.

From behind Ichika and remaining out of sight Rin holds her breath and opens her eyes to a wide state, the female balls her hands into fists and trembles at the anticipation of seeing Ichika walk towards the direction of the bathrooms. Rin blinks in silence and keeps her breath held tightly, the Chinese brunette silently hissing demanding phrases for Ichika to head towards the bathroom, the female becoming ever more panicked and stressed, every second that Rin remains idle risks the chance of being discovered and having come so far makes the situation all the more painful. The female for that moment snarls to herself, the female hisses silently to herself and the frustraited frown on her face turns into a stressed and angered scowl. Rin's heart seems to freeze up, the girl is unable to breathe, and her heart seems to stop for a agonising total of 8 minutes. For Ichika, the Japanese male's mind is demanding a place to splash water on his face and have a moment to himself, and upon looking to the ceiling and noticing the bathroom directional sign, responds to the instinct that most boys and men follow when troubled or wanting to be alone, be it during education or if at a place of career.

Ichika lowers his head, the glum expression on his face remains fixed, the Japanese male sighs in a very frustraited manner to himself and moves towards the corridor and towards the direction of the bathrooms. The Japanese male keeps his head down, the male overwhelmed with personal problems, Ichika has seen romance take place before in the movies and in the soap operas but never before has he thought that everything would be so... well... complicated, but then again, its Ichika's first experiance of the wall of romance, so maybe its no surprise. From behind, Rin moves away from the corridor wall, the female seems to shout silently for joy and a very excited smile is placed upon the girl's face, knowing all too well that her chance is now in sight. The Chinese female tails Ichika ever so quietly and stealthy and proceedes to follow the male she loves ever so dearly towards the bathrooms. As Rin follows Ichika close behind, the girl begins to calculate a plan of confrontation and confession in her mind, the Chinese brunette while following Ichika calculates her actions down to two choices, either go with Ichika in the men's bathroom and confront him on the spot, or to wait outside a good deal and do it then... all the while Rin follows Ichika, the girl is screaming with anticipation and begins to summon all her will power and courage to follow Houki's example and confess to Ichika, reach for the prize and take it... as Rin continues to follow Ichika and begins to summon her strength for the big moment, Rin VERY slowly licks her lips, her mouth having the hungered urge to contact those of Ichika's.

**\- Back with Laura and Megumi -**

To fail to notice Ichika and Rin vanishing together would be impossible when concerning Laura, when ofcourse one takes into account of the fact that Laura proclaims herself as Ichika's ( As she calls it ) Husband, but amazingly, despite the odds, Laura has failed to notice Ichika has disapeared with Rin in pursuit. However, having spoke to Megumi about the scar faced Kestrel, the silver haired Laura has been pre-occupied with other interests, and with having a big military history behind her, along with big devotion to military services, what Laura is mostly likely thinking, is that learning about Kestrel's PTSD could in all likelyhood benifit her when facing the goal of triumphing over aiding her comrades whom ever get the horrible diagnosis of shell shock. Even though shell shock and Kestrel's PTSD are on differant levels, the basis, background and prinicipal is virtualy the same.

Though what began as a dicussion of what Megumi likes about Kestrel, then moving onto the matters of what Megumi knows of PTSD, to which most have been bits and pieces picked up from Tomoe, Laura has found herself on a bent knee with her head placed firmly against the wooden door to which on the opposite side harbours Kestrel, the female seemingly under the desire to overhear what is happening on the other side. Though at first, it was a joke of a suggestion made by Megumi, Laura was surprisingly bold enough to think that the suggestion to overhear what is happening a good idea to follow, the German female had looked at nothing upon hearing Megumi's bold statement, and rolled her solitary eye upward to look at the ceiling, a confused yet interested expression appeared upon the female's face and her mouth remained closed, but upon smiling to herself and coming out with the bold, yet optimistic stated plan of believing that Ichika would somehow get closer to her if learning more about Kestrel's problems, followed Megumi's jokeful suggestion.

Megumi's response to Laura moving towards the closed white door in a confident manner to eavesdrop on what she could hear was NOT one of positivity, the dark blue haired female's smile dropped almost instantly and in a desperate hiss spoke out - "Laura, for god's sake I was only joking, what the hell do you think your playing at!?".

Laura upon halfway of reaching the closed white door replied in a confident yet silently spoken tone as best not to attract attention - "Research".

Now, after spending a matter of minutes with her left ear placed firmly against the wood of the door, the German female has ignored constant and repeated phrases from Megumi to simply stop it and return to her seat, and effectively to respect Kestrel's privacy. Megumi, despite being a handful at times and wild child when she wants to has a good streak of respect for other people's privacy, though that privacy does not always apeal to Tomoe, Megumi for all her mischeivous behaviour is not a bad hearted person at heart, and when one gets to know her fully, they find that Megumi does have morals and limits. Even though Tomoe is partialy correct to state that one can compare her to Bart Simpson from the famous Amercian animated TV series, the dark blue haired sister would go to hell and back if it meant the protection and well fare of someone she cares for, that includes Tomoe ofcourse... though Megumi would playfuly say other wise.

Megumi, nervous and in a protesting manner continues to turn her head from left to right as if trying to look out for any official persons before looking at the back of the summer time dressed Laura and once again trying to convice the female from trying to overhear what is being said on the other side of the door, Megumi speaks in a very calm yet very stern manner, speaking like a parent ordering its child to effectively '"Come Back Here"'. - "Laura for the love of god, I was only jokeing when I said to eavesdrop, don't you think that by overhearing what ever pain Kestrel's having to go over is an act of human cruelty!?".

"It isn't cruelty when your doing something to aid another person, and after all I find it very absurd to not be allowed to aid a friend of my wife's and not learn something at the same time" - Laura responds in her usual confident and military like tone. Megumi's response to Laura's words and actions is one of stress, to which the dark blue haired female makes clear by placing her hands on the top of her head, closing her eyes and shaking her head in a frustraited manner, the female's words are panicked and flat as repeats one phrase three times - "This is bad, This is bad, This is bad".

Laura frowns to herself upon hearing Megumi, the female slowly rolls her solitary eye to the right to look behind her and in a flat and 'somewhat' confident manner speaks as if trying to show Megumi up in some downward and degrading manner, to which obviously doen't work on the dark blue, curvy female - "I don't know why you must be so protesting of the matter, I see how much you have affections for my wife's friend, is it not a good thing to understand and know about your beloved one's problems?".

"Even if you can hear whats being said, it wouldn't be very clear, its not as if you can hear what's being said anyway" - Megumi flatly speaks out, having recovered from shaking herself and begins the process of straightening her hair, standing and brushing her clothing in a very feminine manner.

"Not so, I just happened to place a bug on Yui, that way we can hear whats being said" - Laura responds, the German female standing to her feet, smiling proudly to herself and

"You did what!?" - Megumi blurts in a stunned and shocked manner, the female's eyes widening in a shocked gaze, all aimed and shot towards the now visible face of Laura, whom now begins to walk back towards the dark blue haired sister of Tomoe with a slightly triumphant expression, the sounds of Laura's footsteps echo slightly louder as the German female walks back towards the stunned Megumi.

"I happened to find that I had a slight bug device on me and this little reciever in my pocket and voice in my head simply said "Do it"". - Laura explains in a plain a flat tone, the female reaching into her right pocket and pulling out a small black micro cd player like object, which appears to shine in a strange iconic manner.

"I don't believe it... I don't believe you, You actualy had the nerve to place a device on a person that trusts us in an effort to spy on a private conversation!? That's immoral, I may have done some very mischeivous things in my life, but even I wouldn't do something as low as that!" - Megumi replies in slightly angered manner.

Laura's response to Megumi's words is a serious and irritated scowl, the German girl looks the Japanese beauty in the eyes and makes a very offended face before looking down at her micro radio reciever and slowly pressing down at the center to activate the device. Megumi takes her eyes of Laura for a brief moment and looks up at the ceiling, the Japanese female rolls her eyes and shakes her head, the female begins to mutter in a very low tone. Laura's response to Megumi is one of offense, but it does not phase the female from going on with activing the reciever and looking down at a transparent holographic computer screen. The sounds of bleeping as Laura types into her micro reciever echo through the empty corridor, and the feeling of intense discomfort seems to weigh down heavily upon the shoulders of Megumi, whom turns her back towards Laura, the female crosses her arms and closes her eyes, the dark blue haired beauty shakes her head continously and closes her eyes.

As Laura retakes her seat the female places the open reciever on her lap and continues to press and type into the holographic computer screen, eventualy, after what seems like hours of bleeping, the voice of Yui is heard echo from the reciever, the cause is an instant turn of the head to look over towards Laura from Megumi, though Yui's voice is heard quickly finish, the un-familiar voice of woman whom sounds like a woman in authority is next to be heard, the woman's voice is heard speak Kestrel's name.

"Alright, so Kestrel... what else happened? What your telling me is very, very good, all this is going to help you in a way that you wouldn't believe. Can you tell me anything else? Did these women do or tell you to do anything else you did not want to do?".

"That would be detective Otokawa" - Laura is heard comment, the German girl now looking down at the wave patterns at the holographic screen of her receiver, ressembling the look of a richtor scale monitoring earth movements.

"This is so wrong Laura, please... would you turn it off?" - Megumi speaks out in a near desperate plea, only to be "Shushed" by Laura whom places her index finger on her left hand to her lips when listening intently to the voice of Yui translating the female police officer's words in Israeli. A moment passes a few seconds later before the shaken voice of Kestrel stutters a reply in Israeli, Yui's words are immediate to translate each and every word of Kestrel, the sound of Yui's voice is like that of a concerned and nervous mother fretting for her child.

_"Many things, I don't want to speak about them, it hurts"._

"Alright, I won't pressure you into speaking if you can't but at least one thing, it doesn't have to be much, that would be enough for today" - The voice of detective Otokawa is heard speak in a near desperate yet convicing tone. The sounds of heavy breathing in a calm manner comes from Kestrel, and the voice of Yui is heard speak in Israeli to the said infant, but after a 4 minute long private discussion between the pair in the Israeli tongue, the voice of Yui is heard again, the woman is heard to sigh in a frustraited manner before speaking very calmly to mask her irritation of the pressure placed upon Kestrel's shoulders. -

"He says... "If it is at least just one thing only for now, I'll tell you about Giora"".

"Giora? Who is this Giora? Is he your friend?" - The voice of detective Otokawa is heard to speak, Kestrel's voice pauses for a moment before responding to Detective Otokawa's question, the infant waiting for Yui to finish translation. By now Megumi, despite her objections to Laura's snooping, has found herself overwhelmed with curiosity, the female silently, without knowing what she is doing walks over to the seat next to that of Laura's and before the female knows it both girls are staring at the holographic screen of Laura's reciever, both girls are as silent as the grave, listening with intent as the voice of Kestrel returns, overlapped with that of Yui whom begins to translate each and every word that Kestrel speaks in his soft, timid and now very nervous and shaken up voice.

_"He WAS my friend, he said that someone called God, would look after us and will keep us safe from being hurt and killed... but... if that's the case, I... I don't think there is any God, if there was a God I don't think he would have let what happened to Giora occur in the first place"._

"Okay... can you tell me what Giora looked like? What was it that happened to him?" - Detective Otokawa's voice is heard ask in a calm and careful manner. Kestrel's voice is heard shake and tremble, the infant's voice is heard begin to stutter and the sound of illness is heard in his tone, but the voice of Yui clearly makes the translation sound normal and clear, but Yui's calm and well controlled tone does not do justice to what Kestrel has to say, and in the moment that follows, Laura will clearly wish she hadn't bugged Yui.

_"Giora... he was, taller than me, he was I think sixteen, I think that's how old he said he was... he had short brown hair, green eyes and gold cross on a silver chain round his neck. He wore... a torn white shirt and ripped open black shorts, he didn't wear any foot wear and he was covered head to foot in cuts and bruises. He... he said that he would be there for me, and that we would... get out of there one day, together and rescue everyone else, but... he... he... he died, leaving us all behind like, everybody else"._

"Can you tell me exactaly how he died?" - Detective Otokawa is heard to ask in her usual tone of authority with a good hint of care. Kestrel's response is not instant, the youngster is heard to stutter and shake, but after a total of 3 minutes, the infant is able to speak again, Yui's words overlapping the terrified tone of the infant, whom by now must be feeling very ill and emotional.

_"The women in black clothes, they said that some... what do you call them?... Business men, wanted to build something called a... a... railway I think they said, but in one of the areas of which they were to build it, it was between two large mountain hill like places, and they said that... it was filled with these underground bomb things called... M... Mines. So to make sure that nobody was hurt, they said that we were to check for mines and make sure the place was safe. Me, Giora and many others were told to walk between the passes of the two mountains and check for mines, we... we was told to walk in groups of three in single file, one behind the other and Giora was told to be on his own, leading the way, me and two others followed close behind. After... after a few minutes, we was near to the end of the pass and everything looked good, and then Giora... he, he... he triggered what I was told was... an anti-tank mine, it... it... it happened so fast, none of us was able to help"._

For a brief moment, for at least 12 seconds, a pale faced Megumi and Laura happen to cast shocked and nerve stricken looks to each other, both girls are all ears as the voice of Yui translates over a now grief filled and sorrow voice cracked tone of Kestrel.

_"I remember seeing, a white blinding lightning flash, being knocked to the ground and my ears stung from a deafening crack and when we all picked ourselves up off the ground we found that Giora... he... he was gone. All we found was bits and pieces of him, that's all was left in a massive red circle across the rocks and the sand. After we was able to stand and get our head's back, the black clothed women come up and say that they are satisfied with what we have done, and that we can clear up the mess... if... if we don't, we will be killed. So, we... we all started to clear up the mess, we... had to use our hands... I... along side five others had to pick up what was left of Giora, and put him in a black bag, I... I... I found parts that I see on everyone here. I found a piece of an ear, a big toe, a little finger and some teeth. Most of what was found was just... just... somethings... all burnt and covered red. We all worked without water, they watched us to make sure none of us escaped, if we cried, was sick or pee'd we would get beaten, they said that they would... work on us. I was... I was able to not cry, and after we cleared up the mess... we was told to put the black bag on a fire and not ever speak a word or... or... they would do 'Things' to us"._

"And what were these.. 'Things'?". - The voice of Detective Otokawa is heard to speak in a calm, careful manner as best not to cause the scar faced Kestrel more upset.

Kestrel's voice is at this moment heard to become cracked and overwhelmed with sorrow, and umongst hearing Kestrel sorrow and pain stricken sobs, the voice of Kestrel's psycotherapists is heard to speak in a calm and reasuring voice, but what is said is not heared as everything is interupted by a very pale faced and sick looking Megumi, whom has her eyes closed and has her head held low, the female speaks in a very desperate and emotional mixed voice as if desperate to get a very scary TV movie or sad movie to be turned off - "Turn it off, turn it off Laura for god's sakes before I start screaming hystericaly!".

Laura does not hesitate and shuts off her micro radio system, the silver haired German girl has her head lowered, and simply blinks in a solemn manner. Megumi stands to her feet and staggers away from Laura, eventualy collapsing into one of the seats with a guilt stricken face, the Japanese female looks as though she's on the verge of crying her eyes out, the female looks very, very sick, all colour has drained from her face and cold sweat has rolled down her temple. Laura is breathless and slumps fowards in her seat, the female drops her micro radio system and gulps in a nervous yet bewildered manner. The clattering sound of her reciever seems to not meet the ears of either of the two girls, both are stunned and unable to breathe. A long momment seems to pass before Laura looks to the ceiling and in a very sickly stutterd voice speaks a question, and one to which Megumi can not answer - "Wh..Where is my wife?".

_**Woah... okay readers that's chapter 90, the next chapter should have Rin's confrontation of Ichika and should wrap up Kestrel's first treatment of psychotherapy. For once I can happily say that I'm glad to get this chapter out of the way, and move on with peaceful chapters.**_

_**I've been very busy lately and that's delayed these chapters as usual but all the same, I'm staying true to my word. I can honestly say that I'm also happy that I don't have any closing address words to speak out. The only thing that I continue to ask for is that readers continue to put all messages and comments in the open comment section, special thanks for those of you whom still are and stay cool, means a lot.**_

_**For those of you whom like this fic, thanks a lot, stick around, wishing all you readers the best and may your own fics get positive reviews and comments in return. Be back as soon as I can with a new chapter, keep smiling and stay cool.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	91. Chapter 91: Rin confesses

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned after a much needed rest and recovery from the stress and strain of writing and coming up with chapters to follow the plot. Not that it means I have missed the joy of being creative because I would be lying if I said I did miss being creative. Anyway, now that I'm back for this next chapter, I can happily say that I'm glad to continue feeding you crazy readers some more entertaiment. Now thankfuly I don't have anything to say during introductions, and instead give you readers the all clear to simply sit back and please read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 91

**\- Psychiatric hospital corridors -**

Walking head lowered, a seemingly depressed and troubled expression on his face, the black haired Ichika Orimura walks in glum manner, the Japanese male overwhelmed with personal problems. The Japanese male having only just completed taking a much needed drink of ice cold water has had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, yet nature does not seem to be calling the male to relieve himself, instead the beckoning call of a cool, tiled room of isolation would provide a perfect refuge to think to himself, aswel as help provide the answer to his personal problems. If going to the bathroom, even if its just to splash water on the face and look in the mirrors help some people solve their problems, then what does Ichika have to worry about? It can honestly be said that since Ichika has been confessed to by Houki, the Japanese male's mind has been nothing but a mess of confusion and mixed emotions. Every now and then the Japanese male closes his eyes and sighs very, very deeply, the Japanese male feels his heart shake and tremor with each sigh, its as if the heart of the said male is about to come out of his chest and out of his mouth. Even though its not exactaly a case of life and death for Ichika, the memory of the moment, the voice of Houki, the sensation as her lips pressed against his own is simply to powerful to forget,  
its not as if Ichika has had his first time in bed with a girl, but all the same... everything thats happened, the atmosphere, the moment and the shock... its simply overwhelming when one remembers that Ichika is at times too dense to realise that his childhood friend has tried since his enrolment in the IS academy to win his heart.

As Ichika walks towards the bathrooms, he remains oblivious to the Chinese brunette known as Rin following close behind in a very silent and stealth manner, unbeknowst to the black haired Ichika, the Chinese female has also been affected by Houki's confession, just watching the dark haired Houki pull a very bold and daring move on the male she loves was a very numbing and terrible shock, though Rin did not hear any words exchanged and did not intend to see the event, the Chinese female is regretting the innocent moment when she just happened to look in Ichika's direction and saw Houki mounted atop of Ichika and engaging in a very deep kiss. Ever since then the Chinese female has concoctted a plan to get closer to Ichika and now, all seems to be going according to plan, even though the motive to get in close and in position was down to luck alone.

The sounds of footsteps echo throughout the emptyness of the corridor, but there is nobody to hear the sounds, Ichika is too busy pondering over his current predicament and as such is open to Rin's plot to get in close and make a move, even though it was Houki who's made the first move in the 'Not fully declared' war for Ichika's heart, the progression is yet to begin, for now the opening shots have just been fired and now... its Rin's turn to make a move.

At this moment after a seemingly hour filled walk of head lowered, the Japanese male looks up and notices the usual and expected bathroom sign set above a large white door, in small yet very clear Japanese writing is a description saying that the male's restroom is on the left door and the female's on the right, as there are both male and female symbols set upon the grayish bathroom sign. Ichika lets out a final sigh and seemingly picks up the pace as he gets within a few feet of the bathroom entrance, as Ichika gets towards the bathroom door, the brunette Rin is now only a matter of inches behind the male and preparing to pounce. Ichika remains oblivious to Rin as he places his right hand against the white door, resting his palm against the wood and pushing it open, the Japanese male does not even bother to look in any other direction apart from straight ahead and just heads towards the welcoming looking sight of the boy's restroom door and proceeding to push open the door and head inside. It is at this moment as Ichika walks into the boy's rest room and takes a quick look at the cream coloured walls and the sight of 2 white men's urinals that the male finaly detects a human pressance behind him but by now its too late. Ichika only happens to turn to the left and begins to look over his shoulder when a feeling of being pushed in the back strongly from behind causes the said male to stumble forwards, very nearly causing the black haired male to fall forwards and land flat on his face.

As Ichika stumbles forwards and lets out a yelp of startlement, the Japanese male notices the sight of a pair of very familiar brunette pigtails flutter in the air. Ichika unfortuneatley does not get the chance to react to what is happening and within a matter of seconds feels a set of hands grab his back, then at lightning speed move to grab his wrists then within a few fractions of a second move back to his back as a pair of arms are felt embrace the male around the ribs. Ichika closes his eyes and lets out a wince in pain as he feels both his back, shoulder blades and the back of his head slam against the restroom wall. Before Ichika can open his eyes, the male feels a soft sensation of another person's warmth press against his front, the feeling of a face is felt bury itself in his chest and the heat of a person's breath is felt through the fabric of his clothing and against his skin. As Ichika opens his eyes, trying hard to ignore the sharp feeling of pain in his back and skull, the male suddenly gets a virtual shock as he looks down and to his surprise notices the head of Rin, the Japanese male's eyes widen to a surprised state.

"R..Rin!?" - Ichika states in a surprised and shocked manner, looking down at the brunette hair of Rin whom keeps her face buried in Ichika's chest. Silence follows just a matter of seconds after Ichika speaks, the Japanese male confused as hell as to why Rin is pinning him against the wall, more importantly as far as Ichika is concerned, is why Rin has followed him into the boy's restroom?

Taking the chance to break the ice, and begin to question Rin, Ichika blinks, keeps his surprised expression and speaks again, trying to understand why Rin is placing all her body weight against his body to keep him in place. - "What are you doing in here? You scared me there". - This time, Rin responds to Ichika's words, but the female does not respond or acknowledge the question, instead what Rin says in reply comes completley out of the blue, Ichika is not prepared for Rin's words, or for that matter Rin's voice, its a mix of anger, panic, heartbreak and condemnent to hell.

\- "You Perv.. Player.. Leech.. Four skin.. Lying Bastard.. Two timing scumbag.. Evil hearted dick.. Indesicive brat".

Ichika's eyes widen to a shocked state, the bushy black haired Ichika completly not prepared for Rin's words or voice is effectively blown away by hearing what Rin is saying, but what comes next is even more shocking as Rin pulls her face out of Ichika's chest and looks into Ichika's eyes. Ichika's eyes widen again having just recovered from hearing Rin's words, as he looks down and to his shock notices red swollen eyes, tears gushing out of the Chinese female's eyes, a look of heartbreak and un-imaginable misery is upon Rin's face, but Rin is far from being finished from speaking as she proceedes to speak in a heartbroken tone, the female clearly battling the struggle to bawl and cry her eyes out, yet the way she speaks clearly makes it 100% obvious that her emotions are winning against her will. - "How could you Ichika... making a girl cry like this?".

"Rin?" - Ichika more or less whispers in a shocked tone, the Japanese male clearly at loss for words, and obviously un-able to understand what Rin is saying.

"Well Ichika, explain yourself!" - Rin blurts out, this time speaking with a large quality of anger and irritation, the Chinese female able to frown in anger but still with tears rolling down her face and with a good quality more filling her eyes. Ichika says nothing and blinks in shock, for the moment at least, Ichika is confused at what Rin is so upset about and as a ressult is unable to see where Rin is coming from. Ichika chooses to speak in a very calm voice, the male uses a normal tone as best to not cause any angered emotions to fly, but deep down the Japanese male is getting a very chilling feeling to what Rin is so upset about, so perhaps the Japanese male has at least a distant idea to what Rin is upset about and is choosing not to listen to it. Naturaly, Ichika whom is mostly confused, chooses to speak in a very careful tone - "What? Explain what? Whats the matter? Whats wrong?".

"DON'T ACT INNOCENT!" - Rin yells in a heartbroken and angered manner, tears continuing to roll down her face. The Chinese brunette grasps Ichika's shirt and clutches it deeply with nearly all her strength, the female puts her face as close as possible to Ichika's to make sure her words hit the male square in the face, and to make sure that no matter how much Ichika tries to pretend, it won't get him anywhere, the Chinese female pulls her face away from Ichika as she continues to speak, the Chinese brunette not blinking for a second as she looks the male in the face with an furious glare and a heartbroken set of eyes. - "You know what you've done, I saw you do what you did and I want answers, and I want them now".

A sudden chill goes over Ichika's spine, a feeling of sickness hits the male in the gut as a mental lightbulb appears over the Japanese male's head, Ichika's face suddenly losses colour and the male suddenly appears as though he's a common criminal caught commiting a crime, effectively, Ichika feels as though he's a guilty person caught with his pants and boxers round his ankles. Ichika closes his eyes and opens his mouth to a near snarl manner, but the male is not angered, the male lowers his head and in a terrified and sickly voice gulps before looking the upset Rin in the eyes and speaks in a near stuttered tone - "Y..You mean Houki?".

"YEAH! HOUKI!" - Rin yells in anger, the female clutches Ichika's shirt and yanks and pushes on Ichika's shirt so that his back and the back of the said male's head continues to slam and bang against the restroom wall. Rin continues to speak as she looks Ichika in the eyes, the female scowls and glares fiercely as she looks Ichika in the eyes, tears not stopping and her eyes still rich and full with what appears to be an ocean of sorrow and heartbroken tears. - "I saw you two getting all friendly with each other, what was that all about? What convinced you to get all friendly with Houki!? Was it because she has bigger jugs than me!? Was it because she's your childhood friend? How long have you had that relationship with her? You think she is the only one that loves you!?".

"No, no wait you misunderstand" - Ichika replies in a panicked and guilty manner, the Japanese male trying desperately to protest his innocence, and trying to get Rin to hear what he has to say.

"Misunderstand!? I think its the other way round, I know what I saw and from my point of view you are guilty of breaking my heart!" - Rin replies immediately to Ichika's words, the female's tears not stopping for a single second. Ichika is obviously in shock from Rin's actions and words and feeling all the more ill from what is happening. Thankfuly Rin ceases slamming Ichika into the restroom wall and gives Ichika the chance to speak.

"Rin please just hear me out, I didn't do anything, Houki came at me first, she confessed to me and then.."

"So you've accepted her confession! You didn't bother to think things through!? Instead you allowed her come on to you and take everything I've done for you in your hand and throw it away like a discarded tissue!?" - Rin blurts out, cutting Ichika off from his explination, even though Ichika is choosing his words like a child protesting innocence, it is the only thing at the moment Ichika can do for the moment, after all... everything has happened at once, and to face so many things at once with a cool and collected posture and attitude is a skill that not many people can do, especialy if just introduced to matters concerning lovey dovey stuff.

"No I haven't! See Houki confessed to me, I haven't accepted her confession but even so.."

"Oh, so you like playing with a girl's heart do you!?, you ignore me and turn your nose up at me when I've tried showing you my feelings and think its alright to kiss other girls?" - Rin responds, once again cutting off Ichika and speaking in a heartbroken and irritated manner, this time Ichika catches Rin's words and instead of being guilty of kissing Houki, is now filled with shock and awe once again, the same emotions filling Ichika's heart as at the exact manner and moment when Houki confessed love, but unlike last time, Ichika is somewhat prepared for a confession of love, the sting does not affect the male as much and instead the venom of Houki's confession makes that of Rin's words not as effective, but all the same... the blow and sudden shock is still overwhelming. As a ressult Ichika's facial expression is changed from remorse to that of sudden shock and surprise, the male's eyes widen and he blinks in surprise, closing his eyes tightly and opening them wide as if to make sure that what is happening is not some bizarre dream, just like with Houki... Ichika speaks in a bewildered and shocked manner.

"S..Say what?"

"You heard me already Ichika, you think Houki is the only one that claims to love you? Well you better believe me when I say it takes a lot out of a girl to confess her love, and to be honest you've all but crushed mine, but seeing as though you like to play with a girl's heart, I can tell you now without having to feel stupid from a rejection... Ichika... I LOVE YOU! I love you a lot more than what Houki claims to, I've loved you from the very moment we first met, I would have given you anything, my heart, my mind, my soul and even my body if I knew you would love me back, and yet you've done something so cruel... you've ignored me like I was dead, and you've gone and accepted Houki as your girlfriend... D'you have any idea how much I'm hurting or how stupid I feel right now!?" - Rin speaks back, the female speaking her heart out and beginning to lower her head, tears now rolling like a rain storm down her face and her voice now cracked and filled with heartbroken grief, before beginning to let out a set of very large heartbroken sobs, collapsing forwards and burying her face into Ichika's chest.

Ichika is now at this moment overwhelmed, the male can feel the vibrations of Rin's sorrow and can feel the depth of Rin's sobs, the female trembling as she buries herself as deeply into Ichika as possible. Ichika's mouth is now partialy open and feeling numb, the Japanese male at loss for words and unable to think properly, this is the second love confession he's had in his life but its anything but sweet and good, instead is very, very complicated. Unable to think straight, the Japanese male is full of desperation and is panicked, the male is unable to take in more than one love confession at once, sure Ichika is a male... and male's normaly feel great and their egoes rise when it turns out girls are falling for them, but one has to remember... that Ichika is far from some bull headed male whom would think with their genitals instead of their heads and hearts. All that matters to Ichika now is get Rin to hear him out and to cease this horrible image of upset on a friend whom he cares for deeply, sure... Rin is a pretty girl, and she is very knowledgeable and skilled... but as Ichika is dense to love, he's not once pictured her being anything more than a friend.

"R..Rin, please hear me out. I know that I allowed Houki to kiss me and yes she did confess her love but I didn't exactaly accept it, I'm not exactaly her boyfriend, so its not like I want or accept her as my girlfriend, I do like Houki, I always have... she's been my childhood friend for as far as I can remember so its not like I've known and accepted her heart or anything. The thing is... well... I.. ah... I don't know what to make of it all, see... I didn't know that Houki felt for me that way... nor did I realise that you have felt this way its just that... well... I can't see those types of things. I'm sorry, if I had known then... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like this" - Ichika replies, the Japanese male battling every last emotion at once, still feeling the warmth of Rin's tears through his shirt and the heat of her breath as she sobs into his chest.

What comes next comes in a very dramatic turn of events as Rin releases Ichika's shirt and balls her hands into fists, the Chinese female proceedes to beat the sides of her fists into the chest of Ichika in a very heartbroken manner, the Chinese brunette however is able to prevent her sobs from effecting her voice, what Rin says next causes an invisible bullet to go clear through Ichika's heart and a window of rationality to shatter as Rin speaks words that he never would expect to hear from the Chinese brunette.

\- "Ichika if you don't love me... If you won't be mine, then I'll kill you and then I'll kill myself!"

Ichika's world seems to crash and burn, the male's eyes widen to a terrified manner and before he knows it, the Japanese male finds himself being thrown to the floor and with Rin using all her body weight to tackle Ichika down, the feeling of landing on his back seems to not be felt, even as his head hits the solid ground in a slight bump. Rin continues to cry for a few more seconds before raising herself up, the female stradling Ichika by the hips. Rin raises her hands and brushes some tears of her face, there is no more sobbing, but the female is clearly racked with grief and saddness. The Chinese female keeps her eyes closed as she wipes her eyes, Ichika notices and with a very guilty and mixed emotional look on his face, matched with a partialy open mouth raises his right arm and hand in a bid to reach for Rin's face in hopes to help quel the saddness that engulfs Rin, but before Ichika's hand even gets within a foot of Rin, the Chinese brunette suddenly lowers her arms and hands to her sides and looks down at the Japanese male with half open eyes.

Tears seem to fill Rin's eyes again for a second, the female blinks only once and balls her hands into fists, the Chinese female raises her fists and forms them into flat hands with fingers contacting each other firmly. Ichika is unprepared for what Rin does next and before he knows what happens, a sharp stinging blast of pain hits him in the left side of the face as Rin slaps the left side of Ichika's face very sharply, but Rin is far from finished and sends down her left hand, striking Ichika on the right side of his face in a second slap. What follows is a string of combined slaps, from left and right a two or so seconds apart from each other, the ringing sound of the palm of Rin's hand impacting Ichika's cheeks echo in the restroom as the pain stricken Rin delivers as many as 30 slaps into Ichika's face, one for each cheek, the female closing her eyes and bitting her bottom lip as tears roll down her face, each slap becoming weaker and weaker with each delivery as Rin begins to cry once again.

Amazingly Ichika is able to keep his eyes to a half open state and has a look of deep remorse on his face as Rin unleashes her heart's sorrow in a volley of smacks, ignoring the painful stinging on his cheeks as they become red, but what comes next is once again unexpected as Rin looses all her strength in her arms and slumps forwards. The female then opens her eyes and looks into the brown eyes of Ichika, the Chinese brunette then speaks again, but this time in a desperate vocal soft tone, the female now unleashing her heart's words in the final finishing blow of her confession to the boy she loves so very dearly.

The Chinese brunette places her hands against the stinging redness of Ichika's cheeks, the female brings her face down to that of Ichika's and in soft tone speaks her final phrase - "Ichika, I love you, I want you to be with me.. not her, so please... please accept my feelings".

..and with that, Rin brings her face down to that of Ichika's and before the said Japanese male knows it, the Chinese brunette places her soft, warm and moist lips onto those of Ichika's, Ichika's eyes open wide with shock for a brief 4 seconds before closing to a narrowed state, a tear forms in the left eye of the black haired male and instead of resisting Rin's advances, places his left hand on to the back of Rin's head, and the right on to the base of Rin's back just above the female's buttocks. Ichika closes his eyes fully and returns Rin's embrace, pulling the Chinese female into a very deep and heartfelt kiss. The Japanese male feeling a wriggling sensation as Rin's tounge enters his mouth and decides to return it with that of his own, Rin's tears seem to change from heartbroken to those of joy as she feels Ichika pull her in deep, and the moisture of Ichika's tounge contacting that of her own. Just like with Houki, the kiss that follows seems to be a very long one, lasting a total of 4 to 5 minutes, as both youths share each other's feelings. Just like with Houki, Rin's taste is ever so sweet, the female's perfume and smell of hair wash helping to provide a sweet smell as Ichika and Rin breath through the noses.

Eventualy, when the pair part, a both youths have their tounges only just appearing out of their mouths and a thin line of drool remains connected as the pair part their mouths. As Rin looks down into the half closed eyed faced of Ichika, the Chinese brunette smiles very warmly and sweetly, the half closed eyes on Rin hold vast uncontrollable amounts of love for the black haired Ichika, whom in turn is at loss for words and bewildered.

Rin speaks in a very warm, happy and emotional tone, allowing one final tear to roll down her face before speaking one last phrase - "Ichika... I love you so much".

Ichika unfortuneatley is unprepared for his mouth's reaction and is too blown away by what has happened and instead allows his own volcabulary to betray him, but then again, saying one set of words he won't be able to take back, effectively punching a one way ticket without reading where it is going but then again... if you was in Ichika's position what would you have done or said?

\- "I love you too Rin".

**\- Briefly Elsewhere with Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, Tomoe, Kazumi and Chifuyu -**

Standing in a lonesome corridor, the tilled floor set against the white coloured walls, the ponytailed Houki and the two european blondes, Charlotte and Cecilia suddenly cease looking at the face of Tomoe whom has been explaining Kestrel's matter of PTSD, and instead suddenly feel a terrible chill go up their spines the three females seemingly appear to be only able to acknowledge and notice each other in the corridors and cast worried looks at each other. While the dark blue haired Tomoe suddenly stops talking and casts a confused look at the trio before her, the two adults Kazumi and Chifuyu merely blink with confusion and cast looks of interest at each other before looking at the three females before them. Chifuyu is quick to break the ice of silence and speaks in her usual cold inqusitive tone, but at least its not one of strictness - "Is Tomoe boring you girls?".

"No! No, not at all miss Orimura" - Charlotte responds in a near panicked way, holding up her arms to reasure the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu that all is well and there is no need for any discipline, after all... one already knows how nasty Chifuyu can get if one does not pay attention in class at the IS academy.

"Just felt a bit chilly thats all" - Cecilia puts in with a near panicked voice of her own.

"Please, continue... we are listening" - Houki finishes off, causing the black haired Chifuyu to smirk in an affectionate in some from of triumph. The mighty ponytailed female happens to respond to the girl's panicked reaction by smiling with a satisfied expression - "Hm..mph".

There is no further disturbances as Tomoe continues on with her rough but accurate crash course in PTSD, to which the entire trio will later leave with a feeling of being more knowledgeable and slighlty more proud at knowing their young scar faced Israeli friend.

**\- Some time later with Laura and Megumi -**

Sat two seats apart, the former pale faced girls Megumi and Laura have managed to regain colour, ever since bugging Yui to eavesdrop on Kestrel's interview with a psychiatric doctor, the girls have learned the hard way that not all coversations are best overheard, no matter how much force for good ones intentions have been. Since shutting off her reciever and putting it away, the silver haired eye patched Laura has been silent as the grave, staring down at the tiled floor of the corridor and breathing in the most silent way possible. The older and curvy sister of Tomoe, Megumi has been just as silent, the female clearly unable to think straight, after hearing Kestrel's words translated by the office dressed Yui, the dark blue haired Megumi has never been as silent before in all her life, even when she was scolded and sent to her room by Kazumi as a little girl, Megumi has never been as silent. Its as if what Yui translated has had a serious and un-imaginable effect on her life soul.

The description of Kestrel's words translated, the sounds of the youngster bursting into tears and the voice of authority of detective Otokawa still flow and rush around in the young lady's head, and to say that Megumi has been seriously effected by a person's sufferings for the first time in her life would be dead right, dead on target and beyond anything ever heard before. Its as if some horror movie has suddenly come to life and begun to haunt Megumi. Laura's actions despite being reckless can't realy be called selfish, in honest truth its clear that despite it being a stupid thing to do to bug Yui, the eye patched female clearly did what she did with the best intentions, but then again... it goes without saying, somethings are NOT to messed with, even if one's intentions are good... the ressults don't always come out as a positive ressult. So as reckless as her actions were, one can't be too hard on the German female, Megumi herself knows this factor all too well but has yet to show her forgiveness and offer a friendly shoulder of support for the said German girl.

For the moment at least, all that matters so far is the reapearance of Kestrel, whom remains out of reach and a door away, but after what's been heard its obvious that neither Megumi and Laura are about to even try going towards the scar faced Israeli, and even if they did, who's to say that the ressult would be any worse than what it is already. For now, both girls do the right thing, to keep their distance, respect Kestrel's mental illness and follow everything by the book, but even then... both girls want more than anything to glomp the young Israeli, rock him to sleep or to simply hold him to their chests and say '"Everything is going to be alright"', and the illness of waiting is starting to dig deeply into the guts of both girls, and with each minute that passes, both females get all the more ichy to get up to Kestrel and show their support of his recovery from the damage that Phantom task and its evil bitches have done to the said infant.

As Megumi looks down at the floor in a daze of misery, a mental lightbulb suddenly appears in the dark blue female's head, the ressult is a small yet much needed smile come on to the said female's face. The smile which starts as closed gives way to a small open smile, a feeling of relief and overwhelming levels of excitement appears on Megumi's face as she thankfuly gets a dose of motivation as an effective light at the end of the tunnel appears in Megumi's head. The dark blue haired female with her bombastic and attractive curves then balls both hands into fists and sits up straight as a dose of joy runs through the female's body, and having made a 'Somewhat' friendship with Laura in the short time the two have known each other is more than eager to include the guilty and miserable German female whom continues to look down at the floor with a miserable expression.

"Hey what's your name! I've just had a great Idea" - Megumi suddenly blurts out to the silver haired Laura, Laura's response is amazingly immediate despite feeling sluggish and slow, the said female lifts her head and looks to her left to meet the excited and happy eyes of that of Megumi. Laura's response is questionable yet interested despite the feeling of slight and minor bewilderment. - "Huh?".

"When I used to date my first boyfriends I learned that in order to commit to a good and honest relationship to which both parties can show happiness and enjoyment with each other" - The dark blue haired Megumi speaks out in an honest explination.

"What has that got to do with our predicament with my wife's friend?" - Laura comments with a confused and dumbfounded tone, the female clearly lacking the experiance or knowledge to which Megumi is coming from.

"Its a good tactic, and it just dosen't apply to love life, it also applies to befriending troubled people, especialy those whom have never had many friends. See when I was younger I befriended a girl from my old school whom was a book worm, so to make her a part of me and my old gang of friends, I learned that the best thing to do is not only show your happiness and friendly welcome of that person, but to share interests. The task is to simply try out the interests of the person you want to be friends with or to win over their hearts if you've upset them, its a good thing to do if your wanting to show the person you want to be with that YOU yourself are someone to trust" - Megumi explains, placing her hands to form the classical 'Wha?' position as a means of explianing how simple her tactic is, unfortuneatley Laura... whom if one remembers is ment for military minds... does not pick up the vibes that Megumi is giving and instead causes the dark blue female to feel very thick.

\- "So... what are you saying?"

Megumi lowers her arms and lets them slump down, the female drops her smile and rolls her eyes as she lowers her head to a slumped manner. Thankfuly the dark blue haired Megumi is able to recover very quickly and with a frustraited sigh explains again in a much more colourful and descriptive manner. - "What I'm saying is... Look, Kestrel is has a like for the ocean, he likes the sea, he likes books on ships, he likes his IS, he likes to fly around in his IS, that sort of thing. I have an attic at home, inside the attic are books, some of which are about ships... so if we give Kestrel these books, and look through them with him, ask what ship is which and what it was every now and then, that will cement some good relations with him. You know? Share his interests, learn more about how little Kes'es mind works, that will make Kes love me more, get him to know that I'm someone whom cares for him, and it will also show Ichika that YOU are a good so called 'Husband' to trust around him... Get the image now!?".

"Oh YEAH!, Yeah I can see your point now!" - Laura responds, the German female pointing with the index finger on her left hand towards the Japanese female, the lightbulb finaly appearing over her head and the same positive emotions are beginning to fill herself as that of Megumi.

At this point, a resounding sound of a door handle being pulled down brings both females back to the realm of reality, both females turn their heads to the right and shoot wide eyed gazes towards an opening white door, the exact door to which Kestrel entered some time earlier. Both females suddenly feel the urge to rush forwards and dash towards the doors, but are only able to suddenly stand to their feet and rush towards each other as the white coloured wooden door flies open, the sounds of women talking matched with the words of a doctor giving comments fills the corridors, causing both Megumi and Laura to freeze on the spot, causing Laura to look up to her left and Megumi to look down to her right, the eyes of both females meeting each other for a brief moment before looking back towards the open white door. A seeming eternity which in reality lasts only 10 minutes goes by before a figure appears out of the open door wearing a dark coloured suit meant for that of a woman. The woman whom walks through the open doorway has dark brunette hair set in a ponytail, the woman has piercing catish green eyes and thin framed black glasses, the woman's facial expression and high heeled black shoes makes the woman's identity all but well known... its Police detective chief Otokawa, the woman's aura of authority matches that one would see on Chifuyu.

Police chief Otokawa comes to a stop and places her right hand in her pocket, the woman's facial expression showing strictness as she places her left arm by her side, the police chief turns to face the two girls but says nothing, the two girls blink and straighten up their standing postures for a second, but detective Otokawa does not maintain her cold icy image and instead turns to look back into the room to which she just stepped out of and places a very warm and pleasant expression on her face, the image of the police detective very fitting to that of an officer of the law showing a troubled victim or youngster that he or she is the best person you can trust, or effectively... mr or mrs nice guy, or gal. Detective Otokawa speaks in a very adult manner similar to that of Chifuyu's and speaks the words - "You can tell Kestrel that he can be at ease now, he has two very nice looking lady friends waiting for him".

Megumi suddenly goes into a deep blush as she hears the police chief's words, but what comes next causes both Megumi and Laura to loose their now relieved smiles and gain the expressions of shock and illness as a very pale faced and sick looking Kestrel stumbles out of the door way, the youngster has half open eyes and the youngster's mouth is open by a fraction. Megumi and Laura only just manage to take a few steps forward and Detective Otokawa begins to kneel to tend to the infant when the inevitable happens, just as Yui rushes forward to prevent Kestrel from falling to his knees, the youngster falls on his right knee with his left bent to keep him from falling flat on his face. A panicked Yui rushes forwards seemingly recovering from crying or feeling sick from overhearing what ever it is Kestrel had described. Detective Otokawa gets on her knees and places a hand on Kestrel's left shoulder and the other on the youngster's back, Laura and Megumi are just mere feet away from the infant when the youngster lifts up his head very slowly. The youngster's mouth is open partialy and cold sweat rolls down the youngster's temple.

Then, just a matter of seconds after the scar faced youngster's eyes roll upwards the youngster lets out the sound of a very sick - "Urk", Megumi reacts with lightning speed and yells, - "He's gonna vomit!".

Detective Otokawa only just manages to get clear and move the side of her body out of the way, as the woman had leaned forward to provide a caring look of warmth to the upset infant, Kestrel is therefore able to avoid hitting the Detective Otokawa, a few minutes later the infant throws up very badly in what firstly comes as a violent - "Arrk", before being repeated in three smaller tones- "Urk... Gark... Gack".

Yui screams out in panic - "KESTREL!"

From behind the unfamiliar voice of the nurse whom had accompanied is heard call out - "Bring him in here, he can lay down on this bed".

The voice of the doctor comes next - "There some water in here, I'll get him a glass ready".

Amazingly Detective Otokawa shows nothing but support, the woman placing her arm round the sickened Israeli infant and helping him stand to his feet, the Police chief smiling kindly as she lifts the infant to his feet, with Yui on the other side lifting the infant by the arm, Detective Otokawa is heard speak in a very kind manner - "Don't worry sonny boy, its all part of growing up".

Yui speaks next, the office dressed female speaking in a very warm and loving tone in Israeli, as a ressult the weakened Kestrel smiles very slightly as he notices Megumi and Laura rushing forward ready to give as much support as possible. The infant clearly aware of the friendship and supporting atmosphere, is able to speak in a very weak, yet very grateful and soft tone - "Thank..you". Megumi and Laura smile warmly, both females look proudly at each other knowing that they both have something worth fighting for, and Detective Otokawa and Yui can see all too well where both females are coming from. As a ressult, the black haired Yui offers a hand and in a happy tone speaks one word to the two females - "C'mon, people like us stick together don't we".

Laura and Megumi rush forwards with eager expressions on their faces, the ressult for the end of the day of Kestrel's first dose of psychotherapy despite it having negativity as expected, turns to be a happy ending. Rightly so to the point, Detective Otokawa happily speaks one phrase - "Psychotherapy mission one, complete!", a playful yet smug smile is on her face, knowing that a good weight must have been relieved off the shoulders of the scar faced Kestrel, even if its only a small amount, its a good step in the right direction.

_**Okay, that's chapter 91 out of the way. Rin has confessed her love to Ichika and all that's left is for the remaining two females to get involved in the battle for Ichika's heart, **__**Kestrel's first dose of psychotherapy has removed some pressure off his shoulders but there clearly more to get rid of, but either way... all characters are progressing as I've writen down in my plot, and this fic is close to reaching dead center of the half way point, but don't dispair if your not wanting it finished at some short point, because Ichika is now involved in some lovey dovey matters and the fight for girlfriend title has begun, but ofcourse there is the possibility of a Harem ending, I'll leave the votes up to you crazy fic loving monkeys!**_

_**JUST REMEMBER, TO LEAVE ALL COMMENTS IN THE OPEN COMMENTS SECTION - Thankyou ( Warm smile ).**_

_**Okay, the next chapter will involve some peace and maybe some comedy, also... as the odd spoiler, the next chapter will give you readers a chance to know what Megumi has been up to to upset her neighbour Hanako, refer to the chapter when the said woman commented that Megumi had ruined her flowers. Thats all the preview that I can give for now, the next chapter is underway right now and will be completed and posted as soon as possible. Okay... thanks for reading, stick around if you like this fic, can't thank you enough if you like this chapter and give me support.**_

_**See you all soon, Stay cool**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	92. Chapter 92: Celebrity

_**Okay readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned again, special thanks to those of you whom has continued placing reviews in the open comments section. Had a few days rest and recovery so that has helped keep my ability to write functioning fresh and strong. Obviously I can honestly say that I can't thank you readers enough for the positive comments, remember THAT'S what helps keep this fic going, and to know that there is a lot of respect out there is something that you readers can be proud of yourselves. Okay... enough with the soppy heart stuff, I know some of you readers simply shrug that stuff off but even so, its good to acknowledge some Ace kick ass positive reviews.**_

_**Right before you read I just WANT to say that action chapters will return after a collection of peace chapters, but firstly I want to get some more comedy and summer time lesuire in the picture, giving this fic the atmosphere that the Characters can let their hair down. This chapter follows off where we last left, only a few hours later, please remember that Kestrel is due to partake in some social activities set up by a careers assosiation, so I can give you readers the chance to take the adventure out of Ichika's home city areas and into the country areas of Japan. So effectively you readers are going to be able to head outside Ichika's ( Former ) civilisation areas ( Because of the Drone attacks ), and into the country areas of Japan, and as a means of respect I'm going to include the beach, give you readers a chance to enjoy the girls and their bikini lying - ( Filthy Beggers! XD! ), and how Kestrel will deal with moving around Japan and meeting more of it's people.**_

_**To aid in the chapters coming I've watched videos on Youtube which portray areas of Japan and their customs, from country areas to the finest beach ressort areas. Watch them yourselves, you may find some interesting. As this fic progresses it will include some more romance, please remember it is sticking to the plot I've made up and though I've had to cut some ideas out already I've been able to manage and make do so I guess that's something to be really proud of. Anyway, back to some merryment and lets see how Ichika is able to put up with two girls making advances on him, and how Kestrel's therapy against his PTSD progresses with his own love life.**_

_**THIS TIME YOU REALLY DO GET TO KNOW HOW MUCH DAMAGE KESTREL'S PROMETHEUS HAS DONE TO THE RYUKYU ISLANDS - Special thanks to Clarissa!**_

_**So... without further ado, that's it for the introductions...**_

_**Please sit back read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 92:

**\- Civilian refuge area, 20 miles north of Ichika's home city, 16:00pm -**

Standing in a line of 150 or so people stands Ichika and Co, the sounds of cheeryness and gossip fills the humid summer air as people stand lined facing a large metalic light green painted bus sign, and a set of 5 metalic silver framed bus shelters with plexiglass cover to provide shelter from rain, the five bus shelters stand single file to each other in a straight line. To say that there should be nothing but misery and depression in the air would be an exaggeration. True there has been a mass drone attack on Ichika's home city, and many lives have been lossed, matched with many more wounded, it hasn't stopped the spirit of the Japanese people to remain strong and defiant. However the painful reminder of what has happened remains clear as only 50 people out of a planned 280 are present, most of which are adults with their children whom are considered '"Mentaly impared"', or in short youngsters whom are disabled or in a clear english version have mental disabilities.

Icredibaly, despite the fact that the entire area around the gang is swarming with SDF soldiers and armored vehicles, there is nothing but the set of smiles on the faces of the youngsters, and the adults present provide the perfect support to keep the atmosphere merry, after all... mankind has survived many disasters and catastrophic blows... so there's no stopping some much needed decompression or merryment for people whom don't get much in life. All talks of the drone attacks are put aside, and even though the air is filled with the sounds of SDF fighter jets that are beyond visual gaze in the wide blue summer sky, any sights of the SDF are to many a chance for military enthusiasts to stop and stare, and ofcourse for the youngsters to point and cheer at. Since the drone attacks, Ichika and Co have been living in the IS academy, to which has escaped the drone attacks untouched, but in order to get to the meeting area for set of lesuire activities set up by the NCA, to which is still a newly set up branch... the gang has had to leave the safety of the IS academy and venture out into the unknown. All the way through streets and set up routes set by the SDF, there has been nothing but the sight of Army vehicles and SDF troops, all of which policing and directing traffic, and ofcourse boarding off both entrances and exits to ask and demand ID from people trying to enter and leave what was once a civilized and beautiful city area, which is now a mass of ruins and ant hills of emergency workers, Army personel and Crime scene investigators.

Nothing but the sounds of Army helicopters and Fighter jets fill the sky, and everywhere one looks from where the gang is now, there is nothing but SDF soldiers, all wearing nothing but respective military helmets, Army camoflage and combat jacket dress, every last SDF soldier is seen with either an Semi/Automatic rifle, submachine gun or sniper rifle. It can be safely said that all of Japan is on red alert and not about to allow another mass attack to happen again, though its not a 100% definate deterant from any further possible attacks, the ability to provide defence and much needed resistance is clearly evident, with each SDF person hell bent on making sure that no further attack of the nature of the drone assaults, is able to occur. Originaly, it was intended for the gang to not bother with the NCA lesuire activities in the beliefs that the drone attacks would have called off such an event, however as a feeling of normality is needed to help quel the troubled minds of the people that have survived the drone attacks, the NCA lesuire activity was still given the go ahead, mostly due to insistance from the Police forces whom rightfuly so want as many people as possible to remain as far as possible away from the scenes of destruction and devastation. In fact, the gang themselves felt and believed that course of action was the best thing to do as they were driving in a set of black 'Yakuza' style cars to give Kestrel his Psychotherapy, greeted with nothing but the sights of black smoke still rising into the blue summer sky and the sights of medical crews moving sets of filled in black body bags set on stretchers into awaiting red cross armored vehicles or the odd ambulance.

For Ichika and Co so far, the only set back of today is that nobody has had any dinner, but then again, after seeing masses of ruined homes and buildings, topped with destroyed and mangled car and vehicle wreckage and the sights of body clearage, nobody would have wanted anything to eat anyway. The acception for Kestrel is that the infant has been violently sick shortly after his Psychotherapy, and as a ressult been left with a foul taste in his mouth, a burning sensation in his nose, mouth and throat and feeling so horribaly tired, however the drinking of large doses of water has done much to reduce the sensation and gives the infant the taste of a natural moist mouth, but even so... being sick has taken it out of him, the infant has fell asleep twice against Yui since leaving the psychiatric hospital, thankfuly however the scar faced infant has managed to regain some colour to his face, but even so, the said Israeli boy still looks as if he is on the verge of death, and standing in a line isn't exactaly helping. Another setback is due to the loss of bathing and shower availability, nobody has had the chance to wash or change clothing, but then again... with everyone's minds being occupied with the crisis of the drone attack aftermath, it isn't any surprise that nobody has bothered to change clothing. Now however... all the negativity is being left to one side, the gang need to decompress and at the moment all everybody is doing is waiting for the designated buses assaigned to carry the people available for the NCA's lesuire program.

Ichika stands with his back against a 5ft high brick wall set against a steep embankment filled with low shrubs and trees, on either side of Ichika is a girl, on the left is Houki and on the right is Rin. Both females have their heads resting on the shoulders of Ichika, both females smile warmly and softly, their eyes remain closed, ressembling a girl whom is love sick and enjoying the solitude of slumber, resting their heads on the chest of their beloved boyfriend, the two females have their arms linked to those of Ichika's and seem to bury themselves ever deeper into Ichika each time the said male twitches or moves a muscle, much to Ichika's dismay whom in turn feels backed into a desperate corner, the Japanese male has the facial expression of a person whom is awaiting a death sentance as the weight of being approached lovingly by two females whom he has always classed as friends sinks in deeper and deeper with each second, worst of all as far as Ichika is concerned, he returned the embrace of both girls, and effectively given them the false message that he loves them... and as far as anyone else is concerned, when a boy or male acknowledges a girl's love, thats effectively proposing as far as a girl is concerned... so he can't take back his words, or risk even more problems. However as a big needed relief Charlotte and Cecilia are not buzzing around the male and instead seem to be more focused on dealing with girly matters with Megumi, establishing a trio just 4 people in front of Ichika, Houki and Rin. Charlotte and Cecilia maitain eye contact with the dark blue haired Megumi whom now proceedes to reach forward with her left hand and feel the softness of Cecilia's hair and make a positive comment, much to Cecilia's bashful and satisfied reaction whom closes her eyes and places her the tips of the fingers on her right hand to her mouth to giggle, a faint blush is on her face as she acknowledges Megumi's comment. Charlotte enjoying some girl to girl talk points towards Megumi's clothing, reaches forwards with her left hand and tenderly feels the fabric on Megumi's top, speaking in a happy and friendly manner and causing ever more pleasantness to fill the air. Megumi opens her mouth happily and replies to Charlotte's words, causing the female to release Cecilia's blonde curls and change a conversation from hair to clothing.

6 people further up the line from Megumi, Charlotte and Cecilia are mother and Daughter Kazumi and Tomoe, both blue haired beauties merely look ahead of each other, awaiting a bus to arrive and remaining silent. Every now and then both females raise their hands to their brows and wipe away some sweat, as the summer sun continues to throw out a mass of intense burning heat on a merciless scale, when one considers the heat it is a good job that everyone is wearing thin summer clothing, but even then... everyone is still clearly overwhelmed, as mothers and fathers of the mentaly dissabled children make clear buy huffing, rolling their eyes, keeping their eyes half open and continously wipping their brows clear of sweat that continues to roll down the foreheads and temples of each person, thankfuly the ocean breeze is very close by and that in turn provides a good fan to dowse the heat, but even then... its going to take more than just a sea breeze to keep everyone cool and whats more the weather channel has forecast more heat, with the hottest day on record being tomorrow. Once again... like many other days, a large amount of envy and bewilderment on everybody's faces and minds as they observe or happen to notice the long black haired Kestrel whom stands stiff against the heat of the day, infact its safe to say that the sea breeze and the high temperatures are helping to revive the long black haired Kestrel, whom would be a lot more stronger in body today if not for the unfortunate buisness of having to undergo a process to open old wounds that are healing, but... that was then, and its only monthly that the said infant is going to get his interviews with a doctor and if anything its helped prevent the infant from suffering a turn... so although maybe not a complete success, Kestrel's first dose of psychotherapy has indeed had some positive ressults.

As for Kestrel himself, the infant stands straddled with a female on either side of him, just 2 people in front of Kazumi and Tomoe, the scar faced infant stands eyes half open, gazing at the ground with an exhausted expression on his face. On the scar faced boy's left stands Yui whom holds the scar faced infants hand carefuly in her own and as an odd surprise, on the right of Kestrel stands the eye patched, silver haired Laura, the German female showing a strange obsession with Kestrel for some unknown reason to Tomoe whom had intended to be the one to stand next to Kestrel while waiting for the coach to arrive, however, Laura had made it clear that she would let Tomoe sit beside the said Israeli when the bus arrives, for now at least, the German female has a strange obsession for being beside the troubled Israeli infant and appears to be filled with mixed emotions as she clutches Kestrel's soft and clamy hand in her own, many would assume that its because of Laura showing a humanitarian side to how she normaly acts, but the truth may just be because of evesdropping on when Kestrel was giving information to detective Otokawa, to which Laura made good her ability of removing the bug devise from Yui before being found out or caught. Each and everyone of Kestrel's words have remained stuck in Laura's head as a ressult and the German female remains looking down at the ground in shame.

For the most part, Laura has remained silent as the grave for the majority of the day since leaving the mental hospital, but thankfuly the ice of the German girl's silence is about to be shattered as the friendly voice of Yui manages to brake the silence with a friendly tone, causing Laura to snap her focus from the ground and upwards towards the friendly face of Yui whom finds the idea of gossip a chance to shed some good light on the atmosphere - "So, Laura tell me... I hear Clarissa and Chifuyu haven't had the chance to join us in our trip out. Do you by any chance know why?".

"Huh?... Oh, Clarissa told me earlier that she had some buisness with instructor Orimura so she said she's sitting a chance to get out pass" - Laura replies in a calm and collected tone,  
the German female maitaining a straight and natural facial expression as the female looks Yui in the eyes.

"And your friends from Germany aren't able to attend our trip out either?" - Yui replies, blinking and speaking in a calm and pleasant tone towards the German female.

"Apparently their in Tokyo, most wish to observe and purchase anime and manga, so I'm the only one who's going to attend" - Laura responds, the German girl partialy shrugging as she mentions the fact that her comrades from Germany are taking the chance to blow off some steam pass via the going out to browse for anime and manga.

Blinking for a second, the black haired Yui changes her facial expression from straight interest to pleasant warmth as she looks down into the solitary eye of Laura and appears to read the said girl like an open book, a skill to which is very rare but very useful to have, the ressulting reaction from Laura is not one of shock and startlement, but one of bashful happiness as the said girl turns her head to look away from the black haired female and looks to the ground with a faint blush under the eyes and a girlish timid smile, responding after a moments hesitation to Yui's words, which come as a partial surprise. - "I take it your going to try to get close to Ichika while being out on this trip are you not?".

"Is it that easy to see?"

Just as the two females begin to bask in a pleasant atmosphere, a resounding call out from one of the fathers to a young mentaly disabled boy in the crowd causes everyone to snap their attention to the right as the one word people have been dying to hear enter's the ear of nearly every last person in the line - "Bus is here".

From behind Yui, Kes and Laura, a relieved huff is heard come from Kazumi whom mutters something but keeps her words silent. One such woman is heard to comment in an annoyed tone - "Its about time". The blue haired beauty Tomoe snaps immediately and rushes forwards, cutting past some children and their respective parents, rushing forwards and calling out Kestrel's name in an excited tone, causing Laura and Yui to turn look behind them, only to meet the happy and pleasant face of Tomoe whom dashes forwards to get beside the long black haired Kestrel whom briefly raises his left hand to clutch his silver Star of David pendant and close his eyes in an exhausted and weary manner. The infant proceedes to mutter something in Israeli before leaning his small head to look up at the blue sky with half open eyes and taking in a deep breath, the scar faced child then releases his grip on the silver Star of David and looks down, letting out the breath and proceeding to put on a pleasant face as Laura proceedes to release the young scar faced boy's hand and allow Tomoe to take his hand in her own, a small and timid smile set in half closed exhausted eyes meets the Japanese beauty as she claims her spot beside Kestrel, much to Laura's dismay whom after 20 minutes in the heat had gotten used to Kestrel's soft touch, finaly feeling for herself the softness of the infant's hand palm... but, the silver haired female is in a cheery mood and happy with the moments she spent along side the scar faced infant.

From behind Kazumi at first grumbles to herself on her daughter's behaviour in causing a scene, rushing forward cutting the line and causing some muttered voices to come from the children and their parents, only to smirk with affection, close her eyes and shake her head as Tomoe is seen kneel forwards slightly and glomp the long black haired Kestrel in a loving embrace. Laura having got the image that its Tomoe's turn to have Kestrel simply smiles warmly at Yui and bows in respect, Yui acknowledges her bow and returns it with her own, Laura gives Yui the message that '"We will talk more later"' and begins to move back in the line moving up to Kazumi whom gestures with her hand and head for the German female to 'Come on Over'. As this happens the first of a pair of buses pulls up slowly to the front of the line. From where they stand, Kestrel, Yui and Tomoe are a few groups back from the front, and at the head of the line is a woman dressed in a cream coloured bus drivers like uniform with a light blue forage cap like hat tilted on the left side of her head, the female wears black high heeled shoes, white gloves and under the right arm, a black clipboard with 2 sets of papers are set, a black fountain pen can be seen in the right pocket of the breast of her cream coloured uniform. The woman's white gloves stand out as she takes clipboard from underneath her arm pit, holds it in her left hand and raises her hands, making the whiteness of her gloves stand out above the crowd.

The resounding sound of the bus engine, the slight squeal of brakes and hissing sound of doors opening is like music to many of the people's ears, those that are close enough to hear it that is. From behind in the group Megumi gives Charlotte and Cecilia the heads up that the bus has arrived and points forwards with the index finger on her right. The faces of all three girls seem to light up as the sight of 2 gray coloured buses pull upto the bus shelter, both of which have Japanese advertisements for either a cleaning product or food emblazoned on black and rainbow coloured rectangular posters, the Japanese writing on the advertisements are emblazoned in large white bubble letters, not that it makes any differance because nobody in particular is interested in the advertisement posters. From where he stands Ichika notices the commotion and in a calm and silent voice, mixed with nerves and emotions as if not to cause a scene with the two love sick females on his sides calls out - "Ah.. err.. bus is here".

Both Rin and Houki remain still at both sides of Ichika and seem to move in sync to Ichika's movements, both females appear to float off the ground, though both females do open their eyes to cast love struck gazes at Ichika, the Japanese male with his black bushy hair feels a terrible chill go up his spine and his heart seems to freeze solid as both females catch the looks of each other, the ressult is a brief look of shock and surprise before both females cast fierce glares at each other, invisible blue flame auras roar around both females as they glare at each other, and Ichika seems to feel the intense heat from the pair, thankfuly no angered emotions flare up and both females simply pout with their faces and in turn stand straight, still clinging tightly to Ichika's arms and with the rapid closure of eyes turn their heads in the opposite direction to look away from each other, anime style temper patches seem to appear on the temples of both females as they turn to look away from each other. Though Ichika feels a brief emotion of relief as both females seem to ignore each other the Japanese male still feels sick with discomfort as he begins to stagger forwards following the line of people that begins to step aboard the bus ahead of him, both girls remain in sync as they slowly walk forwards following the line. All the while as Ichika walks forwards the Japanese male is praying to which ever god will listen to NOT let him trip or stumble, the said black haired Japanese male feels as though he's walking a tightrope over the lion's cage... or worse... a snake pit full of Black Mambas. Beads of sweat roll down his temple as he walks forwards ever so slowly, and his heart is beating faster than that of an Olympic runner.

From in front of the group, Kestrel, Yui and Tomoe get closer and closer towards the two large buses with each step, much to the relief of the two females at both sides of Kestrel whom struggle with summer heat. Kestrel all the while remains silent as the grave and blinks in silence, the blue eyed Israeli with his red scar still blazing as usual seems to do what any self respecting oblivious person would do, which is simply to go along with the flow and not ask questions, after all... a lot has happened and the youngster's mind is clearly filled with masses of exhaustion and stress, one thing is for certain, the infant is going to sleep very well for the next series of nights. However, recovering from what has happened is soon going to be the least of the infant's worries. The reason why is at this moment unbeknowst to the group as they walk forwards slowly with every step, following the crowd as they walk forwards, Tomoe and Yui remain looking directly ahead of them, towards two pairs of what appears to be stewardess uniformed women, each wearing white gloves upon their hands and wearing the usual traditional women's uniform directing the groups of mothers, fathers and their children to which ever bus they will be sitting on. As the group moves closer and closer by the second, the cover of being normal people is starting to deteriorate as a young mother and father hand in hand with their young son just happen to glance over their shoulders and though its a quick glance, the pair notice the scar faced Kestrel and blink with surprise for a brief moment. Tomoe and Yui merely continue to look ahead and apparently overlook the glances, the young father of the pair is in his mid twenties, has short spikey black hair like that of a teenager, wears a summer shirt and blue shorts, wearing black summer footwear. The mother has short green hair ressembling that of 'Kanon' from the world only god knows, the father of the Japanese boy ahead of Kestrel has brown eyes and the mother has that of green, the Japanese boy is naturaly that of any other infant, with short green hair and wearing summer clothing, mainly in the form of a summer shirt and shorts. Still holding hands of their son, the mother and father of the boy ahead of them, continue to look at each other and then down back towards Kestrel. Tomoe and Yui remain oblivious and are eager to get out of the summer heat, however its not just the one pair that has begun to notice Kestrel, from behind Yui and Tomoe, mothers and fathers are beginning to notice something familiar about the long haired Kestrel ahead of them, young boys and girls turn to look their mothers and fathers in the face and point towards the oblivious Kestrel.

**\- 14 minutes later -**

Finally after some time of walking slowly the group get towards the large awaiting buses, the trio of Kestrel, Yui and Tomoe get towards a respective stewardess like woman, all women seem to look alike, all have black hair, though one has a bun, another has a pony tail and the remaining two have short hair hanging toward the shoulders. Meeting the trio is stewardess like woman with hair in a bun, together she and Yui exchange friendly smiles and light bows. Tomoe and Kestrel ironicaly just happen to look at each other and exchange awkward smiles as they are beginning to notice the stares and whispers in the air directed at the pair, what words Yui seems to speak to the woman in white gloves ahead of her seems to be unheard and instead the pair begin to squeeze each other's hands a tad bit firmer as the reality of being watched sinks in deeper by the second. It does not help when the two short black haired females in uniform just happen to drop their friendly expressions and begin to blink in surprise as they notice the scar faced Kestrel just off to their right awaiting a bus to sit on, the dark blue haired beauty Tomoe turns her head and notices the curious expressions on the women's faces and for a few seconds exchanges stares, as the two women whisper, look at each other and point towards Kestrel, a horrible chill goes up the spine of Tomoe as the feeling of discomfort grows heavier by the second.

Tomoe does not break eye contact with Yui and merely turns her head back towards Yui a fraction, yet the female does not break eye contact with the two women just a matter of feet away, the dark blue haired Tomoe is about to stutter in a nervous voice for Yui to effectively 'C'mon and move it', but thankfuly for Tomoe, the black haired Yui has completed settling matters with the respective uniformed staff member and in a cheery voice speaks the words - "Okay, we're on bus number two".

Tomoe and Kestrel move their heads rapidly and look at the face of Yui, whom points ahead of her towards the second bus at the rear of the first, a pleasant and friendly expression is upon the woman's face as she speaks, the female looking first at Tomoe and then down to Kestrel after speaking. A feeling of great relief is in the air and both the black haired Isreali and the dark blue Japanese beauty cast looks of relief to each other before looking ahead of them and taking carefree steps forwards, not thinking of anything else until reaching the open doors of the second bus just a matter of meters away from the head of the line. However, that peaceful feeling is about to be shattered as the voice of one of the female staff members calls out to the trio in a cautious yet very curious tone - "Excuse me... there's no trouble but can I just speak to you three for a second?".

Stopping in their tracks, Yui releases Kestrel's hand, and together along with the said scar faced Israeli and Tomoe, turns their bodies and heads back to look in the direction of which they came, what greets the trio is quite a surprise as they look into the surprised and bewildered faces of men, women and children, matched with the bewildered faces of the four female bus staff members whom are exchanging whispers and turning their heads a fraction to each other, yet none of the women blink and gaze with intent at Kestrel whom suddenly gets the urge to want to run and hide, a chill running up the infant's spine as a tiny voice in his small head gives him a signal that all is NOT right. The infant keeps his small mouth closed but inside his mind, his small, timid and soft voice speaks only two words - ( "Not good" ).

Yui blinks at the crowd whom stare in amazement, the children of the mothers and fathers, boys and girls alike crouch and lean sideways to get a better view of the trio. The sounds of whispers grow into that of words as gossip starts to fill the air, thankfuly, the feeling of being unwelcome is gone as smiles begin to form on the faces of men and women, the children on the other hand have been smiling since the beginning. One of the young boys with short brown hair, a blue t-shirt, green shorts, brown eyes and black sandals lifts his left arm and with his small left index finger points directly at the scar faced Kestrel, the boy's voice is surprisingly loud enough to hear despite the amount of voices that have begun to fill the air - "Mama, Dadda... look it, look it... its that boy we watched".

At the same time a brown haired girl with twin pigtails, green eyes and a summer dress places her hands together, looks up to the left to look at her father and in a proud, excited girlish tone speaks the words - "Daddy, look... its that cute boy that saved us".

As if on cue, the mothers and fathers crouch and kneel down to look with happy and eager faces to their children, sounds of praise seem to fill the air as joy replaces bewilderment, but it isn't until the happy faces of the four stewardess women speak that the game is given away. The black ponytailed staff member holding a clipboard in both hands placed in a very lady- like manner at her front turns her head to the right to look at her colleage with a black bun, an overjoyed and proud expression is on her face as she speaks the words - "It is, It's him, It's him".

Immediately, with out hesitation, one of the two short black haired women in uniform rapidly points with the index finger of her left hand, her arm outstretched, directed towards Kestrel, the uniformed woman looks as if she is about to scream in joy as she virtualy yells out in an overjoyed tone - "Isn't he the little boy I've seen on TV news!?".

"Yeah!, That's the little guy that saved thousands of lives!" - One of the respective fathers of the children is heard to shout out, but its difficult to make out which male it is in the crowd that has apparently flocked towards the head of the line. It is at this moment that the sounds of people beginning to praise and call out begin to become jumbled and difficult to make out, for Kestrel its as if being back at the IS academy and looking into masses of cheering schoolgirls. However, for the scar faced infant, he is in no mood to entertain, the infant is still weak from being sick and his head is still acheing. Instead of smiling or acknowledging the crowds whom now know whom he is, the long black haired Kestrel turns with a weak and tired expression on his face and climbs up the steps of the large bus, the infant keeps his head low and looks sick in the face, his small ocean blue eyes are in a half open state.

Yui and Tomoe notice Kestrel turn and walk away immediately and follow close behind, smiling nervously to each other as they proceede to attempt to escape the crowds whom now shout in desperation for the trio to not walk away, but neither Yui or Tomoe is about to entertain the crowds of mothers and fathers with their children, whom amazingly remain in line and do not rush forward to get up close to Kestrel, though there is the fair amount of restraining and pulling back of the children whom wish to charge forwards and meet what can only be described as 'A declared Celebrity'. As the trio board the large bus, the driver has only just noticed whom Kestrel is himself and merely smiles with pride, the middle aged Japanese male whom wears his uniform lowers his head forwards in a respective bow, Kestrel happens to look up and notices the bow and freezes in his tracks, his small heart seems to beat ever faster as the feeling of sickness rises a bit more, but thankfuly its not enough to want to cause sickness or vomiting. The young Isreali looks down at the floor of the bus, turning his head away to look down in a defeatist manner and climbs the rest of the steps upwards, a worried looking Tomoe follows close behind, rushing forwards and taking the left hand of Kestrel in that of her own right hand.

Tomoe whom has a worried look manages to smile and return the driver's friendly gesture, but its clear that the Japanese beauty is feeling very uneasy as she is clearly eager to get to a seat and sit beside Kestrel, effectively wanting to sheild him from any possible crowds. Yui is the one whom speaks to the driver and bows in respect, handing over what appears to be papers or tickets to present, once again... Yui's words seem to be unheard by Tomoe and Kestrel whom now share a synchronised heart beat of nerves. Thankfuly, much to the relief of Tomoe and Kestrel, Yui is given directions to which seat that the trio will be sitting upon by the driver whom continues to look into the nervous yet friendly face of Yui and then down to the nervous and unwel face of Kestrel whom continues to look away as if like some nervous un-tamed animal. As Yui bows and gives the driver her thanks, the driver takes the chance to be the first to congratulate the scar faced infant for his efforts in saving lives during the drone attacks. The driver in his middle aged, yet caring father like voice looks into the face of Yui and in a very kind tone speaks the words - "Hey, give that boy my congratulations, tell him from me.. "Well done sonny"".

Responding to the driver's words, Yui bows happily and in a friendly and remarkably calm voice speaks the words - "Y..Yeah, sure thing". - Upon finishing acknowledging the driver, the mature black haired female takes a step forwards and upon looking at Tomoe and Kestrel, speaks the words - "You and Kestrel are on seats twenty three and twenty four on the left, I'll sit opposite you on the other side".

Kestrel does not understand the words that Yui speaks but gets the message that he can move up the isle of seats, allowing the dark blue haired Tomoe to lead the way whom houses a very relieved and pleasant smile on the face. Kestrel maintains a weak expression on his face as Tomoe leads the way up the isle of seats, passing by the small numbers of mothers and fathers with their children, all of which are too pre-occupied with their own private and personal matters and thankfuly oblivous to the fact that a new declared celebrity is walking past them. Tomoe and Kestrel seemingly jog towards their seats hand in hand, eager to sit down and get away from the crowds that will surely board the bus shortly afterwards eager to get up close to the vulnerable Kestrel, even though sitting in their seats will not solve the problem of being harrassed, just getting away for a brief matter of minutes is appealing enough for the two youths.

Upon reaching their seats Tomoe, releases Kestrel's small soft hand from her grip and stands just behind and aside from their seats and politely gestures with her left arm and hand for Kestrel to take his seat first. The ocean blue eyed Kestrel looks up into the eyes of Tomoe and notices a large quality of care and comfort, though its not enough to quel the sickness in the youngster's stomach, it is however enough to melt the chill up his spine and cause a small smile to form on his face. The pair stare each other in the eyes for a few seconds before the scar faced youngster blinks and in a soft, timid and nervous tone speaks out - "Thank you" - The ressult is a bashful blush appearing under Tomoe's eyes and a very girlish smile to form on her face, before she too eagerly follows close behind Kestrel, and takes her seat, eager to sit beside Kestrel and be the one whom gets to be up close to the said infant. Yui merely smiles with affection as she notices Tomoe and Kestrel sit on the soft springy padded seats of their respective bus seats, both youths sitting down in synch and proceeding to look each other in the eyes with faint bashful flushes under the eyes. Kestrel's smile drops as a feeling of nervous excitement causes his face under his eyes to flush red, the infant turns his head to the right to look out of the bus window and out onto the scenery of the coastal cliffs and blue ocean waves licking and brushing against the rocks. However, Kestrel does acknowledge Tomoe's warmth and kindess by alowing her to take his small left hand in that of her right, together the pair then look each other in the eyes and smile very slightly before the sound of Yui clearing her throat in a very light cough causes the pair to blink and look out the window together, though Kestrel's face is as timid and nervous as usaul, the infant has a good amount of comfort on his face, matched with a bashful flush under his eyes which remain in a half closed state, Tomoe all the while appears completley the same as the pair gaze out of the bus window, remaining hand in hand.

Yui upon taking her seat merely smiles with pride, closes her eyes and then shakes her head in affection, before she too takes the chance to sit comfortably down on her seat, allowing the soft comfort of the material to provide a padding of comfort. However, Yui's smile turns from affection to that of amazement as the crowd outside now converges on Ichika, whom by now must also have been noticed as a celebrity via the use of the recent news headlines, the black haired female rolls her eyes and begins a preparation technique to brace herself for some swooning. Yui then lifts her head to look upwards, her eyes roll up as if to mutter in irriation to God himself and her smile drops, the female speaks, to nobody in particular... but its exactaly what anyone in their right mind would mention at a time like this - "For some reason, I get the idea that this set up by the careers isn't going to be as peaceful as I had hoped for".

**\- Elsewhere, unknown room, Chifuyu and Clarissa -**

Sat in a darkened room with no light are two darkened figures at a set up metalic table, upon careful examination from a third person's point of view, the darkened shapes of the two figures can be made out to be female, one of which with a distinctive long familiar ponytail running down the back, and the other with shorter hair just going over the level of the shoulders. However, the females are not obscured by darkness as a large white'ish glowing light lights up both of the female's faces, revealing them to be non other than the mighty Chifuyu Orimura whom rests her elbows on the metal surface of the table and has her hands placed together just beneath the nose, obscuring the lips, her fingers twinned and joing together between the gaps on each hand. From across the Japanese female on the other side of the table, the German female Clarissa also her hands twinned between the gaps of her hands, though its difficult to see what it is the females are wearing, upon careful study in the low light one can notice that Chifuyu is wearing a white summer t-shirt with the emblem of some comical tropical island with a pair of palm trees on the front and light blue mini-shorts, the female appears to wear sandals bit its difficult to tell in the low light. Clarissa wears a light blue sleeveless shirt and a pair of light blue shorts, once again... like Chifuyu, its difficult to tell what it is the said German woman is wearing on her feet due to the low light.

Silence fills the room, the atmosphere is heavy and thick, the glowing white light comes from an open Laptop set directly in the middle of the metalic table, which is currently facing Clarissa, for the moment at least. Its difficult to tell how long the two women have been silent, but from the looks in both women's eyes, its clear that its been some time already. However, the stillness of the air and silence is about to be shattered as the mighty Chifuyu proceedes lower her head for a few seconds, blinks and then lifts her head to look Clarissa in the eye and in her usual cool tone of authority breaks the ice of silence - "Okay Clarissa, I'll bite... I have a good idea as to why you've called me here in this dark god foresaken room, but in order to make sure I'm guessing wrong... which is hardly unlikely... I have to ask, why have you dragged me down here?".

"Let's just say its confidential buisness between you and me, concerning the child's recent IS testing" - Clarissa replies in a calm and rational tone, yet there is the hint of nerve in her voice as she speaks, looking Chifuyu in the eyes, and not blinking. The female's black eye patch gleams for a brief second as she lowers her head for a moment while speaking to the almighty Chifuyu.

"By CHILD, I take it you mean my dopey younger brother's little Israeli friend with long black girlish hair and a red scar across the face?" - Chifuyu asks with a stern tone, half closing her eyes and frowning. Watching with intent as Clarissa lowers her head and rises it again in a single solemn nod, lowering her arms, a small smile is seen on Chifuyu's face, though the female looks satisfied in her knowledge of reading people like a book, a chill is in the air as she lowers her head and closes her eyes as if expecting the worst to be spoken. Clarissa remains silent, silently giving Chifuyu the hint that she has to give her permission to continue onwards, to which Chifuyu eventualy... after 4 minutes responds and acknowledges with a sigh and motion of the right hand for the German woman to continue. Chifuyu word's seem to be filled with nerves and solemn depression despite her facade and appearance remaining strong and able to withstand any further surprises - "Okay Clarissa... you can tell me, give me the ressults".

"Okay... let's get this out of the way, firstly I have to say that all is not as bad as you think, and by saying that I have to say that I have some good news, and some bad news" - The German eye patched female with dark blue hair speaks out, firstly in a tone of solemn gloom before changing to that of a person whom apparently has the ability to shed some much needed light on a moment of darkness, apparently able to deflate any moment of missery. As a ressult, Chifuyu's eyes open just ever so slightly to that of amazement and her smile despite being very tiny seems to curl to that of equal impressment, but that in itself is kept to a minimal, owing to the fact that Chifuyu is not the person whom shows much happiness or acknowledges much effort, if in the case its something to be very proud of.

Chifuyu keeps her next words to a short status, the woman does not bother to speak in an explinatory tone and instead gives Clarissa the heads up to speak freely by speaking just two seperate words together, the woman does not blink and keeps an intent stare on Clarissa - "Go on".

Clarissa takes in a deep breath and lets out a heavy and loud sigh, closing her eye and lowering her head at the same time before lifting her head up and looking Chifuyu in the face with a stern expression, the German female effectively taking the chance to prepare herself to give Chifuyu what is clearly going to be the bad news at first before shifting over to that of the good. After all, its best to get the bad news out of the way and get the truth in the air before shifting over to that of the good, and by the look on Clarissa's face its clear that what is going to be said next is going to be seriously heavy in terms of bad news, and whats impressive is the fact that Chifuyu seems to be able to brace for any word that is about to come out of Clarissa's mouth, and to be very honest... its takes one hell of a strong and brave person to be able to do that, as one has no doubt noticed themselves if they themselves have encountered such a person.

"Well... to not beat about the bush, I'll be clear and say that the bad news is the ressults of the child's IS weaponry test, not only has the infant's weaponry been classed as too dangerous to be left in the sights of such a person with mental illness, but... as I once described before the test took place, the destruction would be on a scale not yet seen before in the history of mankind, and... well... before I show you footage of the ressults, I think you may want to hear the ressults directly from the horses mouth" - Clarissa attempts to explain before being cut off by an impatient Chifuyu whom more or less tells Clarissa to effectively 'Hurry it up' - "Clarissa, that IS beating about the bush, what ever it is that's gone wrong I'd rather you just tell me now and we can work out what we can do to fix it, Savvy?".

Chifuyu more or less raises an eye brow as she speaks, but the smile on her face gives Clarissa the hint that she isn't in trouble, but the atmosphere would be far more wonderful to be in, if the said German female would just speed it up and get to the point. Chifuyu despite suffering from the suspense of the atmosphere and the wait to be told the ressults is amazingly able to suppress the urge to up and slap the German female from attempting to take a non-needed ( Yet still very respected ) cautious approach into the matter at hand. To show Clarissa that no matter what the answer is, she is still friends with her no matter what the hard ship, Chifuyu closes her left eye in a very friendly and affectionate wink, smiling in an equal effectionate manner as she lowers her head in a single slow bob nod.

"Eh, heh, heh... Ya'vol, quite" - Clarissa titters in a friendly manner, placing her hands together as if praying before tilting both hands placed together to the left, the German female tilts her head to the left and smiles awkwardly closing her solitary eye for a brief moment, before opening it, regaining her sat down posture and placing her hands together directly in front of her, with her right hand resting palm down on the top of her left. Clarissa after looking straight ahead coughs to clear a mound of slobber in her throat before opening her eye and taking yet another breath before continueing to explain herself to the mighty Chifuyu Orimura. What Clarissa says next is spoken in a remarkably good calm and collected manner, but then again... Chifuyu's words may in all likelihood be the reason for that reason, in a good way ofcourse, because what comes next needs a calm and collected set of words and a very steady heart.

"Well... as you know, the child's weaponry was expected to be more powerful than that of earth's most powerful nuclear warhead, well... what we've discovered is that, the test that took place only showed us about half the possible ressults of what could have happened, had the child fired his weapon straight down in a vertical manner, rather fire from a horizontal trajectory, but that alone was more powerful than what we expected. Instructor Orimura, what the child has in his possession is probably the most powerful weapon that earth has ever made, and there are serious doubts on if its safe in the child's hands. The reason why was that we expected Amami Island and it's neighbour island chains to be warped clean of life, but instead, what WAS Amami island, is now nothing but empty Ocean, and its neighbouring Islands have become nothing but blown away chunks of scorched and blown apart rock. It can safely be said that, we seriously under estimated the child's weapon capabilities, as the fact that Okinawa has been wipped clean of inhabitability for the time being, eastern coastlines of Asia that took shock and sound waves could have been affected by tsunamis as well as blast fronts of flame, so it can be considered a miracle that the destruction was limited to the Ryuku Islands alone. I have been personaly told by Japan's minister of defence, that observation should be set up to make sure that the child does not use his IS for reckless purposes, or risk a serious interview with this nation's forces of security. I think its safe for me to show you data ressults of the child's weapon testing, and to inform you that for Tabane... the ressults went off the map, and the power of the child's weapon has yet to be fully observed... so... I think its safe to firstly show you, video footage that was obtained from NASA's satellites... after you've observed the data we managed to collect, I can disclose the good news" -

Clarissa's words are seeming full of care, but as the woman continues to explain the ressults of Kestrel's Prometheus test, its clear that the German woman's heart is in the mouth, clearly giving the hint that in terms of hotness of the situation, the matter at hand is very, VERY hot. However, as Clarissa gets towards the end of her explination, its clear that the atmosphere is going to turn out good in the end, which in all fairness is very much needed, as Chifuyu seems to have lost a bit of colour following her mentioning of that the test had shown just HALF the power of Kestrel's Prometheus. Chifuyu amazingly is able to dowse the nerves in her heart and take Clarissa's laptop and pull it towards herself, turning the computer system round and staring at the screen at the data recovered, which comes in various sets of blue boxes and rectangles, filled with pure white text, slowly scrolling down before the Japanese female's eyes before images of what has happened to the Ryuku Islands present themselves.

What Chifuyu observes firstly after a matter of 10 minutes of reading is a current image of what the area appears like from space, what was once islands have now given way to nothing but empty ocean, large amounts of thick greyish white smoke and clouds remain over the scene of where the test fire took place, but scans from the satellite images clearly show mass read out of what is beneath the masses of thick white and grey clouds, that obscure what was once the Ryuku islands and the charred black land of Okinawa which too is smoothered by smoke, its as if a massive volcano has a erupted and leaving nothing but thick white ash clouds behind. From careful observation its as if the clouds have formed that of a tropical hurricane, which is now resting and beginning to dissipate on a slow but very sure scale, there is still fair amounts of visibility beginning to form on the current image, so its clear that the worst of the explosion and its effects are now over.

The first clear image that is presented before Chifuyu's face is images obtained by Japan's Self Defence Naval forces, showing the foundations of what was Amami Island, nothing is left but a few black scorching sharp jagged rocks forming an un-natural made reef, some large chunks of Amami island lay scattered around the area of where the explosion occured, giving the indication that mountains of rock now form small reefs or tiny replacement islands due to masses of debris being tossed into the atmosphere and landing back down and burying itself into the sea bed. The towering coloumn of smoke that rises from the footprint of Amami Island till towers but it too is beginning to rest and though its been virtualy a week or so, small black stones and rock still continue to rain down from the sky in odd places, giving the plunking and splashing sounds of rock and stones landing in the ocean.

What comes next is the images and footage from space that occured during the test fire, Chifuyu's eyes narrow in a stern gaze as the explosion is presented before her eyes on it's natural time scale. What comes first is a blue star from the ocean, a second or so later comes a massive white flash forming into a large sun, unleashing a massive blast front of flame on a 360 degree radius. The images that present themselves before the mighty Chifuyu lasts for over 20 minutes, and yet the ponytailed female does not blink nor take her eyes of the laptop screen, as the radius of flames engulf and wash over Okinawa like some massive wave washing away anything in it's path like children's toys. The last few minutes of the footage shows a distant view from space, what appears to be a firey eye set up on the surface of the earth has now formed as the blast front runs out of energy and blasts upwards into the atmosphere, leaving a massive sun at what was originaly Amami and the Ryuku islands... but what comes next causes Chifuyu to go white in the face, her mouth opens to a partialy open state and her eyes despite looking serious, open wide with shock as a simulation showing what would happen if Kestrel's Prometheus was fired down from space, and on a city of nation begins to play. Clarissa gives the mighty woman a warning before that moment comes up, speaking rapidly on what the bad news realy extends towards - "Th.. The next video is what would happen if the child was to have fired his weapon from space and to... say... Baghdad for instance, Tabane has calculated the ressults, she ah... she will be here tomorrow to speak to us personaly about the matter".

What comes next despite being just a made up film, is enough to make Chifuyu go white, her heart seems to stop as an explosion ressembling what can only be described as 'Armageddon' appears over a 3d made up model of Baghdad, its just like that of the explosion Chifuyu just watched of the destruction of the Ryuku Islands, only far greater. The center of Baghdad vanishes in a massive yellow explosive sun and blast front larger than that of what was experianced on the Ryuku Island spreads out blowing away masses of the Iraqi capital city, leaving behind a massive firey orange and red masses of flame on charred black and scorched earth as the entire capital of Iraq vanishes in an instant, becoming a massive orange mushroom cloud of death and destruction, leaving the blast front covering Iraq on a vast scale and moving across to cover Jordan and Iran and its eastern neighbours, swallowing the boarders of Iran and Jordan and moving across the boarders, the eastern neighbours in view take a beating also. The entire nation of Iraq seems to become black and charred and becomes a mass of death and destruction, becoming utterly un-inhabitable via the data read out, but thankfuly its only a made up model. The video itself can best be described as a close relation to that old classic disaster movie Armageddon when the introduction wipes out the earth, but once again thankfuly, its only a limited display of power and and its a fictional demonstration video.

**( Authors note: If you go onto Youtube, you can see the scene from that old movie, it's titled - Armageddon Opening Scene )**

Suddenly feeling the urge to run and panic for the first time in her life, the mighty ponytailed Chifuyu effectively turns the laptop round and turns her head to the left, placing the index fingers of her left hand onto her forehead to attempt to acknowledge the data model presented, the mighty ponytailed female clearly is a mass with bewilderment, awe and illness, those emotions made clear as she virtualy stutters in alarm - "I.. I can't watch anymore".

"Please... Instructor Orimura, don't despair... It's not the end of the world" - Clarissa speaks out in a very caring manner, the German female raising both arms and hands as if to reasure the ponytailed female as the 3D model presentation begins to close down and end. Sadly, Clarissa's words do not have a positive effect on the now nervous Chifuyu whom feels as though she is dying from fear a nerve at the fact that one of her students at the IS academy is indeed what can only be described as 'The Death Star'. Chifuyu however does respond to Clarissa's words, lowering her arm and hand from her forehead and casting a look over towards Clarissa as if she is a complete idiot - "Not the end of the world?... Can't you see that's exactaly what it is!?".

Chifuyu's words are filled with her usual cool big sister tone, but there is a large quality of nerve and illness. Obviously due to the fact of being introduced to the data readout for the first time, but for the moment at least... Clarissa is yet to speak about the good news, after all... if there is an upside to the matter, then the German female would not have spoken it if there wasn't. Clarissa makes this clear by smiling in a nervous manner and maintaining her arms lifted in the air to reasure the mighty woman, what Clarissa says next apparently helps bring Chifuyu back to sanity and out of the realm of the fear - "Well, on the upside, we have learned more about the child's weaponry and according to Tabane, there is a chance to be able to suppress the child's weapon capabilities".

"Huh!?" - Chifuyu responds, now overwhelmed with interest, frowning with intent as Clarissa lowers her arms and speaks in a calm explinatory tone, the German woman amazingly able to regain a pleasant enviroment as she begins to speak the positive points of her news - "You may not believe it but despite the odds, Tabane was able to get some realy accurate data on the child's weapon capabilities and... completley by chance, she happened to be researching Israel's IS program and by accident, she happened to hack into an unknown private computer system which displays something of very gigantic interest, it isn't complete because the system managed to block Tabane out before she could gather more data, but... what she did discover, can only be described as a great benifit to us all".

What Clarissa does next is completley unexpected, Chifuyu watches in silence as the German female pulls out a round black disc object with her left hand and with her index finger of her right hand presses down on the top of the disc object. What comes next turns and highlights the entire room in red as a 3D Holographic model of Prometheus suddenly displays itself before the eyes of Chifuyu. What words Clarissa says next goes directly through the woman's ears and into the brain as Clarissa proceedes to speak in a near triumphant manner, the female proceedes to speak in a confident manner as she allows the atmosphere to return to a normal pleasant atmosphere -

"Most of the data that Tabane gathered is in Israeli and describes power input and readout, fuctions that make the weapon work and such, but what she did manage to obtain is a fraction of the weapon's origin. According to what Tabane has told me... The Prometheus, was part of the recent Israeli space defence network programme, and it's current function was to shoot down asteriods, asteriods that would threaten the safety of the human race. I believe that explains the weapon's ability to cause such horrific damage and destruction, but due to it's destructive capability, the weapon was supposed to have been destroyed following the exsistance of Phantom Task, understandably... the possibility of the weapon falling into the wrong hands was a number one concern, so how it is that the child managed to obtain the weapon is unknown... in all probability it was part of the youngster's IS, but even more benificial for us, there is only one recorded construction of the child's weapon, the main blueprints and plans are recorded to have been destroyed, but that's were we need the child's translator Yui to help us, if we are able to translate this data... we will be the ones in control, and we WILL have a significant balance of power over the people that caused the little one's trauma... even more better for us is the fact that the nation's secretary of defence has aggreed that a joint coalition observation program of the youngster has been approved and the Schwarzer Haze is going to be the German factor. So me and my girls can make sure nothing will become of the child... after all... he is just as much a victim in all this as we are, is he not?".

Chifuyu's response is one of bewilderment, but after a few moments, the Japanese female sits up straight, some colour returns to her face and a confident smile returns. The Japanese female closes her eyes and lowers her head, a moment passes before Chifuyu speaks, what Clarissa hears come from the mouth of Ichika's older sister is the last thing anyone would expect to hear from the Japanese female - "Clarissa... If I was a lesbian I would grab you by the face and kiss you so deep that your mouth would come clean off".

"Instructor?" - Clarissa responds in a confused and stunned manner, the German female now at loss for words and is wide eyed at hearing Chifuyu's words.

"Contact Maya and Tabane, tell them to meet me at the IS academy as soon as they can. Tell them from me, "We've got SPECIAL work to do!"" - Chifuyu speaks out in a strangely overjoyed and excited manner, pushing her chair back, standing to her feet and holding a very confident smile on her face, the Japanese female glances down at Clarissa whom at first is confused at the behavoir of Chifuyu, but after a moment of confusion gets the image and in turn smiles herself, the female pushes her chair back and stands to her feet, together the pair stand as if in a moment of excitment and pride and gaze at the 3D Holographic image of Prometheus, a moment passes before the pair look each other in the face and Chifuyu makes the reality of the moment all the more sweeter by stating the obvious -

"Clarissa my friend, we've just came across a something thats going to help us crush the heart of Phantom task!"

_**Okay readers, that's it for Chapter 92. Been a few days I know but then again I needed the rest, remember readers, I'm on Doctor's orders to take it easy. I don't have much to ask of anyone but I do continue to insist that all comments and reviews are left in the open comments section, please refrain from Private messaging if you can help it thankyou.**_

_**For those whom like this fic, then thanks a bunch for sticking around, all positive comments keeps it going. The next chapter should show some peaceful moments approach and the beginning of the gang's introduction of the life of a celebrity, aswel as beginning of some comical moments that I have planned out, because I think its time this fic became a propper summer vaction phase. Please remember it all follows the plot I have made up, and it is very tiring to follow at times, but hey-ho! I'm getting there, and that's something to be proud of, so I guess thats all that matters.**_

_**Okay, Not much to say during the closing address other than thanks for reading, may your own fics get all the positive reviews and comments in return.**_

_**See everyone next time, Stay cool**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	93. Chapter 93: On the bus

_**Hello readers, its been a while but I needed the rest and all. However, now I'm back, that's right... Black Falcon 01 has returned with a new fresh chapter and is very much happy to continue this fic going. As we left off, Ichika and Co are now celebrities, so lets see how the beginning of celebrity life turns out for our heroes, not least our young Israeli hero whom by now must have captured the hearts and minds of you crazy fic loving apes XD! So anyway enough with the flattering formalities, lets get down to important matters, now... before you read I want to say a very big thankyou to all those whom have loved and followed this fic since the day it started, there is still more to come ofcourse so don't be disheartened by the delays, please remember I AM on doctor's orders to take it easy. There will be further delays as this fic goes on, but I WILL try as hard as possible to keep it going despite the obstacles... anyway... as regards of global events and problems... I can safely say to any of whom caught up in any problems, keep your head up and remain cool, remember... us fic lovers are somewhat of a community ( In a way ofcourse ). **__**And finaly before you read I would like to say... PLEASE sit back read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

_**Thanks for the paitence.**_

_**Okay... you've waited enough and now it's yours... ( This is the beginning chapter of the real summer break, so it's just preparations ) ( Also there is no clothing colour rule in this chapter, so you can use your imaginations to however you feel, there is much detail to go and to add colour choices to clothing will jam some details out, so for what colour clothing the people wear, YOU the reader can be part of the action for once and choose what colour clothing that the people wear - Kestrel and Co's clothing is the same from the previous chapter so you already know what colour they are ).**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 93:

**\- Designated Bus No.2/ Unknown stretch of road/ Japanese open countryside area/ 20:00pm -**

Some four hours had passed since leaving the bus stop and by now the sun is already begun setting, but as nights are short since summer has arrived, its going to be a fair while if not another hour before the dusk begins to seize the sky. Not that it makes much differance as the sound of the humming roll of bus engine matched with the smooth running along the asphalt concrette of the road way easily has the ability to drown out the minutes that pass by. Since leaving the bus stop the scar faced infant with long black hair matched with his distinctive red face scar, known to many as Kestrel, has remained silent as the grave apparently bewildered at the experiance of sitting on a surprisingly soft bus seat, while gazing out of the bus window on his right and watching the scenery move past. Sorting arrangements have unfortunetley seperated some of the gang from each other, Houki, Rin, Kazumi, Laura and Ichika are sat on bus number 1 just a matter of feet ahead of bus number 2, leaving Charlotte, Cecilia and Megumi with Tomoe, Kes and Yui. Not that it matters much to Tomoe and Kestrel as they have the ability to sit side by side each other, hands still connected in a soft, comfortable and warm hand held embrace, but unfortuneatley a let down to Cecilia and Charlotte whom had hoped to be along side Ichika, but as visitors known simply as 'Plus Ones' were labelled last for seating arrangements, maybe the seperation was inevitable.

Everyone on bus 2 wears summer time clothing, most of the boys and the men wear shorts and t-shirts while some of the girls and the women wear sandals, and summer dresses, most of the shorts the boys and the men wear are white where as the odd acception is the colour green or blue. The girls and women wear differant coloured dresses, but all seem to be wearing black sandals.

However, since the females are sat side by side each other 4 rows down from Kestrel and Tomoe, the pair of blondes have had the ability to be compensated by their seperation from Ichika, mostly coming in the form of eager men, women and children in their respective family groups, eager to speak and meet the newly crowned heroines of Japan, which in all fairness for the pair was in many ways unexpected, but since the pair has been surrounded by smiling faces, and getting nothing but praise, perhaps the two girls need a bit of spotlight. After all... it is a true saying that "We need heroes in our lives".

Unfortunetley its not been differant for Kestrel, as the infant himself has been subjected to clapping and screaming children, comments and questions from adults and even a special cuddle from one of the female staff members working as some tour guide on the bus, to which the cuddle was a hell of a confusing moment for the scar faced Kestrel whom merely blinked and even rolled his small ocean blue eyes from left to right slowly as he was embraced by the dark haired bus attendant. Since then the infant has taken every chance in the book to ignore the seemingly endless points, smiles and words from the Japanese men, women and children. Thankfuly, Megumi has the seat just beside Yui sat just beside the window on the left side of the bus and along with Yui has had the ability to answer some questions, to which more or less started before the bus even set off some hours earlier. Most questions that have been answered tend to be asked again every now and then, but many whom ask those questions are those whom either did not hear the answer or have forgotten due to the overwhelming feeling of being in the pressance of a hero. Most questions go along the lines of '"How old is he?", "Where did he come from?", "Has he just moved here?", "Is he realy not a girl?" and the all time favorite of Tomoe's "Does he live with you?".

All questions have been answered by Tomoe, Megumi and Yui, Kestrel has merely every now and then cast confused and unsure expressions towards a person whom asks him a question, tilted his head to the right ever so slightly and blinked with confusion before timidly turning his head to look out of the bus window again, not even a whisper comes from the infant, even the youngster's breathing seems to be very silent, as if constricted. Tomoe maintains her smile as she looks with care at the troubled Israeli infant whom remains silent and appears to be overwhelmed, which is only to be expected if one remembers the fact that Kestrel tends to stay away from groups and appears to not want anything to do with other people, and even then... the fact that he has only just made a bonded relationship with Ichika and Co is still new so its not as if Kes can trust every last person that comes up to him, especially if one remembers the fact that Kestrel has PTSD and barely trusts Chifuyu, Maya and a majority of the students at the IS academy. For Tomoe whom merely continues holding the troubled Israeli boy's hand in her own, this reaction comes as no surprise, and ofcourse it does not surprise Yui and Megumi, but to the many overjoyed men, women and children whom sit in front and behind the scar faced infant in the rows of bus seats, the silence, the glum nervous and troubled expression is hard to understand as one of the mothers whom sit just in front of Kestrel makes clear with an amazed tone, yet the smile and kind expression shows the fact that she is not objecting to the fact that her daughter is sat beside her and attempting to gain Kestrel's attention with a big beeming smile -

"He's a bit silent isn't he? He looks a bit sad... looks like something's upset him"

"Ah... he has PTSD, he won't speak very much" - Megumi quickly speaks out in a bid to quell any demands of heroic behaviour from the happy crowd on the bus whom all seem to have their eyes on either Kestrel, Cecilia or Charlotte. Megumi holds a small smile on her face, and a look of slight desperation as if to say 'Please listen to me, you don't understand', which thankfuly is met with suprise and looks of amazement which is exchanged between the adults, small mutterings are heard but they do not appear to be negative, one of small boys just 2 rows down on the opposite side of the bus with short brown hair and green eyes looks up to his father whom has brown hair and brown eyes and speaks in an innocent and questioning tone - "Dad, what is P..T..S..er..D?"

The father smiles warmly and turns his head to look down at his son and proceedes to speak in a calm and careful explinatory tone so that his son can understand. At the same time this happens, some women blink stunned, a woman a seat down on the right whom has turned her body to the right and looking over her shoulder with long red hair and green eyes opens her mouth to a stunned state and places her hands over her mouth as if stunned and lets out a tiny - "Eek".

"No! This boy that saved our.. he has PTSD, what in the world has happened?" - Another mother whom is sat at the back of Kestrel and Tomoe asks with a stunned expression and bewildered tone, the mother has short black hair that reaches her shoulders and green eyes. The woman looks over towards Megumi whom does not bother to turn her head to look over her shoulder, instead the dark blue Japanese beauty turns to look Yui in the face and with an awkward expression gives her the image to effectively 'Please explain', which causes the black haired Yui to sweatdrop ever so slightly before lowering her head, closing her eyes for a moment before lifting her head to look into the eyes of the differant mothers, fathers and children and slowly turning her head from the left to the right to explain as carefuly as possible as not to let any confidential matters slip from her lips, the Japanese female speaks in a very kind and respectful tone as she looks into the eyes of the now many curious people, those that are not pre-occupied with Charlotte and Cecilia ofcourse.

\- "Well... just between us people, Kestrel here has had a VERY bad life, most likely since when he was born, we don't know much about what has happened, but he is getting treatment for his condition, and all that matters now is that we let Kes deal with it and help him heal from his wounds as best we possibily can, its a very fragile condition that he has so its best if anyone wants to speak or be friendly with him, they had better take a slow approach, his mind is a little, well... badly wounded".

"And its very important that nobody gets up in his face, because people whom are the 'In your face' type of people sort of well... cause Kestrel to get well, very upredictable, I know that nobody is intending to do more damage, but with Kestrel so badly troubled... its only fair that if anyone wants to get buddy buddy with him, try your best to keep yourself or anyone else under as much control as possible" - Tomoe comments with a small smile on her face, the dark blue haired female effectively speaking in a near plea manner, which in all fairness is a wise thing to do, owing to the fact that nearly nobody on the bus apart from herself, her sister and Yui understand Kestrel's condition.

As a ressult, a dead pause hangs in the air, which only lasts for a moment before bewildered mothers and fathers turn to their children and attempt to explain to their children as carefuly as possibile, as many of the children on the sponsored outing are mentaly imparred. Which ressults in an exchange of impressed and surprised affectionate smiles to come from Tomoe, Megumi and Yui. Eventualy after just a matter of minutes the ice around Kestrel and the trio of females is broken again, this time coming in the form of a short spikey black haired father with a gold ear ring in his right ear, and a burning skull tattoo with a black arrow on his left arm showing that rebel rock and roll type of character. The father is sat just behind the mother whom sits behind Kestrel with her young daughter whom has long black hair and green eyes, he sits beside his son whom too has short spikey hair and a playful expression. The Japanese father smiles in confidence as he leans back in his seat and with the gesture of his left arm speaks out in a very kind manner - "Well, the lill' guy don't have to be nervous around us, tell ya what... how's about you guys come out with us for a pizza with the rest of us ma's and pa's and let the kids have some fun with the lill' dude".

Upon hearing the father's words many smiles arise and eyes widen to a hopeful and pleasant manner, many of the mothers begin to speak out their own offers of treatment and support, another father whom sits beside his son with short dyed blonde hair speaks out - "Or how about Chinese? I know a good place down the coast where this sponsored group is going to, you can join us".

Another father whom has short red hair speaks next from near the back of the bus, his red haired wife sits beside a boy and girl, which are their children, the father's tone is clear and proud, and the red haired boy amoungst them raises his hand in a friendly wave as his father speaks out - "Screw them, have the kid join us for a hot dog, that kid has yet to really enjoy a Japanese summer!".

"Or if you'd rather, while the boys and men play around with Kestrel, you ladies can join us for a reserved meal at a famous resturant I go to" - A mother with a brunette ponytail and blue eyes speaks out, the mother sits with her long brunette daughter whom eagerly looks over at Kestrel with a playful expression.

"That's right, let the boys goof around together and we girls can have some time to ourselves" - Another mother with short brunette hair speaks out, just 3 rows back behind Yui and Megumi sitting beside her son whom is looking at his father across from him with a curious face as his dad continues to explain the matter of PTSD to his confused son.

So many words and gestures begin to fill the air that the black haired Yui holds up both hands as a form of reasurance or at least attempting to quel the uproar of joy and surprise from the many mothers, fathers and children. The black haired female is wide eyed for a moment and has a partialy open smile matched with a sweat drop as friendly questures and offers mount by the second. Megumi rolls her eyes and shakes her head as if to regret even opening her mouth and mentioning that Kestrel has PTSD, but after all... that wasn't really her fault, she was merely trying to help out, an act for which has surprised Tomoe as its not often her big sister does something out of selflessness. Thankfuly Yui is fast to react to the offers and wastes no time in NOT really aggreeing to any requests, but at least gives the impression that she will talk about it to Megumi and Tomoe, because if one remembers carefuly... Kestrel has PTSD, and a side effect of his torture may include a sensitive gut and stomach, and a hated taste of such foods to which Megumi had the misfortune of experiancing first hand.

( Refer to chapter 67 when Kestrel vomited after trying breakfast cereal )

Though the offers would appeal to any ordinary person, to Kestrel it's a differant matter, to which is clear to the female trio but unknown to the many mothers and fathers whom in all fairness only wish to extend the hand of friendship. Thankfuly though the friendly voice of Yui is enough to quel the ever continous offers which is backed up with the false promises and friendly smile, matched with the raising of arms, however help is at hand as the voice of one of the female attendants breaks the silence via the use of a microphone and speaker. From the front of the rows the blushing and proud Cecilia ceases a conversation with some women whom where commenting on the beautiful work of her hair, and Charlotte whom is now able to snap her attention away from some small girls whom where continuing to ask question after question and comment on how much of an inspiration she is to them.

All attention including that of Kestrel's is immediately directed towards the front of the bus, as the sound of a microphone buzzes alive as if ressembling a huff of breath, what everyone sees next is the cheery face of the female staff member, wearing her white gloves and stands proud dressed in uniform, the female then directs a look of joy towards the masses of people that are now in full attention at the said woman before them, Kestrel for one however blinks in confusion and looks as confused as hell, but that is only to be expected, thankfuly he does not have to look into the faces of the many strangers around him whom are now looking ahead of them and awaiting to hear the woman's voice. The female bus attendant smiles warmly and proceedes to bow slightly in respect before taking a quick look left and then to the right, before speaking in a clear tone -

"Hello boys and girls, mothers and fathers and welcome to the fifteenth sponsored trip by the Local careers association and what a pleasure it is to be with you all, firstly I'd like to say that this trip starts officialy tomorrow, and that activities for all you boys and girls include not only a treasure hunt, but also a sponsored walk, a hike through some of the most beautiful countryside areas, there we will have the chance to get up close to some beautiful and majestic animals at a local zoo, there will be a fair ground to enjoy with a range of wonderful activities, some realy tasty food and I may add some realy fun activities such as party game activities, go carting, climbing, camping and finaly on the last days we will be spending a week at one of the most beautiful beaches in Japan at Shirahama. There will be a guide to explain all this to us when we reach a hostel to which we will be staying for tonight, tomorrow we will travel by train to Nara, there will spend 3 days before traveling on to Honshu island to visit the famous Mount Fuji, we will be spending just 24 hours at Honshu Island so get as many photographs as you can and be prepared for a very special visit, from after that we will be take the last of our journey to Shirahama, there will be differant accomodations to house us so we will have to remain in touch by the use of phone and assembly areas for when going places. Ofcourse, when we reach our hotel our guide will have the chance to cover the full details later on, in the mean time if there is any questions please come forward and speak to me, please address me as Kaguraska Konoha in the meantime please take this oppertunity to look out of the windows and enjoy some of the scenery, it may not be enough but please understand the fun for the children is yet to start, thankyou".

With that the female attendant smiles kindly, gives a respective bow and turns her back as if to speak to the driver, whom remains unseen by the group. Upon hearing the woman's words and allowing them to filter to the minds, many of the children on the bus gain the look of dead excitement, to which is fueled by the mothers and fathers whom back up the moment by eagerly speaking words of equal excitement, Yui is about to up and begin translating the words of the bus attendant to Kestrel, only to be stopped by Megumi whom places her right hand in a buddy friendly like manner on the black haired woman's left thigh, then move her hand up and down twice in a goofy like, yet respective pat. Yui is taken by surprise and turns to look the blue haired Japanese beauty in the face with a confused expression, which is made all the more confusing as Yui discovers a very smug expression on Megumi's face, matched with half closed eyes and an affectionate smirk.

"That sounds very promising, firstly the zoo and then hiking in the mountains, looks like Kes is about to get all the more famous... ooh... bad move if you ask me" - The Japanese female speaks out in a very comforting yet very chilling tone, and the shaking of the head as she speaks in a negative manner makes the moment all the more difficult to understand for the black haired Yui.

"I'm sorry? Is there a problem with the activities ahead of us?" - Yui replies in a confused tone, unable to see where it is that Megumi is coming from. Megumi does not proceede to speak in her recent tone of voice but rather speaks in a very delicate, yet flat and warning like manner, the Japanese beauty is able to keep the atmopshere warm as she speaks, but its clear that what ever it is that Megumi is uncomfortable with, she can see something everyone else can not.

"No, its not that anything is wrong, its just that... well... Kestrel is trying to take it easy right? But if he goes to a zoo and hikes up a mountain, and people see his influence over wild untamed animals, aswel as having his PTSD, the attention that will be gained isn't what a person trying to take it easy wants to have, I mean afterall, he has just become a famous celebrity, and as you can see it's having an immediate effect.." - Megumi motions with her head and right hand for Yui look over towards Kestrel, whom by now is once again being gazed upon by mothers, fathers and their children, and Tomoe seems to be having difficulty of trying to deal with so many words, offers and questions at once, the sweat drop on the side of her temple, nervous expression with a partialy open mouth makes it very evident.

"..So what I'm saying is, I think were going to be having it well, sort of not very easy, if anything if Kes was to suffer a turn and nobody around was here to help him, we can't trust the inexperiance of the people around us to deal with it. So what I'm saying is, Kestrel is like some wild animal when you think carefuly, and if we suddenly introduce him to all these crowded areas and masses of people that will be in his face, who's to say that his reaction will be a pleasant one... or if in the worst case scenario a bad one" - Megumi finishes, the Japanese beauty suddenly having a look of concern on her face as she leans the left side of her body against the side of the bus, the female even going so far as to place her hands on her lap as if to show the awkwardness possibility to the current situation the infant finds himself in.

Yui's reaction to Megumi is for the first few seconds one of bewilderment, the woman allowing all of Megumi's words to filter into her brain, and if the black haired Yui was to say she is NOT at first alarmed at not thinking of those factors, then she would be lying, a chill seems to go up Yui's spine for a few seconds, every hair on the back of the woman's neck seems to stand up with fear, and a feeling of sickness hits the gut hard, however... thankfuly, that feeling goes away as another thought hits home and causes a warm pleasant feeling to replace the illness. An open mouth with eyes to match appears before an open smile appears and a feeling of relief washes over the said woman, the black haired Yui turns briefly to look at Kestrel before looking back at Megumi and speaking in a very reassuring tone.

"I wouldn't be too worried, I just happen to remember that there will be qualified medics to deal with any illnesses or injuries sustained if in the odd case on this venture. I know this so because I remember seeing them board Ichika's bus, I know that they aren't qualified to deal with mental sickness, but if Kestrel should be alone and something occurs, he will at least have someone to turn to if need be".

"If injured physically, they don't know a thing about treating mental illnesses. If you ask me, if we are going to treat Kestrel to a break, not one of us should let him out of our sights, that includes Ichika, I know we can't go into a bath house or public bathroom with him, but Ichika can... I'm not trying to cause obsticles you understand? Its just that although I don't know much about PTSD, I do know how to ensure safety" - Megumi responds in a flat and calm tone, the female raising her right arm and hand to form the 'Wha!?' position as she speaks before lowering her arm and hand and resting them on her lap.

"Yeah I know, and I can't thank you enough for that, I'm sure Kestrel would say the same if he could understand what we are saying, and if you ask me I can't aggree with you more with that idea. I know that the docs we have with us are ineffeciant to deal with Kestrel's traumas, but if combined with our knowledge and assistance like you say, we should be able to form a next to perfect back up program, that way we can all take it easy aswel as to ensure that Kes gets treatment if needed, in the meantime... I suggest we just take it easy in mind ourselves, worrying won't solve any problems, I suggest we do as you say, but... we can let our hair down ourselves, afterall... I do believe that you said yourself before we left the bus stop, that you were.. 'Going to give Kes the break of his life'". - Yui replies, firstly in a calm explinatory tone before lifting her head to look at the ceiling of the bus and rolling her eyes at the mentioning of Megumi's words to which cause the Japanese beauty to smile and pipe up, a look of excitement replaces the look of worry, and the Japanese beauty smirks in a confident manner to herself, the female half closes her eyes and rolls them slowly to the left, a confident and crafty tone comes from Megumi as she responds only one phrase towards Yui.

"I'd forgotten about that"

"I take it you know how to realy celebrate and party? Leaving our concerns aside, what excataly do you have in mind to start us off?" - Yui asks her question with great care, though Yui appears to speak in support of what ever Megumi has in mind for partying wigh Kestrel, the woman is not as dense as one would assume, even though she knows that Tomoe's older sister means well for the scar faced Israeli youngster, she knows all too well, mostly coming in the form of warnings from Tomoe... to NOT let Megumi have her way when concerning ideas for another person's entertainment. That is made clear as the woman raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to left as if to take a bold approach, the woman maintains her smile even though a look of slight nerve is on the woman's face, clearly showing Yui's competence as a reliable person.

Megumi's response to Yui's words is responded to with an immediate reaction, the dark blue haired Japanese female sits up straight and straightens her posture, sitting in a very lady like manner, despite her tomboyish, mischievous nature. The Japanese female then turns her head to look out of the window, and observes the masses of fields, the mix of green grass matched with the mountainous hills make the stretch of road look like a summer paradise heading into the ever receding distance, yet the purple, pink, blue and yellow flowers that bloom along side of the road pass by without being noticed, even at this moment as the day begins to turn to evening, its clear that an aura of positivity is in the air, as if to say that Kestrel's summer break is going to be one to remember.

Megumi blinks with a very excited and girlish smile, her eyes gaze at the blue summer sky for a good few minutes before turning to face Yui in the eyes whom by now is looking at the said Japanese female with a very pleasant expression. Megumi closes her eyes in a 3 second blink for a second before shaking her head slowly and smiling in a warm and pleasant tone, yet the tone of excited nature is in the female's voice as if like a young child awaiting to go on a much wanted vacation to some large place of wonder and exotic nature. The only way to describe Megumi's excited tone in words is as if she is a little child awaiting to go to a disney land resort with her siblings. Thankfuly, Megumi manages to speak in a mature like manner, but non the less the excited tone is in the female's voice -

"Well, to be honest I guess you could say that for once, I'm gonna accept Tomo's pissing and moaning to not let Kes get involved in activities I consider fun for once"

"That would be... mud surf boarding and painting dogs in differant colours?" - Yui replies in a calm and pleasant tone, the woman sweat drops as she speaks and smiles in a pleasant yet very awkward manner. However, as expected Megumi's reaction matches that of Yui's, the dark blue female lifts her right arm and places her right hand and the back of her head as if to say 'My bad'. Megumi closes her eyes and slowly shakes her head, tittering for a few seconds before lowering her arm and hand, opening her eyes and looking at Yui regaining her look of excitement and eagerness, which is matched by an equaly eager voice -

"Heh,heh... no, nothing like that. No, what I have in mind is for Kes to get to experiance real fun, nothing cheap, seedy and inappropriate but rather discovering that he can turn and look to me for real support in life. Hey, trust me... if I could contact some friends of mine, Kes would be riding to our hotel right now in an open top shiner of a car, top down, wind roaring through his hair, a perfect prequel to a honeymoon that I have in mind when Kes turns eighteen!" - Megumi puts in, the female looking up at the roof of the bus and going off into a brief daydream before snapping herself back and looking at Yui, whom merely sweatdrops at hearing Megumi's words, yet the female maintains a pleasant expression and atmosphere even though she is more or less saying to herself 'Oh boy! Tell me that all teenage girls are like this!? Never was like that when I was a teen'.

Megumi continues speaking in her calm and eager tone, the female's smile not dropping for a single second as she looks the black haired Yui in the eyes - "See, I'm more or less going to teach Kes how to live it up for once, in the calmest possible way ofcourse. Give him a taste of freedom, get some spiritual confidence in him, and by that I'm going to have Kes taste and enjoy a bit of a boy'ish life. Surrounded by beautiful women.." - Megumi raises the thumb on her right hand and places the tip of it against her chest, causing Yui to blink and sweat drop.. yet again!

"..Getting plenty of spotlight placed on him.."

Yui rolls her eyes and her smile drops, the woman looks up at the roof of the bus and shakes her head as if to silently say, 'Bad idea'. Obviously because of two things, to which Megumi has not yet managed to grasp, one.. Kestrel hates being the center of attention which has been made clear on numberous occasions, and two.. Kestrel is trying to have a quiet life, not being filled with rock and roll parties and having people cheer for him like in some big headed teenage boy's fantasy. Thankfuly Yui does not speak her mind and mearly allows Megumi to continue whom thankfuly does not notice Yui's head shaking and roll of the eyes.

"..Effectively, I'm going to teach Kessie over there to have some fun for once in his life. I mean, after all... he needs a good role model in his life" - Megumi finishes in a proud tone, the female now leaning back in her seat and placing the finger tips of her left hand to her chest in a near conceited manner like that of Cecilia, to which causes Yui to regain a small smile, but the woman clearly has a look of doubt on her face, but ofcourse.. that does not mean that she don't appreciate the teenage girl's enthusiasim, its exactaly the type thats needed to build some happy memories for young Kestrel's troubled mind, and to hopefuly wash away the trauma inflicted and to maybe even stop his turns.

Yui takes a quick glance over towards Kestrel, whom is in the misfortune of looking as glumm as ever, the infant gazes at the back of the bus seat and holds his head low, a look of utter and untold exhaustion is on the infant's face as he looks with a depressed expression at the back of the bus seat, the scar faced boy appears to be holding onto himself, as if trying to defend his arms and body from some freezing cold wind, the look of distress is clearly a set back from having psychotherapy and having to re-open some mental wounds, along with being surrounded by numbers of men, women and children whom un-intentionaly are causing upset and distress. Yui's expression changes to one of un-told pity and upset at seeing Kestrel clearly being upset and un-able to swallow his pain. Tomoe despite holding up both hands and constantly turning to look into the faces of the men, women and children around is clearly fighting as best she can, but the female is clearly overwhelmed. Understandably, this is down side to being famous, other people constantly buzz around and cause a loss of privacy.

Megumi notices this and continues to speak to Yui, the female's voice is mixed with irritation at the sight aswel as sympathy for the scar faced Kestrel, whom clearly isn't able to deal with the alien enviroment around him, clearly making it believable that the infant can best be described as a wild animal at times.

"Something tells me I ought to get Kestrel some headphones and a music player, that way Kestrel wouldn't have to put up with stuff like that".

Yui turns her head to the left to look at Megumi whom by now has her back resting firmly against the bus seat, by now many of the mothers and fathers are silent in the 3 rows behind Megumi and the 2 rows infront, the family members are clearly letting their ears be all open and listen very carefuly to what is being said from the two females, the pair of females clearly being the closest to understanding the young scar faced celebrity than finding things out for themselves, thankfuly the children are not as interested in hearing what Megumi and Yui have to say and instead continue to speak in eager tones towards Tomoe in hopes that Kestrel will respond instead.

Yui responds to Megumi's words in a confused "Hm?", before allowing each and every word to filter to her mind and after taking one more look over towards Kestrel looks back at Megumi and shrugs with a brief closure of the eyes and head tilt to the right. The woman's voice is low yet very clear for Megumi to understand - "I don't know about that, Kes tends to sing when ever stressed or upset, so maybe we ought not to up and rush to purchase him something. Not that it's a bad idea, its just rather with Kestrel running under survival instincts, I would imagine that he would value something to eat or drink, or at least wear".

Megumi responds to Yui's words with a somewhat surprised expression, the blue haired Japanese beauty blinks and turns her head to the right to look into Yui's eyes and speaks with a tone of surprise - "Oh? Is that a fact, he would rather value clothing, food and drink instead of individual items of lesuire?".

Yui replies in a tone as if its a matter of fact, the woman glances back to the left to look at the glumm expression on Kestrel's face before looking back at the amazed face of Megumi Yui's words are spoken in a careful manner is if not to cause upset or touch a nerve - "Its not a fact, I just have that gut feeling that theres a lot more to Kestrel than what meets the eye, I mean, ever since he's been here he hasn't once shown interest in electronics, movies, play things and such, I guess all that matters to Kestrel are things that will ensure survival".

A mother with short black hair and brown eyes is next to speak, she tenderly holds her daughter in her arms, sitting her brunette pigtailed daugther on her lap while her husband holds onto his black haired son. The mother's voice is full of pity which causes Megumi and Yui to look down two rows and smile awkwardly before looking at each other again and continueing their discussion. - "That poor child".

"Ah, heh-heh... yeah, but anyway, as I was saying... I intend to let Kes have the time of his life this summer break, and during this occasion I'm going to give Kes have a very good taste of a spiced up life, I'm going to make sure that Kes has done things that will give him something to smile at when he gets older" - Megumi exclaims in a proud and excited tone, the blue haired female once again getting itchy for causing mischief and speaking as if it's going to happen as a matter of fact. Yui's response is one of a small smile, a awkward feeling hits the woman in the gut at realising that having Kestrel around Megumi too much may cause some negative ressults, many of which she has been told of from Tomoe, the younger sister of the blue haired beauty clearly speaking foul of her big sister and describing her as a set of immoral hot spots, which is no surprise when one takes into account that there is a lot of rivalry between the two sisters.

At this moment the mothers and fathers behind the two females speak out again, each of which bewildered at hearing what the two females have to say. For the past few minutes the groups of mothers and fathers have been looking at each other and muttering words, their children amoungst them are too busy enjoying the ride of being on the bus, or pointing and whispering to their brothers, sisters or newly made friends about the scar faced Kestrel just a matter of feet away from them. The first of the parents to speak out is a father whom has swept back black hair, the male sits beside the bus window with his partialy shaved haired son on his lap, the male leans forwards and with an amazed tone speaks out one question to which one of the mothers with long red pigtails on the opposite side of the bus was about to ask herself - "What? That little dude has never once lived a day in his life? Has the kid lived a sheltered life or something like that?".

"Ah yeah... something like that" - Megumi replies, the young lady rolling her eyes and glancing to the right out of the window as means of trying to avoid an awkward discussion about something that she would rather keep private, she has already spilled the beans on Kestrel having PTSD, but she isn't about to let anything else be known. Thankfuly another father with thin dark framed glasses and green hair whom sits beside his long green haired wife and two green haired daughters reminds the previously spoken father about Kestrel's reason for being silent and solitary - "Ah, he has PTSD remember? I guess he's never once done something innocent or mischievous, unlike our little scally-wags!" - The father turns to look down at his two daughters whom smirk and look away from their father whom smiles in an affectionate manner to his children, the mother of the two is next to speak, yet its a downer in terms of speaking about her husband -

"And I wonder where they get that from!?".

"So that poor lill' chum hasn't had any life before!? Well, its all the more reason why us here help out, after all... he is a hero, he saved my mother and father's lives so its only right we do something in return" - Another father speaks out, the father sits two seats back from behind the last father whom spoke out.

"Well its not that we don't the appreciate the offers but really, I think that if anyone wants to help, its best not to get in his face. Remember, Kestrel isn't like most boys and he's like a wild animal, so what childhood happiness everyone here has in their memories, Kestrel does not have the slightest fraction" - Tomoe speaks out, the female now lowering her arms and beginning to get some much needed relief, now that most attention is now being directed over towards her sister and Yui, obviously much to Tomoe's relief, whom is now able to reach and take the soft hand of Kestrel's in that of her own.

"S'right, you name it Kes hasn't done it... Like for instance he's never snook a piece of wedding cake and blamed it on my sister" - Megumi suddenly blurts out, causing a temper patch to immediately appear on Tomoe's temple, intense flame auras erupt from round the female as she stormly shoots a look of violent death and destruction over towards her older sister. The smile on Megumi vanishes and look of fear and guilt is upon the female's face, Megumi clearly wishing she hadn't opened her mouth for the second time this afternoon. Tomoe's rage seems to attract nearly every last person on the bus as she casts a life threatening glare over to Megumi whom smirks with nervous confidence and remains frozen on the spot like coloured ice.

"I knew it! So that's what happened! That time when mother went mad, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck because a piece of uncle Isso's wedding cake was cut and missing... she blamed me for it. Megumi... I was grounded for over a week, I was spanked so hard on the backside I couldn't sit down properly for nearly half an entire day, I was labelled a theif for a crime a didn't commit, I was shouted at so loud I nearly wet myself, I wasn't allowed to go outside for over several days, I was crying like hell for hours each and every day and all you ever did was laugh and point jokes at me... even after I was allowed outside and eat treats again, I wasn't able to sleep for days knowing that I was blamed for something I didn't do, I was crying an ocean because of what had happened and I was rubbing my.. backside constantly BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMN JOKE!?" - Tomoe roars out in an enraged manner, at first speaking in a very venomous hiss before exploding in anger and causing every face and eye on the bus to shoot over towards her direction, the boys and girls that are close to their mothers and fathers leap in terror and cling to tightly to their parents, whom return some comfort by effectively sheilding their infants from the enraged Tomoe, mostly coming in the form of placing hands on the sides of their children's heads and embracing them warmly.

Kestrel is brought out of his gloomy mood and turns his small head to look to the left to observe Tomoe whom has now stood up from her her seat and has her hands balled into fists and trembling with masses of rage and temper, the infant's heart beat is steady, which is incredible for a young boy whom can feel and see hostility from an older person from over a mile away, but then again ofcourse... Kestrel must have had worse in his life, and merely blinks with confusion, which is to be expected as the hostility is not directed towards him.

Megumi regains colour to her face and half closes her eyes, the female regains her posture and sits up straight as if to challenge her younger sister to a fight, instead of showing a challenging expression the Japanese female merely lifts her right arm to the 'Wha' position, looks her angered younger sister in the eyes and in a tone which matches a person whom is not taking the blame, or can't be bothered of course speaks only one phrase in a comfortable and huffed tone, matched my a slight tilt of the head to the right as she speaks -

"You take things to seriously, thats your trouble sis!".

Tomoe's reaction to her older sister's words are not positive, the Japanese beauty maintains her explosive glare, though a creepy and sinister smile appears on Tomoe's face, its clear that the female wants nothing more than to murder her big sister, the right eye on Tomoe's face twitches and the female lifts her right arm and hand, both are shaking in a very, very unstable manner, the balled fist forms an index finger which is directed straight at Megumi's face, but what comes next causes every last mother and father to cover their child's ears in anticipation, which proves dead on target and correct as the assumption of a foul word comes from Tomoe's mouth as she points in rage at her older sister, tome first speaks in a very creepy, friendly and calm hiss before giving way to a deep set of angered and low toned spoken words - "Megumi... You... Are... A... ****ing... One hundred percent, twenty four carrot evil hearted, immoral minded, back stabbing, piss drinking, dirty little Bas.."

**(Author's note: Trying saying that long insult 3 times faster! XD!)**

"I..Is there something wrong miss?" - A nervous yet cheerful female voice calls out, cutting off Tomoe from condamning her big sister. From below on his seat Kestrel shifts his attention from Tomoe's shaking hand to the right, the infant's eyes are greeted with the smiling but nervous face of the female bus attendant, whom stands a matter of feet away from Tomoe but has her hands set neatly in front of her, the left hand placed over the right below the waist and at her front in a very lady like manner. The smiling face of the bus attendant shows a sign of authority, but its clear that Tomoe's angered face and explosive temper is causing a lot of nervous effects on the bus around her. From the front rows Cecilia and Charlotte are now able to see what is happening behind them, the two blondes have slightly white and nervous faces, the pair are wide eyed and cast briefly nervous expressions to each other, dead silence comes from the pair, even as they look back up the rows the pair remain dead silent.

Tomoe's angered expression upon looking at the bus attendant causes the said female to flinch in alarm, but thankfuly Tomoe is able to regain a peaceful look on her face and proceedes to raise her left arm, placing the palm of the left hand at the back of her head as if to say 'My bad'. Tomoe titters in an embrassed yet awkward manner as the hostility dies away in a near instant manner. The Japanese beauty wastes no time in rapidly making respectful bows and repeatingly repeating a set of phrases twice - "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was dealing with my sister, I was dealing with my sister, I didn't mean to cause a scene, I didn't mean to cause a scene".

Taking the chance to avoid being seen as the trouble maker, Megumi turns her attention back to Yui, the Japanese beauty effectively taking the chance to act like the numbers of mothers and fathers whom now turn to their children and give strict instructions for them not to repeat the words that Tomoe has more or less just screamed out in a fit of temper, but then again... in Tomoe's defence, stress and irritation is more or less the main problem that Tomoe suffers from the hands of her older sister, as one has no boubt experianced for themselves about how much a pain in the ass a brother or sister is at times.

Yui frowns in a surprised and stunned manner, but clearly unable to calculate the ressults of what has happened, and thankfuly unable to understand a word that Megumi is saying as her hearing is focused on Tomoe whom now has her hands raised as if surrendering to a gunman and rapidly blurting out vast phrases of appology, a faint blush is on the girl's face as she speaks in explination to the bus attendant, whom in return is smiling kindly albiet in a nervous manner as the atmosphere is heavy due to Tomoe's blurt of anger.

"Ah.. err.. well.." - Megumi begins, balling her left hand and raising it to her mouth to clear her throat in a slight cough before continueing to speak on to a stunned and bewildered Yui, whom is torn between looking at the embarrassed Tomoe and the guilty sounding Megumi.

"As I was saying, I'm going to give Kes the party of his life, because you know as well as I do that Kes hasn't had any fun in his life. My intention is to see how fun it is to do the things that I've done... ah... you know like... taken a can of whipped cream and squirted in the mouth when bored.. written an insult on the back of someone who is considered a fiqure of fun.. and done what me and some of the girls used to do in our own highschool years, sneak out of school to walk along railroad tracks and spend money on clothing, or break into cars and plant women's under yummies in strategic places to make wives and girlfriends think their husbands or boyfriends are cheats!".

"Or pick on neighbours like you with that Hanako woman for some strange reason?" - Yui adds, the woman seemingly able to derail Megumi's act of being innocent, causing the curvy and stunning blue haired female to flinch backwards in stunned shock the female now resting her hands on her lap and leaning back a fraction. Megumi's response to the now inquisitive Yui is one phrase, the way she speaks is like a girl whom has just been caught cheating on her lover - "I..I'm sorry? What was that?".

"Last I heard you had caused some upset to that elderly lady who lives next to door to you, ruined her flowers by what Tomoe has told me, was... there any reason of why you did that? Will you allow me to know what it was you did?" - Yui asks, the woman now casting a smug expression to the stunned Megumi. Whom in turn folds her arms, closes her eyes, sits up straight and turns her head to the left in a slightly upward manner, nose in the air as if she is a girl whom is ignoring her boyfriend or like a person whom is not going to work or make any effort with something. To match this act, Megumi speaks in a slightly evasive yet very offended like manner - "Nothing! Even if I did do something it would have been for a justified reason, but for once I can say that what Tomoe has accused me of was not an act I commited, I mean... God in heaven... why do you all think so badly of me!?".

**\- ( Briefly back to Tomoe's home, next door, back yard ) -**

Set in a ten foot wide by eighteen foot long back garden with rich green grass boarderd by large sets of purple, pink, yellow and blue flowers, a set of concrette stepping stones lay the length on the right hand corner of the garden, set in a snake like twisting pattern from the steps of a white summer house leading down to a beautiful crafted rockery a set of twisted and entwined flowers stand dead in the middle of the garden lawn. From careful examination of the left hand side of the garden boarders, the sights of flowers ripped out of the dirt can be made out, the small holes mark the spots where the flowers once lay. Most flowers ripped out of the ground match those of the traditional small garden choice, even so, the small sets of bushes that remain in the garden make it appear like that of a loving couple, or at least what one would imagine of a married pair.

However, the most distinguising feature of the the garden is the sets of flowers ripped out of the ground and formed together like one would do if making a daisy chain or a crown only instead to form a word in English, the letter that each of the flowers form are at least 1ft high and set a few inches apart from each other. The word is set directly in the middle of the lawn to ensure a person can see it from a bedroom window in clear view. The word formed and set upon the ground is short and straight to the point, perfect for one female insulting another. There in clear view, each letter 1ft high made out of entwined flowers the word reveals itself..

"SKANK".

**\- ( Back with Tomoe, Kestrel and Co ) -**

As all this occurs many of the mothers and fathers turn to face each other, whispering fills the bus as the children come out of huddling into their parents. From the front Cecilia and Charlotte cast alarmed expressions at each other, the pair clearly unable to believe that they have seen a side of Tomoe that they themselves have not before seen. Kestrel and Yui just happen to make eye contact and sweat drop at the same time together. Thankfuly for Tomoe, the female bus attendant is one whom listens to what is being said and before she knows it the matter is settled within a few minutes, but even so... its technically a bad start to a propper summer break, but after a matter of 20 minutes, the Japanese beauty is able to regain her seat and the feeling of guilt and embrassment is swallowed as the beauty feels the soft, warm comforting embrace of Kestrel's small hand in that of her own. The scar faced Kestrel smiles in a very comforting and warm manner at the older female, causing Tomoe to blush with a scheer level of bashfulness but the smile on her face that is sent back clearly gives Kestrel the message that his gesture of human kindess is very much welcome despite the unfortunate incident, which strangely enough causes a level of ego to fill Tomoe's heart. However, as Tomoe is not a big headed person, the female merely returns Kestrel's hand embracement and as a bonus the scar faced infant happily allows Tomoe to pull him into her side and together for the rest of the journey, the pair remain close.

From down in the front rows, Cecilia and Charlotte happen to notice and smile warmly at the sight, the pair then proceede to smile at each other and return to their awaiting fans whom are soon to proceede asking questions and giving praise again.

As Tomoe and Kestrel snuggle deeper and deeper into each other, a feeling of warmth and security lays in the air, as if the pair are the perfect match for each other. Unfortuneatley for Cecilia and Charlotte whom catch sight of the pair embracing each other, the pair of females feel a weight crash down on their shoulders, an image of Ichika appears in the female's minds, the european blondes at this point begin become a mass of brewing and conflicting emotions, their hearts swell with excitement and a burst of confidence hits hard in the chest, causing both females to sit up straight and puff out their chests as being ready to strut. Unbeknowst to each other, both females have the same thought in mind which is spoken in mind in a very excited and confident manner - ( "That's it, Kestrel and Tomoe are able to be together but me and Ichika are standing Idle... well... That does it, the minute I get a chance to be alone with Ichika... I'm not holding back... I'm going to come out and tell him how I feel... I don't care if he turns me down or not, I'm not giving him up... I'm gonna tell Ichika that I love him!" ).

**\- ( Briefly with Ichika ) -**

Sat on the back of the first bus, with Rin and Houki straddling his sides, clinging tightly onto his arms, both have their eyes closed and are in a dreamy state of mind, the happy smiles prove the girly girly attitude on the females whom appear to ressemble a cat thats got the cream. However, Ichika whom looks nervous as hell, suddenly goes wide eyed as a chill rushes up his spine, the male feels sick to the gut as a horrible mass of invisible bad omen seems to land upon his shoulders, the Japanese male wastes no time and gulps in a nervous yet very silent manner to prevent both females whom rest their heads into his chest from hearing his gulp. The Japanese male goes ice cold and looks at the roof of the bus and blinks in a very nervous state, tears of fear seem to fill his eyes as he silently proceedes to pray to which ever god will listen, in his mind... Ichika's voice is terror stricken, the Japanese male's nerves have somehow gotten the feeling that his girl troubles are not yet over with, not by a mass of years and the male for all his denseness to love is a mix of excitement, yet at the same time sick to his gut, knowing that if he is to pick Houki or Rin to be his girlfriend, he has to hurt and turn away the other, and following Rin's declaration of killing herself and him with her... Ichika feels very vulnerable and open to attack, and all it takes is another blow to make him cry... one thing is for sure, love sure is a very tough and complicated thing,  
not that he asked for any of this... he is afterall a victim - per say ofcourse.

\- ( "God help me, please... if Cecilia, Laura and Char confess love to me and Rin and Houki find out, or worse they all find out, I think I'm gonna scream like a girl and cry like a child, please... oh god, oh god, oh god! P..Please, help me!" ).

_**Okay readers, that's chapter 93, well... things are looking up for Tomoe and Kestrel, but the same can't be said for Ichika, stick around and see what happens in the next chapter because that starts summer vacation. Now as you readers are aware, its late October 2016 ( For now that is ), so that means Halloween is coming up, so if you readers want to avoid all those god annoying trick or treaters, do what I do... close curtains or blinds, if you have driveway gates, chain and lock them, keep as many lights off as possible and be as silent as you can, and... most important... if any one knocks on your door or rings the bell, do NOT answer it, pretend your not home. That's how I deal with it! *Kind smile*.**_

_**So, anyway... moving on with closing address, I can't thank you readers enough for following this fic, thanks a bunch if you like it, remember, friendly voices and encouragement keeps it going. I don't have much to ask other than please put all comments, reviews and requests in the open comments section.**_

_**Please forgive the delays, but as always I keep my word and get as many chapters done as possible, don't know when the next chapter is coming out, hopefully it will be in December time or something like that. For you readers who have your own fics, may they all get the best reviews and comments of their own and above all else as usual... stay cool you readers, see you all as soon as I can, wishing everyone good health and wishing you supporters the best.**_

_**Until the next chapter..**_

_**Stay cool..**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	94. Chapter 94: Duo Confession

**_Hello Readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised with a new chapter, delayed I know but you all know the drill, delays happen and its something that sometimes you cant do anything about, firstly I'd like to say thanks a bunch for following on this fic, nice to know that there are people that respect it, and secondly I'd like to say that it's coming Christmas time so I wanted to get this chapter out of the way as hoped for, which I guess you can say is something to be impressed with. Oh! As a bonus for you history lovers, during November I had my chance to pay respect to all British and French troops that died during the Battle of the Somme which began on that god awful day of July 1st and ended on November 18th 1916. For those who don't know the full and total casualties numbering British, French and German together it comes to a total of 1,120,000, one of the most bloodiest battles in history. If you may be interested in that battle I know 2 Very good documentaries about it titled - The Somme from Defeat to Victory, and Battlefield detectives Battle Of The Somme. - Both of which can be found on Youtube._**

Okay, thankfuly I don't have much to say during introductions except for the usual, please read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.

Taming Kestrel Chapter 94

**\- Unknown Japanese suburban area, 22:00pm, suburban street area -**

Darkness has seized the sky, and what ever light now occupies the streets of an un-named large town comes from large sets of yellow and white street lights, traffic signals that flash red, before turning to green, large numbers of white car headlights drive throughout the streets, many left and right indicators flash yellow in repeated rhythm as some vehicles make left and right turns. Sat side by side each other in a darkened bus which remains on the move, a dark blue haired Megumi stares in excitement at the street lights that pass by from outside the large bus window, on her right sits the black haired Yui whom every now and then looks down the isle of bus seats and towards a small set of white highlighted numbers on a panel just above the driver's seat on the right hand side of the bus, the panel is directly in the middle of the bus, therefore allowing the entire rows to see what time it is. The black haired Japanese woman has the look of glumness on her face as she lets out a very silent huffed sigh and rolls her eyes, the Japanese woman is a mix with differant feelings and emotions. The conversation with the older sister of Tomoe has left the woman a mix of ill emotions, and the repeated humming tune that Megumi has been making a mere hour or so ago as conversations began to die down hasn't helped either. The reason why is due to a final discussion with Megumi whom finaly proved the fact that she WILL in fact be a drive in giving the long black haired Israeli infant known as Kestrel a full dose of what she proudly claims as - "The Megumi Program" in an bet that she can get the scar faced infant to have fun. The fact being proven as the dark blue haired female pointed to her head then lowering her index finger to her temple in a manner of telling Yui to ignore the sensible sheltered mind area and to live in the impulse zone. That in itself was made even more clear as the Japanese female had joyfuly began singing - "Nobody's gonna take my Kes, Gonna teach him to have Fuu-uu-nn!".

Taking the chance to look at the said infant, the office female notices to her surprise that Kestrel is still awake, the infant is gazing to the right out of the bus window on his side of the bus and is in all likelihood overwhelmed at the sight of so many differant coloured lights, but then again, that is to be expected when one remembers the fact that the world around the infant is very alien and un-discovered. By now all is very silent and the only sounds that fill the bus is the humming throb of the engines and the silent chatter between the mothers and fathers on the bus whom now speak in a silent manner as best not to disturb their sleeping children, on the left side of the scar faced Kestrel sits the dark blue haired Tomoe whom remains in hand in hand with the scar faced Kestrel. The dark blue haired Tomoe maintains a small but very evident smile on her face and her eyes are half open as she joins the scar faced Kestrel in gazing out the bus window.

Smiling in a slight form of affection, the dark haired Yui gets the image that the atmosphere is pleasant and is about to turn to look back out of the window on her left when she notices something out of interest, Kestrel's long black hair in the darkness has the blackest colour she has ever seen, sure many people have black hair with a rich darkness, but Kestrel's hair holds a blackness that is so dark that the shine on the infant's hair is naturaly made as street light hits it, its so black that it's undescribable, even Ichika's hair can't compare to the blackness of Kestrel's long hair that cascades down the infant's back. Smirking with affection, Yui turns her attention away from the young couple and back towards Megumi. From the front rows down, the two European blondes Charlotte and Cecilia are apparently in a state of slumber, the pair are in such a state of comfort that they have fallen asleep against each other, the eyes on the girls are closed but the mouths are fractionaly open, but only maybe by an inch or at least half that. Despite being at ease, the two females have had their first taste of the experiance of being celebrities, to which has been very exhausting, but that is only to be expected, when one takes in the fact that there has been constant answering questions, smiling and conversing with people never met before, and the sounds of engine of the bus and the soothing embrace of being on the move make the feeling of relaxation change to all too welcome embrace of slumber.

As for Kestrel whom remains awake, the ability to remain awake can only be a case of his youth, or failing that.. the feeling of tense nerves due to being around strangers. Even so, the infant is still bewildered at the sight outside the bus window. The scar on Kestrel's face blazes with pride in the glowing glory of the street lights, that flash past in a matter of seconds apart. The infant is so overwhelmed with curiosity and amazement, that many of the stores, malls and night clubs that go past are un-noticed in great detail, as soon as Kestrel notices a group of men, women and teenagers moving hitting the town like any normal wild hearted and active person would whilst in their prime, another sight snaps the attention away. Even so, Kestrel notices a set of night clubs lit up in bright glory, but as the words are all displayed in Japanese, its next to impossible to know what they mean. As the bus passes a set of attractions on the right, the young Israeli notices what appears to be what looks like an amusement arcade, large sets of machines and arcade machines are lit up brightly and masses of young boys and girls, many of which are teens or young adults sat on what look like race driver seats, others are enjoying shooter games and prize grabbers, the white, red, blue, green and yellow lights match the yellow and red checkered coloured carpet floors that suit the gamer's atmosphere proudly. The arcade building is massive, 4 stories high and has a large width. The next building that catches Kestrel's attention is what appears to be a cassino, 5 floors high, green and white lights flash and upon the walls on lit up boards are words set in english - 'LUCKY'. The green flashing lit up words on the roof of the building flash the word - 'BINGO' in english. Gold letters are emblazoned largely at the entrance to the building they to are in english and the word - 'LUCKY BINGO' is emblazoned. Kestrel just notices security guards and bouncers, all wearing black suits standing at the entrance doors and allowing people over 18 to enter, which in all fairness is a wise thing to do when one remembers that adults are the only ones allowed to gamble.

The next building complex that goes past Kestrel's gaze is a building which appears to be a fancy five star restaurant, the infant can see classy people wearing a range of suits and dresses sat down at mahogany coloured chairs with tables drapped in white coloured cloth, all of which set up with silver shinning dining utensils and wine glasses, many of which hold red wine. What food it is that the many sophisticated adults eat is anyone's guess, but the waiters whom all where white and black suits, ties and shoes clearly give the atmopshere away that it is in fact a five star restaurant. Purple and pink background signs housing slogans and various text is displayed with white letters in Japanese. What comes next is an adult rated night club with what appears to be boarded up windows and instead of glass, large poster signs of women posing for photography and wearing next to nothing is set on blue protective wood as if to block out outside views, 3 young men with black hair are seen enter the club, and can only just be seen pulling out small identity cards to prove that they are over 18 years of age. On a large white billboard sign on the 4 floored building large english letters speak the words - 'NUDES ON BREAK'. Other signs and notice boards are set in Japanese texted words outside the nightclub as if to warn minors from entering, thankfuly... for a troubled and traumitised infant like Kestrel, the type of night club it is remains unknown, and the last thing needed is a trigger for another turn.

Minutes seem to be like hours as the bus travels through the many coloured streets, along the way Kestrel happens to notice more and more coloured and lit up signs in the darkness, one of which flashes gold english text set on a diamond shaped board, multipule coloured star lights twinkle and flash before the gold flashing text spelling the words - 'DIAMOND GEEZERS CASINO'. Following that, comes another 4 floored building complex with a black coloured texted sign writen in French set upon a plain white background billboard, from the ground view a set of French flags can be seen at some dining tables, but the atmosphere and such is the same seen at the last observed five star restaurant, large numbers of staff and people dining can be seen through the large clean glass window. The next building complex seen is an American style nightclub with a large lit up lettered entrance sign set against the outer walls spelling one word - 'HOOTERS'. Other english texted writing can be seen amongst ground signs and on wall signs, the majority of which is in english but there is the added bonus of some Japanese texted signs, but they may as well be writen in Greek because they can't be understood by the curious and oblivious minded Kestrel. More and more nightclubs are passed as the bus ride continues on, but Kestrel can't understand a word that is been displayed before him, the streets are packed with people, large numbers of men and women and teenagers are hitting the streets, the atmosphere is so positive that its impossible to believe that a few days earlier nothing but misery and hell was erupting on Japanese soil during the drone attacks, hopefuly as far as Kestrel is concerned, his status as a heroic celebrity has not sunk in very well round these parts, and if anything it's the adults that don't cause the fuss, and as the children by now are all in bed in this unknown town, Kestrel's chances of a good clean appearance with no trouble and annoying fuss is very high.

Sadly though, Kestrel's nerves are already active, but only on a minimal scale, as one must remember that Kestrel's reaction to such sights is sometimes very alien and alarming, as Ichika himself was made all to aware of during the IS academy leaving party in one of the large main halls. Even as Kestrel's bus passes by a large amusement park filled to the brim with teenagers and young adults on vacation, the sight of a large roller coaster suddenly diving towards the ground and spiraling and making accrobatics on it's rails causes the infant to blink and stare in near shock, thankfuly Kestrel can't hear the screams of joy and excitement from the mass groups of teens on the roller coaster, but the titled name enough causes the infant to get the image that everything is very wild out here. Set on a large black coloured billboard over 200ft above the ground, the glowing red english texted letters spell the words - 'Satan's ride'. The scar faced Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes his head in an attempt to quell the nerves that now cause his small heart to beat in a terrified manner. As the bus comes to a stop at a set of traffic signals, the cars that move past the infant can be seen in many differant forms, some are ferraris, others are lamborghinis, others are open top sporting cars and the mass dozens of people walking along the side walks wear mass variety of summer clothing. The majority of transport around the infant is normal automobile transport, but the fact that this town is clearly a thrill seekers dream makes it clear that maybe coming out on this sponsored vacation may not have been quite the best idea as what was believed.

The young scar faced infant blinks after shaking his small head, the infant raises his right hand and arm, the infant rubs his eyes with his fingers, lowers his arm and hand and blinks. The scar faced Kestrel turns his head rapidly from left to right, up and down to gaze at the sight before him. The lights, the noise, the letter X, the over stimulation of it all causes the scar faced Kestrel to panic, thankfuly, the feeling is quelled as a soft sensation squeezes down on his left hand, a feeling of warmth returns to his heart and the infant begins to suddenly feel at ease. From on his left the dark blue haired Tomoe feels as if she is the luckiest girl on earth, Kestrel's response to the Japanese beauty is an innocent turn of the head and look upwards, quickly making eye contact with Tomoe and exchanging small smiles. Taking the chance to enjoy some time alone, Tomoe wastes no time and pulls the scar faced infant into her side, Kestrel's response is one of surprise as the Israeli infant looks at the back of the seats in front of him, looking at nothing in particular but the slightly open eyes make it clear that no matter how one looks at it, he didn't see that coming. Thankfuly Kestrel's response turns into positivity and as Tomoe pulls the scar faced boy into her side, the amazingly soft and warm feeling of Kestrel's body blends and melts into that of Tomoe's soft warmth. The slight smell of Tomoe's perfume matched with the fresh clean smell of the said female's hair seems to make Kestrel's small heart become more and more at ease, Tomoe's heart however seems to pick up pace, but its a good feeling of happiness that fills every nook and cranny in her teenage heart. As the pair snuggle into each other, the bus journey seems to become eternal and the happy and loving smile on Tomoe's face seems to make it all the more comfortable, the female closes her eyes and rests her chin on Kestrel's head, Kestrel on the other hand keeps his eyes open and his face is straight, but as the infant feels Tomoe's hand every now and then sqeeze, a small smile forms on his face.

From across from the pair Yui just happens to notice how quickly Tomoe has able to gain control of the situation aswel as show her feelings, the black haired female smiles with affection and shakes her head as if to say - 'Youth!'. Megumi whom by now has her elbow resting against the bus window has her left hand balled into a fist and is resting it on the left side of her face. The dark blue haired female notices the even playing before her eyes, but strangely does not scowl, but instead smirks in a very challenging manner. The female narrows her eyes in a very crafty and cattish manner as if to show that the female gender is as they say "More devious". Megumi's smirk shows a very devilish side, but then again, the said female always has been the type that uses dis-honourable tacitcs to achieve her ends. Smiling in a very mischevious manner to herself, the dark blue haired female speaks in a very low tone to herself - "Savour that moment while you can dear sister.. because I'm not going to let you have your own selfish way with Kes, I've told you many, many times over, when I see something or someone I like, I never let go, you want a fight for Kestrel... You got one!".

Yui amazingly hears the dark blue haired female's words, and a chill runs up the female's spine, the woman frowns and slowly rolls her eyes to the left with a half open eye gaze, the woman feels the urge to up and glomp Kestrel as if to shield him from trouble. Thankfuly the nervous and now slightly twitchy left eyed Yui is able to swallow her fear, and think to herself, the woman's voice is a mix of fear but steadfast determination as she begins to think to herself - ( "Something tells me I better not let Kestrel out of my sight, It's not that I don't trust these two girls with him, rather its a case of... well... they say that they can protect him from strangers, but who can protect him from them!? Nope, I'm the closest thing Kes has to having a mother, so I guess if there is no mature adult here about to stand up and lead him, protect him and ensure a good future... then maybe I should!" ).

Yui effectively takes in a deep breath through her nostrils and allows a great feeling of calm to wash over her person, the woman closes her eyes, puts her head back and sticks out her chest as she thinks to herself, the black haired female deep in mind thinking that she has effectively helped secure a safe path for the scar faced Kestrel, rather than seeing the risk that she has put herself in, the female is effectively putting herself into a battleground between two females that effectively get along at most times like flammable liquids with fire. Thankfuly the black haired Yui can't see the signs, which is probably for the best, and for all anyone knows mabye some outside help will come, but at any rate... all the woman can do for know is do what any third person would do... watch and wait.

**\- 28 minutes later, outside a large Hostel area -**

Eventually, after a further 28 minutes of soothing rumbling of travel by road with virtualy dead silence, the bus comes to a stop after making left hand turn into a large drive way housing what appears to be 40 to 50 cars, the colour of which hard to make out in the darkness, but it is easy to make out the white, blue, red and yellow colours in the darkness, and the light emitted by the street lights and traveling cars up and down the road just a matter of feet behind a set of 4 foot high bushes, to which is a further 4 foot behind the sidewalk. Not that it matters though as most attention is directed towards a large white 4 floored building. The entrance of which appears to ressemble what one would see outside a five star mansion, at this time of night this particular building is virtualy absent from the eyes of the public, so as a ressult there is very few people outside the entrance, apart from a pair of what appear to be buisnessmen, both of which wearing black suits, black shoes that shine in the outside night lights and short black hair, both of which appear to be discussing buisness matters while taking the chance to smoke. There are ofcourse 4 other people outside, what appears to be a pair of men and a pair of women, they too are taking the chance to smoke and discuss personal or at the most buisness matters also, they too are wearing office attire, the men of which wear black ties which look as black as Kestrel's hair, however the pair have short blonde spiking hair and the two women have a blended mix of purple to fadded purple hair.

From inside the bus, the sound of the bus engine beginning to die down as the bus pulls up outside the Hostel causes the beginnig of activity to resound throughout the silence, mothers and fathers begin to take the chance to either wake up their children, mothers gently shake their children awake, some fathers on the other hand lift their children out of their seats and let them piggy back. Some children stir and yawn as their parents wake them up, some of the daughters and sons rub their eyes and let out slight stirring moans, the look of exhaustion is in the youngster's eyes, and to say that the said younsters would return to an hyperactive state at this time of night would be untrue, its been a long day and since the drone attacks a lot of things have happened, and as many youngsters are kept active by their mothers and fathers its no surprise that the children want to go back to sleep, to which is a very good thing as Kestrel needs some over active people to lay off him. As the bus engine cuts out from the front rows down Cecilia and Charlotte stir and waste no time in quickly standing, both females raise their arms and stretch ever so slightly, obviously maintaining a feeling of slumber as the pair will need it. Cecilia and Charlotte hold back some very tired out yawns as they proceede to stand and prepare for the female staff worker to announce the expected set of instructions.

From at the back rows Kestrel and Tomoe stand immediately, almost in sync followed by Megumi and Yui, the young couple slowly proceede to walk away from their seats and into the lane looking down the rows as the female bus attendant raises her hands and proceedes to speak in a very clear but silent tone as best not to disturb the youngsters, thankfuly ofcourse Kestrel is not one of them, but maybe that is to be expected, upon having spent a life of hell in Israel the youngster must have learned to condition his body to do without sleep. From across from the duo, Yui takes the chance to follow closely behind Tomoe whom allows Kestrel to lead the way down the rows, the sounds of footsteps fill the interior of the bus, many mothers and fathers are busy with their children and allow Kestrel to walk by, however as Kestrel gets up towards the front rows after a few seconds walking, paying attention to the female bus attendant whom stands ridgedly up straight and holds a pleasant smile on her face as the Israeli infant walks forwards in a steady manner. The scar faced Kestrel however comes to a stop when getting up towards Cecilia and Charlotte whom are about to up and walk in front of him, the two females freeze and look down in a concerned manner as if suddenly reminded to give some people right of way, Tomoe, Yui and Megumi whom are now followed behind by a few mothers and fathers stop in their tracks and the sounds of whispering cause the atmosphere to be somewhat awkward, but ofcourse the whispering is most likely the mothers and fathers talking amoungst themselves or speaking in care to their sons and daughters.

Cecilia and Charlotte turn to face each other and after a few seconds smile in a very small awkward yet friendly manner, the pair are clearly about to speak in a friendly manner and give the scar faced Kestrel the chance to walk by, but as Cecilia is about to up and offer Kestrel the right of way, the British blonde gets a surprise when the scar faced infant looks her in the eyes, Kestrel's wild, untamed and traumitised ocean blue eyes making contact with those of Cecilia, and taking a step back and with the lifting of his left arm and hand, motions for the two females to step forward in a very polite gesture. Charlotte blinks for a second, then after a moment of looking down with her mouth slightly open, begins to smile as she remembers that for all his troubled primitive nature, Kestrel isn't a youngster that thinks for himself, and like Ichika is always about to up and offer a hand if needed, though with Kestrel it takes a bit more effort as the said Israeli boy hardly trusts anyone, apart from Ichika, Tomoe and Yui.

Seeing the chance to be the first ones out and to have the chance to get up close to Ichika, Cecilia smiles very warmly and bows in respect the British blonde speaks in her very kind and friendly tone, acknowledging Kestrel's gesture - "Why thank you Kestrel, I must say Tomoe is very lucky to have such a kind hearted young man like you". - Upon hearing Cecilia's words, an immediate faint blush appears under Tomoe's eyes, but the female is smiling kindly, the female's white teeth show as she makes a slight awkward yet very pleasant small grin. Tomoe speaks no words and along with Kestrel watches in silence as Cecilia and Charlotte take the head of the line, Kestrel allows his small arm to fall to his side, the scar faced Kestrel does not notice Charlotte silently whisper the words - "I can't thank you enough" - as the said infant is suddenly forced to look upwards after Tomoe places a hand on his right shoulder. The pair gaze into each other's eyes for a moment before the sounds of the bus attendant's voice fills the interior, causing all whom are awake to look forward at the smiling face of the female staff worker, the woman places her hands neatly at her front below the waist and the female stands in a very lady like manner, her words are the perfect match for the pleasantry in the atmosphere.

\- "Okay, mothers and fathers, boys and girls, I'd like to say that we've arrived at the Hostel, there will be a guide with you from here on out and on behalf of the Amatsuki bus company we would like to say thankyou for traveling with us, may we all have the pleasure of traveling along side each other again some time. The guide will be awaiting all mothers and fathers in the saloon, I'm sure none of you would say no to a glass of wine to start this sponsored vacation. The guide will be awaiting everyone in reception, they will provide you with all information you require. That's all from us, thank you ever so much for your time and have a nice evening... thank you".

With that, the female bus attendant gives out a very kind and respectful bow, some mothers and fathers whom are free handed give out very silent and quiet claps, others whom hold the hands of their sons and daugthers smile and bow in return, others whisper thank you, or at least say it without making any noise at all. Cecilia and Charlotte bow in respect, followed closely by Kestrel, Tomoe, Yui and Megumi. As Kestrel and Tomoe straighten themselves up, the sounds of the bus doors opening resounds through the interior, and causes a mass level of excitement and panic to fill Cecilia and Charlotte whom waste no time in running out of the bus, down the steps and towards the first bus ahead to greet Ichika. Slightly surprised by the sight Kestrel blinks, but the scar faced infant snaps to following almost immediately, as the infant walks slowly ahead the infant slowly turns his head from left to right, observing and gazing at the sights of bus interior. As he reaches, the bus doors the said youngster glances up at the face of the bus attendant, whom seems to smile with excitement and joy, much to Kestrel's confusion. Tomoe however notices the happy reception and lowers her head in respect as she walks forwards very calmly behind the long black haired Kestrel. The teenage female exchanges a very kind and friendly look with the bus attendant and follows Kestrel out of the bus.

From behind Yui is about to follow on, only to be stopped by the bus attendant whom places her right hand on the woman's left shoulder, Yui's smile drops for a second but quickly recovers when the bus attendant speaks in very excited and overjoyed manner - "When you have the time, tell him from me, "Well done, he and his friends are true citizens of the world in my book"". Yui's response is a very calm and pleasant lowering of the head, the female maintains eye contact with the uniformed woman as she replies in a very pleasant tone - "Yeah, I will do, thanks a lot for saying".

Upon exiting the bus, the scar faced Kestrel feels a surge of life rush throughout his body as the cool night air washes over his face, arms and neck, the clothing the scar faced Kestrel wears keeps his limbs and body in a relaxed and sleepy state, even though Kestrel is hardly in the mood for resting, at least for now anyway. The sounds of unfamiliar music hits his ears, mixed with the sounds of people cheering and exchanging pleasantries, clearly a lot of festivity is in the air, most of which must be coming from the carnival which was passed just a few minutes ago. Kestrel glances to his left to look back at the mass rows of buidlings which are lit up brightly in the night, the black haired Israeli can make out a large unfamiliar structure lit up in the darkness, the mass of red, white, yellow and blue lights light up the distant frame works of a roller coaster, across from that as Kestrel glances a bit further to the left is another joy ride, but as Kestrel clearly can't understand a thing... matched with the invisible question mark above his head, the scar faced infant goes back to looking ahead of him at the entrance to the hostel, upon doing so the long black haired boy notices Cecilia and Charlotte standing just outside the entrance to the first bus just a matter of feet in front of the second.

Tomoe appears behind Kestrel and takes his right hand in her left, the pair take the chance to look at each other and exchange affectionate smiles, but clearly in a timid manner for that of Kestrel's. As the pair look ahead they begin to walk fowards towards Cecilia and Charlotte, the pair being followed closely behind by Megumi and Yui, the black haired Yui maitaining her lady like appearance and posture, while Megumi walks slightly behind Yui on her left with her arms folded, the female having a mischeivous smirk and challenging look in her eyes as observes her younger sister. As the group gets up to the bus infront of them they are greeted with the sights of more mothers and fathers whom walk out of the first bus, some carrying their sons and daughters while others walk hand in hand as a propper family group, the sounds of light chatter and gossip fills the night air, for Cecilia and Charlotte the three minutes that pass seem like hours as the pair watch the crowd of parents and children intently waiting for the chance to dive on Ichika, having spent hours of debating their own personal moves, along with the many months of surpressed feelings, the duo blondes are almost at wits end of holding back their feelings of wanting to be with Ichika, especially since the drone event and the leaving party at the IS academy.

As Yui and Megumi form up with Kestrel and Tomoe, the many mothers and fathers with their children begin to turn and whisper, clearly the confusion of where to go next lingers for a few seconds, but as a single father with pointy green hair, an orange summer shirt with summer patterns, matched with white summer shorts and white sneaks points towards the entrance of the Hostel, the mass numbers of parents begin to slowly follow the green haired father whom holds his exhausted daughter's right hand in that of his left and his tired out son's hand in that of his right, both children have the same hair colour as their father, the son with matching spikey hair and the daughter with braids, the mother of the family group has a single long red ponytail down her back, all wear summer clothing. As the single family group walks towards the entrance, another pair of parents with their children follow, firstly a blonde haired family group, followed by a silver haired father with a black haired mother, the son of the group having black hair and the daughter having silver hair, everyone is in summer dress. Within a matter of seconds the growing numbers of parents with their tired out children begin to flock towards the entrance of the Hostel. Charlotte and Cecilia remaining intently at the doors of the first bus, waiting for Ichika. Then, eventualy the two females feel their hearts burst and very nearly leap forwards in joy as Ichika appears out of the doors of the first bus, but is quickly glomped on both arms by Houki and Rin, Houki taking Ichika's right arm and Rin taking his left, the two females close their eyes and appear love struck, but as the pair open their eyes, they suddenly catch a glimpse of each other... two very fierce looking frowns are exchanged before the pair close their eyes and turn their heads to look away from each other, a resounding - "HMPH!" is heard come from both females.

Cecilia and Charlotte do leap in surprise, but quickly recover, the two girls seemingly begin to pout slightly to themselves as the irritation of the moment sinks in, but... its not a big deal, as far as the two blondes are concerned, all they have to do is wait for Ichika to be alone, and then just like Rin, pounce and strike while the iron is hot. As a ressult the two blondes find themselves chasing after Ichika, Houki and Rin, quickly being joined by the silver haired Laura whom has appeared out of nowhere and is beginning to join in the chase, the German girl unaware of the competition in the air... for now anyway!

Kestrel and Tomoe blink at the sight and together stare at the sight with surprise, the pair cast another look at each other, this time it's a look that goes along the lines of - '"What in the hell is that all about!?"'. Thankfuly though the pair close their eyes and exchange awkward yet affectionate smiles for a second before opening their eyes, smiling warmly at each other, and then, hand in hand walk forwards after Ichika. As Megumi and Yui follow on they are joined by Kazumi whom has only just gotten off the first bus herself, greeting Yui in a friendly manner, the said black haired woman acknowledges the blue haired woman's words and within a matter of seconds the pair are exchanging words.

"Hey how are you doing?" - Kazumi begins in a friendly manner

"Very well, all went well on your bus I take it?" - Yui responds in a kind pleasant manner of her own.

"Oh yes, let's just say Ichika and his girls have had the spotlight of fame on their shoulders for a while" - Kazumi replies, the mature blue haired female motions with her head for Yui to look forwards, an affectionate smile is on her face.

"Well... he isn't the only one, Kestrel has also" - Yui replies, the dark haired female looking down towards the long black haired Kestrel walking ahead hand in hand with Tomoe, the black haired woman seemingly overjoyed with the fact that Kestrel is getting a lot more supportive aid, from his friends ofcourse and maybe with an added bonus, some outside help aswel.

Megumi however shows no interest in coversations and sprints forwards to catch up to Kestrel and Tomoe, the dark blue haired female wasting no time in taking Kestrel's free hand and smirking with triumph as Tomoe scowls slightly with irritation at her older sister's actions, Kestrel on the other hand merely looks up at Megumi with a confused expression before looking back to Tomoe whom for a moment shifts her attention from Megumi and back down towards Kestrel, as the pair make eye contact, the look that Kestrel gives Tomoe adds a small innocent smile, the look showing that no matter how one looks at it, he didn't ask for Megumi to rush forward, and that he isn't showing favoritism to either her or her sister, after all... just like Ichika, Kestrel isn't the type of boy whom is going to be a player with a girl's heart, but rather a person whom wants to avoid it all together. For Tomoe, the kind and very pleasant look on Kestrel's small smile, within his ocean blue eyes matched by a slight squeeze of the hand causes Tomoe to blush and smile warmly again, the look of anger being replaced with that of unmatched happiness. Megumi notices this but does not show negativity, the female is well aware of the fact that Kestrel is very Naive when it comes to domestic and personal matters revolving around boys and girls and rather keeps himself to himself. Megumi smirks as Tomoe makes brief eye contact again, but instead of showing a defeatist look merely shows her sister that the matter isn't over by a long shot, the fact proven as Megumi looks ahead of herself and tosses her hair in a goddess like manner, the female apparently seems to strut forwards slightly as if to show her beauty,  
however Tomoe merely turns her head away and smiles with confidence, the Japanesse beauty being more than eager to drop the matter right then and there and instead savours the moment as her soft hand remains in contact with that of Kestrel's.

After a matter of seconds Kestrel is greeted with the sight of some large oak coloured revolving doors, large bright yellow lighting glows from behind the glass windows and the sounds of music, chatter and laughter become more and more loud as the scar faced Israeli walks forwards towards the Hostel. The infant becomes a mass of confusion and curiosity as he watches the adults and their children walking into the Hostel, the sounds of gasping and exclamations become ever clearer, but it does not concern the slightly nervous and curious infant, having spent years of torture in Israel, the infant is able to tell that the gasps he hears is positive ones and not ones of shock or negativity.

The scar faced Kestrel remains hand in hand with the two dark blue haired sisters, even as Tomoe leads the way and places the finger tips of her free hand on the oak wood and pushing open the rolving door, the door revolving anti-clockwise as she pushes her way inside. Kestrel following close behind with Megumi in tow, what greets the trio is a sight to behold, reception of the Hostel is what one would see in a five star ritzy hotel, reserved for the richest of buisness folk or even royalty, even from his point of view, Kestrel notices Ichika looking up at the ceiling, which is pure white with a pair of golden framed chandeliers, diamond glass droplets cascading down the chandeliers like the purest and noble jewels. The white ceiling is plain with no artex patterns of the sort. The walls are cream with a white dado rail halfing the top colour from the emerald green bottom, the floor has checkered red and blue carpeting, and the smell of perfume, aftershave and a peculiar smell of food and alchohol in the air. Kestrel is soon drawn into looking at the mahogany coloured reception which has a distinctive golden brass shinning bell, just typical of reception, the staff workers where black uniform, many of the female staff look like air hostesses and the men like dashing black suit air line pilots.

Houki and Rin hold surprised and overjoyed smiles on their faces as the look round and notice how clean and shiny everything is, the many mothers and fathers are turning to look at each other and slight gossip is in the air as the confusion begins to be mixed in with the now large question of 'Where is the guide?'. Thankfuly though as Yui and Kazumi begin to look at each other with concerned expressions and begin to ask those very questions a cheerful call out shatters the silence, immediately catching the attention of the adults, as well as Ichika, Kestrel and the gang, as a female voice calls out in a loud and friendly manner, what meets everyone's eyes is the sight of a black suited woman with a long green side ponytail reaching her waist, the female has a very straight and normal appearance for a woman, no real bust or curves, but a nice plain straight figure, a gold wedding band on the woman's ring finger shows that this one such woman is married. Behind the black suited woman is a well built man, appearing to be some what of a body builder but not very muscular, the playful look on this male's face gives the impression that as rough and stubbly this man is, he is pretty harmless and has a soft playful side. Some facial hair is under the man's face, the man wears a white T-shirt, blue jeans and black and white sneaks. The man has brown eyes and a boyish expression, giving the impression that he is every young boy's big brother like person, a party goer yet very pleasant and full of jokes.

"Is this party forty?, the NCA group?" - The office dressed woman calls out, pulling out a pen from the top left chest pocket of her uniform, the woman holding a pleasant yet questioning expression as she speaks.

"The Care group? Yeah this is us" - A short black haired father piggy backing his slumbering son calls out, making eye contact with the office female.

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful... please step this way" - The office dressed female calls out while lifting her left arm to the 'Wha!?' position and with a warm smile motions with her head for the party to walk over to reception. The white T-shirt man probably between his thirties or forties following close behind and giving a respectful bow, the male voice is one of comfort and kind welcome as he speaks out quickly - "Please, Aoshima-san will brief you all, I'm Yoshitama Taro, I'll be aiding in the guiding. Nice to meet you all".

Without hesitation the entire mass of mothers, fathers and children that have the strength to stand follow the woman now known as Aoshima-san towards the receptionist desk. Ichika remaining occupied on both arms, in a clearly nerve wrecking and uncomfortable manner by Rin and Houki, while the stares of Cecilia and Charlotte burn into the Japanesse male's back, the black haired Ichika can feel the stares and his heart is running a marathon, the male sweats cold beads down his temple and the feeling of being boxed into a corner is all too real. Ichika whom feels the soft embrace of Houki on one side mirrored by Rin on the other causes him to tense up, the hair seems to stand on the back of his neck as he rolls his brown eyes and looks up at the white Hostel ceiling. From behind Cecilia and Charlotte remain VERY close behind Ichika virtualy stepping in his own footsteps, and keeping as close as possible, the sounds of Aoshima-san seem to go through one ear and out of the other as Ichika's heart beats rapidly in panic. Taking the chance to glance down, the Japanese male notices that Rin and Houki have their eyes closed and are resting their heads on his shoulders, a tear of fear begins to form in Ichika's left eye. Ever since Houki confessed, Rin confronted him and confessed herself, the said male's head has been a mass of confusion, panic and bewilderment, the Japanese male is now aware of the fact that Houki and Rin love him, and by now has discovered the signals that Cecilia and Charlotte do also, but as the male is bewildered... he can't be sure of what to do next, as dense as he is, the male knows that to choose one girl is to shatter the hearts of the others, so what must he do? Whom would have thought love matters would be so difficult to manage!? All Ichika needs is for Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura to confess next and become aware of each other and hell filled war will realy start, for now all Ichika can do is buy his time and not be alone, for as long as possible, although in truth that is just delaying the innevitable... so maybe if he is to get free of Rin and Houki, and if Cecilia and Charlotte confess... he is at least ready for it.

Gulping silently and watching with intent as Aoshima-san converses with the mothers and fathers, along with receptionists, the Japanese male silently speaks to himself, his mind is filled with a nervous tone, and had the male been free of the two love struck girls on his sides, then its a good bet that Ichika would be shaking like hell right now - ( "Okay Ichika, Okay Ichika, keep cool, keep cool... its nothing to be so fussy and stressed over, I mean, all guys get confessed to, its not like this is an anime or a manga so no need to be so scared. All you need to do is keep your head up, if Cecilia and Char do the un-thinkable and confess next, just take it on the chin and up and speak the situation with Rin and Houki, surely Char and Cecilia will understand... but... maybe... knowing them, they wont!" ).

As Ichika blinks and turns his head slowly to the right to look over his shoulder, an invisible punch hits him in the gut as he notices a glazed love stricken gaze from Charlotte, ressembling a Yandere trance. The male silently gasps in terror as he notices an invisible ball and chain look in the French blonde's eyes, his mouth opens to a terror stricken manner, tears begin to form in his eyes as the reality of the situation hits hard like bullet going through his gut and exiting his back. Cecilia is blushing fiercely and looks like she is on the verge of collapse with joy of being in his pressance, somehow unable to notice each other's pressance. Terror striken and panic filled, Ichika in a slightly shaken manner turns his head to look at Kestrel, the Japanese male is able to remain still in an incredible manner manages to hold on until Kestrel just happens to glance into Ichika's direction. What the curious infant notices causes a look of innocent confusion merely tilts his small head to the right and watches as Ichika silently screams the words, just using lip movement to show he is speaking

\- "Kestrel... Please Save Me!".

The long black haired Kestrel's response is a simple blink of the eyes and a look of confusion on his face and merely remains silent, an invisible anime style question mark appearing above his small head as he looks into Ichika's white pale face and nervous brown eyes.

\- ( Author's note: The Atmopshere and building interior is a bit like that of the Hotel in the opening scenes of Shanghai Knights, the movie of which can be found on Youtube, though most of the furnishings are similar, everything else is self made for the purposes of creativity. )

**\- 20 minutes later/ The Hostel Bar and Gaming area -**

The resounding sound of a champange cork bangs free of its bottle as a stiff standing black and white clothed waiter pours the sparkling substance into a very classy and beautifuly crafted whine glass, the glass is set beside what appears to be a young Japanese buisness man, wearing a black suit, the short well cut red hair on the male's head is enough to show that he has left his teenage years and is all likelihood about to start a good honest adult life, sat across from the said male is a black suited Japanese woman, whom has a blue ponytail. A lether black wrist watch is on the young man's left wrist while a solid gold bracelet is on that of the young woman. Silver shinning cutlery gleams in the chandelier light along with the many rows of bright yellow lights set on both the left and right sides of the room. Many numbers of buisness men and women sit at white clothed dinning tables, some are eating in a very well mannered way where as others drink and exchange buisness pleasnatries. To say that the Hostel lounge is just a five star resturant would be untrue, what stands out the most is what appear to be casino games, betting tables and a large dance floor with an apparently empty stage. Some men appearing very rich appear to be gambling in what appears to be a poker table, a set of cards is set on green clothed table, a large table lamp shines with pride on large stacks of bundled money in note bills.

From the corner of the room in what appears to be an age friendly area, a large billard table stands vacant and empty, the cues are placed in the middle of the table. A ping pong table is also set in the corner of the room, a large oak coloured bar is set against a large wall, there are masses of alcohol bottles set on shelves but the bar seems to sell minor friendly drinks such as soft drinks, cokes and pepsis. The large mass of the lounge clearly takes up most of the ground floors of the Hostel as large support pillars can be seen in differant parts of the lounge. Some gaming machines can be seen near the ping pong table and billard area, which is clearly the gaming area for minors while the mature adults gamble and take money away from each other - which obviously isn't new as one has no doubt observed or read about before.

Having been advised to take some time to decompress or get a sense of freedom before going to bed by friends or relatives, some of the adult men of the careers trip are about to have the chance to get a drink or too in them before going to sleep. Some of the mothers too are present but the majority of mothers and fathers are absent, having been told of departure time in the morning some are eager to get their children to bed and turn in themselves. However, as many would guess, a fair number of fathers and mothers have returned back to the lounge, some about to get some drink in their systems where as some want to accompany their wives or husbands, in particular the wives whom are not about to let their husbands make fools of themselves and bring embarrasment to their family, but in a comical and humorous way ofcourse.

Having taken the chance to get free of Rin and Houki with the excuse of wanting the bathroom, and having some time with Kestrel for some quality boy talk, Ichika and Kestrel in a duo walk into the lounge, the scar faced Kestrel remains bewildered, constanly gazing at the ceiling and getting an eye full of the opulence, however the scar faced Kestrel is not the only one as Ichika blinks and looks left and right at the many numbers of men and women gossiping and drinking. Having the chance to speak freely after what seems to have been a life time of constraint on his voice box, Ichika exclaims in a very amazed manner, obviously still unable to grasp the fact that Kestrel still has no idea what is being said to him.

\- "Oh wow!, If this is a moderate star Hostel then I'd like to see what a Ritz style Hotel looks like".

Kestrel's response is a simple confused and timid - "Hm?", the infant blinks and briefly looks up at Ichika for a few seconds before being drawn to look at a Japanese buisness man whom appears to be police detective sat on a red chaise lounge sofa. Sat beside what looks like a detective appears to be some colleagues all of which holding whine glasses in the right hands, some of which housing red wines while others house white. Then as if on cue, the pair of boys, still walking in a normal and casual manner glance over to the right and notice a bunch of dressed women, all dresses of which are in differant colours, the women have various differant hair styles, wear stunning gold jewelry on the hands, fingers and necks, but all are wearing black high heeled shoes. The ten or so women are sat at a seperate table against the wall of the left side of the lounge, the women's dress colours are red, blue, yellow, gold, silver and green, some women wear the same colour dress where as the gold and silver dresses are not copied.

Unbeknowst to Ichika and Kestrel, some of the girls have followed close behind, Megumi is umongst the females, and although she too is surprised at the sight at first, she is soon drawn into a vast wave of excitement and joy as she notices the gambling and gaming tables, though Ichika and Kestrel do not hear it, Tomoe whom walks just behind her older sister places the right palm of her hand to her face, closes her eyes and shakes her head in a slight touch of embarrasment as her older sister's face lights up with joy at the sight before her, her voice matches the excitement as she balls her hands into fists and raises her hands to her chest in a form of joy and excitement - "OH SWEET! They've got cassino gaming here! I gotta warn you bitches I'm a pro at gambling, one time when I was seventeen I got into an eighteen only bar and I'm telling you, all the men in that bar that had fights with their wives, trust me when they went home broke after I took their money, believe me I felt like the luckiest girl on earth!".

"Huh!? What!? You started gambling when you was seventeen?" - The Chinese Rin comments with a tone of shock, the pigtailed female halting in her tracks and casting a look of shock up towards Tomoe's older sister. Megumi's response to Rin holds a serious amount of confusion, as if unaware if there is a problem in the air, but what the dark blue haired beauty says next causes Rin to sweatdrop on the temple. Megumi houses a small but crafty smile on her face as she half closes her eyes and folds her arms, puffing out her chest as if she is a celebrity, the tone of her voice is a perfect match of how cocky Megumi can realy be at times -

"Hey, It was a few days before my eighteenth birthday, and besides all my card tricks I learned came from my highschool days when Asuna taught me how to mark cards, tell if people are bluffing and how to win a swift victory without being caught!".

"Talk about dishonourable tactics, I don't think I could live with myself I played a rigged game with the intent to take good men's money" - Houki exclaims with a slightly repelled look on her face, the dark ponytailed female shakes her head as she casts a disapointed look over towards Tomoe's older sister. Megumi however counters Houki's morale standard attack with the closure of her eyes and a shake of the head, after a moment the dark blue haired female opens her eyes, turns herself to face the younger and more niave females before her, the dark blue haired Megumi raises her right hand and proceedes to wag her index finger, Megumi's words are what one would expect of a young hooligan whom has had difficulty leaving childish tactics behind, but then again... Megumi has always had that difficulty - "Not so, Not so... I go by a saying, it goes... "You Only Live Once, so let your hair down, screw the moral codes of what your parents would say and strike while the iron is hot", In fact I have a motto that I think you all should remember it goes... "Get In, Get Out and don't look back!"".

Tomoe is next to speak the dark blue haired beauty frowns at her older sister and folds her arms as if to scowl with anger, the Japanese beauty is next to speak and what she says next more or less succeededs in causing Rin and Houki to immediately start regretting getting a bit up close with Megumi, Tomoe's words are flat and hollow, the way she speaks states as if its a matter of fact and the way she speaks is if she is rubbing her big sister's nose in her own low and non-moral acts - "Yeah? But would you care to explain why it is when ever you "Get in" and then "Get out" as you say, a person is left crying their eyes out or is starting to think suicidal?".

"Hmph! Tomo', If your trying to make me loose my temper its not going to work, and besides I keep saying those things that happen where not down to me, those sorts of things happened because some people simply can't get a life, its differant if your talking my Kestrel ofcourse, he hasn't had a life, so its only a good thing that I keep myself doing things like this, that way, I have one hell of a story to tell him and effectively get some laughs out of them!" - Megumi explains, the female's smile changes from cocky to a straight expression, the dark blue haired female raises her index finger as if to explain a lecture, the female makes strict eye contact with her younger sister as she speaks.

"So you say Megu', So you say... But until I can trust you around Kes, you will NOT show your horse play around him, it's a bad influence and bad as a role model and above all else he needs to heal, he's not ready for a clown like you" - Tomoe replies, maintaining her folded arms and glarring in a strict manner into the eyes of her sister, the female's eyes show a frosty 'Bitch' glare similar to that of Chifuyu's, and as she speaks she places a very firm emphisis on the word 'not' as she speaks, as if to warn Megumi - 'If you rush and charge in, happily ignoring the hazards and warnings, then the ressults are not going to be positive, and you will wish you hadn't exsisted in this world'.

Sadly, Megumi pays no heed and merely sticks her tounge out at her younger sister, seconds later the female speaks one phrase, in a sharp and sarcasticaly challenging tone - "Kill joy!".

Then, as the dark blue haired beauty turns to face the cassino games, money note symbols appear deep within the young woman's eyes and without another seconds of hesitation, casualy walks forward in a proud strutting manner, yet the curvy female's hips sway in a very feminine yet attractive manner. Though Megumi begins to walk away, Tomoe, Rin and Houki are able to hear one phrase cheerfuly escape the said female's mouth as she turns and walks away towards the gambling tables - "Alrighty, who's going to be first to loose their cash to dear sweet little old me!?".

Huffing in a distressed manner, Tomoe rolls her eyes and shakes her head, the female's arms drop and go back to her sides, then after a moment, the Japanese beauty turns to face Rin and Houki whom blink and gaze as Megumi walks away, Tomoe quickly snaps the attention of the two females by looking at the pair with a near pleading face and a voice hinted with desperation the dark blue Japanese beauty proceedes to speak in a manner that clearly shows a desperate streak with a clear mix of common sense - "Listen... Rin, Houki... I'm sorry to ask this of you but please, if you see Kestrel alone with my sister, PLEASE, don't let her be alone with him, I know she thinks that everything is a all out fun party and a game of luck but her horse play is not something that should involve Kestrel, Please... I beg of you both, I've never begged anything from anyone in my life but I beg of you now... please, if I'm not there to watch Kes with Megu', won't you please do so for me?".

Tomoe's hands are together as if praying as she pleads to Rin and Houki, and though the two girls are at first taken by surprise by Tomoe's actions, the wide eyed and surprised faces suddenly give way to a pair of very warm and friendly smiles, matched by a large amount of confidence. Both Rin and Houki proceede to nod and appear like very responsible people, Rin smirks with a confident streak, the female balls her left hand into a fist and with the thumbs up, places the thumb against her chest, the tone in Rin's voice matches the confidence as she speaks - "Oh don't worry Tomoe, your sister maybe bigger and older than me, but she won't get the better of me! If you want anyone to look after Kes, I can do it standing on my head!".

Houki quickly follows with a very lady like bow and a very pleasant expression, her tone matches the happiness on her face - "Me look after Kestrel? Ofcourse I can, theres no trouble at all, in fact, I owe him quite a lot of grattitude. So if you have anyone to turn to if to look over him, you can see me anytime!".

Suddenly overwhelmed with joy Tomoe bows back in return, a tear of joy is in her right eye as she closes her eye and beams with an emotionaly over joyed smile, much to the very flattered faces of Rin and Houki, whom raise their hands as if to reasure a desperate person that all is well, Tomoe's words of thanks and relief are soon crippled by Rin and Houki whom walk over to the curvy and stunning blue haired female and proceede to embrace her like a sister of their own. A cheerful moment passes before a sudden lightbulb suddenly appears appears over Rin's head as she suddenly gets a feeling of realisation hit home, the Chinese female's voice is full of normal calm emotions as she asks a question that would normaly make the trio of girls feel like idiots - "Hey, speaking of which, where are the boys anyway?".

"They went to get a drink I think, and to be honest I'm feeling a bit parched myself... I think I'll wet my whistle before turning in myself" - Houki puts in raising her right hand and gently rubbing her windpipe area feeling the dryness within her throat, the idea of a drink suddenly making the female's mouth water and sounding very appealing. Tomoe is soon in the same boat and as a ressult, she too speaks in an eager tone, her feelings of fear and negativity drowned out by the thought of having a pepsi or other chilled sugar drink wet her vocal cords, as such Tomoe speaks in an eager tone of that of Houki - "Yeah same here, I think I need it".

"Hmm... I'll join you" - Rin adds with a cheery tone matched with a pleasant and happy smile on her face, and within a few minutes the trio is walking towards the bar area, however what Rin and Houki have failed to do, is keep the barrier between Ichika and Cecilia and Charlotte strong, and whilst the two girls were conversing with Tomoe, the said European blondes saw their chance to get closer to Ichika and had wasted no time in pursuing the Japanese male around a corner to where the Bar curves round a corner leading to an equaly large section of the downstairs lounge, to where another room brightly lit up can be seen just a few meters away, however, its not all a loss for Houki and Rin as the mass numbers of people will cause Cecilia and Charlotte to take a much careful approach, but having a desperate feeling within, matched with acheing hearts that are about to burst, the two females are using the same Kamikaze tactics that Houki used, however as the females... if they get the chance to do, will have to confess in the pressance of each other, the ressults should be a LOT more interesting... so in all likelihood Ichika's only salvation is the long black haired Kestrel, but as to what is going to happen, only God knows.

**\- With Ichika and Kestrel -**

Having entered a much larger section of the Hostel area lounge after rounding the corner, both Kestrel and Ichika remain bewildered at the size and opulence of the lounge area the chandeliers, the lamps, the chairs, the tables, the works... its all very, very fancy and rich. Though the bar area that Kestrel and Ichika walk down is considerd family friendly the duo seem eager to get away from numbers of eyes, and appear eager to get to the very end of the bar which is a matter of feet away from the back wall where bathroom signs can be made out above a pair of doors, with the male symbol showing men's restroom and the female symbol showing the women's restroom. Four seats away from the bathroom area, Ichika and Kestrel slow their pace to a dead halt and are quick to grab the attention of a bar tender, the seats that are set on Ichika's side of the bar counter are those found in a typical public house where beers are commonly served. The Japanese male easily pulling out a tall rounded seat and perching himself on the soft pad, Kestrel easily able to do the same as the said infant places his sneaks on parts of the leg areas that form as a crude ladder that helps the infant get off the ground by an inch or two to get up to the padded seat. Upon sitting on the padded seat, the scar faced Kestrel places his small hand over his silver Star of David and seems to caress the points in small hands, the feeling of nervous excitement quelled by a soothing feeling of security in Ichika's pressance and the reminder that his untouchable treasure remains round his small neck. Kestrel's long black hair cascading down his back shines in the light as Ichika raises his right arm and with a wave of his hand summons a bar tender.

Seeing the chance to break the ice of tension in the air the black bushy haired Ichika turns to look down at his curious and troubled Isreali friend with a cool big brother smile, the Japanese male quickly breaks the ice and speaks in his usual kind hearted way, a cheerful expression is on his face as he speaks, maitaining eye contact with his silent young scar faced friend - "Here Kes, I'll get us some Pepsis, its just like Cola, so you should like it. Besides, It gives us the chance to decompress, and to get away from the girls... heh, and to be honest I'd savour the moment very well.. but anyway, Its our treat before going to bed, so I guess we realy earned it".

Confused as hell, the scar faced Kestrel remains silent as the grave, but at least the long black haired boy acknowledges Ichika's kindess with a slight respective lowering of the head in a tiny bow and a kind small smile. The ressult is an awkward but very friendly bow back from Ichika, whom proceedes to place his left hand on Kestrel's right shoulder, and though Kestrel's response is a brief stunment, the infant's small and timid smile returns and then by looking Ichika in the eyes, the scar faced Kestrel timidly whispers one phrase, and the only one that the said boy can manage to find - "Th..Thank you I..Ichika".

Pulling the timid and troubled Kestrel into a warm comfortable and brotherly affectionate side hug, Ichika feels a great sense of triumph in his body and replies in his usual cool big bro tone - "Your very welcome Kes, after all... we are chums, and real close ones, hey... I'll tell you what, If anyone comes up and goes on about seeing us on the news, were going to make ourselves scarce, I'd say flying away in IS would be a good way of escape, so what if Chifuyu hides us, getting some private time is worth it I guess".

Breaking the embrace as the bar tender makes his appearance, Ichika leans forwards and places his elbows on the bar counter and in a very comfortable and friendly tone speaks out - "Two Chilled Pepsis, Ice and in large glasses please", the Japanese male immediately reaching into his pockets and pulling out a black leather wallet, the Japanese male handing over some money and handing it to the bar tender as he speaks.

"Certainly Sir" - The Bar tender replies in a very friendly manner, giving a slight bow in respect and taking Ichika's change from his hand. As the bar tender walks away to tend to Ichika's order, the young scar faced Kestrel takes the chance to observe the bar shelves, the Isreali notices the masses of differant shaped and styled glasses, many appear to be pint glasses, others are well crafted wine glasses. Many of the differant coloured bottles house alcohol from virtualy all over the world, one such bottle is marked with a tropicl image with a palm tree and a comical beach. The Russian alchohol Vodka is noted, the Irish Whiskey and the Scottish Scotch is observed, not that it makes much differance to Kestrel, as the youngster wouldn't notice or understand the labels anyway.

As the scar faced Kestrel blinks and slowly turns his small head from left to right in a bid to at least try to understand any of the alcohol labels, the infant essentialy chooses to give up the attempt, everything is written in differant nationality writtings, but at least the scar faced Kestrel manages to understand unbeknownst to Ichika that what ever substance is in the bottles, then it is valuable to the adults, and if anything it would be considered pathetic to value it if faced with a life or death situation, to which it would be wise to carry and feed on water rather than on a brewed and man made drinking product. Taking the chance to unwind in his own unique way, Kestrel leans forwards and places his folds his arms, resting them on the oak coloured bar, the infant seemingly allowing the music and sounds of adults in the distance gossiping and laughing umongst each other, the scar faced infant closes his ocean blue eyes to an half open manner and rests his small chin on his arms, the youngster's small ears engulfed and covered over by his long shinning black hair. Smiling in his cool big brother like manner, Ichika more or less joins the scar faced Kestrel in the same form of posture, instead the black haired Japanese male rests his right elbow on the oak bar, balls his hand into a fist and rests his cheek on his right knuckle.

"Guess were going to be spending a bit of our time in places like this during this sponsored vacation, only if we go to a traditional hotel area, I guess we'll need robes, the Hakama Kimono clothing stuff. Shouldn't be too difficult to find for you though, I mean, they'll have your size out there thats for sure. I guess the only set back is that Houki and Rin will be at my tail for a while if we get seperated from each other. Ah... Heh,Heh... which I suppose is just childish kid stuff, don't know why I'm worrying for, as long as we stick together like Nato nations, we'll be able to get through the worst of any hard ships" - Ichika explains in a partial internal monolouge when beginning to remember the problem of being followed around by Houki and Rin, whom virtualy want to kill each other when ever their eyes seem to meet, causing a slight chill to run up Ichika's back before the said black bushy haired male shakes off the thought and goes back to thinking positive, which ofcourse is the right thing to do in a case like this when your trying to enjoy the beginning of a summer break and not be pressured by problems.

"Hey, actualy, if there's a festival during this sponsored vacation I'll be able to introduce you to some real good Japanese festivity, like festival party games, stuff that was at the IS academy, and maybe even some good music with some sparkling fireworks. Yeah, I bet this is going to be a summer to remember, there maybe even a hot spring to dip into, I know theres going to be a water park area, maybe even some fair ground amuzement parks, heck... I bet even theatre and movies will be there, so if anything we're going have a blast out there. As long as the girls don't pester us too much eh Kes?" - Ichika comments in a proud and excited tone, the Japanese male looking down at the scar faced infant with an excited expression, much to Kestrel's innocent confusion and silence, whom merely blinks and keeps his small chin rested on his crossed over arms, however the black haired Israeli boy does acknowledge Ichika's words by smiling in a very timid manner and rolling his ocean blue eyes up to the right to make eye contact with the older Japanese male who is reduced to sweat dropping with an awkward yet affectionate smile on his face.

Thankfuly though that awkward moment does not last long as the duo are brought back to reality as the sound of the bar tender breaks the silence placing two large glasses of chilled pepsi before the two boys, causing both Ichika and Kestrel to sit up straight and face the older Japanese male whom bobs his head and gives Ichika a slight smile in a form of positivity, one word comes from the bar tender as he leaves to tend to the larger numbers of people just round the corner on the left - "Thank you for your service, please enjoy".

"Thanks" - Ichika replies in a calm and happy tone, the Japanese male bobing his head back in return briefly before making eye contact with Kestrel again, and with the motion of his left hand gives the scar faced infant the all clear to please enjoy the black drink fizzing before him, 4 cubes of ice float upon the surface of the fizzing Pepsi as if to show an oasis in the desert of thirst. Moving forwards together Ichika easily grasps the glass in his right hand, but for Kestrel its a bit of a nasty shock as the infant upon placing his hands over the glass suddenly lets out a tiny yelp in startlement as his hands feel the chilling glass body of his drink, Ichika's response is one of surprise and is about to lower his glass from his lips and ask if his small friend is alright, but quickly is shown that there is no need as the infant reaches fowards again and this time successfuly grasps the glass in his hands and proceedes to carefuly raise the glass to his small mouth and proceedes to take a small swig, a look of satisfaction is on Kestrel's face as the said infant downs a mouthful of the Pepsi. Looking relieved Ichika is wastes no time in taking a drink of his own, the black haired male feeling a soothing sensation as the sweet black drink fills his dried up mouth and becomes the most soothing heaven as he drinks down his first sip.

From behind a pair of large potted tropical palm like plants, the two european blondes Cecilia and Charlotte stand in hiding observing the two boys in silence, the majority of attention being directed towards Ichika, as by now Cecilia and Charlotte's hearts are on turbo and the reality of the reason that Kestrel won't understand a word that's going to be said makes the temptation of wanting to pounce on Ichika all the more painful to ignore, though in a reality its a lot more incredible that both females still seem to ignore each other or for some remarkable reason don't seem to notice each other's pressance.

Charlotte's gaze remains glazed and holds an impossible amount of love, as if its about to burst from a dam and flood a vast valley below, Cecilia holds a fierce blush on her face and is breathing in very deep gasps, the British blonde can't seem to hold it in any more and places her balled fists against her chest, the female unable to hold back the urge to just rush forwards and take Ichika for herself. True, ever since the incident of Charlotte's slumber party Ichika has been mostly on the ice front with the two blondes, but it isn't as if hes been ignoring both females, and if anything all has been virtualy forgiven, if not totaly due to Ichika's stern warning that if either female does anything to over step the mark again, there will be no forgiveness, but rather than take a baby step approach it seems to have had the opposite effect, not that the two females are complaining as it seems to have made the pair a lot more aware to their feelings and is causing them to face the fact that if they don't move fast and act like women, Ichika will be gone forever, the fact being proven as Tomoe is now at Megumi's throat over Kestrel, but Tomoe is clearly more of a woman herself as she is able to speak her feelings and virtualy has an easier route than that of Cecilia and Charlotte... But... its too late to dwell, what happened in the past happened then, what matters the most is now, and the sight of Ichika alone and ripe for the plucking makes it more painful for both Cecilia and Charlotte to ignore.

As Cecilia and Charlotte watch as Ichika attempts to speak in silent conversation with Kestrel, the pressure reaches breaking point, Charlotte closes her eyes and shakes her head, the female places both hands to the top of her head, lowers her head and proceedes flash her pearly white teeth in a frustraited manner, but only for a few seconds, then... as if on cue, an invisible violin string snaps in the French girl's heart and she goes wide eyed, gazing at Ichika in a love struck Yandere manner and then, like a zombie begins to stagger forwards the female holds her arms out as if she is pretending to be an undead zombie, staggering forwards, the fingers on her hands are apart, as if mimicking razor claws as she walks towards Ichika, invisible heart pupils in her eyes as she walks forwards. Cecilia amazingly does not notice what is happening and has done what realy is unexpected, the British blonde is now kneeling on the floor and has pulled out a pocket mirror, the female apparently powdering her nose in a very desperate yet careful manner with a bud of cotton, wielding the mirror in her right hand and padding her cheeks with a soft pad in the left hand.

Meanwhile Ichika is oblivious to the now slowly and quite spooky looking approaching Charlotte, whom by now as at wits end, but then again... after everything that's happened, such as being a push to turning over a new leaf and since the drone attacks, Charlotte is obviously overwhelmed, and even if her childish side was to force her to remain sat down, it would be a waste of breath, as the female is now reaching a point where being around Ichika is in some ways starting to become an obsession. It is a saying that the French are romantics... but when constricted for a long period of time, its a good bet that even the most held back of French girls begin to submit to their romance side. As this is happening, the scar faced Kestrel, continues to every now and then raise his glass to his small mouth and take down a small mouthful of Pepsi, more or less on three minute interval, the scar Kestrel now able to handle the chilled feeling of the ice in his drink.

"We're going to have to get our heads down well tonight Kes, I hear that the train that we're catching is scheduled for Ten A.M tomorrow, only hope that this Hostel gives out a good breakfast, because one thing is for sure, I don't want to eat the dinners in a hostel, because my god if you had tasted what many Hostels serve... Ugh... they call a soup Ox tail, when in fact they should call it Fox tail!" - The black haired Ichika states as if it's matter of fact, the Japanese male cringing and raising his shoulders, briefly closing his eyes and letting out a slight shiver as he mentions that he does not want to eat hostel dinners. Thankfuly a smile forms on his face as he opens his eyes again and regains his posture, the scar faced Kestrel remains silent but at least appears to be making the effort to at least try to understand what is being said, afterall... once again the fact must be reminded that the Israeli only understands a tiny handful of Japanese, and even when it is said to him, that person may aswel be talking in Greek.

"Hey, I wonder who we're going to be rooming with tonight, or for that matter who will be rooming with who when we visit these hotels, I know they'll be better than a Hostel, but even so... you can't help but wonder. I guess since Houki and Rin confessed and all, I'm a bit like a cornered animal, I mean obviously without having razor teeth and claws, and ofcourse the intent to kill pointed at me, but even so... its like, well... I choose one route and the rest explode and fires erupt... God Damn it!" - Ichika hisses in frustration, the male placing the palms of his hands to his face and shaking his head as the weight of his personal problems come down on top of his shoulders. Kestrel remains silent and places his glass down on the counter of the bar, the infant blinks and proceedes to innocently raise his small right hand to his right temple and scratch the side of his head, the said Israeli boy tilting his head to the left and closing his right eye as if like some animal, after a matter of 3 seconds the scar faced infant lowers his hand from his temple, opens his closed eye and regains a sat up posture. However Ichika continues to mutter and continue onwards the male's voice is filled with distress, caution and panic, the male happens to speak his mind a'loud as he looks upon his domestic problems.

"Oh man! Who would have thought Houki and Rin would feel that way towards me? Im I realy that dull and slow!? Well... No matter, nothing to panic over, all I have to do is treat Houki and Rin as very special friends, obviously if they come forward and ask me out anywhere I'm going to have aggree to going only with them, if one of them make another move I'm going to have to at least be accepting, yet very careful... I mean, Houki won't let me go because I'm her childhood friend, and Rin said she'll kill me and then herself if I don't accept being her lover. I mean, I say that Rin will kill me and then herself if I don't choose her but... who's to say that Houki won't do that? I mean I can't go and choose one girl then break the heart of the other... thats too low even for a guy like me, and then there's Laura... she claims she's already married to me, so obviously I can finaly see that she has her eyes on me. So she's another girl I have to take into account... Oh man! I just don't know what to do, ( Sigh ), well... I guess Cecilia and Charlotte aren't ones to look out for, so at least things can't get any worse".

Ichika lowers his hands from his face as he finishes his statement, the black bushy haired Ichika has the look of exhaustion on his face matched by a weary smile as he leaves himself open for what happens next. As Ichika turns his attention down towards Kestrel, the black haired Ichika's smile drops and a look of confusion and bewilderment is on his face as he looks down at his smaller scar faced friend. Kestrel merely gazes past Ichika with a straight innocent and confused look, blinking and remaining still, frowning at the sight and unable to understant what is wrong with the long black haired Israeli before him, Ichika suddenly feels the burning pressance of a pair of eyes on his right, a horrible chill rushes up Ichika's back and a feeling of being hit in the stomach by a fist fills up the Japanese male. Gulping in nervous panic, the brown eyes of Ichika widen to a horrified state and the male slowly proceedes to turn his head to the right in a shaken manner, what Ichika sees next causes the male to yelp in shock, the male leaps back in alarm very nearly falling off his seat and after a few blinks finaly accepts the sight before him as being real, one word escapes Ichika's mouth as he leaps back in shock - "WHOA!".

There, standing before him, hands clasped together in a love struck manner, leaning forwards as if about to pucker lips in a kiss, stands the French blonde Charlotte, a look of un-matched and unimaginable love is in her eyes, to which appear in a glazed manner, but not like that of when Kestrel suffers a turn, but rather overwhelmed joy in a dream filled manner. The French blonde seems to gaze at Ichika with a slightly open happy smile on her face as stares into Ichika's eyes. No words escape Charlotte's mouth as she remains fixed on the spot, gazing at Ichika in an manner never before seen.

"Ch..Char!?, W..What.. ah, when did you get here?" - Ichika speaks in a stunned and stuttered tone, the Japanese male correcting himself as he attempts to get a rational grip on the situation. Charlotte's response is her usual kind and friendly tone, but umongst the tone, Ichika can make out a vast level of seemingly insanity mixed happiness and excitement as a powerful and firey blush appears under Charlotte's eyes and under her ears.

"Just now, I've been looking for you Ichika"

"Ah..Me? Err, what for? Have I done something wrong in any way?" - Ichika asks, the male clearly unable to understand Charlotte's state of mind, though attempting to make the conversation as rational and understandable as possible, as one must remember that everyone is in the pressance of other people... In a way though as many people are in the other end of the lounge.

"No Ichika, But I have" - Charlotte responds, slowly tilting her head to the left and maintaining half open eyes in an overwhelming love struck gaze, the smile on her mouth does not drop as she speaks.

"You have? Ah... What do you mean? What could you have done that's so wrong?" - Ichika replies, blinking and looking into Charlotte's eyes, a sick feeling of fear and panic hits Ichika in the stomach as the idea of what is about to happen slams onto his shoulders, deep down the Japanese male is praying that a sudden thought in his mind is playing games on him.

"For being blind and arrogant to my feelings, but since Kestrel has come along, I can finaly stand and speak my emotions, since we've met I've been the biggest coward any girl could hope to be, I've been selfish and realy blind to how I'm feeling. But now, I can finaly up and say it, I have no shame in saying what I have to say now, and all I can say before I say it is one thing, If you turn me down then I will keep coming back over and over again until you accept me, if you shut me out of a building then I'll rip the walls open with my IS and snatch you from the grips of the others, be warned Ichika... You are mine and mine alone! So... well, effectively Ichika.."

At this moment the British Blonde Cecilia rushes forwards appearing from behind Charlotte, the British blonde appears so fast that Ichika hardly has the time to react, though the feeling he had in his gut softens the blow as his hunch as to what Charlotte was getting at proves correct, sadly though Ichika is not able to deal with what comes next as Cecilia rushes up towards Charlotte and together with the blonde stares into Ichika's now shaking and nervous eyes, wide and nearly tearing up with a horrible mix of pale illness on the face, Charlotte and Cecilia speak at roughly the same time, the pair speak the same phrase at exactly the same time - "I LOVE YOU!".

A tear of panic rolls down Ichika's left cheek and a feeling of sickness hits him in the gut, what Ichika was saying earlier that things could not be worse proves to be what he could not have wished for, having three females to deal with in a horrible dilema was hard enough but now Charlotte and Cecilia have done the unthinkable and declared love, and whats worse as soon as the pair speak their declaration, the pair suddenly become aware of each other and immediately turn to face each other, the two blondes have shocked expressions as they look at each other for a second.

*SMASH!*

A loud almighty sound of shattering glass rings through the air as the sound of a glass hitting the floor hits Ichika's ears, taking the chance to look in the direction of where the glass came from, what Ichika sees next is a sight he could have done without, there, standing with a solitary wide open eye and an gawking open and shocked mouth, stands the German silver haired German girl, Laura Bodewig. The female is overwhelmed at the sight before her, but what's even more worse, a shocked and stunned Houki and Rin stand just behind Laura, whom appears to be on the edge of fainting with ill surprise at what has just happened before her, Houki and Rin however are quick to recover from the sight and proceede to bite down on their lower lips in a form of jealous irritated rage, but the females do not do anything stupid but instead proceede to up and raise their voices for a second, both females apparently let their own guard down before each other and up and speak one phrase that not even Cecilia and Charlotte are prepared to hear - "Get away from him you hussies he's mine!".

As Houki are about to up and march forwards in an angered fit to get both females away from the boy they happily and willing claim to be their own, the pair are suddenly made away of each other and cease moving forwards, the pair proceede to shoot shocked looks at each other, but that in turn quickly turns to challenging anger at each other as if to say - 'Don't you dare,  
he belongs to me!'.

Cecilia and Charlotte turn to look behind them, Cecilia has a stunned expression where as Charlotte has a frown on her face, NOW at last, all 5 females whom want Ichika for themselves are finaly aware of each other's confessions, and now the war for Ichika has finaly started. Ichika is the worst effected, the male now has to choose between 5 females whom clearly love him with all their heart, the male is feeling very sick, the male is shaking from head to foot the pressure of the moment is causing the male's brain to be over stimulated and the male's trembles ressemble those of Kestrel's when the infant is suffering a turn. Shaking his head from left to right, the male closes his eyes and places both hands on the top of his head, clutching his black bushy hair as tight as possible. The Japanese male is so horribaly effected that only phrase that escapes his mouth in a terrified and panicked voice is just one word and one word alone, what is first shouted as a terrified answer is then repeated in an almighty scream in bewildered panic, the male flings his head back as the reality of now being in love war hits home like an atomic bomb - "NO! NNNNOOOOO-OOOOOOO-OOOOOO-OOOOOOOO!"

As this happens the scar faced Kestrel blinks in surprise and remains silent, from behind the girls, Tomoe appears with a coke in glass in her right hand, together Kestrel and Tomoe look at each other in shock and confusion before glancing at Ichika, both remain silent unbeknowst that the war for Ichika has now been declared.

_**Well, looks like things are now heating up for Ichika, and Kestrel's only problem at the moment for once isn't the stability of his traumatised and shot up mind, but rather having to deal with being a celebrity, the next chapter should give you readers a chance to see how the next day for the characters plays out, as all 5 self proclaimed lovers of Ichika now know of each other and the war for Ichika has now begun. The next chapter will mark the beginning of the summer break, or rather the train journey to the gang's first port of call and then the real fun begins.**_

_**Also readers I've read a brief Youtube video of nuclear weapons called: "The Terrifying True Scale of Nuclear Weapons". Now I know that you now fully understand the power of Kestrel's Prometheus but just to give you all a brief touch of reality, it shows you how feeble earth's nuclear weapons compare, so it shows you how really powerful Kestrel's weaponry compared to real life nuclear power. Also note that's where I got the first idea from... personally, it makes me shudder with excitement and fear knowing how powerful Prometheus is.**_

_**Well readers, that's it for Chapter 94, can't be sure when the next chapter is going to come out but rest assured it WILL come, I'm a man of my word and as you already know, I keep a promise if I make one. As you readers are aware NOW ( at this moment in time that is ) - It's December 2016, and in a special form of friendliness and fanfic camaraderie let me personally wish all you readers a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year, lets hope it all brings us ALL some positive benefits. Let me also say thanks for laying off the PMs, I like to see open comments like those of the other fanfictions, remember that some real nice acknowledgement and some team effort keeps this fic going. Let's also hope for some readers that for once they get a white Christmas, makes the fun for some of you readers a bit more traditional, not that it makes much difference to that of my own because I tend to enjoy seeing others enjoying the festivities and giving to those whom ask for something, Never celebrate or Party, nor has it never been my thing... call me weird if you want for not celebrating but that's the guy I am - but then again, **__**that's sort of the person Kestrel is aswell, so I guess that's what you call Irony.**_

_**Oh, as a special treat, you readers will know what Kestrel's favourite song is in the next chapter.**_

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS 2016 and a happy new year!**_

_**Anyway readers, until the next chapter... stay cool, enjoy the festivities, see you all next year.**_

_**\- Black Falcon 01**_


	95. Chapter 95: The child from hell

_**Hello Readers, 2017 at last! Now before you start reading I'd just like to say that I hope everyone had a great Christmas 2016, and lets hope 2017 brings us some good fortune. As always I'd like to thank everyone that has refrained from sending me a PM, please don't be offended if its upsetting, but put up with it if you can... its just for now at least. Anyway... On to buisness as usual ( YAY! XD ), its been a long 2016, and lets hope 2017 is full of promise, Also I notice that a few more readers have favourited my fic, aswel as followed on, THANKS a bunch, for private and respectful reasons I won't say who they are, but for those who are reading know whom I'm talking about.. then special thanks ( Kind Smile and respectful bow ).**_

_**Okay, enough with the pleasantries, lets get down to what we have been waiting for, firstly I'd just like to say that I haven't chosen whom to pair up with Ichika, a small voice says go for the "Harem" ending, but it's going to take a bit more creativity now that I'm getting the Characters together and such, and as the war for Ichika's heart as started then its best not to rush anything, but even so... if anyone has any votes place them in the open comments section, you don't have to rush or barge if you don't want to, but for now... I'm sticking with the "Harem Path".**_

_**Also... after so long, I think its time to show just how powerful Kestrel REALY is, "WITHOUT" using his IS. After this chapter the fun festivities should begin, also as a bonus I've been wanting to get this chapter out of the way for some time, and now that I have I can honestly say that I feel I have achieved a mark that I've been wanting to hit since Chapter 1, just by merely showing how tough Kes is, and how dangerous the scar faced infant is when pushed to very dangerous levels. I can't say if what your going to see is going to be repeated in any other chapters, but what I can say is that Ichika's love war problem is about to progress when the next chapter comes along and the "Harem" nightmare becomes more and more real.**_

_**So, anyway, enough with the red tape intros, thankfuly I don't have much to say, so I'll just let you readers get to buisness.**_

_**Please read enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 95

**\- 09:00am, Unknown Japanesse train station area -**

Sat on pair of metalic green benches sits Ichika and Co, with Ichika sitting on one bench with Kestrel sat on the other, the two boys straddled by females, with Ichika glomped on both sides in a girl sandwich by Charlotte on the left, and Houki on the right, both females clutching tightly onto Ichika's arm, however both females look away from each other, both with pouting expressions and closed eyes as if to effectively - "HMPH!" each other. However, they are not the only females that feel this way, sat beside Houki with arms folded with an irritated expression sits Cecilia the british blonde sits with a picnic basket resting on her lap, sat beside Charlotte sits Laura whom continues to shoot a mixed emotional stare at Ichika, the German female looks as if she is on the verge of a breakdown having heard and gotten the full artillery of now being competition with other girls, the Chinese brunette Rin stands beside a lamp post, her back leaning against black painted steel, she too is full of emotions, obviously in the same boat as that of the others, Cecilia can say that herself, though she holds an irritated frowning pout on her face, the female is a mix of panic and desperation knowing that she has some serious competition in going after Ichika, and whats worse she... just like the other girls, can't be sure as to who it is Ichika is going to choose to be his dear lover. For the summer day Rin has been very confident and worn a traditional Chinese style dress and black Chinesse slippers, the Chinese dress she wears is bright red with the internal clothing coloured purple, the Chinese brunette is effectively calling out what can best be described as "The Big Guns", making herself looks beautiful as possible, wearing dark blue'ish eye shadow, painting her finger nails red and putting two buns on the top of her head, yet allowing her pigtails to cascade as usual, the Chinese brunette has even gone so far as to put a tiny vat of lipstick on her lips.

However, if Rin thinks shes the only one using her 'Weapons as a Woman' on Ichika, she is dead wrong, the other girl's whom have now all proclaimed their love for Ichika are using the same tactic, the Japanese Houki has also gone through the trouble of putting on make up, wearing a thin gloss of lipstick but has not bothered with the eye shadow, she has however gone so far as to put on nail varnish, wearing a light blue colour nail paint. Houki wears a sleaveless red summer shirt, and wears a small blue mini-skirt, the female wears green sandals and has even gone so far as to ask Megumi herself to borrow a golden coloured bracelet, which she wears on her right wrist. Cecilia the British blonde wears a light blue summer dress, the female too wears make up, red lipstick, no eye shadow or nail varnish, but caps her summer clothing off with a large white summer hat, the female wears white high heeled shoes. The French blonde Charlotte wears a sleaveless white summer shirt, and like Houki, wears a small blue mini-skirt, the French blonde wears black knee high boots, as if to show the beauty of her thighs, Laura with her black eye patch wears a pale red summer hat, and in a fit of desperation wears a black one piece dress, that looks like an adult male's T-shirt on a shrunken teenage girl, yet still able to show the females slender and slightly nicely curved figure, Laura wears light blue sandals and wears blue eye shadow under her one expossed eye, yet the female does not wear lipstick, even though the said female has bothered to wear blue nail varnish - an ounce of labour that was begged for towards the dark blue haired Megumi, but thankfuly the said female was pleasant enough to go along with the task at hand to aid the desperate female.

Ichika on the other hand wears a light green buttoned shirt with a colar and khaki coloured summer shorts, the Japanese male wears his usual sneaks. Ichika's expression is one of scheer ill fear and desperation, since being confessed to in a duo manner last night, aswel as being constantly followed around by the females whom love him so dearly, the painful and horrible burning sensation of eyes blazing into his back caused the Japanese male to lose the ability to sleep during the night, the sickening and ill feelings of being hunted down like an animal by five females armed with guns caused the black bushy haired Ichika to effectively cower in the men's bathroom when he ran to take refuge, Ichika was in such a desperate state that when sleeping arrangements where being made, the said male had virtualy prayed for his life that he would be sharing a room with the scar faced Kestrel, as a ressult... it is no exaggeration that when it was confirmed that when Ichika found he would be sharing a room with Kestrel, the male had lept as high as he could manage into the air, closed his eyes and cheered with un-told joy, much to the shock and stunment of the Japanese woman known as Yui and some Hotel staff members.

Even though Ichika had the privalidge of sharing a bedroom with Kestrel, the dose of relief and solitude of a peaceful night had not helped in granting the said male a good night's sleep, although Ichika had wished Kestrel a good night's slumber, the Japanese male was unable to follow the scar faced infant into a realm of slumber, and when one takes into account the fact that Kestrel has had even worse problems and obsticles to face in his life, the mere fact that Ichika is stuck into a predicament with five females whom want him for themselves, made the said Japanese male feel even more daft and stupid in the pressance of his small Israeli friend. Even after midnight, Ichika was still awake, even as early as 04:00am in the morning, and even then, what ever sleep he managed to get was only a mere scrap, and the fact that two faint black bags are under his eyes makes it all too clear that Ichika had a restless night, even as morning approached, and the great sun began to rise from outside his bedroom window, Ichika was still in a restless state, as if the said male is awaiting a death sentance that is sure to come, and for a crime that he has not commited.

Even during breakfast, Ichika was unable to eat a thing, not that it would have made much differance either way, as the male would not have been able to feel any hunger non the less, only after entering the Hostel lounge to await a breakfast for all inhabitants did the Japanese male get a dose of feeling human again, but only in the form of little Kestrel himself tugging on Ichika's shorts, causing him to look down and catch the caring and confused innocent gaze of Kestrel, whom shot up a very warm small smile, that in turn realy helped the said Japanese teenage male into smiling again and gave a much needed dose of feeling human again, however, as Ichika noticed the effort that the five females had made to attract his attention, the male was brought down to earth again, the Japanese male had even gone to extreme lengths to beg Megumi to give up her seat beside Kestrel to allow him some refuge. Even now, Ichika has not even managed to yawn, nor notice his hunger... and instead merely gazes at the ground with half open eyes and a seemingly depressed look on his face as if his beloved pet has only just passed away from some old age, the same posture and image of the distressed Japanese male was the same even as he travelled by bus before reaching the train station and walked the rest of the way through reception, up the stairs and over the footbridge before walking down another flight of stairs to reach the platform.

Sat on the other bench straddled by girls like the older Ichika, sits the scar faced Kestrel, the long black haired Isreali sits comfortably with legs together, sitting like a young woman, but thats only to be expected, as Kestrel has always sat like that, which in reality is a side effect of being tortured in his life, but... the scar faced infant sits upstraight with a proud posture. The Israeli boy looks upwards at the opposite side of the train station, looking at a glowing white large holographic like TV screen, full of green lit Japanese text set beside numbers that give away the reality that the holographic screen is likely the timetable for the trains, Kestrel wears a pure plain white t-shirt and black jogger pants, the infant's star of David pendant gleams with pride in the morning sunlight, and Kestrel's shoes are merely white and grey sneakers, the laces tied firmly by Kestrel some time earlier, though for all the lack of intelligence and outside world that Kes has in his small mind, the basic things are well known, so at least the scar faced ten year old does not have to be embarrased about being a strong figher but not able to tie his laces, a fact that Kestrel is not aware of, but maybe that does not matter, as the infant catches on very, VERY fast so at least for the future, Kestrel wont have to dig through a snowdrift of learning, but will be able to hop, skip and jump forwards, springing across his learning barrier like on stepping stones... which too is something to be proud of... but once again, a fact that Kestrel is not aware of... but yet again... perhaps it does not matter.

As Kestrel turns his head to the left, the youngster lowers his head and looks to the left towards the many mothers and fathers that gather in a large group, all of which are dressed in summer time clothing. Many stand due to the lack of benches and seats available, and though there is a large building complex that houses a waiting room and cafe, the numbers of boys and girls that are overwhelmed with excitement have gathered outside to await the destined train assigned to carry them to the first port of call for the N.C.A's sponsored vacation. Every now and then, the scar faced Kestrel catches the excited smile of a boy or girl, a point of the finger or a wave from a mother and father, but its only to be expected as the child is now a fully registered celebrity in Japan, even as Kestrel sat and ate breakfast this morning, which was only gold coloured buttered toast and a glass of blackcurrent juice the scar faced infant got no peace with the many mothers, fathers and children that continued to rush up and ask for some moments of his time... much to Kestrel's discomfort, which was made clear by a look of discomfort and nerve on his face, matched with scared blinks with a pale face of nerves, thankfuly... thanks to Ichika and his self proclaimed lovers, they managed to form a clear shield around him, keeping him safe from the numbers... but it was the introduction of some Hostel security that brought some order to the chaos, much to the gratitude of Ichika and Co. Now however, just after catching sight of a young black haired mother with her daughter waving hello, the scar faced Kestrel places a look of sickened discomfort on his face, made with the lowering of the lips on one side of his small face as to show an ill feeling in his gut. The Ocean blue eyed Kestrel shudders with nerves, closes his eyes and shakes himself like a dog for a second or so, then turns to look to the right down the platform.

Sat on Kestrel's left, hand in hand, her soft hand in contact with Kestrel's sits the dark blue haired beauty with her hair a ponytail, Tomoe. The slender curved Japanese beauty wears her usual white summer dress and white high heeled shoes, the Japanese female smiles a form of nervous affection towards the black haired summer dressed mother who waves towards Kestrel, Tomoe is at loss for words and merely lowers her head to show that Kestrel noticed her waving, then, just like Kestrel turns her head to look away to the right. The female feels a slight tremble come from Kestrel's hand, but the said female clutches ever so carefuly a bit tighter to Kestrel's small hand as to show that she is here for support, Kestrel's response is a turn of the head to look up at Tomoe before half closing his eyes and making the smallest smile in nerve. As the pair's eyes meet, the pair feel their bodily temperatures begin to rise ever so slightly and unbeknowst to the pair, blushes appear on each other's faces, a long five minutes pass as the pair look deeply into each other's eyes. Tomoe's older sister Megumi sits on the right of Kestrel and has her arm looped through that of Kestrel's own, Megumi sees her chance to indulge in the moment and sqeezes onto Kestrel's arm, causing the infant to go wide eyed and jump ever so slightly, breaking eye contact with Tomoe and turning his head to the right to look up into the eyes of Megumi whom has her eyes half closed and pulls herself in deeper into the side of the scar faced boy. Megumi shoots down an affectionate smile of her own and looks deep into Kestrel's eyes, the blue eyed male remains silent and only maintains eye contact for a few moments before being pulled deeply into a cuddle by Tomoe, whom now has the look of anger on her face directed straight at Megumi. The Japanese female says no words but by looking her sister in the eyes with an irritated glare, the female moves her mouth as to silently say one phrase, and with the lip reading skills that Megumi has, she will immediately know what it is that Tomoe is saying: - "P*ss off!".

Megumi's left eye twitches with anger and is about to break arm lock on Kestrel and be ready to cause a scene when a strict cough from a familiar person stops the moment. Megumi's clothing for the day is identical to that of her sister's, except that like Houki and Cecilia, Megumi wears a white summer hat on her head. As for the familiar person, the trio of Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi, all get a sudden urge of surprise, strong enough to cause all three to look to the right and slightly upwards, there... all three pairs of eyes meet the mature and half closed eyes of Kazumi. The mother of Tomoe and Megumi wears light blue pants and a sleeveless green shirt, the mature blue haired female with her hair cascaded down her back wears a pair of black female style sneaks, the woman also wears sunglasses pearched a'top of her head, normaly the said woman would wear her glasses on her face as usual but as to give her daughters a VERY strict and disciplined warning as to **'DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT'**, the said woman has raised her glasses to sit on her forehead, the angered and strict gaze of Kazumi dissarms the angered Megumi, and causes Tomoe to titter timidly with a nervous expression on her face, thankfuly... both girls resume their seats and merely conclude sitting as normaly but retaining their grips on Kestrel. As for Kestrel, the said scar faced infant merely blinks with confusion, but then again... that is to be expected as even Chifuyu's deathly aura does not even effect the said Isreali boy, after all... what ever dribbling threats people like Kazumi can concoct, its nothing compared to what horror's Kestrel has faced in his past, so as usual... the only reaction from Kestrel is a mere tilt of the head to the left ever so slightly with a bewildered confused expression, before blinking to himself and turning to look around at the surroundings, which are obviously alien to him, which *Yet again* is to be expected, when one takes into account that the infant has never had a life outside before.

Standing beside Kazumi stands Yui, whom wears a black office like skirt and white sleeveless office style shirt, the woman also wears black high heeled shoes and as when she first appeared, the woman has her hair in black bun at the back of her head. Yui smiles in a nervous manner, but is impressed non the less with how Kazumi just delt with her daughters, but in reality that is a ressult of a mix of good parenting skills, especially discipline when her children have over stepped the mark in the past.

"Err... Ah... I hear that the train we will be catching is one of the new Shinkansen models they just brought out" - Yui comments with a friendly smile on her face, her voice being as careful as possible as to lighten up the atmosphere in the air, which to Yui's relief turns out to be a good move as Kazumi's expression changes from strict to pleasant, the dark blue haired woman blinks and smiles very warmly, turning to face the black haired Yui before responding in her usual friendly and pleasant tone.

"Oh realy? I had no idea... you a rail enthusiast?"

"Oh no, thats not it, I sort of happened to look at the boards in reception and I saw that new model that has just entered service, its the... err... what is it?" - Yui replies, the black haired female firstly raising her hands as if surrendering to a gunman before lowering her arms briefly before placing the palm of her right hand to her temple as if to show a person lost deeply in thought. Kazumi leans her head backwards and looks high into the pure blue summer sky, briefly catching the sight of two small white clouds before the mental lightbulb appears above her head switching on and causing the female's mouth to widen to a wide extent as the answer suddenly appears in her head.

"Its that Series five hundred - eight hundred hybrid, that train that has the body and carriage work similar to that of the eight hundred series but has the nose of the the five hundred series" - Kazumi speaks out with an excited smile on her face, the female goes so far as to point sky ward with the index finger of her right hand as if explaining something as she speaks to the black haired Yui.

"Yes, Yes ofcourse. Thats the answer I was looking for" - Yui exclaims in an excited manner, the woman effectively raising her arms to form the 'Wha?!' position but the female does it out of pleasantness, but as Yui lowers her arms the female speaks again, clearly seeing the chance to make very pleasant coversation with the mother of Tomoe and Megumi, seeing as Ichika is... what one would may claim as "Indisposed" in some manner of speaking.

"Ah.. I hear that the service aboard is excellent, a friend of mine claimed that the new Hybrid unit would excell the other Shinkansen models in terms of speed, comfort and service, I mean its only words but I hear that the buffet car is able to serve a mix of five star first class food to even the most basic of snacks that would would buy in a store".

"Yeah, I've heard that aswel, but I also heard that there's a sleeper service at night aswel as to provide twenty four hour service for passengers across Japan, they... we're or so I'm told planning to extend the service into the city area where we live but.. Heh, heh... with what's happened recently, I think thats not going to happen any time soon" - Kazumi replies, the woman firstly speaking in a pleasant tone before changing her tone to one of nervousness as she mentions the fact that Ichika's home city is all but totaly destroyed following the drone attack. The blue haired woman closing her eyes and placing her left hand at the back of her head as she lets out a nervous titter, before lowering her arm again, opening her eyes and looking the black haired Yui in the face whom sweat drops in return, balling her hand into a fist and raising it to her mouth to let out a slight cough, Yui finishes the awkward moment before it even starts, speaking in a calm yet very pleasant tone - "Ah, yeah.. well moving on".

"Well today we head for Nara, that's were all the youngsters get their chance to have fun, what with all the activities and such, so the three days we will spend there should be quite entertaining, so I guess we'll have the chance to see how Kestrel reacts" - Kazumi puts in with a small smile on the face, a hopeful expression is on her face as she speaks. The blue haired Japanese woman clearly housing the belief that the day's ahead should be very promising, even though it can't be certain that Kestrel will be entertained, as the infant is at most time a mix of nerves, and even though the youngster has the look of utter innocence on his face when he looks someone in the eyes, you clearly have no idea what the said infant is thinking deep down, the infant's mind so badly effected by his past that one could compare it to fragile glass or worse... a roaring fire, stand to close or make the wrong move and one gets burned.

"Yes, ofcourse... well, I spoke to our guides and it turns out that tomorrow is the day that the activites officialy start, see today does not count as day one of the vacation, its tomorrow that everything officialy starts up, gives the adults a chance to prepare and rest down before the activities for the youngsters start, there's going to hiking and camping out for the first day, thats when this sort of treausre hunt for the kids start up, throughout the three days we spend in Nara, everyone is to look for clues, we'll be getting cameras and note pads to gather evidence of our successes, some clues we bring with us others we simply take photographs of, first prize I'm told is Hundred thousand yen.. **( A.N: "10,000 U.S Dollars if thinking correctly, correct me if I'm wrong somebody" )** ..some family tickets to somewhere tropical abroad, they didn't say where only that its a tropical place, I guess their saving that for the final day when ressults come through, because I guess we'll be searching for clues throughout the vacation area, and which ever family is first or has the most points is the winner, the second day we spend in Nara, we visit a zoo area and later a center where people of all ages are able to climb rockery and do phyiscal activities, once again we gather clues and such, and the third we visit a fair ground amusement park area, thats where we had in our ressults and give the youngsters a chance to realy unwind" -

Yui explains in a calm and rational tone, unable to notice the appealing fact of a Hundred thousand yen, but then again... Yui has always been a person that has never shown much interest in material benifits, not that it would be known to that of the others ofcourse. Kazumi on the other hand goes wide eyed and shows some interest in hearing about the first prize, the woman's eyes widen as she hears Yui's words, as Yui finishes speaking Kazumi blinks before staring at Yui with a slightly impressed face before speaking her mind in a set yet very calm and impressed tone - "A hundered thousand yen as first prize? Wow! Guess that's something that all the adults here will be chasing after, never mind what their children want, just give the adults a prize to go after".

"B..But they do include a family trip to somewhere intresting, could be the Hawaiian Islands, could be Australia, the Greek islands, the coastlines of Africa, maybe even Las Vegas in America, or for all we know it could be our neighbours.. South Korea or China, or even the distant country of Vientam, so it's not as if everything is in benifit of the adults, they do pay attention to the youngsters too" - Yui speaks out firstly in an awkward stutter, now suddenly getting the message that for all the fun activities ahead, maybe the mothers and fathers may become children themselves and make the trip some childish challenge intended for youngsters. However, Yui is smiling and the female clearly and does not show any signs of nervousness, despite the fact that Kazumi effectively deflated the atmosphere by a slight fraction, by accident and unintentionaly ofcourse.

"Heh, Heh... yes, see what you mean now, sorry about that, its a curse I'm afraid, I tend to just up and speak what ever comes to mind every now and then" - Kazumi replies, the blue haired mother of Tomoe and Megumi closing her eyes and smiling awkwardly, rubbing her left arm with her right hand as she speaks, a sweat drop appearing on the right side of her head on the temple.

"Oh no, don't be ashamed, in fact I think that its a habit is something a good few of us lack, and they do say that being honest is a good thing, unless your lying to prevent hurting someone's feelings" - Yui comments, the black haired woman maintaining eye contact with the blue haired Kazumi and keeping a nice ladylike standing posture, the response from Kazumi is a kind and friendly smile, the mother of Tomoe and Megumi blinks in a very pleasant manner before responding to Yui's words, Kazumi's words are as friendly and as cheerful as always, the woman's eyes are filled with pleasant warmth as she looks Kestrel's interpreter in the face and maintains her friendly expression.

"Well, yeah... I guess there is that... but, then again, I'm not the only one with that habit, Megumi speaks her mind quite often also... and also my own mother did aswel, so, I suppose its a habit passed down from mother to daughter".

Yui's response is a awkward expression, matched with a very pleasant titter, the woman continues to stand in an elegant lady like manner before replying to Kazumi's words, as Yui replies to Kazumi, the black haired Yui turns her head to left and looks into the direction of Kestrel whom remains sandwiched on both sides by two stunning blue haired females, both clutching his arms very tightly and virtualy cat fighting over him, both females remaining silent and housing smiles but effectively sending each other ice cold bitchy death auras at each other, both sisters every now and then sending volitile glares at each other, effectively making the invisible electronic sparks smash against each other before before turning their heads to look away from each other. Yui's response to the sight is a small affectonate smile before she continues on with first subject, before slowly changing the subject to Kestrel, as she proceedes to speak about the scar faced infant on her left away, the smile on Yui slowly begins to drop as a weight of saddness comes down on her shoulders before being changed to an ice cold chill up the spine as an all true horrible fact is being mentioned -

"Heh,Heh.. yes.. quite, anyway.. I guess as you said, first prize is going to be a competition between families, but I hardly think its going to be something for us to worry about, if anything Kestrel is hardly going to be interested in material benifit, I can tell just by looking him in the face, that young scar faced boy is hardly someone that gets involved with childish antics, which to be honest is a bit sad I think... what with having a childhood of tortures and pain, but I guess there is a benifit side to that past I suppose, Kestrel's a lot sharper and wise when it comes to suspecting people, he don't trust strangers, that being proven when he turns his back and walks away, he hardly speaks a word and keeps himself to himself, and above all else the youngster has been left with the ability to know when something is going to happen, he sort of looks straight into you, right into your eyes... you know I've noticed something about Kestrel's eyes... I don't know if you've noticed but if you look very deeply into his eyes, Kestrel he's got... sort of.."

"Empty coloured eyes, near lifeless eyes, like a wounded animal's eyes, an animal's eyes filled with so much pain that all the tears have dried up. As beautiful as they are, as if looking to a bottomless Ocean, after looking deep into his eyes you sort of notice the trauma that he must have suffered" - Kazumi comments, the woman now moving closer to the black haired Yui, briefly cutting off Yui's words, the dark blue haired woman slightly shuddering at the all too horrible truth that no matter how one looks at it, Kestrel for all his nervous innocence carries a terrible and unthinkable past. Sure, Ichika carries the memory of being abducted by terrorists, and surely other youngsters across the world must have terrible memories, but if Star Trek Mind melding exsisted, then its a good bet that even the most strongest of men and women, would wet themselves directly on the spot, but whats inspiring the most about the scar faced Kestrel, is the fact that the infant can smile, enjoy himself and exchange pleasantries with Ichika and Co, effectively the young Israeli is more adult than any of the others around him, and even though its the ressult of suffering pure horrors in his past, it has indeed given some positive benifits, despite the pain and emotions, a fact to which Yui makes very clear as she bravely regains a smile and shakes off the ill feeling, looking Kazumi in the face like a proud mother.

\- "Maybe so, but he does a great job in swallowing his past and putting a smile on his face. He hardly speaks a word about his past and tends to be more interested in what the future will bring, and I should know... when ever I've asked Kestrel about disscussing his past, he always insists to change the subject, and I know he's in pain at times, he's even cried, not bawling as such but just staring into space with a straight expression and nothing but tears roll down his face. Even so, he still meets us with a smile and prayer, if you ask me... and coming from a woman this is some comment... that boy has some real guts, hes more manly than what many teenagers claim to be, so I can see why your girls like him so much, Ichika of which sees him like a brother, so I would say Kes is getting some life's compensation".

Smiling with a friendly and warm expression, Kazumi looks Yui in the face and in a proud tone speaks while giving a single soloemn bob of the head in acknowledgement - "Couldn't have worded it better myself".

Then, as Kazumi turns her head to look back at Kestrel, the dark blue haired woman notices her two daughters smiling and kindly exchanging words, what they are saying is anyone's guess but maybe it doesn't matter, and instead both adult women cast very warm and pleasant expressions down at the trio sat on their metalic bench. Back with the said trio, Kestrel looks upwards at the black overhead live wires that supply power for the trains that run through the station, every now and then Kestrel turns his head slowly to the left then back to the right to look at the metalic grey framed structures that hold the overhead live wires. The ocean blue eyed male with his long black hair cascading down his back has a very small and timid smile on his small face as he looks at the overhead live wires, the sight of some doves flying over head causes the infant to blink, the blazing red scar on his face looking very fierce and violent, but the softness of the infant's face clearly gives the kind, nervous but very friendly nature of the said boy away. What seems like hours pass, when in fact its only 10 minutes before the scar faced infant looks at the opposite side of the railway station and notices a billboard sign, an image of the Israeli flag is spread across what looks like a sky photograph, set below that is what looks like the rocky Negev Desert, some yellow Japanese text is set below the flag and over the desert landscape, what it says is not clear to the confused and vulnerable scar faced boy, but even so it causes the infant to smile very warmly... the scar faced infant closes his eyes briefly and lowers his head before raising his small head upwards, opening his eyes and in a small but timid tone begins to hum the Israeli anthem.

Hearing the Isreali start humming a tiny yet pleasant tone to himself Tomoe and Megumi cast looks down towards the infant, firstly in the form bewildered surprise before changing into looks of happiness. The two sisters smile with half closed eyes at the humming scar faced boy below them, both females blink with joy at the young Israeli, silence fills the air for a good while before Megumi breaks the silence with a very pleasant tone, the female speaking to nobody as such, but rather to herself - "The Israeli Anthem, as much as he doesn't want to go back to his homeland, he seems to have a piece of his heart left behind, reminds me of when we first moved house for the first time, love it or hate it, for some strange reason you leave a part of yourself behind when you move house, maybe the same applies to moving to a differant country".

"Maybe its just the fact that he likes Hebrew songs, its not the first time we've heard him sing though. Ofcourse, its possible that maybe a piece of Kes was left behind in Isreal, but even so... he does not want to go back, and I'm not complaining" - Tomoe puts in with a very happy tone, the Japanese beauty clutching onto Kestrel a little bit tighter as she speaks, giving the impression that she won't ever let the said boy go no matter what happens.

"Yeah, me neither... huh!?... Oh, yeah... uh... speaking of singing, I wonder if Kes has a favourite song" - Megumi replies, firstly in a dreamy state, before snapping back to reality knowing that she has been exchanging words with her sister, before turning back to a state of happiness and speaking in a tone of wonder and joy, the female looking upwards towards the sky whilst wondering of that very factor.

"Hmm... I don't now, but I think I know who we can ask... Miss Sakurada-san!" - Tomoe replies, the female maintaining her smile, firstly by looking away to the left towards the numbers of family members before the anime style mental lightbulb appears above her head, the female raises her left arm with her hand up as if calling out to some school teacher as she calls out to black haired Yui.

"Tomoe?" - Yui replies in a confused yet pleasant tone quickly appearing from the right of Megumi, the blue haired Kazumi standing pleasantly behind the black haired Yui, the mother of the two stunning beauties confused yet also pleasantly intriqued as to why her daughter has called out to the black haired Yui, but the smile on her face gives the impression of the thought that what ever it is, a certain scar faced boy between her daughters has something to do with the call out, and if anything its a pleasant reason. Tomoe and Megumi, still maintaining their smiles turn their heads up to the right at exactly the same time to look into the face of Yui, and without a moments hesitation, Tomoe begins to explain the reason to her call out to the Japanese woman before her.

"Me and Megu here heard Kestrel singing to himself and we were wondering if you knew what Kestrel's favourite song is, and if you don't, well wouldn't you mind if you asked him for us?" - Tomoe explains in a very pleasant yet bashful tone, a faint blush appearing under her eyes as she speaks, ressulting in an affectionate close of the eyes and a shake of the head for Kazumi, whom thinks one phrase to herself in her mind in an equal affectionate tone - ( "Yeah, my daughter is in love with Kes" ).

"What she said, Me personaly, I've heard Kesie sing only once, so as his future fiance I want to know more about what he likes" - Megumi quickly puts in, her choice of words causing a very shocked expression followed by a violent and furious snarling glare from her younger sister whom clutches onto Kestrel with her free hand and wraping her arms round the said boy in a hugging embrace as if to say 'NO! Your not having him!'. Kestrel's reaction is the usual confused as hell expression, a plain straight expression with an innocent blink of the eyes matched with a slight tilt of the head to the left, an invisible question mark appearing above the head.

"Ah.. Heh,heh... Okkaaayy... ah... well, if you girls insist on it I'll err... ask him for you both" - Yui replies, an awkward nervous yet pleasant smile appears on her face as she speaks, a sweatdrop appears on the side of her temple as she speaks in a nervous tone. Tomoe slowly regains a plain and calm expression as Yui moves slowly round the front of Megumi and slowly walks to appear in front of the Isreali ace Kestrel, the scar faced infant blinks and looks up, still embraced in Tomoe's loving grip. Kazumi who had face palmed wit her right hand lowers her hand from her face and regains a straight face, the expression and atmosphere from the blue haired woman is no longer the 'Oh Boy' moment but rather a calm and pleasant atmosphere as she watches Yui lower her right leg and with one knee on the ground brings herself down to Kestrel's face height and with a very pleasant tone proceedes to speak in Israeli to the scar faced infant. Immediately the young Kestrel with his silver Star of David pendant shinning in the sunlight, replies in his soft and nervous timid voice, the long black haired boy whom looks like a girl from distance responds without hesitation to Yui's question, Kestrel's eyes making contact with that of Yui's as he speaks. Soon enough both Yui and Kestrel are exchanging phrases, Yui maintaining a pleasant expression while Kestrel maintains his usual timid and confused face.

After a matter of minutes that see 20 or so phrases exchanged in the Hebrew Israeli tounge, a small and kind smile appears on Kestrel's nervous and frail looking timid face, the infant has a gleam of excitement on his small face as he slowly nods his small head towards the office dressed Yui, Yui's eyes seem to light up as she speaks the word - "Thank you in her native Japanese tounge to the scar faced Kestrel. Yui has the warm and friendly face of a proud mother as she half closes her eyes and bows in respect to the scar faced Kestrel. Kestrel lowers his small head to acknowledge Yui. As Yui stands to her feet the black haired female looks to both Tomoe and Megumi and in a calm and proud sounding tone speaks in a slow but very clear voice at the two teenage females - "Right, listen... Kestrel has said that he does have a favourite song, but he learned it while in Israel, and though he does not want to talk about his past he is perfectly happy to let you know that his favourite song is "Oh my country, my homeland", but he has also said that whenever he sings it, it upsets him at times for reasons I'm sure you both can imagine, so if Kestrel starts to cry then don't be put out, this is a song that Kes seems to cherish, so although filled with bad memories at times, he says that he can still find some happiness, so for this reason... he said he will sing it for us, he'll put the track on for us via his IS. So... please, representing Kestrel as his interpreter and his friend... I'd like to present, "Oh my country, My Homeland".

With that Yui backs away in a calm manner, as Kestrel lowers his head and takes a small but deep breath, the scar faced Kestrel closes his eyes and his smile drops, a few seconds pass and then, opening his eyes, the youngster's Black Phoenix partialy activates, but its only the HUD system presented in a holographic manner before the infant's eyes. What looks like a music sound bar wave vibrates as a very soft and careful tune echoes through the air. Tomoe and Megumi release Kestrel from their arm lock grips and merely hold the scar faced boy's hands in a very careful manner, Kestrel's expression changes from glumm to a sweet warm pleasant expression and in a soft but very clear tone, the scar faced infant begins to sing in his native Israeli, the music playing is clearly Israeli, but matches the lyrics that Kestrel sings perfectly. The scar faced Kestrel looks to the sky as he sings, the small smile remaining perfectly on his small face as he sings.

**( Author's note: This song can be found on Youtube under the title "Israel In Songs Part 5 | Israeli Folk Songs English Phonetics titles", under pending "Music From Israel", to get to this song skip to 03:21, Oh! My country my homeland will start to play, a woman dancing to the music will give it away, before the song starts Hoy, artzi molad'ti will appear in white letters... so, without further ado ).**

_**"Hoy, artzi molad'ti,.."**_

\- Oh! My country my homeland

_**"Har trashim kere'ach."**_

\- Bold rocky mountain

_**"Eder ulpeh, seh ug'di,.."**_

\- Faint herd, lamb and kid

_**"Zehav hadar same'ach."**_

\- Happy golden citrus

_**"Minzarim, gal, matzevah,.."**_

\- Monasteries, a gravestone pile

_**"Kipot tit al bayit."**_

\- Clay dome on the house

_**"Moshavah lo noshavah.."**_

\- A settlement not settled

_**"Zayit etzel zayit."**_

\- Olive by Olive

_**"Eretz, eretz morashah,.."**_

\- Land, land of heritage

_**"Dekel rak kapaim."**_

\- Palm tree of many palms

_**"Keder kav tzavar rasha.."**_

\- Fence line wicked cactus

_**"Nachal k'mah hamayim."**_

\- Stream so much water

_**"Reiach pardesei aviv,.."**_

\- Smell of spring citrus groves

_**"Shir tzil'tzal gamelet."**_

\- Song rings camel caravan

_**"Cheil cholot layam saviv,.."**_

\- Army of sand for the sea around

_**"Tzel shikmah nofelet."**_

\- Shadow of falling sycamore

_**"Eretz nach'lat midbar sin,.."**_

\- Land tract of Chinese desert

_**"Kesem kochvei lechet."**_

\- Magic of constellation stars

_**"Hevel za'am hacham'sin,.."**_

\- Vanity of the heat-wave rage

_**"Melunah bashalechet."**_

\- Kennel during leaf shedding

_**"Kerem gefen nim lo nim,.."**_

\- Vineyard vine sleep no sleep

_**"Tel chorvah nech'reshet."**_

\- Ruins' mound being plowed

_**"T'chol leilot vilel tanim,.."**_

\- Azure of nights and howl of jackals

_**"Mash'evah nokeshet."**_

\- Knocking pump

_**"Hoi, hoi, eretz chamdat lev,.."**_

\- Hoi Hoi land we cherish

_**"Hashamir hashayit."**_

\- The thistle the thorn-bush

_**"Bayir sud yatom bagev,.."**_

\- Water hole orphaned in the hollow

_**"Bashamaim ayit."**_

\- in the sky eagle

_**"Reiach pardesei aviv,.."**_

\- Smell of spring citrus groves

_**"Shir tzil'tzal gamelet."**_

\- Song rings camel caravan

_**"Beyam shel or tove'a kol,.."**_

\- In a sea of light all is sunken,

_**"Ve'al p'nei kol hat'chelet."**_

\- And over the face of all the azure.

... ... ...

_**"Reiach pardesei aviv,.."**_

\- Smell of spring citrus groves

_**"Shir tzil'tzal gamelet."**_

\- Song rings camel caravan

_**"Beyam shel or tove'a kol,.."**_

\- In a sea of light all is sunken,

_**"Ve'al p'nei kol hat'chelet."**_

\- And over the face of all the azure.

Black Phoenix HUD deactivates in a single flash of blue light and Kestrel lowers his small head, the infant closes his eyes and looks down upon the ground as Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Kazumi proceede to clap in respect to the scar faced Kestrel, whom clearly must have taken a lot of bravery in singing so openly. From a short distance away Ichika and Co are also clapping, Kestrel however pays no heed at first as the infant is no longer singing, from beneath the lowered head a look of pure sorrow can be seen on the face, the depressed upset and sad stricken upturned closed mouth gives the look of the young boy about to burst into tears and a lone solitary tear can be seen rolling down the right side of his small face, the scar faced infant quickly proceedes to raise his small left hand and wipes away the tear, the scar faced infant's upturned mouth suddenly opens a fraction showing a set of pearly white teeth that press down on the lower lip, then... before Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Kazumi can react, the lone tear turns into a sudden rainstorm, a grief stricken sob barks out of the said boy's mouth, the infant looses his ability to sit on the bench and slides forward, collapsing onto his knees, the scar faced Kestrel tries desperately to hold in is cracked grief held tears but is unable to do so, the scar faced Kestrel for all his brave attempt, cries his eyes out, the infant bawls as silently as possible but the infant can be heard all to well by Ichika and Co, whom proceede to stand in utter concern for their young friend, Tomoe and Megumi in a fit of panic speak out Kestrel's name and get to their knees, both lower their heads to look at Kestrel's face before clomping the infant trying desperately to comfort the young male that has captured their hearts, both have the look of concern and utter sympathy. Kazumi and Yui rush forward and get in front of Kes to offer more support. Before the said infant knows it he is soon huddled over, not only by The females, but now by Ichika and Co, whom rush fowards to aid their young friend whom is clearly heartbroken by terrible memories.

**\- Briefly elsewhere, 8 minutes later -**

**( Author's note: ... please note: The Israeli for Eagle is 'Ayit', not 'Nesher'. Some say that it's the opposite way round but believe me the Israeli for 'Eagle' is 'Ayit', BELIEVE me, I'm not wrong, if you don't believe me ask the net for Isreali for Eagle and Vulture, where we say 'Nesher' is eagle, it's the opposite way round for the Isreali's so for this reason - 'Ayit' is the Isreali for 'Eagle' ). **

**( Also for this chapter, there is no right or wrong for how the scenery is layed out, to make you readers feel as if your a part of the action, what ever scenery in this chapter can be made up in your own minds... just have fun! )**

Standing over looking the nearby train station stand some shadow shillotted teenagers, the darkened outlines mark out who is male and who is female, but its impossible to tell who is who in clinical detail, but what can be made out is the puffs of cigarrette smoke, and the shape of baseball bats, one of which housing razor sharp looking nails pointing outwards, another weapon noticeable is the gleaming metal of what appears to be a knife, whilst the largest weapon of the pack of darkened teens appears to be a large golf club. Over looking the station on a high ground ridge, a female arm extends and with a balled hand, the sunlight gleaming off her bracelet, points down towards the scar faced Kestrel whom looks like a little girl from where they stand, or at least a young teenage one. A snided female voice full of anger, excitment, vengence and hate is heard in the air as the unidentified female points towards the distant Kestrel - "Thats the little bastard, right down there!".

"What the F*** do ya know about this!? We came over twenty five miles just to beat the shit out of some snot nosed little faggot!?" - A juvenile male voice is heard speak out,  
briefly breaking silence as the young teenage female's arm lowers.

"I heard that little shits the one that put my sister in hospital, the little bastard supposedly wrent away her arms like a mower a blade of grass, so I'd say its time he got his!" - Another unknown teenage male's voice is heard speak in an angered hiss.

"So how we gonna do this? We just corner him and beat seven bells out of his little ass!?" - Another teenage male's voice is heard speak out.

"I personaly don't give a f*** about what we do as long as I smash the bastard's head open!" - A teenage female's voice hisses out, the female apparently spitting her words as the gang of teens stare down from the high ground down towards the train station area.

"Well we can't stand here waiting, I say we pounce and kill the bastard right here and now!" - Another teenage female's voice is heard speak out.

Then as the sunlight shifts ever so slightly the gang of teens comes into view, revealing some highschool looking students, all of which wearing the same highschool uniform,  
the boys wearing white buttoned uniform shirts, black uniformed pants and black shoes. The girls of which wearing the white buttoned blouses, and black highschool skirts, they too wear sensible looking shoes. Many of the highschool students wear fake but very catchy looking jewelry, some of the boys are seen wearing fake earings, rings on the fingers and one of which with black hair has a nose pierce. The highschool looking girls wear fake but catchy looking braceletts, rings and earings. Many of these teenagers appear to be the very symbol of delinquent trouble, brandishing the usual gang style weapons, the gold on the jewelry gleams slightly in the sunlight. Many of the gang members have differant style hair, some are in differant colours, along with differant coloured eyes, but all of which have the look of malice in their faces.

"We gonna do what we did to that four eyed faggot Kenshi?, beat the living shit outta him and leave him for dead?" - A short black haired teenage male with his baseball bat resting against his right shoulder asks.

"Wait... looks like he's heading for those bathrooms just up those steps, good thing that this crappy station area has its latrines seperated by over 100 steps up a large hill" -  
A green ponytailed girl gang member speaks, pointing down at the distant Kestrel whom now walks away from Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Kazumi and heading towards a flight of steps, boarded on both sides by a bright coloured yellow hand rail. As the girl speaks, the gang glance over towards their right and notice a large mall, a large parking lot boarded by a large wire fence over looks the train station area, but on the opposite side of the wire fence some 100 yards behind the fence and near the very edge of the parking lot, a moderate sized building can be made out, the distant appearance of what look like open doors can be found against the wall of the typical rough brick coloured building, set above them in bright white signs are male and female symbols indicating the men and the women's lavatories.

Seeing the chance to get some vengence, the gang leader with spikey red hair snarls with excitement and in an excited his speaks one phrase - "He's comin to us, little idiot, right... lets go!".

Wasting no time the gang of boys and girls begin to vector over towards the parking lot area, all of which keeping their eyes on Kestrel, whom is unaware of their pressance and merely begins to climb some steps.

**\- 7 minutes later, the Bathroom areas -**

Having taken a good effort to climb a vast flight of steps to reach the bathrooms, the scar faced Kestrel is now at peace, having completley burst into tears following his singing, but thanks to Tomoe, Megumi, Yui and Kazumi, the upset was tackled. However, as with many other human beings nature calls from below the younster's waist as the waters deep within Kestrel's small body where beginning to churn. Thankfuly for Kestrel, there is plenty of time to relieve himself before the train arrives at the station below, and eager to have a comfortable journey by rail, the scar faced Israeli is eager to pee and save room for any drinks aboard the train, not that Kestrel knows that express trains do serve drinks, but... even so, a great feeling of comfort will be within the youngster's body by just going to the bathroom and getting that horrible bursting feeling out of his genitils. As Kestrel reaches the top of the steps the infant first claps eyes on a vast parking lot, but only partialy full. Some small and large cars are parked in parking spaces but the said boy does not pay any attention to the sight before him, normaly in a curious state, the long black haired Kes would normaly look with bewilderment at the sight of the many green, black, yellow and white cars, some are classy sports cars, some are mere family carriers, but as Kestrel is hardly in the mood to observe the sight before him, any sights are put to one side as he jogs over towards the bathroom building area, the boy's star of David pendant jittering against his small chest as he jogs over towards the building complex, looking upwards to look at the two over head signs that state which bathroom is the men's and which is the women's.

However, in a horrible twist of ignoring his surroundings, the scar faced infant has failed to notice the closing in high school gang now walking relatively fast down the length of the perimiter fence and towards him, abliet a ways off but closing rapidly. Kestrel looks up and to his relief notices the men's bathroom sign and slows to walking pace, the ocean blue eyed infant gazes up at the sign for a moment before turning to the left and walking through a wide open red door, held open by a large chain, kept firm by a silver gleaming lock as to ensure that the bathroom door remains open. As Kestrel enters the bathroom the Israeli youth turns to the left again and walks down a very short corridor before turning right and into the bathroom, the walls of the bathroom are in one single colour of yellow tile and the floor a marble white tile. Kestrel happens to glance to the right and notices a series of white wash basins with silver steel taps, hand soap machines can be seen above each of the 10 basins. Further down on the right Kestrel looks at a series of 20 red wooden walled cubicals, housing latrines from inside, but Kestrel's real port of call as at the very bottom of the restroom.

**\- ( Authors Note: "Restroom" ... That's what it's called, my bad, Won't bother to change what I've written, you all get the idea anyway XD! )**

Smiling and letting out a sigh of relief Kestrel dashes over towards the men's urinals, the scar faced infant's sneaks making resounding noises as the said boy excitedly jogs down towards the urinals. Upon reaching the closest that matches his height, as 4 white urinals are set up for younger boys, Kes wastes no time and pulling his pants forward slightly and then without hesitation begins to relieve himself, the infant however paying no attention as to the sounds of people speaking behind him, and the heavy growing atmosphere as the teenage gang begins to enter the men's restroom area behind the turned back of Kestrel, each teenage boy and girl has a gored, hungered, animal expression in their faces, matched with very evil and wicked grins as they enter the restroom and notice the scar faced Kestrel with his back turned.

Meanwhile, after a minute or so, Kestrel is finished quickly and proceedes to pull the front of his pants and underwear back to his waist, the infant proceedes to tie a bow in the cord of his joggers to ensure they stay tightly up against his small body, allowing his t-shirt to fall back to it's natural position the scar faced infant proceedes to shake himself like a small dog for a second, the infant's hair blowing and shaking as the said boy shakes the front of his body for 3 seconds. Then, after straightening his posture and brushing his long black hair back over his shoulders, the scar faced Kes proceedes to turn to the left and make his way out, but what comes next causes a vast amount of alarm to course through the said boy's body as the ocean blue eyes of the unsuspecting Kestrel meet those of the teenage highschool gang, all of which smirking or grining with malice at the scar faced infant. Upon seeing the gang before him Kestrel immiadetly comes to a stop, the youngster goes wide eyed and leaps backwards in alarm as if been shoved backwards by someone, noticing Kestrel flinch before them the girls of the gang snarl with satisfaction as if Kestrel has wet himself, despite only just going to the bathroom just seconds earlier.

Silence fills the air and the tension is so heavy that the air could be cut with even the bluntest knife, the young scar faced Kestrel stares into the faces of the teenage gang members, the long black haired infant blinks only once and remains stiff, but as the infant stares into the gang members glare and gaze down at the scar faced Israeli, they fail to notice that the Ocean blue eyes of Kestrel begin glazing over, the pupils slowly begin to vanish until the eyes seem to become nothing but empty blue doll like eyes, the child's mouth is partialy open and the expression changes from alarmed to a serious frown and the fingers on both of Kestrel's hands are apart from each other as if the said youngster is a cowboy ready to draw his gun from his holster, yet the arms of the scar faced Kestrel remain limp at his sides and the posture and standing position maintains stiff, as far as the gang is aware the black haired infant is a powerless pup and should be cowering, but to the gang's surprise... Kestrel is silent as the grave, and still, and if anything the expression shows a person that is not in the least bit scared of what is before him.

"Well, got any last words ya ugly little bastard?" - The black haired teenage male with his baseball bat resting against his right shoulder comments with a smug expression, the checkered tie running down is white shirt seems to be ready to be stained red with blood, the white teeth on the large teenage male gleams in the light.

"What he said ya shitty little fag! Cat got ya tounge!?" - The orange haired teenage female with the golfclub shinning in the light remarks, the unknown named girl sticking closely to her boyfriend, but what the female sees next only causes the flames to increase as Kestrel's expression changes from a serious frown to a fierce looking snarl, yet the mouth remains closed and all that shows a challenging expression is the eyes, that ONLY now are noticed by the gang members, deep within Kestrel's eyes, which hold no pupils, nothing remains, except a lifeless fierce gaze as if Kestrel is no longer a human and instead is a cornered animal about to fight to the death.

"Oh, So this little shit looks as though hes ready to bite us, why don't ya call an ambulance!?" - The blonde ponytailed teenage female comments with a smirk, still gazing in fury down at the scar faced Isreali whom remains silent, yet looking as fierce expressioned as ever, not even Ichika has seen Kestrel with such an expression, and had the Japanese male noticed such a face on the vulnerable and nervous infant, then its a safe bet that chill would have run up his spine, because for all the timid and frailness that Kestrel is to some extent, the fierce scowl of fury and rage on the infant's face is enough to effectively spear a pure dart of ice through someone's heart, its as if Kestrel is possessed by some unknown, un-challegened and unlimited power, and power so dark, it is not to be looked down upon, the infant's eyes seem to widen to a psychopathic manner and finaly, the snarl appears on Kestrel's face, showing and flashing razor sharp looking canine fangs in the upper set of his teeth straddled by his premolar and lateral incisor teeth members.

Finaly, after a matter of silence, the fierce expressioned Kestrel, maintaining his snarl, curls his angered snarl expression into a confident snarling smile and then, speaking in a very low and sinister hissed voice, speaks a unknown phrase in his native Israeli tounge, and then... balling his right hand into a fist, slowly rolls his hand so that the fingers face the ceiling and then proceedes to raise his right arm and to the shock of the gang, raises his middle finger the young ten year old looking possessed with a sinister pyschopathic wide eyed fierce expression begins to raise his snarling smile to the left side of the face in a near deranged smirk.

**( Author's note: I'm not saying that you readers should do this, but I personaly thing that some good fighting music helps bring this scene to life, such as my favourite battle music which can be found on Youtube titled: "Black Hawk Down: Special Edition Soundtrack | 6. Fighting to Super Six One". I personally think that sort of music makes this scene more action packed and hard-core, if you can't immediately get this track, then merely type in Black hawk down OST, go to the stack of videos under pending "DunderDunce", select and go for track 6. ).**

As the gang glares down into the explosive expressioned face of Kestrel, the gang leader finaly snarls and cluchting his bladed knife as tight as possible in the left hand, hisses and in a fit of anger mixed with a large level of confidence breaks the moment and with his eyes narrowed in an furious snarl breaks the silence and hisses out one phrase - "F**k this! Lets cut the little bastard!" - Its a mistake that the red haired male, and his gang will will quickly come to regret, the angered scream of the red haired teenage boy fills the rest room, with raising his right arm over his head to prepare to slash down at the scar faced Kestrel, dashes forwards, what comes next is said to be impossible as the said scar faced Kestrel seems to react with lightning reflex. The infant rapidly lowers his arms and drops his smile and replaces it to a fierce snarl, the infant kneels down and before the gang leader expects it, the Israeli infant balls his right hand into a fist and with a rapid swing from the chest smashes the red haired teenage male in the face, the sound of bone impacting bone rings in the air, and from deep inside the mouth of the teenage youth, the said male can feel the terrible feeling of teeth shatter from their gums umoungst the unbearable amount of pain that now befalls the entire right side of the face from the mouth area, this happens in less than 5 seconds, but what comes next is very foul as mass of blood and teeth erupts from the red haired teenage gang leader and proceedes to splatter against the yellow tiled wall of the restroom, the bloody red stained teeth bounce of the wall and rattle across the the rest room floor, but this is only the start as the scar faced Israeli tosses himself backwards and with a hard swing of the right leg upwards kicks the knife out of the red haired male's hand, a bone is heard snap as the tip of Kestrel's sneaker smashes into the teenage boys hand, the gang leader with blood erupting from the mouth and now with a screaming broken little finger releases the knife, but Kestrel lunges forwards and proceedes to snatch the knife out of the air with his left hand and with a lighting fast swivel drives the knife down into the back of the gang leader's right shin, as the Japanese male is now tumbling down and twisting to the left from the momentum of being struck in a sideway smash to the face by Kestrel's opening attack. As the knife blade drives deep into the flesh of the gang leader the sound of flesh being cut open echoes in the air before being replaced by a gut wrenching scream from the gang leader whom falls to his side and hits the side of the rest room wall, as this happens Kestrel pulls the blade out of the back of the gang leader's shin.

Not wasting any time the green ponytailed girl gang member dashes forwards screaming in rage raising her baseball bat above her head, the nails stuck out firm from the wood, Kestrel finishes his swivel just in time and with his right balled fist drives a punch deep into the gut of the screaming Japanese female, the female's eyes widen in shock and in pain as the feeling of her stomach bursting open causes her to stumbling backwards, Kestrel isn't finished and lunges forwards and with his right arm hooks his limb underneath the back of the Japanese girl's shin and with an un-matched level of power raises his right arm and sweeps the female off her feet, causing the Japanese female to fall backwards, but Kestrel isn't finished yet, the scar faced Kestrel rapidly proceedes to grab a'hold of the green haired female's thigh, transfering the knife into his left hand in a rapid toss to the next while dashing forwards, grappling the teenage girl's thigh in under his left arm, Kes turns the knife inverted in his left hand and in a rapid thrust downwards drives the blade into the very top of the Japanese girl's thigh just missing her green and white stripped knickers. The knife drives cleanly and deeply into the girl's thigh, but Kestrel is far from finished and summoning all the strength in his right arm pulls his right arm back, the fist tightly gripped onto the knife handle as the infant cleanly rips open the Japanese female's thigh in sharp deep clean slash running from panty line to the knee, blood erupts and splatters onto Kestrel's enraged face, the Japanese female screams in un-matched pain and releases the nailed baseball bat from her hands, the female lands on her back and clutches her screaming and disabled right thigh with both hands, the eyes on the green ponytailed female close tightly as she holds her ripped open thigh, both hands immediately going red as blood begins to pour out of control across the restroom floor.

Kestrel turns his attention to the next gang member whom dashes forwards to avenge his leader, its the gang member male whom too has a knife and has orange tanned hair, the teenage male attempts to slash to the right to cut Kestrel's face but the scar faced infant does the un-expected and as soon as the orange tanned haired male swings as far as his arm will go, the scar faced Kestrel proceedes lunges forwards, placing his left foot on the head of the downed green ponytailed Japanese girl and grabs a'hold of the right hand of the orange haired male and with an un-told mass of strength in his left hand swings the balled right hand of the Japanese male into the red wooden wall of one of the bathroom cubicals, the knuckles of the Japanese male seems to break as the sounds of bones seem to shatter and crack, in a fit of pain the Japanese male releases the knife and closes his eyes tightly as Kestrel releases the male's wrist from his grip and ducks downwards to attack the legs, with the knife blade still pointing down, not yet having the chance to drip red due to the speed, the infant attacks the Japanese male's legs, Kestrel appears to pull off a martial artist assault as he rapidly slashes away at both legs from thighs to shins left to right, left to right, up to down before finaly driving the knife blade directly downwards and into the right black shinning shoe of the Japanese male, the knife drives through the material like a knife through hot butter, straight through the bone and flesh of the right foot and through the soal, the Japanese male falls to his backside and screams aloud, clutching his foot, desperately trying to ignore the agony of his slashed thighs and shins, Kestrel removes the knife and faces the next enemy, blood erupts from the punctured foot of the Japanese male.

The next enemy that attempts an assault is the purple side ponytailed girl gang member, but she is despatched very quickly as the scar faced Kestrel flings himself backwards, and with all the power at is dispossal sends his right foot smashing into the face of the purple girl gang member, upper cutting the female and cutting open the top lip, a pair of teeth erupt out of the girl's mouth as the chin is grazed open and the lower jaw takes the brunt of the impact, the purple haired female delinquent's head is flung backwards and the female keens over backwards, the chain that was clutched in her left hand is released from it's grip and falls to the ground, Kestrel upon landing on his small feet, with his long black hair fluttering and running elegantly in the air, draws back his right, and as if skipping a stone across water, throws the knife directly into the gut of the purple haired Japanese female, the eyes on the female widen and a choked "Urk!" escapes the female's mouth the knife hits the female directly above the navel area beneath her clothing, but as the knife is short, the chances of death is reduced, but even so, the female may yet have suffered a fatal wound. Kestrel is not phased and dashes forwards, but does not pull the knife out of the female's stomach, as the knife is now a plug that is not to be removed, that is... if anyone wants to save the girl's life ofcourse.

As the purple haired female falls on her back to the ground, Kes dashes towards the next enemy after kneeling forwards and proceeding to charge, the next foe to greet Kestrel is the brown thick bushy haired Japanese teenage male whom with his right arm swings a machette down at the scar faced infant, Kestrel easily evades the blade and swivels to the left and with his left leg makes a martial artist swinging kick, knocking the machette out of the Japanese boy's hand before charging fowards, grabbing the extended right arm of the Japanese male with his left hand before charging ahead to slam a realy nasty sounding punch into the Japanese teenager's bowels, the knuckles of the scar faced Kestrel bury themselves deeply into the cut of the Japanese male, causing the brown haired male's eyes to widen in agony before the entire body falls backwards, Kestrel sees the chance and flips backwards, the infant drives his left foot straight into the crotch of the brown haired male, the Japanese male's eyes close and fill with tears and his mouth opens to wide state, the sound of Kestrel's foot hitting the testicles seems to go with a nasty crunching sound so if anything its a good bet that this massive haired Japanese male won't ever be able to reproduce children, or worse... urinate blood for months. **( Author's Note: True fact! ).**

The next foe to face Kestrel is another male, whom charges with a police batton in his left hand, just as Kestrel lands on his small hands and finishes his backwards flip, the infant's hair blows and flutters in the wind due to the momentum of moving rapidly, and the Star of David pendant remains confined to it's natural position despite the fact that Kestrel is moving so fast with each move. As Kestrel lands on his feet, the scar faced infant meets the gaze of the police batton waving male, the shaved head of the male proves that he's a rough hooligan, but just as the male charges at Kestrel, the wide eyed scar faced infant with blood smeared and splattered across his face, makes a martial artist swing with the right let in a revolving right swing the sounds of bones shattering in the left hand of the Japanese male's hand echo in the air, the shaven headed Japanese male closes his eyes and screams in pain as the batton goes flying out of his hand and clatters against the rest room wall, the scar faced Kestrel leaps forwards and proceedes to forward roll slightly to the right and within a matter of seconds retrives the batton from the cream colour tiled rest room floor. Kestrel does not have the time to properly floor the shaved headed male and is forced to face the next enemy, the next enemy to attack Kestrel is the long red headed baseball bat wielding teenage girl, Kestrel is just in time to duck and avoid being hit in the head by a hard sharp swing to the left by the red haired female, but the failed hit leaves the red headed Japanese teenage girl wide open to being smashed in the face by Kestrel's right fist, the female's head flings to the right, Kestrel tightly clutching the police batton in the left hand makes a swivel to the left and proceedes to smash the female in the face with the batton, blood and teeth erupt from the red haired female's mouth before the en-raged Kestrel charges forwards and sends a three salvoed shot of 3 punches into the girl's stomach, the female keens forwards, and her eyes close tightly, Kestrel floors the red haired female with a VERY sharp blow of the right fist into the very center of the girl's left temple, the blow is so powerful and hard that the sound ressembles an egg cracking, thankfuly its nothing fatal and if anything the Japanese female releases her baseball bat and is spun round due to the blow, the girl with her mouth and nose gushing blood, falls front first to the floor, her eyes rolling upwards as she falls to the ground out cold, the wooden baseball bat going with a clatter as it hits the ground.

Next comes 2 teenage boys at once, one of which being the shaven headed male whom has just picked himself up off the ground, but with a broken hand attempts to slug it out with Kestrel with one hand along side his schoolmate with black hair, the two males attempt to fight Kestrel bare handed, Kestrel with both arms deflects a pair of punches before kneeling down and proceeding to fight martial artist style with the two boys, Kestrel at first fights on the defensive but after a matter of 7 seconds turns the tables and within the blink of an eye the long black haired infant, hooks the police batton around the back of the short black haired teenage boy and the scar faced Kestrel proceedes to drive a painful head butt into the face of the black haired teenager, the said teenage boy's nose is heard break as Kestrel's forehead nutts the face of the teenager, pain stricken and gushing blood from the nose, the Japanese male falls backwards clucthing his face in pain, this gives Kestrel the chance to finish off the shaven headed teenager, whom begins to exchange martial artist arm blows with the shaven headed male, Kestrel however is able to despatch the shaven headed male after slaming the police batton into the teenage boys ribs from left to right, the scar faced Israeli floors the teenage once and for all with a very nasty left punch to the face, smashing bullseye into the right side of the nose and blacking out the right eye, the blow is strong enough to knock out the teenage schoolboy, and within a matter of seconds he to joins his schoolmates on the floor.

Unfortunetley the fight is not yet over as the remaining gang members begin to hesitate, but as soon as Kestrel turns to face the remaining numbers, another teenage boy charges, waving a carving knife above the head, Kestrel's snarl is gone by now, but the furious glare remains, and with eyes still glazed and traumitised, continues to fight onwards. As the dark blue haired schoolboy charges at Kestrel, the Israeli infant swivels to the right and with a swing of the police batton knocks the carving knife out of the schoolboy's hand, Kestrel seems to barrel roll to the left in the air in a majestic manner before smashing his right fist into the blue haired Japanese male's face, blood erupts from the mouth of the Japanese boy along with some teeth, but Kestrel isn't finished as the infant swings the police batton and smashes the Japanese male in the face yet again, before swiveling to the left again and with a low swinging kick knocks the male's right foot from underneeth him, as the Japanese male falls forwards, Kestrel drives his right foot down in a stomp into the back of the left shin of the downed male which is just made after swiveling round to the right in a very martial artist manner. However, before Kestrel can turn to face the exit another schoolboy charges, bare handed, once again, the scar faced Kestrel takes out another enemy within seconds as he reaches forwards with the left hand, briefly releasing the police batton and pulling the schoolboy in forwards, Kestrel moves like a possessed animal and after pulling the teenager in close, drives his right knee into the chest, the sounds of bone and muscle slamming into the chest causes the said Japanese male to go wide eyed, but Kestrel is far from finished and proceedes to grab a'hold of the Japanese male's right arm and with a rapid swing, drives the teenage delinquent into the wooden wall seperating two doors of a pair of cubicals, the Japanese male's face smashes into the wood and the blow knocks out the said male in an instant. Kes pays no attention to the sounds of violence and bodies that smash against the walls and floors as he takes down one enemy after the next, even as Kes leans down to rapidly retrieve the police batton, he fails to notice the walls and the floor a'mass with blood splatters.

Kes has no time to observe even if he wanted to as another enemy is faced immediately, this time a long brunette ponytailed schoolgirl wielding a carving knife, as expected, the possessed and wild eyed Kestrel takes her down, the scar faced Kestrel briefly ducks rapidly and avoids a right way slash across the face, then retaliates and transfers the police batton to his right hand, the scar faced infant smashes the female in the chest, as the female goes wide eyed and lets out a pain stricken - "Gak!", the knife is released from her hand, Kestrel reacts before anyone has the chance to stop him and with his left hand snatches the knife by the handle out of the air, the scar faced Kestrel reacts like lightning and with the blade of the knife facing the ground proceedes to drive the blade directly into the back of the girl's right thigh, the female lets out a lound pain stricken scream as the infant drives the blade straight into the back of the right thigh. As the female falls to her knees, screaming her lungs out, the scar faced Kestrel knocks the girl out with a sharp painful punch to the forehead with the right fist, still tightly clutching the police batton, the fist smashes the brunette ponytailed female right inbetween the eyes, the blow is so powerful and strong that the female falls backwards in an instant, the female's eyes roll up and close as the sound of bone hitting bone echoes out a'loud like a breaking egg.

What comes next is fierce as a schoolgirl with short blue hair charges forwards with a Katana raised above her head, the female screaming as she charges forwards, the scar faced Kes allows the female to charge and as soon as the female swings her long sword downwards the long black haired Kestrel raises himself off the ground and barrel rolls himself to the left in mid-air before swinging the police batton to the right knocking the female's arms away, Kestrel sees the chance and leaps upwards, the infant proceedes to drive the blade of the knife in his left hand deeply up the right arm of the Japanese female, Kestrel reacts again and swivels to the right smashing the girl in the right side of the head with the police batton before placing the knife blade against the neck of the female and slashing the entire shoulder open with the blade, immobilised on the right arm, the female's left hand leaves her bleeding arm and moves towards the shoulder, a miracle that the neck just happened to move out of the way otherwise the entire neck would have been slashed open and dealing a surely fatal blow. However Kestrel still has to fight on, as another schoolboy charges forwards wielding another baseball bat, Kestrel swivels to the left and knocks the boy's entire right arm to away to the right, stumbling forwards, the Japanese male is left wide open, and Kestrel upon finishing the swivel round places the batton under the knee of the stumbling Japanese male and sweeps him off the ground, as the teenage male lands on his backside on the floor, Kestrel drives the knife in his left hand deeply into the right thigh of the Japanese male, the scar faced Israeli even goes so far as to snap the blade as to ensure the steel is embedded deeply into the teenage delinquent's flesh, clucthing with both hands, the blonde teenage male lands on his back in agony screaming a'loud and keeping his eyes closed tightly.

As this happens, another teenage schoolboy dashes forwards, bare handed, Kestrel is just in time to face his enemy and rapidly proceedes to stand to fight, as Kestrel is shorter than his foe the infant is able to avoid an elbow to the side of the head, but just by a matter of inches, Kestrel wastes no time and drives the batton upwards knocking the right arm up into the air, Kestrel drops the batton and transfers the knife from the left hand to the right and proceedes to hold the delinquents arm in the air by his left hand, then, as quick as a flash... Kes then holds the gang member's arm in the air with right, just after transfering the knife to the left hand and then, as quick as the fight starts, Kestrel finishes it by turning the knife inverted and driving the blade twice into the deliquent's body with the first thrust hitting the left brest narrowly hitting the lungs and the second thrust hitting the flanks of the delinquent but thankfuly the blade is able to avoid hitting any major organs and if anything the worst damage is punchering the body, Kestrel finishes off the teenager by sending his right shin and foot straight into the face after leaping forwards and doing yet another swivel to the left swinging his leg in a swinging kick attack. The short black haired teenager falls backwards to the floor with eyes closed and with blood gushing violently from the two gashes on the body, as the teenage gang member lands on his back on the tiled floor, the scar faced Kestrel has the chance to take a brief breather and with a blood drunken deranged furious expression, gazes at the five remaining gang members whom by now are hesitant, in particular, the long blonde curly ponytailed girlfriend of the gang leader whom by now is white in the face and the cigarette in her hand is limp and shaking to the rythim of her shaking posture.

Kestrel breathes very slowly and silently, still staring in a furious manner at the six remaining teenagers, the pale faced and wide eyed expressions of the now terrified juveniles only worsen as Kestrel slowly places the police batton on the floor and walks slowly backwards to retrieve a baseball bat on the floor, the infant then picks up the wooden weapon and then places the weapon against the wooden wall of a cubical, the doors are still closed, then with all the strength to handle, the long black haired Kestrel slams his foot against the blood stained baseball bat, what follows is a horrible sound of wood shattering as the bat breaks in half, Kestrel rapidly places the blood soaked knife in his left hand on the floor before leaning forward to pick up the now snapped in half baseball bat, the scar faced infant tightly holds both shattered wooden pieces in his hand like a dual pair of swords with the razor sharp wooden tips facing towards the ceiling. As this happens, the orange haired teenage female with the golfclub shinning in the light looses grip on her weapon and a very warm sensation fills her underwear before rolling slowly in trickles down her left leg as she pees herself, the golfclub in her hands is released and falls to the ground, the female is shaking violently from head to foot and tears of terror are starting to fill her eyes. Then, as Kestrel just happens to make a mock lunge forwards the female screams as loud as her lungs can mannage in terror before stuttering in a terror stricken manner - "O.. Oh Jesus! Oh Jes..".

The female then turns her tail and runs to the right, bursting into a vacant lavatory cubical, the resounding sound of the door being bolted behind her is sound as she attempts to take refuge in a toilet. Now alone and abandoned by his girlfriend, the black haired teenager whom looks to be on the verge of crapping himself begins to tremble and shake as Kestrel VERY slowly begins to walk fowards, still clutching the razor sharp pieces of snapped baseball bat in his hands, walking forwards and leaving the group of girl and boy gang members soaking in what looks like a mass growing ocean of blood, many are groaning and clutching their wounded body parts, where as those seriously wounded lay still on the floor as if they are dead. Kestrel's fierce scowl remains furious and the infant's hands and fists covered in red remain clutched onto the severed baseball bat pieces. Unable to take any more, a lone remaining black haired teenage male dashes forwards screaming in a mix of violence and horror - "GOD DAMN IT!" -, he is delt with relatively quickly, as he reaches the scar faced Kestrel, the said Israeli infant moves rapidly, fighting again in his martial artist style, deflecting a series of punches, swings and kicks before leaping into the air and swinging himself to the left to deliver a very nasty and painful kick with the right foot to the side of the delinquent's head, knocking out the black haired teenager. Following quickly afterwards Kestrel deals with another teenage boy, but allows the male to use his strength up by deflecting punches and kicks, before slamming his left fist directly into the right side of the teenager's head, another punch comes a few seconds later as Kestrel smashes the teenager in the face with the right fist, Kes effectively finishes off the male within a few seconds by smashing the male in the face with his right fist, causing an eruption of blood and teeth before driving the sharded baseball bat piece directly down into the left shoulder of the teenager, once again screaming fills the air on a very violent scale, Kestrel jams the bat piece in so deeply that the bone is struck, but thankfuly the bone is not penetrated and no major blood vessels are ruptured, attempting to back up her boyfriend one of the last girls charge forwards, it turns out to be the last thing she does as Kestrel forward rolls and flings himself directly through an open gap between the green pigtailed girl's legs and stands to his feet, the scar faced Kestrel lunges forwards before the green haired female has the chance to react and after kneeling forwards slightly swings his right arm to the right and knocks the girl off her feet, the female falls backwards rapidly and lands on her back, her head slightly hitting the floor, Kestrel dashes forwards and grabs a'hold of the girl's left arm, the scar faced infant grasps the girl's arm in that of his own and with a vast amount of strength in his right leg stomps down a smashes the side of the female's head into the floor breaking the nose, cutting open the lips and nose causing an eruption of blood before the effect of the blow quickly knocks out the said female.

The final two teenage girls charge forwards the ponytailed blonde girlfriend of the gang leader drops her cigarette on the floor as she joins her long black haired female friend, the said long black haired female is delt with first as Kestrel leans forwards and charges knocking the female into the air, the black haired gang member rolls over Kestrel's back, the blonde ponytail girl ceases running and begins to back up, very rapidly until her back hits the wall of the rest room, watching in horror as Kestrel swings the remaining piece of severed baseball bat into left hand of the black haired female, pinning it to the floor and causing blood to erupt and spirt, as the girl screams in pain, Kestrel straddles the female, grabbing the girl's head in his small hands and quickly proceeding to ball up both fists and beginning to send a volley of punches into the female's face, the sounds of bone hitting bone is soon replaced after several punches by the sounds of blood spirting and splattering, nine teeth are knocked clean out of the girl's mouth as her face is knocked to the left erupting blood, leaving masses of swelling bruises on the female's face with a pair of eyes certain to go black. Now faced with one final enemy, the terror stricken girlfriend of the gang leader shakes her head in terror as the scar faced Kestrel sends out a very violent and blood drunken scowl, with tears beginning to fill her eyes, the female does the wisest thing anyone can do... flee.

However, an enraged Kestrel charges and gives chase, swipeing the still burning cigarette off the floor and after a matter of seconds pursues the terror stricken blonde out of the rest room area, as Kestrel enters the daylight with the cigarette in his hands, the infant is just in time to make out a terror stricken call for help as the teenage female runs for her life - **"PLEASE! SAVE MEEE!".**

Kestrel catches up very fast and in soccer ( or "football" to us British ) style manner, tackles the female to the floor, the scar faced infant knocks the gang member off her feet just beside the outer walls of the rest room area, Kestrel wastes no time and grabs the teenage female by the ponytail and twists her head round to face him, the scar faced infant's glazed and empty eyes see the crying eyes of a person desperate and terror stricken, virtualy cowering and full of terror, but that does not stop him, Kestrel wastes no time and rams the cigarette into the left eye of the blonde female, a pain stricken scream fills the air before Kes finaly finishes off his last enemy, the infant twists the guilty female's head to face the wall and proceedes to violently smash the female's face into the brick wall, three times. The sounds of bones cracking fills the air as Kes knocks out the guilty blonde leaving three large blood smears behind, thankfuly the wound is not fatal. Kestrel lets out an exhausted sigh and releases the female's head from his left hand, a splooge red faced gang member falls on her back out cold. The infant stands up straight and takes a few steps backward, the enraged expression now fading, but as the infant has yet to fully release his rage the infant lets out a short, tiny but rage stricken bark in anger, the infant's fists are tightly clenched as he puffs out his chest and flings his head forwards, flashing his white sharp canine teeth while to look at the motionless teenager on the ground - "H'ARGH!".

**( Author's note: Kestrel fights on the same style as the main police officer character does in the movie "The Raid", If you want to see all that fighting happen in real time, watch the Youtube video titled "The Raid: Redemption First Hallway Fight Scene" ).**

As Kestrel eases his posture, the infant suddenly gets the return of rational thought return home, the youngster's angered expression gives way to one of pain as the infant suddenly gets the feeling of a very painful headache hit home, the infant suddenly closes his eyes and places both hands against both sides of his temple, a very painful and sickly sounding - "OOoooh", escapes the exhausted and weary Israeli as he begins to stubble backwards and feel a terrible sensation of sickness in his gut, the youngster feels the sudden urge to up and vomit as his eyes are closed, the tired out Isreali maitains his closed eyes as he continues to stubble backwards, as the scar faced infant continues to back up the infant suddenly feels the back of his heels hit something hard, maybe a stone or the curb ( British English - "kerb" ) of the parking lot, as the scar faced Kestrel had been backing up a great deal with his hands still firmly placed against his head, in what could be Kestrel's equivalent of a person feeling drunk and feeling the loss of limbs.

Kes suddenly feels himself falling backwards and in that moment braces himself for impacting the ground, but to the infant's surprise the child feels himself being halted by what can best be described as a pair of hands, before the said infant knows it, the child feels himself being craddled in someone's arms, but who it is remains unknown. In his darkened and weak state of mind Kestrel can make out the sounds of adults talking, all of which sounding very blurred and ridiculous, the scar faced Kestrel keeps his eyes shut a great deal and for what seems like a lifetime, the infant remains laying down in some random person's arms. Eventualy, as the infant's headache begins to ease up and a feeling of numbness takes hold of his stinging and bruised up knuckles, the scar faced Kestrel proceedes to open his eyes, which is firstly greeted by a painful blur of daylight causing the infant to shield his eyes for a few moments. Now having the ability to breathe in a calm manner, the scar faced Kestrel releases his head from his hands completely and allows his arms to go limp, the infant rests them on his stomach and gets the feeling of being propped up. Now, after a great deal of waiting and hearing blurred and un-telligable voices, the infant gets the ability of hearing back in his small ears, the infant is greated by a very familiar voice, but its not that of Ichika or the others, its the voice of a woman, one whom Kestrel heard just recently as a matter of fact.

Slowly, after hearing a few comforting tones, the scar faced Kestrel opens his ocean blue eyes, the pupils have returned to normal and the youngster's soft, nervous, frail and timid facial expression has returned. Greeting Kestrel's eyes is the one person Kestrel had not expected to meet, smiling down with a comforting expression and with a supportive gaze from the eyes, Kestrel finds himself stunned to look into the comforting and surprisingly kind eyes of non other than... Police Detective Otokawa. - **( A.N: Didn't expect that did you readers!? XD" ).**

Smiling with a very supportive and playful smile, the Japanese Police detective with her strong yet friendly eyes of authority makes direct eye contact with that of Kestrel, whom clearly is stunned and surprised at the sight, the Japanese woman in uniform does not raise her voice, and instead speaks in a tone similar to that of Chifuyu Orimura herself - "You alright?".

Kestrel's bewildered state of mind responds only with an innocent and nervous blink of the eyes, a timid and nervous - "Hm?" is heard come from the scar faced infant.

"Hmph! Looks like you had a scuff and came off the winner, very impressive for a ten year old boy I must say, but even so, you know what this means don't you?" - Detective Otokawa comments in a proud and impressed tone before frowning her expression to one of concern and looking Kestrel in the face with a worried expression. Kestrel, obviously un-able to understand what the Japanese woman is saying and merely remains silent, blinking every now and then and in a very timid and confused manner tilts his small head to the right, awaiting what the Police Detective will say next.

"It means that from now on, I'm going to have to watch you night and day, looks like you have to go around with Police observation twenty four hours a day until further notice" - Detective Otokawa speaks out with a very relieved tone, to which is just what is needed as far as Kestrel is concerned, as the infant needs support and not punishment, especially if its over something that no matter how one looks at it, Kestrel was the victim. The young scar faced infant remains silent as the female police officer looks him in the face, firstly placing the index finger on her left hand on her forehead, before turning down to look the infant in the face again and speaking in a very pleasant tone -

"Ofcourse, I do realise that your going away for a few days now demands some authorised escort, but... never the less, I think that as I'm in charge of your case, my boss and colleagues will accept my request of tagging along and ensuring law and order, I guess you have Orimura Chifuyu and some friends in high places to thank for that, so... well... until further notice, looks like I'm going to have to be given some leave time and watch what ever antics you and your friends get up to, VERY closely". - Though Kestrel, can't understand a word that's being said to him by the mature female of Japan's police force, the way that the woman spoke gives the indication that nothing is wrong and if anything it sounded strangely as if everything is going to be alright.

At that moment as Kestrel blinks and invisible question mark appears above his small head, the familiar sounding voice of Ichika breaks the silence, the voice is the type one would use to call to someone out of concerned distress - "Kestrel!".

However as Kestrel turns his head to the right to look into the distance, the ocean blue eyes now meeting the appearing vision of Ichika and Co, rushing up the same flight of steps that Kestrel had traveled up earlier, the scar faced infant together with Detective Otokawa is drawn to look up and to their left to look at the face of a middle aged Japanese male wearing a black suit, a black tie, and shinning black shoes. The middle aged male looks like the typical Japanese detective with a small beard and moustache, the Japanese male's voice is a mix of concern and seriousness as he looks down with a stern gaze at Detective Otokawa -

"Otokawa-san, its a mess in there, looks like we have some realy serious injuries, one girl looks as if she's dying, I've called for an ambulance, Toranaga is applying first aid right this minute"

"Contact Kanagi-sama, tell him that I have to invoke directive Six, Eight, Two, Five, Zero... I now have to stay and observe my suspect under order Five, Seven, Nine, Three. Orimura Chifuyu gave this order personal, so tell him that if he has any objections take it out on her, and while your here radio for backup, I want security camera footage observed, I wan't the place boarded off, nobody enters that public restroom until permission". - Detective Otokawa replies, looking her colleague in the face and speaking in a very calm and collected tone, the woman establishing rank superiority in her voice.

"On it!" - Detective Otokawa's colleague replies in a mixed tone, rapidly proceeding to turn and run towards the restroom areas, remaining out cold on the ground, the blood faced blonde teenage girl remains still and motionless, as if dead on the spot, a vast ocean of blood gushing and spreading across the ground, the cigarette jammed deeply into the deflated and burst open eyeball, certain to be completely destroyed.

As Ichika and Co reach the scar faced Kestrel and Detective Otokawa, the reality of what has happened sinks in, and as the gang freeze on the spot having noticed the bloody teenager on the ground matched with the distant sounds of police and amublance sirens, the entire gang is now wide eyed, Laura in particular is so heavily effected by the sight, the eye-patched female speaks only one phrase while looking at the craddled scar faced infant in Detective Otokawa's arms, the long black haired Isreali's face is drenched red from blood, the fists on the infant are bruised and covered in blood, but not that of his own, and the white T-shirt is soaked red, as if the said boy has bathed in a massive tub of blood, the black joggers the infant wears obscure most bloody patches, but the white and grey pattern sneakers are drenched red. Tomoe and Megumi waste no time and rush up towards the scar faced Kestrel having spent enough time bewildered and hesitant, as the two females rush forwards, the eye-patched Laura gazes down at Kestrel whom is completely confused and unsure as to what has happened, as Laura stares at Kestrel the female stutters in a nervous and very sickened tone - "My wife... My rivals... I think the boy can best be nicknamed, The Child from Hell!".

_**Well readers, now you've seen what Kes can do without using his IS, obviously when pushed to very dangerous levels, and for this chapter, I must confess that to complete it, I started on writing the fight scene and the ending first, then starting on the beginning and then gradualy completing the chapter from there on. So... What do you readers think of how tough our little Israeli Hero is? As always, please put comments in the open comments section.**_

_**I can't be sure when the next chapter comes out, but rest assured its coming as quickly as possible, but until then, I'd like to say thanks for reading and I don't have much to say during the closing address, other than as always... STAY COOL, and remember I'm wishing you all the best and may your own fics get the best reviews and comments.**_

_**Like I said in the intros, no PMs if you can help it, just put it in the open comments section... this request is only for now so please don't feel offended.**_

_**See you readers as soon as I can, wishing you the best.**_

_**Stay cool**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	96. Chapter 96: Eventful train journey

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised with a fresh new chapter, at last... the summer break can start, please note that this chapter is just the beginning of a string of new chapters that will give Ichika and Co the chance to develop relationships and get ready to dive into an atmosphere of playfulness and decompression, this chapter is the foundation but I did my best to put as much pleasantness as possible into the foundation, and thankfuly I don't have much to say other than thanks for not sending PMs, but if you wish to comment, please put them in the open reviews, please feel free to review these chapters, but place them in the open reviews, thats all I have to request.**_

_**Just in case you readers were worrying, don't be fearful, I am NOT going to change Kestrel's hair style, it's going to remain long and as it is throughout the fic, the reason why will be explained by the characters almost immediately as you start reading the chapter, but I guess that's a good thing to mention, as Kes just wouldn't be Kes without long black hair and I'm not going to ruin a developed character with a noticeable feature that makes him independent.**_

_**Also this chapter should see the first development in Kestrel and Tomoe's relation, albiet a clean version, please remember that Tomoe is between five to six years older than Kestrel, so their relationship is for now virtualy on similar scale to most childhood sweethearts that reach their teens - but please note, this is the ONLY chapter until further notice that will establish who Kestrel realy likes the most amoungst the many females around him. - Also as background development, I base Kestrel and Tomoe on the anime couple Kei and Mizuho from Please Teacher, but they fair differantly and are independant made up characters as you are aware of -**_

_**Also your going to find out how Kes has fared since the last chapter, what with bloody clothing, shoes and a face to match... what follows may be childishly simple, but it's childishly handy... okay, no more spoilers.**_

_**Okay... that's it for Intros, other than that... please read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 96

**\- Japanese Train Carriage 10:34am -**

\- ( AN: Refer to the previous chapter to remember what Ichika's clothes look like and what type they are ) -

Sitting in large light grey farbic coated seats, similar to those that one would find on a large airliner 747 or 737, sits Ichika and the gang. The interior train walls of the compartment carriage that Ichika and his friends sit are white, the roof of which is white with large beaming rectangle lights some 10ft long running the length of the roof, set some 10 inches apart. The floor is a dark black colour, the seats on the train are in pairs on both sides of the pathway like black floor, on both sides of the carriage interior are 3 sets of light oak coloured serving tables the first pair of which are set in the very middle of the compartment, where as the other two are set 4 seat rows on both ends of the compartment away from the seperating doors that keep each carriage apart from each other.

The drone of the train along with the comfortable rolling and slight rock motion as it travels on the rails beneath the gang's feet sends a very comfortable and relaxing feeling, as one has no doubt experianced if traveling by train at night and hearing nothing but the sounds of the carriages every now and then clicking and swaying, the sounds of the train moving at speed set with the comfortable feeling of being in seats and every now and then experiancing the sway that can sometimes be like a rock a'bye to relaxing slumber. Fortuneatley for Ichika and Co, there is no stomach for falling asleep, if anything a feeling of excitement is in the air, that is... for the girls that have now opened their hearts to Ichika and tense feeling of worry for the said black bushy haired Japanese male, thankfuly, following the recent incident with Kestrel, the Japanese male was able to claim dibs on the seat directly beside his small Israeli friend whom has surprisingly been able to have a new change of clothing, but his sneaks remain unchanged, still smeared with red blood stains. Kestrel's ability to change clothing was ONLY a matter of luck, as Kazumi had taken the chance to take a quick jog to a small store in the train station to quickly purchase Kes some more clothing, has there was still some time to wait for the train, and that the said blue haired mother of Tomoe and Megumi had been feeling very sick with pity after witnessing Kestrel crying in pain after singing on the train station, thus the said mother was not present at Kestrel's last incident, which maybe was for the best, as the said woman did not have witness a horrific scene of the said scar faced infant covered in blood, and not that of his own.

Though Kestrel was forced to change clothes in the pressance of Detective Oktokawa in the women's rest room, the said detective was able to get a glimpse of Kestrel's scars upon his back, thus causing the woman's eyes to widen and pause in bewilderment. Thankfuly to help in cleaning Kestrel's hands, face and arms was Ichika, whom was more than happy to aid his young friend. Now sitting dressed in a dark blue T-shirt with a white emblem of a U.S dollar eagle on the front, matched with light royal grey coloured pants, Kestrel is clean again and able to at least get some comfortable and positive feeling back or at least attempt to, the scar faced infant's knuckles are bruised slighty from his fight with the teenage gang but thanks to Cecilia and Charlotte, the girls where able to put on some make up on the knuckles, thus making the infant's bruised fists look their natural colour, so if anything, Ichika has a lot to thank his self proclaimed girlfriends this time. As a ressult of this, despite the shocked yet impressed expressions of the european blondes, they kept their smiles and treated the scar faced Kestrel like a little hero with nothing but cheerful and friendly voices and very warm and kind smiles as the scar faced infant merely gazed at the ground with a 1,000 yard stare matched with a very depressed face as if to say - 'It's happened again'.

Fortuneatley, the two european blondes are now in sunny mood, as they both recieved a very thankful and overjoyed hug from Ichika, albiet both girls were pulled into Ichika and were glomped by the said male, with Cecilia on Ichika's left and Charlotte on Ichika's right, both females at first went wide eyed but as Ichika closed his eyes and embraced both females very warmly, matched with one phrase - "Thankyou, you girls are brilliant" - both females immediately blushed and smiled with emotional joy, as if being reunited with their one true love after months apart. As both girls gazed into nothingness and began to drool with dreamy eyes and happy partialy open mouths, Ichika quickly got an icy chill up his spine as Rin, Houki and Laura suddenly marched up to Ichika with death glares, Laura of which with a tear in her eye, though the said females did not do anything violent as the said females now know better, all 3 demaned Ichika do one thing that he didn't have the guts to give... a kiss. All 3 females balled their hands into fists and raised them to their chests as if overly excited about something, closed their eyes and leaned forward with eyes closed, serious scowels were upon the said female's faces, though no words were spoken, but it was clear as day that all 3 girls were effectively saying something that went along the lines of - "'Why are they getting some attention, I want some attention!'".

Though some disapointment was in the air at the fact Ichika did not acknowledge a kiss request, but... Ichika was smart enough to give the other three girls a hug each, though some frowns were still on the faces of the said females, all 3 where left smiling with faint blushes on the faces, and thus leaving a nervous and dilemma stricken Ichika to race away to take refuge with Detective Otokawa and at that moment a freshly dressed yet trouble faced Kestrel. Now at least, Ichika is able to take it easy, the Japanese male sits on Kestrel's left, leaving the scar faced infant to face the train window, Detective Otokawa is absent at the moment, having to leave the compartment to speak to her boss over a black shining cellphone, clearly having to inform her boss and superiors that she has to invoke a directive that demands her pressance around the said scar faced infant whom is in manner of speaking shell shocked. Yui and Kazumi had been informed of the recent incident as soon as possible and though some illness was in the air along with horrified faces at seeing Kestrel's blood strewn clothing, the pair of women know all to well what the scar faced infant can do when pushed to frightening dangerous levels, so it's not much of a surprise when spoken of... but the stinging horror of when something does occur, is still all too real.

The blood stained clothing that Kestrel was left wearing are now in the possession of Yui in a large plastic white shopping bag awaiting cleaning, how it is that Detective Otokawa didn't go and take the said clothing as evidence exhibits is left in question, but perhaps for now... that doesn't matter. After getting aboard the train the gang was able to take a carriage for themselves, all Detective Otokawa had to do was show her police badge and make up a story to keep the Ichika and Co fan club away.

Now, at last... everyone can now rest and relax and look forward to an upcoming much needed mass of day's rest and relaxation. Sat side by side, the two boys are like two peas in a pod, as the pair just happen to glance at each other, both pause and look each other in the eyes before smiling kindly at each other and looking out of the train window. Sat behind Ichika and Kestrel in a seat of her own is Houki, the female with her lipstick, sleaveless red summer shirt, small blue mini-skirt and green sandals maintains a warm and confident expression as she sits in a very ladylike manner behind Ichika keeping her eyes fixed on the said Japanese male in a half dreamy state.

Rin wearing red Chinese dress and black slippers sits just across from Ichika's seat, the female has her hands placed neatly on her lap as she gazes over at the black bushy haired male, she too has a confident smile on the face. Cecilia with her light blue summer dress, red lipstick, white high heeled shoes, and large white summer hat sits just infront of Ichika with her basket of possible sandwiches and food at the ready. Charlotte with her sleaveless white summer shirt, small blue mini-skirt and black knee high boots sits just opposite Ichika. Laura has no discarded her pale red hat with Yui and maitains her black one piece dress and light blue sandals.

As for Tomoe and Megumi, the slender curved Japanese beauties continue to wear their white summer dress and white high heeled shoes, the pair sit just ahead of Rin opposite the side of Ichika and Kestrel, both females merely awaiting their chance to leap into action and snatch Ichika's seat beside Kestrel, all they have to do is wait for the said male to loose his bottle and need the bathroom, to which Houki, Charlotte, Rin, Cecilia and Laura will waste no time in giving chase, both females have been warned personaly from Kazumi to not cause a scene, but as the carriage is empty, that demand is the last thing on both female's minds.

As for Yui and Kazumi whom wear their clothing, ( A.N: Refer to Chapter 95 ), both women can have the chance to speak freely to each other, both sit on seats which house a table in the middle, the acception of seating at the table is that one person sits with their backs to the direction of which the train is going where as the other sits facing the said direction. Normaly on trains and public transport, the rule is to be dead silent, but as many traditions are overlooked at this day and age, especially on a special chartered train, many do tend to speak, albiet very quietly or softly. Kazumi whom sits with her back to the direction of the train's journey looks across her oak coloured table to that of Yui, whom sits with her arms resting on the smooth laminated wood like surface and looking across towards Kazumi, whom sits with a large plastic white shopping bag on her side, filled with Kestrel's blood stained clothes from his fight earlier, the said mother of Tomoe and Megumi still unable to grasp the shock of what has happened every now and then by looking down into the bag and seeing the red stained mess in an unsensible heap as if someone has not been bothered to fold up clothing. Thankfuly though, since starting the journey by train, both women have had the chance to converse about the scar faced Israeli and NOW a very surprising factor to which Kazumi was not aware of, as the said woman with her dark blue hair makes clear by looking at Yui with slightly surprised eyes matched with a small happily surprised smile, her tone being one of a person whom is interested in a topic they never knew of -

"So, you're saying that Kes will forbay anyone from touching his hair, even when it needs a slight trim?"

Yui responds immediately to Kazumi's words, the woman clearly amazed as she is that Kestrel has only ever made one demand since appearing in Japan and happily going along with those of everyone else without asking questions, but then again... maybe because of the said boy's torture, he might have been raised not to question authority, but all the same, the one lonely demand is still a surprise albiet a pleasant one as Yui is smiling with a pleasant expression as she replies to Kazumi's question - "That's right, Kes has told me so himself, he's even gone so far as to warn me that if anyone comes near his hair with scissors, let alone hair dressing equipment... he'll personaly defend himself, violently if need be".

Glancing to the right as if to attempt to look back up the rows of seats, the Japanese woman blinks and maintains her smile, Kazumi's voice not dropping it's pleasantness as she speaks in a slightly amazed yet intrested tone - "Realy? How odd".

Yui leans slightly to the left to look up the rows of seats, there she notices all the females gazing at Ichika, except for Tomoe and Megumi, Yui raises an eyebrow and smiles in a pleasant yet awkward manner, a sweat drop appearing on the side of her temple as she straightens herself upwards. The black haired Yui shrugging for a moment as Kazumi turns her attention back towards her, the female raising her arms to form the 'Wha?' position for a matter of seconds as she speaks, lowering her arms and hands back on to the table as she proceedes to respond to Kazumi's words, Yui's tone being neutral yet pleasant - "Well... I guess it doesn't matter that much anyway, I say if Kestrel wants his hair left alone in exchange for doing what we want, following our laws and customs, then I say thats a very fair bargin".

Smiling with some affection, Kazumi briefly rolls her eyes and glances to the left out the train window before looking Yui in the eyes again as she speaks in a tone of aggreement back towards her female friend - "Hmmm...Yeah, I'd aggree with those terms, I'd say that's alright. Heck, who says he needs short hair, I think he's gone through enough as it is, guess you could say he's earned that right to have long hair".

As Yui places her left hand over the top of her right, the Japanese woman eases her posture, despite sitting up straight in a ladylike manner, the woman is prepared to take it easy and rest easy, the said woman looking in the direction of the scar faced infant to whom she translates words for, and yet no-one can say differant that Kes has captured more than just one pair of hearts, aswel as earned six teenage friends, whom by now are involved in an unpredictable battle for just one of the said teen's heart. Yui keeps her small and pleasant smile matched with a soft happy expression as she speaks her mind, the woman now speaking on a basis that supports Kestrel's appearance, rather than his state of mind for once, but at least this time, she is getting a lot of aggreement. - "I personaly think that long, shinning black hair is perfect, gives him his own independent and own personal taste and touch".

Lowering her head in a slight nod or bow before raising her posture, Kazumi closes her eyes for a brief moment before looking Yui in the eyes again and with her pleasant expression still standing, the female responds to Yui's words and speaks her next series of words as if its a matter of fact - "Not only that, but I noticed when I patted Kes on the head, his hair is real soft and smooth, and when he's moving fast, or if the breeze blows through it, it moves as if it's dancing, you don't get many boys who have hair like that these days".

As Kazumi finishes speaking a sudden voice breaks the silence, a familiar voice that causes both females to drop their expressions and turn their attention to just beside them, with Kazumi looking to the right and Yui looking to the left, the voice is plain, clear and yet surprisingly cool toned with a hint of seriousness, like Chifuyu Orimura. - "There's a great many boys unlike the scar faced kid, and not just his hair, as you must know by now".

As the two women turn their heads, they meet the face of non other than Detective Otokawa, whom stands with a mixed expression of ice and affection, a small smile placed on the face of a woman whom is serious and is not about to let anything get in the way of her job. Both Kazumi and Yui immediately cast looks of surprise at each other before looking at the police detective before them, having forgotten about the fact that Kestrel now requires observation, both women speak at exactly the same time in a mix of confusion yet amazement - "Detective Otokawa-sama".

Closing her eyes, pushing her glasses slightly upwards with her right hand, a small smile appears on the said woman's face yet her serious cool face remains still like some general or commanding officer of a military unit impressed with her subordinates level of intuition or suggestion to face a military challenge. The Police detective lets out a sigh before replying to the two women with an affectionate smile, the ponytailed police detective with her office dress uniform with pale red lipstick on the mouth mixes with her stail now fading perfume that was put on this morning, Otokawa replies to the two females with a tone that suggests that there is no need to be so alarmed to which the said officer makes clear as she opens her eyes and looks down towards the two women - "Oh please, you don't have to use the 'sama', you can call me Detective Otokawa.. Otokawa.. or just plain Miss, and if anything you two are hardly the ones in trouble, Im not asking you both to provide an alibi, I'm merely going along with the discussion over the kiddo that floored that gang of hooligans".

Frowning slightly before leaning back in her seat, folding her arms, Yui is quick to shoot the police officer in the eyes, the woman clearly irritated over the fact that Kestrel is being seperated from the NCA group and from people that owe the said infant their lives, which Yui makes clear as she speaks in a flat and stern tone, the look on Yui's face being one of a mother whom is confronting another mother whom has raised her hand to a child that is not her's - "Yes, we know that, but was it realy a good thing to seperate Kestrel from the other people like some caged and dangerous beast?".

"Look, I'm aware of the factors in this case, but believe me, this course of action is far better than what would normaly be expected, It was Chifuyu Orimura herself that had this ordered out, so I'm only doing as I'm told, it's not like the kid is being placed in a cell for over twenty four hours. If anything I'm only making sure that no more trouble is going to occur, if not for the boy's wellfare but for other people's wellfare. If there was anyother way out of this then don't you think I would have informed you? Just think of this as a police shield, the law being there to prevent any more incidents, you'd be surprised how few people get this privalidge, only people such as V. like Presidents and Leaders of a country would have this type of protection, so I would show some respect miss Sakurada, If anything I'm going to be the shield that ensures Kestrel is out of harm's way and if there is any more domestic trouble, then the police is going to be there in the form of me to make sure any more incidents like the one back at the station do NOT take place" - The ponytailed Police detective explains with her arms folded, the woman casting back a serious frown and making her tone be that of ice, before turning her tone into one of warmth and ensurance matched with a smile as mentions the positive benifits of the matter at hand.

Kazumi is next to speak, firstly looking over towards Yui and speaking in a careful tone as to show that she supports Yui's point of view with a small smile before turning to face the police woman before her, turning down her smile and sending up a frown with a tone of desperate request, with a hint of demand - "I think what Otokawa is saying is that this is better than being blamed for a mass crime which many would be by now, she isn't here to arrest Kestrel but rather here to prevent any more trouble, Yui I too find it hard to adjust to Kestrel needing twenty four hour observation until further notice... but, we have yet to see how things develop, she's not going to stop Kes from having fun with the others, so perhaps we should... for the time being... let things develop and see how they go... and Miss Otokawa... that boy has a name, that name is Kestrel, you can call him Kes for short if you want, so the only thing I have to say is that you speak about him as if he's a human being, and not a guilty criminal thats committed mass murders or terrorist attacks".

Police detective Otokawa at first frowns down at the mother of Tomoe and Megumi for a moment or two before slowly curling her lips into a confident smile, the woman remains standing firm with her arms folded before smirking with affection, her eyes half closed as if enjoying the position, but thankfuly... like a good cop, the said police detective responds with a positive attitude towards the mother of the two Japanese beauties some seat rows up - "That's exactly how I would put the situation, the law that I've sworn to follow and serve, will prevail, but as you've mentioned, I'm not here to snatch little.. Kes, away from you all, personaly in regards to who he is and what type of person he is... I don't yet know, so as a ressult I reserve judgement. You may not believe it but since I met Kestrel at the pyschiatric hospital, I've felt he is as you say a victim of circumstances and brutality of the human race, believe me... I do think like that, I know that its hard to trust me at a time like this, but as Kazumi mentioned, just give me a chance. I'm sure you'll grow to feel comfortable with police observation in time, now... if you don't mind, I'm going to sit beside you both and take the chance to order a drink when the serving trolly comes by".

Yui eases her posture, looks out the train window, ignoring the landscape that passes by the window, a painful and sorrow filled expression is on her face before the said woman lowers her head and sighs in a defeatist manner, yet her spirit is still unbroken. As Yui blinks and turns her head to look up at the police officer before her, the black haired woman is able to gain a small hopeful smile on her face as asks only thing that comes to mind - "Very well, I'll give it a shot, and the fact that you've spoken the truth and are prepared to play a fair game, you have my blessing... all I have to insist on, just to earn some ease of mind and a maybe a bit of trust between us is just one thing... what is your first name?".

Smiling with a now pleasant and sunny expression, detective Otokawa shakes her head with affection before looking down at Yui with a playful expression and after a moment replies in a pleasnat and friendly tone - "Tsukiyo".

Taking the chance to increase the sunny warmth of the atmosphere, Kazumi proceedes to rest her left elbow on the oak coloured table and rests the left palm of her hand against the left side of her face, a confident and playful expression is on the woman's face as she closes her eyes to a half closed state and smile appears on her face as if a level of pure smuggness has just hit home - "Okay, Nice to meet you.. Tsukiyo, lets look after each other".

The police officer now know as Tsukiyo now shakes her head in an affectionate manner before replying in a playful and friendly manner in return - "Yes, I look forward to it".  
Yui at least has a feeling of security land on her shoulders as she watches the Japanese police woman walk take her seat just opposite that of her own and Kazumi. As Yui looks away from Tsukiyo, the black haired woman meets the face of Kazumi whom has lowered her hand from her face and proceedes to shoot over a look of warmth and peace, the woman even goes so far as to reach out with her left hand to take that of Yui's right, the blue haired mother of Tomoe and Megumi effectively giving Yui the message that goes along the lines of - 'It'll be alright'. An act to which Yui lowers her head in a very happy and relieved bow as if to reply back - 'Thankyou'.

Meanwhile with Kestrel and Ichika the two boys gaze outside the train window, Kestrel in particular by now observing the large to moderate sized green coloured Japanese hills and distant mountains, and every now and then turning his small head left to right in an attempt to observe the trees and bushes that pass by, every now and then going dizzy, closing his ocean blue eyes, placing his left hand to his temple and giving a slight shake of the head to regain some senses, which thankfuly return very quickly and if anything it's just the joy of experiancing the novelty of experiancing yet another new alien enviroment, for the time being until something else new comes up that is.

As Ichika takes the chance to lay back in his seat, the said male suddenly feels a very sickening chill run up the spine as the feeling of eyes burn into his face, back and gut, though Ichika does not turn his head, he half closes his eyes and slowly rolls his brown eyes to the left, there the said male catches the stare of Rin and virtualy yelps in fear, the said male's nerves betraying him and causing the Japanese male to leap to his feet, virtualy sweating in tension and nerves Ichika proceedes to stutter and tremble a slight amount. As Ichika leaps to his feet the Japanese male, Ichika's self proclaimed girlfriends, all at each other's throats for Ichika's heart, sit up straight, eyes go wide and a look of excitement hits home causing all to smile in excitement. Feeling the urge of being in a position that he was once too dense to notice, Ichika as expected looses his bottle and smiles in a nervous yet awkward manner, but thankfuly the said male has an excuse at the ready, not that it does him any good as he is now forced to turn tail and flee, in a nervous stuttered tone the black bushy haired Ichika proceedes to speak rapidly - "Ah... err... heh,heh... gotta use the bathroom!".

As Ichika stands to his feet, turns his tail and proceedes to walk in a casual yet rapid manner, all 5 of Ichika's girls stand to their feet, all of which gaze at Ichika in a mix of love and desperation to at least be in his pressance, especially since all 5 females are now on the war path and each one is eager to win as many battles as possible to become the winner of Ichika and establish the title of 'Girlfriend'. Ichika with his head held high, gulps in nerve as first Rin, then Houki, then Cecilia, then Charlotte and finaly Laura up and get out of their seats. Ichika closes his eyes for a brief moment before placing a look of sickened panic on his face, bitting down on his lower lip and proceeding to run. As Ichika begins to run, Rin, Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura speak at the same time, their tones one of irritation and desperation as the boy that they crave for is now attempting to avoid a now important goal in the said girl's eyes. - "Ichika! Get back here!".

Just in time, Kazumi, Yui and Tsukiyo just happen to look up ahead of them, Kazumi having to turn her head to look behind her, they are greated with the sight of Ichika dashing past with all 5 girls hot on his tail, the sounds of footsteps echoing and clattering through the train carriage, as Ichika flashes past all 3 women turn their heads to look in the direction of which Ichika is running, the voice of Ichika is heard plea in a desperate sorrow stricken like manner, Ichika proceedes to speak the word 'Go' as if he's crying the said word in sorrow, desperation and frustraition - "Please, let me go-oh-oh-oh!"

As Ichika and his girls dash out of the train carriage and into the next, all three adult women cast mixed expressions at each other, as if to say 'Did I just imagine that?'.  
Fortuneatley the moment is short as the voices of Tomoe and Megumi fill the air, both females of which now leaping at the chance to leap into Ichika's former seat, but thankfully, the scar faced Kestrel has already stood up and is slowly walking down the rows of seats, Tomoe and Megumi slowly following close behind with concerned expressions on their faces, both females have already spoken Kestrel's name as the said boy rose out of his seat and now both look very confused as the scar faced Israeli walks down the isle of seats, but the journey is short lived as Kestrel is merely changing seats and is hoping to have the experiance of traveling on seat with a table ahead of him. As Kestrel turns his small head to the left as he reaches such a spot, the dark blue haired Tomoe gets a lightning bolt of pure intuition and instinct hit home and reacts before her older sister has the chance to stop her, as Kestrel moves to the seat just beside the train window, Tomoe dashes past her sister proceedes to clutch the scar faced infant's left arm in that of her right and with a smug expression makes a short shrug of the left shoulder as if to say in a mocking manner - 'Ha,Ha.. Ha,Ha!'.

Megumi suddenly gets a temper patch appear on the left side of her temple, her right eye twitches with held in anger but thankfuly a smile is on her face, abliet a challenging one as Kestrel and Tomoe proceede to sit at their new seats, leaving Megumi to sit just across from Kestrel, but as Megumi takes her spot across from the scar faced Israeli, the female notices Kestrel's right hand is free and resting on the table, the said female reacts quickly and proceedes to take Kestrel's free hand in that of her own, much to Kestrel's slight surprise, but the infant's attention is quickly taken back as Tomoe buries herself as deeply as she possibly can into Kestrel's left side, the smell of Tomoe's perfume, and the warmth of the female's body causes Kestrel to feel comfort, and the comfort of the train seat padding his small back and posture causes the infant to quickly regain some peace and allowing Kestrel to regain a small yet timid smile, to exchange with well endowned Japanese beauty before taking the chance to look out of the train window again.

**\- With Ichika, a few minutes later -**

Standing with his back against the wall of another train carriage, the black haired Ichika is now sweating with ill nerves and sweat, the Japanese male effectively cornered and has no where to run, Ichika is virtualy on tip toe as he presses his back firmly against the wall of train car. The brown haired teen completely bewildered at the position that he finds himself in, never in a million years has Ichika ever imagined that he would be surrounded by girls after his heart, but that maybe because he is a lot like Kestrel, celibacy has been the foundation of his life, but it does go without saying, it's not as if Ichika isn't flattered all the same, a fact that many boys would never say against,  
but the difficulty of the problem is still in the air, all 5 of Ichika's female friends have given him a gut wrenching problem, make a choice to choose one girlfriend and break the hearts of the other four.

Despite taking refuge in the bathroom for a few minutes, the Japanese male knew that he was unable to stay inside forever, so it was no surprise that the said black haired Ichika found himself surrounded in almost an instant. The formation around Ichika is as follows, Houki, Cecilia and Rin in the middle, Cecilia being dead center, Charlotte on the right and Laura on the left all 5 females casting irritated frowns at the black haired Ichika and housing faint blushes on the face, Laura being the one with the deepest, being all red upto her ears.

Laura amazingly is the first one to break the ice of the moment by snatching Ichika's left hand placed firmly palm against the wall with both hands, the German female goes an even deeper red under the eyes before looking away to the right, before after rolling her solitary eye to look up at Ichika, and in a stuttered voice, the German girl makes a move that is very bold, even for her, but then again... Laura is now fighting hard for her.. so called 'Wife', the silver haired Laura with her remaining eye shielded over lets out a deep gulp before speaking in a very bashful and timid tone, the timid side very nearly as similar to that of Kestrel - "Ah.. Um.. My beloved wife... I.. I may not have the chest weapons of a woman, but.. but.. I studied the arts of the coupling of husbands and wives from Clarissa in a private conversation via IS last night, s.. s.. So, you know that I'm the only husband for you.. I would cry an ocean for you, give up my bed for you.. and I know that you love me above all else.. so... bear my children!".

Laura pulls Ichika's hand towards her stomach as she speaks those last three words, the German female taking all the guts she has to speak such words and stares up at the Japanese male with a hopeful gaze, a proud smile on her face as Ichika's hand is pressed firmly against the silk like material of Laura's black dress. However, for Ichika, the equivalent of an atomic bomb suddenly explodes the atmosphere and the said male goes wide eyed, tears of shock and terror fill his eyes as Laura speaks her words. Ichika hardly able to believe what it is that Laura is saying and to make matters worse, the other four girls have heard each word clear as crystal and have taken them VERY badly.

"L..L.. Laura no! What are you saying!?" - Ichika yelps in terror, a snotty nose of fear and frustraition breafly appears on his face as the brown eyes of Ichika become filled with untold levels of shock and awe.

Cecilia, Houki, Rin and Charlotte immediately shoot their faces up into Ichika's all four have mixed emotional looks, which is made clear in their tones as they call out the said male's name - "ICHIKA!".

Ichika has no time to respond to any of the four females as all four are far from finished with the male that they are all hell bound to not let go of. Ichika is tackled quickly by Charlotte whom places both hands onto Ichika's chest, the French blonde with a tear in the eye is as desperate as the others but she clearly makes a hint that she is not about to give up the fight by a long shot, mostly likely by millions of years as she speaks in a tone that resembles lecture - "ICHIKA! Don't you dare get involved with that kraut tramp! You don't have to get involved with these hussies! You've got me!".

Cecilia is next to speak as she leans forwards placing her body firmly against Ichika's front, thus drawing Ichika's attention away from Charlotte, Cecilia puts on the best sexy,  
flirtuous look she can manage, yet her bright red flush does not leave her body and her vocal tone is as challenging as that of Charlotte's - "Like hell you need that cross dressing frog Ichika, you know that I'd follow you anywhere don't you darling!? I don't care what people say about me choosing you as my lover, you know that I'M the one that would make you happy!".

Rin with her red Chinese dress pushes and shoves against Cecilia bringing herself as close as she can towards Ichika the Chinese female smiling as lovingly as she can yet she is still using a desperate tone similar to that of Charlotte and Cecilia - "No! I'm the one that you deserve, I've worked very hard for you, only for you and always will do! If we were stuck in the streets, I would never let you go, if we had to sleep in a doorway, under a bridge or in the Amazonian rain forest! I'd never leave you! You know this to be true!".

Houki is next to speak out, once again pushing and shoving against the other girls as now each and every one is attempting to the closest to the Japanese male whom is virtualy crying in panic and distress, Ichika has the urge to cry 'Mommy, Daddy.. Mommy, Daddy!' but thankfuly the Japanese male is able to keep the urge confined, Houki's voice is not filled with as much desperation as the other girls, but the female is using a differant tactic, the false tears and sorrowful tone to make Ichika feel guilty, like the other four females around her, she chooses her words very, very well as she speaks - "Don't cheat on me Ichika! I'm your childhood friend, I've loved since day one and I have every right to be your girlfriend, I've known you since we were little kids, I know your likes and dislikes so I'm the perfect choice.. don't throw me away because of these other whores! What's wrong with me? Aren't I beautiful enough? Do hate me for all those days in the IS academy when I used to be a spoiled little cow and abuse you? I said I'm sorry and I won't do it again, please... give a chance to show that I've changed and that I love you, above all else... I really do love you".

Ichika only just manages to turn his attention to Houki and listen to her words before Laura, still clutching tightly to Ichika's hand pressed against her front, grabs Ichika's attention yet again, the German female now releasing her left hand from Ichika's moves her hand upwards to press against Ichika's chest, the German female slowly moves her palm down Ichika's chest over his stomach towards his lower region, she purrs as she speaks, her solitary eye half closed in a passionate touchy feely manner as the words that many young men would want to hear from a girl whom has had long lasting crush or fancy - "I'll not let you get any sleep tonight my wife, I'll show you that our marriage life will be full of enjoyment, so.. get prepared my wife!".

Ichika is now blood red around the face and shaking like a bride on her wedding night, the Japanese male is unable to concieve the situation and is close to crying in distress,  
though Ichika is flattered at the situation the said male is constantly feeling the illness of the down side of the moment, the more the girls come forwards and confess the more in distress Ichika becomes and the more horrible the task is of choosing only one girl out of the five that are not about to give him up, at what ever cost, and the warning that Rin gave some time ago that she will kill him and herself still echoes in the said male's mind. A fact that Ichika makes clear by placing the back of his head firmly against the wall as the remaining four females now face off in a verbal confrontation with each other, though Ichika calls as clear as possible, it does him no good as the words the girls now speak seem to drown out Ichika's plea - "Is nobody going to hear me out!? This is difficult for me! I can't choose anyone because I can't bear the thought of hurting the others! Please! Give me time to think the situation out!".

As Ichika opens his eyes, he finds that all five girls are virtualy squaring up for a very nasty catfight, with the chance to slip away in view, the Japanese male holds up his hands as if surrendering to a gunman, a snotty nose of distress is matched by slightly tearful eyes as he VERY carefuly proceedes to move his right leg to the side before shifting himself away. As Ichika gets clear of the five females he takes the chance to lower his arms and carefuly take a few steps backwards, the Japanese male taking the chance to get clear and possibily find a chance to run away, but instead... the Japanese male chooses to at least make one final attempt to regain control over the situation. Sniffling up some mucas, the black haired Ichika proceedes to point upwards with the index finger of his right hand as if trying to explain a plan to a group of people, Ichika chooses to use his words very carefuly after taking in a deep breath in an attempt to drown out his nerves - "Listen everyone, I.. ahh.. I'm not saying no to anyone, so I'm not turning anyone down, but I do beg that everyone give me some distance to think things through.. ah, well.. I do understand that a woman's heart differs somewhat to the man's but, never the less all human beings must.."

"So you're saying that you accept me!?" - All five females blurt out in fit of excitement having managed to find out that Ichika has changed locations and being a mere few steps away. The five young women having all turn to Ichika with wide open eyes, faint blushes and open smiles, all five of which have hands placed together, fingers through the gaps of the others in one hand. All five females are almost immediately in Ichika's face again as they dash forwards causing Ichika to lean back and stutter with an awkward smile on the face, however, yet again.. all five females notice each other and cast irritated and angered scowls at each other.

"Ichika... please, don't throw me away!" - Houki blurts out, the Japanese female now looking slightly emotional in the eyes yet the said female still looks as if she is about to pull the ears off all four of the other girls around her.

"Ichika.. Last night I had a dream, you and I would live together in the mountains of my homeland, I would run a bakery while you would be a teacher, we would be a rich couple together, everything was going to be alright, we would have our quarells but we would always make up, you would call me your little Char,Char, and you had my name written on your left arm" - Charlotte speaks out, the French blonde clearly speaking her heart which is as desperate as that of the other four females amoungst her.

"Better than a dream I had a plan underway, we would go to Hong Kong, we would have a son and daughter together, they would go to university and make us a proud couple, back in China we could make a killing together, I would stand by you in any hardship, I already said I would earlier" - Rin blurts out, she too now using the same tactics of Houki and Charlotte, but unfortuneatley making things worse as Ichika is becomong more and more distressed.

"Oi! Hussies, I'm the only one that push my wife around and give orders, get your asses out of here!" - Laura now speaks out, the silver haired German with her solitary eye speaks out, the German female now growing violent and protective of her 'So called' husband.

"Who said he was yours!? Since the very dawn of this world he's been mine, and mine alone!" - Rin retalitates, the Chinese female now housing a very nasty temper patch on the right side of her temple. Ichika is just in time to here Laura bark back an angry response - "What did you say!?".

What comes next is a mass of garbelled nonsense as all five females return to a very nasty and volitile verbal confrontation, leaving Ichika to lower his head in a deflated and depressed manner before straightening his posture and letting out a mixed emotional sigh as things once again go out of his control.

Ichika closes his eyes and shakes his head in a desperate manner as if overwhelmed with a terrible nightmare, to which Ichika is clearly wishing this was. The Japanese male now looking at nobody in particular and in a desperate form of self thought, the said male rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling in his mind, his voice is normal despite the difficulty of atmosphere - ( "Well at least Kes hasn't got this form of hell to deal with, seems a selfish thing to do, wishing roles were reversed every now and then, but I have to admit, I envy his little life at the moment, no woman trouble to deal with" ).

**\- Back with Kestrel -**

As Ichika becomes entangled with his five self proclaimed lovers, the scar faced Kestrel also finds himself mixed up with female trouble, albiet on a more smaller scale and coming in the form of the two Japanese sisters Tomoe and Megumi. Though Tomoe has the sacred right of holding onto the scar faced boy's arm, Megumi has hold of Kestrel's hand so effectively the Israeli is caught between two girls. Thankfuly, Kestrel's greatest defence is in the form of him observing the enviroment, observing the landscape flying past, now at last no longer trying to follow the tree lines and moving his small head from left to right. However, what Kestrel is unaware of at the moment is that Tomoe and Megumi have already lit each other's fuses and taking frustraitions out on each other, but once again.. albiet on a smaller scale to that of Ichika's problem.

"Of all the people that has to tag along on this sponsored vacation, I have to endure the childish antics of an irresponsible sister who is more child than the kids that are in the next car" - Tomoe comments with a huffed tone matched with the shake of the head, the female deeply snuggled into the side of Kestrel and thus the pair exchange soft warmth from each other, Tomoe's eyes fix on Megumi whom smirks in a challenging manner back towards Tomoe.

"There's nothing wrong with being a bit playful dear sister, unlike you who likes descriminate other people, good thing Kes don't know what it is your saying otherwise I'm sure he would have said that your horns are showing" - Megumi responds in a challenging tone as if to put down her younger sister who has just attempted a put down of her own.

"Look there's no need for you to be here, if you think that your tagging along to teach Kes some bad habits then I'm afraid your very badly mistaken, you had friends outside our home city, so you could have stayed with them for a few days" - Tomoe retorts, the Japanese beauty narrowing her eyes in a fierce death glare as she speaks to her older sister whom for all her beauty no doubtably has a mischievous image about her, depending on how much people know about the said teenage girl.

"Oh I do have to be here Tomo', I DO have to be here. I have a young hero that is more manly than any of the other boys I've ever dated in the past in front of me, and you can be sure when I say, 'I have never given up on a good thing' and unlike you, I have more experiance with this screwed up life that we live in, so if Kes is to have a wife in the future he needs someone that cares for him and can aid in his upbringing" - Megumi replies in a slightly proud tone mixed with explination.

"And like I've said, Kes isn't the damn moon, he isn't an object you can use as you please and when finished throw away, thats why I'm not going to let you have time alone with him, he's suffered enough upset in his little life, he's not ready for the prospect of a future relationship" - Tomoe answers the Japanese beauty slightly leaning her head forward as if to make sure all her words penetrate Megumi's ear drums, Tomoe's words and tone not being one of argument but rather one of explination as if to attempt to at least get some sensibility into her older sister whom merely blinks in return.

Megumi narrows her eyes in return towards Tomoe and smirks, the Japanese female lets out a very loud and clear - "Hmph!". Then, after letting out a very inquisitive and challenging smile, the said older sister of Tomoe leans back in her train seat and with a tone mixed with smugness and playful trouble making speaks out some words that cause her younger sister to suddenly go wide eyed and leap in embarrasment, a bright red flush suddenly appears under Tomoe's eyes, Megumi taking pride in causing a blow of embarrassment and bashfulness towards her younger sister - "Why don't you just come out and admit it, you don't want me being around him because it's you that wants to be all alone and friendly with him".

As Tomoe goes red under the eyes, her heart beats a slight bit faster, Megumi smiles a slight bit bigger, the said teenage girl establishing the fact that she has just struck a nerve over her younger sister, by speaking in a slightly low tone near to a whisper - "Oooh! Looks like I'm correct. Tisk, tisk, tisk.. My younger sister condemns me for being in love because she believes that she has the right to be the future wife of the boy that I have my eyes on".

Thankfuly for an embarrassed Tomoe, the said female is fast to find a put down of her own which she makes clear with a smug expression of her own by speaking a set of words that she knows will hurt her older sister, and a true fact at that - "Well, at least I'm a much better girl than you, at least I haven't broken hearts, cheated and stole money away for selfish cries. At least I'm a refined, faithful person that KNOWS about Kestrel and his likes and dislikes and above all else.. not a base woman, and also.. I can't say who Kestrel wants to be with, and nor can you, but lets look at the evidence, we've held hands, cuddled, slept in the same bed, he said I was beautiful on his own accord and for some strange reason he likes coming to me.. rather than you.. little miss skank!".

A mass temper patch appears on the left side of Megumi's temple, the said female is about to up and raise her voice but is stopped almost immediately as the reality of who it is Kestrel in all likelyhood loves the most rears it's head up.

Ironicaly, at this very moment, Kestrel, his usual timid, confused and curious self just happens to turn his small head to the left and looks up at Tomoe, in return,  
Tomoe whom holds her blush glances down to the right, the two pairs of eyes meet each other and dead silence fills the air. Kestrel's ocean blue eyes stare into the eyes of Tomoe, the pair seem to loose the ability to breathe, Kestrel quickly begins to go red under the eyes as both he and Tomoe gaze into each other's eyes. An eternity seems to pass by within a matter of minutes, Kestrel feels his small gut churning, the infant understands the sick feeling of illness, fear and pain, but this pain is for some strange reason, very.. VERY differant. The hearts of both youths seem to beat in perfect sync to the mass movement of the train itself. Tomoe seems to go dizzy in the head and feel very, very light in every last inch of her body, with eyes half open, the Japanese beauty and the scar faced Israeli do not blink as they stare into each other's eyes, Kestrel in particular going ever redder by the moment, Tomoe feels great joy swell within her body and an atmosphere seems to develop between the two, however... the moment is short lived as the Japanese beauty suddenly recieves a very nasty, sharp and violent pain in her right shin as if someone has just driven a knife into it, which is most likely in the form of a shoe. Tomoe reacts to the pain in her shin and lets out a very painful stricken yelp - "YE-OW!".

Closing her eyes and turning her head away from Kestrel, Tomoe's closed eyes fill with tears of pain as she pulls her right shin upwards, the female breaks arm lock with Kestrel and moves both hands forward below the table to treat her now stinging shin. Kestrel shakes his small head and blinks a few times, having come out of that strange.. untold atmosphere, the scar faced infant can't describe the feeling but is apparently happy that a feeling of breath has returned to his small lungs.  
However as the scar faced Israeli turns his attention back to reality, the said male can't describe what was happening, but for some strange reason, he felt an emotion never felt before.. but.. what was that emotion. In anycase it felt nice enough anyway while it lasted, but for now, time to get back to the joy of the train journey. As Kestrel blinks and watches as Tomoe bares her teeth in a furious snarl towards Megumi, the long black haired Israeli is forced to placing a large invisible question mark above his small head as he catches view of Megumi with a satisified smile on her face as if overjoyed with accomplishing a goal.

As Kestrel raises his left hand to his small head and scratches his left temple with his index finger like that of a dog, the small smile on his small face remains on his face and the infant feels slightly at ease with himself. As this happens, Kestrel notices Megumi send over a cool and collected smile as if to say 'I haven't given up, don't forget that!'. Obviously much to Kestrel's confusion of the situation, as the scar faced infant is as un-aware of the depth of emotion in the air as that of Ichika. As Kestrel turns his attention back to Tomoe, the scar faced Israeli finds himself now highly curious as Tomoe's angered glare towards Megumi is now near explosive, as the Japanese beauty slowly proceedes to stand, both hands balled into fists a sudden familiar voice breaks the silence, the voice belonging to a woman of authority.

"Trouble ladies?"

Tomoe's explosive temper is immediately defused and the female's expression changes to neutrality, the young female turns her head to the left, remaining sat down Megumi only has to look up to the right. Kestrel remains still in his spot but non the less tilts his small head to the right while leaning sligtly in an attempt to see whom it is that is speaking. There the trio meet the face of Tsukiyo, the police detective looking down at the two Japanese youths with an inquisitive look.

Now defused Tomoe merely lowers her head to look away to the right, the said female lets out a sigh before opening her eyes and looking Tsukiyo in the face and in a calm and yet surprisingly worn out tone responds with one phrase that indicates that she is not causing trouble - "Not to worry Detective Otokawa, me and Kestrel were just leaving, we're going to rejoin mother and Yui-san".

Smiling with satasifaction, Tsukiyo appears at ease and happy with the response and watches carefuly as Tomoe walks away from her seat, looking down at the scar faced Kestrel and after a moment, Kes proceedes to stand and follows Tomoe out of the row of seats, Tomoe taking Kestrel's hand in her own as she leads the long black haired Israeli down towards Kazumi and Yui whom appear to be happy to notice the duo walking down the isles. As the pair walk away, Tsukiyo takes the chance to look down at Megumi whom continues to gaze at the back of her younger sister with a devious smile. The police detective apparently smiling with a very careful inquisitive expression, the woman's tone matching that of her expression as she looks down at Megumi - "Sibling rivalry over a boy? Well, I can understand the depth of emotion you kids must be experiancing but just remember to keep it within legal limits, personal matters may not be any of my buisness but remember I'm still an officer of the law".

"Hmph! Don't worry about it officer, I may get into mischief but I do have my morals and standards" - Megumi replies, the blue haired Japanese female smiling with triumph at ruining Tomoe's chances of claiming Kestrel's heart, but then again... Megumi has always been a trouble maker who likes to laugh at other people's misfortunes, or as Kazumi had explained to Tsukiyo earlier when the said woman was down with both her and Yui. 'Megumi's heart is in the right place, but it's a shame that her brain is at times in her backside!'.

"Well, I certainly hope so" - Tsukiyo responds, the police detective now more than happy with the ressults at hand, then, after taking a final glance down the isles of seats, the police detective observes Kestrel and Tomoe sitting with Kazumi and Yui, Tomoe sitting beside her mother while Kestrel takes the seat beside Yui. The two youths now establishing a family friendly atmosphere alongside the adult women, blinking at the sight Tsukiyo then looks down again at Megumi and with a friendly gesture of her right arm and hand motions an invite to join the group, to which the said woman also makes clear with her next set of words -  
"I suppose you would like to join us?".

"Yeah, I guess, the more the merier" - Megumi replies and proceedes to stand out of her seat and after walking past Tsukiyo, walks down the isles of seats down towards the table and seats of which Tsukiyo was sat upon earlier, the said police woman joins the dark blue haired female shortly afterwards, as Tsukiyo sits across from Megumi, her back facing the direction of which the train is heading, the said police officer happens to roll her eyes downwards a mixed emotional expression befalls her face as she feels the wallet in her left pocket that houses her golden badge, but as the female glances down, every last person is suddenly snapped back to reality as the sound of door opens, everyone who faces the direction of which the train is heading are forced to look behind them, what greats their eyes is a very worn out Ichika looking a mix of glum and nerves, the male is straddled on both sides by a single pair of females, on the left being Cecilia and on the right being Rin. The remaining three teenage girls following closely beind Ichika, Kazumi is first to speak, in a tone of careful caution and pleasantness, yet the woman's facial expression is as warm and pleasant as it always is

\- "So.. everything alright?"

Tittering in an awkward and exhausted manner, Ichika Orimura is clearly worn out from a long discussion, if not a complete failure of a discussion with the five females that clearly love him with all their hearts. Ichika's attempt at trying to smooth the bumps in the road has been a complete failure and is no closer to ending the love problem surrounding him, which is made clear as Ichika has lip stick marks on the right side of his face from the cheek to the neck, the said male has clearly been smothered despite a valiant attempt to sort things out, which Ichika makes clear with an exhausted nod, the Japanese male clearly on the verge of crying in a fit of frustraition and stress.

"You look worn out, anything we can do to quell that stress?" - Yui asks in a kind and friendly manner clasping Kestrel's right hand in that of her own left hand like a caring mother, to which the scar faced Kestrel momentarily turns to look towards the said black haired woman with a slightly confused expression.

"Ah.. don't worry I'll get through it, believe me I will" - Ichika replies in a slightly worn out manner the Japanese male still feeling the burning sensation of eyes burning deeply into his back. Many boys would clearly be rejoicing if in Ichika's position, but the fact remains that the good hearted male is still badly overwhelmed.

As Ichika walks towards a row of seats just behind those of Kazumi, Tomoe, Kestrel and Yui, both Cecilia and Rin clutch a lot more tighter to the said male's arm, both have ovejoyed smiles of happiness on their faces, eyes are half open in a dreamy state and only change when Rin is forced to release Ichika's arm and sit opposite him on a row of seats, but the Chinese female is able to grab a'hold of Ichika's hand and keep it firmly held. Tomoe and Kestrel observe what is happening and irronicaly the pair look at each other with straight expressions, the pair blink at each other and proceede to sweatdrop at the same time, the two clearly exchanging the 'Oh Boy' moment between each other with some slightly awkward yet pleasant small smiles, the pair clearly saying to each other without using any form of words - 'We'd better stay out of this'.

Thankfuly, after a few moments of silence an electronic male voice fills the carriage, the male's voice belonging to that of a computer or possibly the driver of the train. - "We will be arriving in Nara in the next 2 hours and 22 minutes, in the meantime please enjoy refresments available, we of Japan's rail services hope you enjoy your journey with us".

Kestrel is unprepared for such a sounding voice and lifts his small head up to look around in an attempt to find out where the voice came from, Tomoe and Kazumi seem to smile with a hint of pitty as they notice the long black haired Kestrel turn his head up to down, left to right and around, thankfuly Yui is on hand and proceedes to say something in Israeli to calm the youngster's nerves, the black haired woman clearly explaining that there is no need to fear and that what has been heard is very, very normal.

As Yui begins to quietly exchange words with the scar faced Kestrel, at this very moment the train carriage doors open and as if on cue a large silver coloured serving trolly appears through the doorway a middle aged woman dressed in black and white clothing like that of an air stewardess. Raising her hand as if to attract attention, detective Otokawa has a sunny expression on her face as the image of buying a much needed drink of alcohol is now in site, many police officers don't drink on duty, but in Tsukiyo's case there can be an acception. Acknowledging the police officer's call, the short brunette stewardess woman with brown eyes raises her left hand as a way of saying that she has recieved the call.

Others now put up their hands as a way of asking for service, the only acception being Ichika, whom is rung out badly and filled with mixed emotions, the black bushy haired Japanese male just glances at the ceiling, the said male in no mood to drink or eat, but then again who can blame him? Everything that has occured continues to playback over and over again in Ichika's head, every last word that Rin, Laura, Houki, Cecilia and Charlotte has said replays over and over again, the Japanese male now suddenly needing the bathroom again, but this time the said male chooses to hold it, the last thing he needs is another event to take place, let alone have more demands on who he chooses as his sweetheart.

As Ichika takes a look outside the train window observing the landscape that passes by, the male silently cries to himself, his body is worn out and his heart is in pain from the difficulty of the situation. However, after meeting Kestrel, Ichika has learned some very useful tactics, which is bide your time, be reasorceful, think ahead and carefuly plan things out, so although Ichika appears to be caught in a difficult dilema, deep inside the black bushy haired male is thinking of a plan.

Then, after a seemingly long time of gazing at nothing out the train window, the Japanese male suddenly gets an invisible lightbulb flash within his head, a bolt of lightning of supreme confidence hits home as he speaks his tone in a somewhat very confident manner deep within his head, the Japanese male seemingly just coming up with a very good plan of action in his head which should hopefuly bring all five girls happiness, yet at the same time avoid an approaching catfight which Ichika realy dreads above all else - ( "I've got it!" ).

_**Okay readers, that's it for this chapter, not much of a progression I know but it gets it out of the way, the next chapter should see everyone in Nara. I still don't have any pairings for Ichika chosen so voting is still in the open. If anyone wants to see anything happen then please post them in the open reviews section. Please read and review, just refrain from private messaging if you can. Can't be sure when the next chapter is coming out but I'm going to work on it as soon as I can. For those that like this fic then I can't say how thankful that I am, remember its the first and only one I've every written so technically I'm still a novice.**_

_**Okay, other than that, thanks for reading you crazy fanfic loving monkeys!**_

_**See you all again as soon as I can, stay safe out there in the world that many can consider a 'Bitch!' - XD!.**_

_**Stay cool!**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	97. Chapter 97: Familiar trio

_**Hello readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised with another fresh chapter, firstly before you start reading I'd just like to say thankyou to an ignonimus reader whom turned out to be Bismarck Alexander has mentioned a flaw that I've made very rampant for quite some time. I've continued to use ethinic details of all the characters, so from now on you readers ALL have my word that I will refrain from using that habit as best as I possibly can, if accidently do it again feel free to mention that factor, but please place any messages you may have in open reviews please remember it's only for now at least, so please don't feel offended by that one request.**_

_**Also thanks a lot to those that have mentioned by mistakes, remember it's words like them that keep this fic going, and remember I like to make my first fic enjoyable for all. I guess my style isn't for everyone when it comes to the text sizes and such but all the same go easy on me if you can, I maybe a young adult but I'm still a rookie.**_

_**Anyway, enough with such details, on with the reading, this chapter should see the Ichika and the gang in Nara, and thus begins summer break. Still following the plot that I made up, so YAY for me, XD! Okay enough with all the red tape intros, I guess you all need some compensation for the wait and for my mistakes. So, without further ado, please read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 97:

**\- Nara rail station entrance 12:40pm -**

**( Author's note: You can find an image of Nara station on the internet, so therefore I can save time on describing the location ).**

Stepping out from a pair of silver shinning doors and into the warm summer sunlight, the black haired duo boys Ichika and Kestrel take the chance to step out of the entrance to Nara's train station area, the pair along with the gang of females have now left the train that has has been their mode of transport for the past 2 or so hours. The pair of young males now taking the chance to stretch their limbs, the scar faced Kestrel in particualar closing his ocean blue eyes and proceeding to stretch as if he's just gotten out of bed, the youngster raising his small arms and hands above his head before lowering them again to Ichika's surprise the said infant proceedes to shake himself like a dog, the long black hair of Kestrel fluttering and blowing elegantly due to the momentum of his sudden rapid movement. Ichika with his chocolate brown eyes smiles with some impressed amazement as the scar faced Kestrel finishes shaking himself.

Thankfuly for the black bushy haired Ichika, the young scar faced boy before him is finished shaking just as quickly as he starts. Just as the long black haired Kestrel, his small red scar blazing in the morning sunlight ceases moving himself like some wild Wolf or stray canine. As expected, every last female begins to appear behind the pair of black haired boys. All five of Ichika's self proclaimed lovers rush forwards, each desperate to grab the arm of the male they love so dearly. One of the two blondes, Cecilia turns out to be the winner of Ichika's left and proceedes to grab Ichika's left arm and clutch it tightly like a desperate lover. The dark haired Houki is the winner of Ichika's right arm, leaving the remaining 3 unfortunate losers to house temper patches on their temples. Kestrel luckily only has two females to deal with, but ofcourse, it goes without saying the young scar faced infant can clearly see where his older counter part is coming from when concerning lovey dovey matters with girls, which ofcourse is all too real.

As Tomoe and Megumi rush forwards to grab an arm each, Tomoe taking the right and Megumi taking the left, all attention is directed directly ahead of them as the guide for the group raises her right hand as if asking a question, the white glove standing out above the heads of the many mothers and fathers whom stand with their children in a bunch directly in front of a large waiting pure white, patternless bus. As the two dark blue slender beauties Tomoe and Megumi rush forwards to grab Kestrel's arms, police detective Otokawa appears behind the trio, the police detective pushing her glasses slightly up past the bridge of her nose, as the thin framed spectacles had slid downwards slightly, but that hardly matters, and if anything it makes the black ponytailed office uniformed woman look more cooler in terms of badass characters.

The black haired Yui appears to the left of Tsukiyo, followed quickly afterwards by Kazumi, whom now carries 2 sets of bags, one of which containing Kestrel's blood stained clothing from his brawl with the teenage gang earlier and one of which under special request by Cecilia, which in all posibility contains something that the said female is hoping will win the heart of Ichika. Now however, love matters hardly concern Ichika or Kestrel as they gaze at the cheerful face of the guides, the said female being the same on the bus during their trip to the gang's last hotel.

**( A.N: Refer to chapter 93 for the said woman, you know who I mean )**

Smiling warmly and lowering her head in a slight respectful bow the attendant woman lowers her arm and proceedes to raise her other arm, the hand holding onto a small microphone. As the attendant raises the microphone to her mouth, various hushes can be heard from the many differant mothers and fathers, as many of their children are quite chatty at this particular moment, which in all fairness is very understandable as a large amount of excitement is in the air. However, all mothers here would say that they have an extra child, as the fathers are just as excited with playing with their sons and daughters, but maybe for once... the mothers can be held accountable too, as they too are clearly overjoyed at the break their children are getting whom have conditions that are clearly misunderstood. The only real exception for excitement comes from the long black haired Kestrel, whom never seems to smile unless it's an awkward moment or at least is with Tomoe or has some wild animal on his arm.

Kestrel, Ichika and Co are brought to reality as the female attendant speaks in a cheerful yet very clear tone, the said female now knowing that she has all attention appears to be over the moon with pleasnat happiness as she proceedes to speak the first instructions of the group's outing.

\- "Hello everyone, It's wonderful to see everyone's smiling faces, I trust the train journey was to your satisfaction. Now, as you are all aware of, we will be spending the first three days here in Nara, the bus behind me will take us to the hotel that we will be staying at, a register will be signed to ensure all here are to be accounted for. Okay, firstly to kick off the start of our festivities, we of the NCA, wish to thank you all for attending, and as sign of our sincerity of ensuring everyone here has a wonderful time, we have specialy prepared two buses for the start of day one. Mothers or fathers whom wish to establish their rooms and to prepare set up may travel with us on the bus behind me, and the youngsters may travel on what we have called the 'Fun Bus', mothers or fathers whom wish to accompany their children may travel on the same bus with them. Okay, for all you kiddies, I'm happy to say that first day of fun will take place at the local Nara Park where we start looking for clues as to our treasure hunt, and then you with your mommies and daddies will travel to Yakushi-ji, there you will have the chance to obersve one of the finest locations in Nara, and afterwards to finish our first day of fun, you will all go to the newly opened Nara amusement park, oh.. and please remember everyone that I am Konoha Kagurasaka, and I'm happy to be with you all".

As the woman now fully addressed as Konoha gives out her final respectful bow, a vast arsenal of claps breaks the silence. Kestrel and Ichika ironicaly just happen to turn their heads to face each other, Ichika turning his head to the left and Kestrel turning his head to the right, as the two males make eye contact both exchange confused yet comfortable straight faced expressions, invisible question marks appear over their heads, though Ichika quickly gets a musical note symbol to show that he's in a sunny mood. A shame that nobody can see such marks and symbols in reality that is, otherwise reality would be as easy to understand as that of some anime or game, to which Ichika ironicaly thinks to himself as he turns to face Konoha, the male lifts his head up slightly and rolls his eyes as he speaks his mind in an internal Monologue.

\- ( "All seems cool so far, but I guess I'm gonna have to put my plan into action almost immediately, damn! If I had noticed these girls being so clingy towards me I would have done something earlier, but... No point in dwelling on it, the past is past and I have to make plans for the future. Shame this ain't some dating sim, or as that Katsuragi Keima said in that old anime, 'In life, where there is save data, there's hope'" ).

As Ichika returns to reality from his monologue, the black haired male suddenly feels the atmosphere get suddenly heavier as the eye patched Laura suddenly embraces Ichika from behind. Ichika suddenly feels the soft face of Laura nuzzle his back, the said female closes her eye and smiles warmly, humming in joy to herself as she holds onto her so called 'wife'. Ichika on the other hand feels chill run up the spine as the now irritated and jealous stares of Charlotte and Rin drive deeply into the said male like razor sharp knife blades. However, in a good stroke of good fortune for Ichika, all turns out well as the remaining two females smirk in confidence at their rivals and begin to think in a really crafty yet dirty fighting manner, Ichika can only dread to think what all five of these crazy girls have in mind. Though as a get out of jail free card, his saviour may once again come in the form of the scar faced Kestrel, but for now.. Ichika has to deal with this problem on his own.

Back with Kestrel, the long black haired infant with the two dark blue slender beauties at his sides looks dead ahead and then, just like all the others the long shinning black haired male turns his head slightly to the right as another bus is heard pulling up behind the large white bus ahead of the groups of mothers and fathers. As the group turns their heads to look at the newly arrived orange coloured bus with an anime character "Judau Ashta" with thumbs up emblazoned on both sides, the atmosphere fills with chatter once again as the groups of mothers and fathers begin to turn to each other and discuss who is doing what, Konoha Kagurasaka's voice is heard briefly once again, this time being in a form of serious yet pleasant instruction, -

"All mothers or fathers whom are to establish rooms and sign registration please line over here, any boys and girls whom wish to go on the fun bus please stand over there with at least a respectable parent or guardian".

The said woman points over towards the orange metalic coloured bus which just finishes pulling up behind that of the white bus before turning to the left to look at the other representing attendants, which by now numbers 6 women, 2 are middle aged where as the others are younger, with the addition of the 2 male attendants. The atmosphere fills with pleasant whispering and low spoken words exchanged between the adults with the occasional put in from the young boys and girls. Some 3 minutes after discussion starts Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi find themselves involved with the plan outs as Kazumi's voice breaks silence and speaks in a pleasant questioning tone, the mother of Tomoe and Megumi, now wanting to know what is to be done with Kestrel,  
if the said boy is going on the white bus or on the orange bus.

"So, ah.. Tomo', Megu'.. ah, what are you two doing as regards traveling? Are you coming with me to the hotel or are you..?"

At this moment both blue haired females speak at exactaly the same time, both females use the exact same words in the exact same tone, thus ressulting in both females suddenly going wide eyed with surprise and immediately casting annoyed frowns at each other, temper patches appearing on the sides of both female's temples - "I'm going with Kes".

As Kazumi sweat drops at the moment, both Megumi and Tomoe seem to clutch slightly tighter to Kestrel's arms, both females close their eyes and turn their heads away from each other in a very angered and annoyed manner, both females effectively - "Hmph!" to each other. Yui takes the chance to place her left hand on the right shoulder of Kazumi, causing the mother of the two blue haired females to turn and face the black haired Yui in the face. Yui effectively gives Kazumi a very reasuring look as if to say 'It's okay, I'll watch him' which obviously comes as a very much welcome relief to the mother of the two females, but joining in the moment, Tsukiyo with a plain straight expression takes a step forward, the officer of the law reminding everyone that watching over Kestrel and making sure no more trouble rises is now a priority one in her job, the detective's words though straight and cool are hinted with layers of friendliness, which is what Yui and Kazumi need if to start trusting Otokawa-san. - "It's alright, you two can take care of the red tape nonsense, I'm registered as a high ranking officer of the law so there's no better place he can be than at my side".

"Yeah, we're not doubting that fact but err.. you can't speak his tounge, I sort of well.. can" - Yui replies, the black haired woman pointing out the one true fact that she is the only one of the group that can speak in Kestrel's native hebrew. Yui smiles in an awkward yet confident manner as she places the tip of the index finger of her right hand to her chest, causing the police detective to smile in a confident yet equaly awkward manner as she had forgotten the fact that Kestrel still can't speak Japanese.

"Hm, true.. so, I take you will have no objection if I tag along with you and establish a close watch?" - Tsukiyo responds, the police detective now narrowing her eyes at the black haired Yui, but in a strangely affectionate manner. Thankfuly Yui takes to this response in a very positive manner and replies almost immediately, bowing and giving a straight yet very impressed smile back of her own, her tone matches the hint of overjoyed warmth as the fact is remembered that she herself has to follow Kestrel around to translate words and writings -

"Ofcourse, please feel free, afterall.. we are here to know each other, and to show that both of us are as we say.. responsible mature adults that can be trusted around Kes.. are we not?"

Lowering her head for a moment before raising it again, detective Tsukiyo Otokawa responds one final time before Kazumi takes the chance to speak, the police detective's tone not changing for a single moment, nor does the smile set on a very confident yet strangely enough.. friendly face - "Yes ofcourse, and as I said on the train, I'm looking forward to it".

Placing both hands together as if praying, Kazumi proceedes to tilt her head to the right in a very happy and cheerful manner, yet a sweatdrop on the side of her temple shows that the situation is still awkward, for the moment at least, until a proper friendly situation can be established. The mother of both Tomoe and Megumi salvages the situation almost immediately as fast as when all seemed to turn sour, Kazumi's words are as sweet, caring and friendly as always as she speaks to the two women before her - "Okay, so we have a plan then? I take it that Yui and Tsukiyo will go along with Kestrel and my daughters and I'll stay behind and do all the.. so called red tape nonsense? If that is correct with the image I'm looking at?".

Yui eases her posture and smiles back at the mother of the two females that glomp the scar faced Kestrel, the black haired woman raises both arms as if surrendering to a gunman, the woman now attempting to do all possible to ease any pressure that has just landed on the shoulders of Kazumi. Yui's face maintains a pleasant smile and her tone has not changed, but even so, Yui still feels she has to explain why for once she has to let Kazumi face problems alone despite aggreeing on the train that she would be there always for support.

\- "Look I'm ever so sorry about this, It.. Its only just this once that I must ask this of you, I know that's not what we aggreed on but.."

"It's okay, really it's okay, you just take Kes and my girls and have fun.. and by the looks of it I'd say Ichika has no option but to tag along" - Kazumi replies, the blue haired woman moving her arms up and down, hand palms facing the ground and fingers open as if to settle down an uproaring mass of groupies or children, Kazumi's tone being one of reassurance before the woman just happens to glance towards Ichika and notices that the black haired male is now surrounded by all five females, Ichika now tossing his head back and with a look of utter panic and desperation in his face is attempting to gain the attention of Kestrel, whom in all fairness is also pre-occupied with Tomoe and Megumi, albiet on a smaller if innocent scale.

As Yui lowers her arms and turns to look towards Ichika, what the woman sees causes her to sweatdrop, an awkward yet slightly nervous smile is on her face as Ichika has now taken the chance to turn himself round and look towards Kestrel with pleading eyes as if to beg for assistance, to which the said infant merely blinks and slightly tilts his small head to the left, an invisible question mark appearing over the head, which obviously causes Ichika's hope for aid to shatter, but then again, maybe that was to be expected when one remembers that the scar faced Kestrel's mind does not function on the same level as that of everyone else.

The summer weather effectively makes the season well and truly clear that it is indeed summer, the heat of the sunlight is relatively similar to those around the IS academy some weeks or so earlier, and once again Ichika is left enviying the fact that the long black haired Kestrel is able to handle the heat, even as the black haired male thinks this factor, there are beads of sweat on his temple, but thankfuly the heat is more comfortable to deal with than what it was at the IS academy, and the cool breeze that blows is a perfect fan. As a matter of fact to make it clear that Kestrel is suited to heat, the scar faced infant, straddled between Tomoe and Megumi, just happens to turn his small head to the left and notices several groups of mothers and fathers whipping their faces and necks, the young boys and girls attempt to fan their faces and necks in an attempt to dowse the heat around their bodies. Thankfuly, the wait to go onto the bus to escape the heat of the summer comes very quickly as Konoha Kagurasaka's voice breaks the silence again, the woman's voice comes out loud and clear in her usual pleasant and kind vocal tone. Thus effectively, snatching the attention of Kestrel from looking away at other things and back towards Konoha.

\- "Okay, everyone whom is about to go to Nara Park please line up over here, please follow me".

Tomoe is the next to speak as the sounds of the adults now mutter and converse with each other umongst the atmosphere, the dark blue haired beauty turns her head to the right to look back towards Kazumi, Yui and Tsukiyo. Tomoe's tone is one of quick informing, the female not showing any enthusasim for waiting on for the adults and merely shows more interest in running away with Kestrel in her grasp. The scar faced Kestrel merely blinks in his usual innocent and curious manner before raising his head slowly to look up at Tomoe as she speaks, the dark blue haired female's voice is one of girlish excitement matched with intense joy, yet Tomoe's cool and controlled manner still rears up it's head, showing that although she cares so deeply for the scar faced Kestrel, she is still more mature than that of her older sister - "Mother, Yui, Detective Otokawa-san, me and Kes are heading out".

"Hold up, Hold up.. Me and Sakurada are tagging along" - Tsukiyo comments with a confident smile and tone, the police detective briefly closing her eyes and shaking her head as she proceedes to take some steps forward. The black haired Yui keeping pace as she walks closely beside the police detective. Both women putting in a hint of fast walk for a brief second or so to get up close behind the trio of youths. Kestrel now looking ahead of him into the groups of mothers and fathers whom walk beside their children, some mothers and fathers disperse from the group and head over towards the white bus, clearly being the ones that choose to stay behind. Ichika surrounded by his five females sees his chance and in a mixed casual yet crafty and awkward manner slowly turns himself to the left and gives chase after Kestrel and the other groups of men, women and children. All five females remaining as close as possible beside the male that they are all in competition for. Ichika attempting to get up close to his small long black haired friend and to get to some form of salvation, but Ichika is far from being in peril, the said black bushy haired male has a plan in motion to tackle his five female followers, but as to what it is... is anyone's guess. Once again for Ichika, since Kestrel's arrival, though there has been some obsticles to tackle, there has been some positive benifits, which in turn has done some good for the now troubled Ichika.

As the groups of mothers and fathers reach the orange bus, the painted surface of the vehicle shinning in the sunlight, a slight gleam briefly catches the eye of Kestrel. The youngster's red blazing scar seems to look somewhat elegant on the said boy's face, which in turn is very rare when one considers the horrible fact that Kestrel may appear a touch more attractive for his age if that horrible painful looking scar was not there at all, but maybe... just maybe, if Kestrel didn't have that scar, then maybe he wouldn't be as independant and eye catching as he is.

Konoha, with her distinctive white gloves gains the attention of all before her as she raises a her left arm and hand skyward before lowering it and proceeding to speak in a very warm and pleasant tone, the woman's arms are open as if wanting to embrace someone in a bear hug. As Konoha proceedes to speak to the many faces before her, Kestrel remains dead silent, the infant briefly enjoying the soft warmth of being straddled by the two slender beauties, the scar faced Kestrel briefly catches the scent of the sweet and lush perfume on the two females, the mix of fruit and flowers finds it's way up the young boy's small nose. A small timid and comfortable smile appears on Kestrel's face, the scar faced boy now looking at peace and at comfort, which in all fairness is very much needed when one remembers that most of the time Kes tends to stare into nothing and remaing dead silent like a grave. That in turn is a common trait of many people that suffer with PTSD. Those said 'many' tend to observe and watch the surroundings and try to not exsist, which as a ressult is upsetting when you suddenly remember that even though Kestrel appears alright and at peace, you have NO idea what is going on inside his small head. Ichika in turn has noticed this when ever Kestrel has smiled and casted over a pleasant but awkward look at least three times since they first met, and only after Ichika was aware of his condition did the thought in his head arise, 'So young, so friendly looking and yet so highly skilled.. what could he be thinking?'.

Thankfuly for Kestrel, all is at peace and whenever being around Tomoe, Megumi and Yui, the infant can feel a good level of being safe and secure, especially since detective Otokawa has joined the group. Just as the long black haired Kestrel begins to think about that fact, the scar faced boy is suddenly brought back to reality by the friendly and cheerful sounding voice of Konoha -

"Okay, you younsters, you along with your mothers and fathers are going to travel on the fun bus. Aboard you will all find pencils, clipboards and cameras to aid in your treasure hunt, but please, don't feel tied down to one task, remember, we are all here to have a nice few days on a sponsored vaction and more importantly to have fun, so.. for this reason, you will be joined by three friendly and very kind young ladies. From here on I will be aiding in accomodation set up at the hotel to which we will all be staying for the next three days. Okay, without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to the three ladies that will be joining you all, and personaly on behalf of the N.C.A, I would like to say, it is a honour to travel with you all, and may we all have the pleasure of traveling with each other for many years to come".

A vast sound of applause erupts from the many mothers, fathers and youngsters as Konoha closes her eyes and gives out a very ladylike and respectful bow, even as the female raises her posture the woman maintains her smile, her face being the very definition of kindness and human warmth, unfortuneatley for Kestrel, the infant only catches sight of the woman's pleasant expression. Effectively an invisible question mark appears above the scar faced boy's head, which is somewhat sad when one remembers that Kestrel hardly understands a word that is being said to him, and that the scar faced infant is still attempting to understand the Japanese language.

Fortuneatley for Kestrel, the cheerful sounding voice of Yui breaks the ice of the moment, the woman now appearing behind the trio of Megumi, Tomoe and Kes. Tomoe turns her head to look at Megumi, yet her eyes roll to look behind her, Megumi does the same opposite Tomoe, Kestrel merely lifts his head up slightly, rolling his ocean blue eyes upwards to catch sight of Yui, the scar faced Kestrel blinks his eyes as he looks upwards.

\- "Okay, so.. as our guide has said, lets all get going and have fun".

"We all aply as plus ones before Kes here, so all's well" - Tsukiyo puts in with a confident and pleasant tone, a cheerful expression to match.

Not wasting anymore time the straddling Tomoe and Megumi still arm in arm with Kestrel proceede to walk forwards, the scar faced Kestrel remaining as silent as the grave as usual but in a fair comfortable and calm mood deep down despite having his usual confused and curious expression. Detective Okotawa and Yui calmly walk forwards and keep as close as possible to the long black haired boy ahead of them, the said youngster's star of David along with his long black hair apparently shinning with elegance and beauty in the sunlight. Ichika and his five heart battling lovers walk over towards the orange bus before them. Ichika's chocolate brown eyes filled with horror and ill panic despite a comfortable smile being on his face, a chill running high up Ichika's back as he feels the illness of being backed into a corner like a hunted down animal, but fortuneatley.. Ichika does have a confident plan up his sleeve that for a guy whom is so dense with love.. is somewhat very clever and crafty, which in all likelihood is all thanks to his small black haired friend, but for now.. all Ichika has in his mind is just the continuous rule to simply 'Bide your time', and 'Wait for the right moment'.

Within a matter of seconds, a crowd has formed around the orange bus, the image of the Gundam character Judau apparently causing the young boys and girls to be overwhelmed with happiness and excitement while the chosen numbers of mothers and fathers walk over towards the other bus, Kazumi umong them. Suddenly appearing from inside the young bus is yet another middle aged Japanese woman, wearing the same attire as Konoha. The woman having short pale blue hair that reaches the shoulders, green eyes and small golden pierce studs in both ears, both of which hold small tiny diamonds, indicating that she must be a married woman, beneath her white gloves this fact is proven with an unseen golden diamond ring on her left hand, the woman appears with a cheerful smile on her face, her vocal tone is matched as she takes her steps off the bus, a clip board is held to her chest with both arms as she proceedes to bow in respect to the group before her.  
As she speaks she tends to focus as much attention as possible on each and every person, which for a woman of her career is what must be done.

\- "Okay mothers, fathers, boys and girls.. my name is Moroguchi Shiori, I am your guide for the first part of this trip, and I'm sure we will all get to know each other like a family group. However, our first phase of fun will be described in detail when we head over to Nara park, and I'm sure that everyone will be eager to get going and start the fun. So, without further ado, please step forward, my young assistants before me will take all names as to ensure that if anyone gets lost, which I'm sure will not happen, we know who we are looking for. Please remember, the main aim is not just a treasure hunt, but a free for all to have fun. So, please.. climb aboard".

As the woman known as Shiori takes three steps backwards another respectful bow is given, and the groups of youngsters with their mothers and fathers waste no time in walking forward some before getting aboard the bus give a slight bow in respect after making eye contact with Moroguchi Shiori, smiles remaining all the time on all persons. Kestrel with Tomoe and Megumi look ahead of them, the trio stand behind a young mother with green hair in a ponytail and thin framed glasses, the woman stands hand in hand on both sides with 2 green haired children which are her son and daughter, behind the trio stands 2 more mothers with their children, following close behind the two trailing mothers is Yui and Tsukiyo. Ichika and his five females are 4 fathers and 2 mothers behind the two adult women that are staying as close as they can behind Kes, the Japanese male now feeling at ease and confident with his plan to tackle his current girl problem.

The sounds of light spoken words and gossip fill the air between the parents and their infants, some playful and pleasant titters and cheerful tones can be made out umongst the groups. Kestrel remains silent, the infant everynow and then blinking ahead of him at the back of the mother and her children, then down towards the ground, the boy watches in silence, looking at his white sneaks, the laces and leather still soaked in dry blood from his clash against the teenage gang less than 4 hours earlier. Frowning with a look of upset and glum on his small face, Kestrel feels his small heart sink, as if a horrible reminder has come up saying that he is like some unpredicatable animal that will tear apart a human being limb from limb or maul the face off someone without a second thought. Despite the feeling of guilt, the infant is constantly reminded by a small voice that says to his small mind, 'Wasn't your fault', followed a second later by another voice that says 'You was attacked first, they wanted you dead, you musn't feel shame, their no better than those women that hurt you'. As a result, Kestrel briefly lifts his small head up, rolls his ocean blue eyes and lets out an exhausted if weary sigh, then.. lowers his small head, closes his eyes and shakes his head in a feeling of mixed emotions, in his small mind a tiny, soft and exhausted voice forms itself into a thought - ( "Why?, Who am I? What am I? Am I good.. or am I bad?" ).

Fortunetely for Kestrel, the infant's feeling of ill emotions are defused when a soft warm squeeze from Tomoe's hand causes the scar faced boy to look up, a look of curiosity replaces the ill sorrow as he looks up. Meeting the eyes of Tomoe, Kestrel's heart returns back to it's natural position, all negativity is thrown away and a much needed dose of joy and comfort is gained when the blue haired beauty sends down a warm and loving smile, the eyes of Tomoe fix themselves on that of Kestrel's. Kestrel's response for the first 3 seconds is one of confusion and bewilderment before a small smile appears on his own face. The eyes of Kestrel regain some much needed joy and comfort as the pair gaze at each other. Then, as expected.. the moment ends when a sudden cheerful laugh from one of the young brown haired boys breaks the moment, only then does the trio realise that they are now just 2 parents away from stepping onto the orange bus. Both Tomoe and Kestrel look ahead of themselves and watch in silence as three more people walk up into the orange bus, the green haired mother with her son and daughter quickly following.

Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi feeling a great feeling of joy and excitement of wanting to feel the soft comfort of seat against their posteriors and backs matched with the humming drone of a bus engine matched by the roll and smooth motion of being on the road again, which Kestrel appears to have discovered to be a great deterant from feeling ill emotions and comes as some form of relaxation from his shot and wounded mind, what is very much certain ofcourse, is that traveling by road and rail, Kestrel's mind is kept stable and appears to put him at ease, a fact that Ichika and Co have noticed but are not yet aware that each other knows. As for the scar faced male, Kestrel just happens to look up at the sky, the youngster suddenly noticing something very, very pleasant, it's clear blue, not a cloud can be seen and the sun is very, very warm, not as hot as yesterday but clearly ideal summer time weather.

A small and tiny smile appears on Kestrel's face, the red scar now looking somewhat at ease due to the light that shines upon the boy's face. The youngster begins to loose himself in the warmth of the atmosphere, for once the boy can feel a weight lifted off his chest as he looks up at the summer sky, a sudden familiar feeling is felt, clearly when he was back in Israel the said young male has seen this sky many times over, but the feeling is very good and pleasant, since coming to Japan and meeting Ichika and Co, despite the emotions and heart aches, coming to this country has indeed brought in some very much needed benifits, and meeting Ichika is probably the best thing that has happened so far.. but then again, meeting Tomoe and Yui is just as wonderful, if not slightly better. As Kestrel lowers his small head and looks ahead of him, the smile drops and a sudden look of surprise is on his face as he finds himself now being released and being guided up the steps of the Orange bus, Tomoe clutching Kestrel's right hand as she leads the way up the steps, the dark blue haired beauty with her hips swaying somewhat looks over her shoulder and looks down into the ocean blue eyes of Kestrel, the female looking very excited and eager as she leads the way. The said teenage female clearly looking overjoyed at being with Kestrel, if even more happy that she is helping the young male that has grasped her heart on the road to full recovery from his PTSD, but ofcourse.. we all know its the first reason as to why Tomo is so happy!

As Megumi follows close behind the trio upon entering the large vehicle, the trio get a sudden excited and overjoyed smile from the bus driver, a middle aged male whom wears a distinctive white hat on his head, the male has green eyes and seems to gaze in awe down at the long black haired Kestrel. Clearly Kestrel's face and image has spread across Japan like that of Ichika and the others, placing the scar faced male into the spotlight of being a celebrity, but for Kestrel the situation is about to get a little more awkward and not just because of him being a young celebrity, but from something more.. unforeseen.

As the bus driver curls his mouth into a cool big bro like smile and nod as if to say 'Great work, well done', Kestrel merely blinks in confusion and merely tilts his head a slight fraction to the left as he is guided up the steps, the scar faced infant can make out the excited whispers from the boys, girls and their parents, which.. If Kestrel could speek perfect Japanese, he would be honest and say that he knows that all attention is directed at him and to be even more honest.. it's kind and nice.. but.. very, very creepy and sickening. After all, if one thinks carefuly.. having a mass of eyes staring at you, gazes and stares burning into your body and whispers are in the air from all ages of both genders, you would surely feel the loss of privacy, and the fact that Kestrel is a mentaly sick and nervous youngster most of the time makes the reality a lot more harder to put up with than what Ichika and his self proclaimed girlfriends must go through. However, the problem of being a celebrity is about to become somewhat irrelavant as some very familiar voices shatter the atmosphere, three female voices break the ice of Kestrel's calmness, the scar faced boy only just looking up at the roof of the bus when the voices appear. All three voices have a mix of excitement and overwhelmed joy as they shout out the said boy's name.

"KESTREL!"

"Huh?" - Kestrel timidly responds, turning his head to the right and looking up the isles of bus seats, the male now filled with empty emotions, but calm ones, mostly in the form of confusion and curiosity as he looks ehead of him, at the same time Tomoe and Megumi look ahead of them, they too drop their smiles and share Kestrel's feelings of being confused, but Tomoe shares the same feelings of Kestrel, as she too knows these voices, they are familiar and well known. Fortuneatley they don't have to guess who they are, as the owners of the voices dash forwards in overwhelmed joy. Tomoe blinks for a second before getting a sudden feeling of deflatement overwhelm her body, the dark blue haired female lets out a huff and puts on a very awkward yet attempted pleasant expression on her face, the female speaks in a tone that is best described as an 'Oh boy!' moment.

\- "Yuno, Rie and Konoe"

At this time Kestrel sweat drops slightly, he too feels the 'Oh boy' moment as the young females from the IS academy rush forwards wearing the same uniform, it's the same of Konoha, only that the trio of girls have small white name ID tags just above the left breast area of their uniform tops, the names of the females written in black Japanese letters. Megumi merely blinks and watches in amazement as the three females dash forwards and leap forwards as if leaping towards their loved one in utter joy and within a matter of seconds glomp and land around the scar faced Kestrel, whom now has to suffer the awkward moment of being smothered by soft warm flesh and smelling the mix of fruit and flowers from the perfume that the said girls are wearing. The hair styles of the females are the same as when they were in the IS academy. ( A/N: Refer to earlier chapters if you've forgotten how these females look like )

Yuno is first to speak as she rubs the right side of her face into Kestrel's left cheek, the scar faced Kestrel not smiling, but that is to be expected as the boy is far from any normal guy whom would wish for this to happen on a regular basis. Yuno keeps her eyes closed as she embraces Kes as tight as she can manage, her vocal tone matches her happy face - "Oh Kesie, Kesie it's so wonderful to see you".

"I saw you on TV news saving lives and I just couldn't stop boasting to my big brothers and younger sister that I know you. Oh, Kes, Kes how I've missed you so" - Rie puts in with an additional mix of joy and overwhelming excitement as she rests the left side of her head against Kestrel's right shoulder.

"You're going out on this trip too, oh it's my birthday tomorrow and yet my wish has come true today!" - Konoe puts in, the female rubbing her face against the other side of Kestrel's face, she too is holding onto Kestrel as tight as she can manage.

Tomoe and Megumi blink at the sight and sweat drop, the duo unwittingly just happen to look at each other with somewhat shocked and amazed faces for a moment, but as the two female's eyes meet each other, the pair quickly proceede to frown at each other as if to say the words that match the awkwardness of the moment which is all too real. However, good fortune is at hand as the moment is defused when the next pair of adults and youngsters attempt to climb up the bus steps and are forced to come to a halt, they are wide eyed with amazement at the sight, but it's not that that defuses the moment, it comes in the much needed atmosphere of human pleasantry as Rie despite holding onto Kestrel with her bear hug just happens to notice Tomoe and with a very friendly and warm expression on her face breaks the moment and looks up into the eyes of the dark blue haired beauty, Rie's tone is that which would be expected when finaly meeting a very much loved and old friend for the first time in months.

"Oh, and Tomoe! Oh it's so wonderful to see you aswel, how long has it been?".

"Ah.. well, must be a few weeks" - Tomoe replies, the dark blue female attempting to shake off the awkward weight that has just slammed down on her shoulders, but thankfuly for Tomo, her humanitarian and kind nature always pays out as she looks into Konoe with a very kind and pleasant expression, even though the invisible anime style sweat drop does not leave her temple. Megumi blinks with a now inquisitive expression, yet her smile is one of an affectionate smirk as she glances down at the trio of young ladies that now very easily juggle their attention and happiness on both Kes and Tomo, even as the trio now look up at Tomoe with overwhelming happiness, they don't break their grasp off Kestrel, whom now has is head held low slightly and letting out a nervous and awkward sigh, but thankfuly he does not feel ill or off colour. If anything its the sudden unexpected surprise that has hit hard the most, but as Rie, Konoe and Yuno are friendly and people that can be trusted, it shouldn't be too hard to feel comfortable again, which is made clear as Kestrel's facial expression changes from awkward shock to awkward affection, a very tiny smile is on the scar faced boy's face, yet it can't be denied, he finds this sort of thing a very big challenge to deal with, even so... Kestrel maintains a pleasant image, the infant opening his ocean blue eyes to a half open state and proceeding to roll his eyes back and forth to look at the trio of females that speak.

"Tomo' who are these weirdo's?" - Megumi asks with a tone of suspicious inquisitation, her eyes half open and a suspicious frown is on her face, the dark blue haired beauty appearing behind her sister and leaning slightly to the left to look over her sister's shoulder.

Tomoe responds immediately, the female turns her head slightly towards the direction of Megumi, yet she keeps her eyes fixed on Kestrel whom is glomped and swooned over, the female still feeling the sickening knife in the gut of the 'Oh boy' moment, but the said blue haired female is recovering very quickly and feels no threat from the three females before her, be it who has the most right towards the heart of Kestrel, or if facing a familiar stranger, and if anything it helps to discuss the matter rather than dwell or at least feel slightly bugged. Tomoe chooses her words very carefuly as she turns her head to look at her older sister, her tone is as pleasant as always as she speaks - "There classmates of mine at the IS academy, and.. ah.. I guess you could say that they're Kes'es groupies".

"Yeah, and real pathetic ones aswel" - Megumi puts in with a raise of the right eyebrow, her tone being flat and somewhat emotionless. Fortuneatley in a good stroke of fortune the swooning stops when the voice of the mother beind Tomoe and Megumi coughs in a manner to clear her throat, and with very sunny and pleasant expression on her face, matched by a very cheerful and pleasant tone speaks.

"Ah.. Can we get on? Sorry about breaking the moment".

"Oh! Ah.. no, no.. realy, I'm sorry for not realising, please" - Tomoe replies, the female snapping her attention off Kestrel and turning to look behind her, a nervous yet happy look is on her face, being somewhat like that if Maya on many occasions. The dark blue haired Tomoe bows three times as a form of respect as she begins to back up towards Kestrel, just a matter of seconds the said female breaks the swooning trio around Kestrel and quickly proceedes to take the scar faced boy's right hand in that of her left. Tomoe quickly proceedes to speak in a clear tone as to make her right to take Kestrel back all the more better, however as Tomoe is very humanitarian, the female does it in the nicest possible way as she makes clear by giving a very fast respectful bow, the female puts on a very delicate yet friendly face as she rushes forwards and takes Kestrel's hand, the female turns her head slowly to look at Yuno, Rie and Konoe as she speaks, whom in turn are now bewildered at the sudden reaction from Tomoe, but the lightbulbs immediately turn on above their heads and all three suddenly feel like total idiots as Tomoe reminds them that they have a job to do.

"Ah, look.. ah.. I'm sorry to break up the moment but, well.. other people are wanting to get aboard so, I'm not snatching Kes away from anyone, far from it but.. well, can Kes at least get sat down and have the chance to enjoy this outing? 'Cause, you'll have all the chances in the world to get to be with Kes throughout this outing after all, I'm not stopping anyone, but, unless everyone else gets aboard, this trip isn't going to happen".

Rie, Yuno and Konoe immediately go wide eyed and cast looks of shock and embrassment to each other, all three sweat drop and proceede to look Tomoe in the eyes, all three proceede to bow in respect, all have awkward yet pleasant smiles on their faces and in perfect sync all three after a moment of silence reply - "Thankyou.. and, we on behalf of the NCA are very happy that you can join us, and we look forward to have you traveling with us".

With that, all three females straighten their postures and begin to turn back to their jobs, the females suddenly going slightly red with embarrasment at the moment, but as always, all is quickly washed over shortly after casting one last look at Kestrel, all females feel their hearts flutter as always, and proceede to bid Kestrel welcome in their own special way, Rie in particular kneels down and looks Kes in the eyes, the female fights the urge to clomp the young hero before her and manages to satisfy herself by lowering her head slightly and in a very affectionate way raises her left hand and waves her hand, the female moves her fingers back and forth while tilting her head to the left and gives out her best kind and friendly smile. As Rie turns to walk away, Konoe is next the female closes her left eye in a wink and blows Kestrel a kiss with the her right hand, the female speaks out in a hurried yet excited tone - "We'll catch up later okay".

Yuno is last to break away, the female closes her eyes and clutches herself as tight as she can with both hands, the female lets out a love struck - "Kyaa!" and proceedes to leap into the air like a little girl obsessing over her love while turning away and leaping after Rie and Konoe. As the three females break away Kestrel looks ahead of himself, the scar faced boy lowers his head and lets out an exhausted and worn out groan the facial expression is one of stress and being worn out, which once again one must must remember that Kestrel is no ordinary young male, and the fact that being swooned over while in a fragile state of mind hardly ever helps, fortuneatley Tomoe saves the day as expected and calmly leads Kestrel up an isle of seats, the dark blue haired beauty chooses a tactic to place Kestrel between some mothers and fathers so that it keeps him away from the trio of females that in all truth don't mean to cause any discomfort, but until they can understand Kestrel's mental illness and the careful methods that one must take when approaching, the said blue haired female is not about to take any chances, but deep down in Tomoe's heart, she is cheering with joy that she has gotten Kes away from the three females, and that she above all females is the one that is most likely to have Kes all to herself during this trip, but as Tomoe likes to make herself be a propper lady, she tends to do all possible to ignore these feelings, not that it always works ofcourse!

Tomoe exchanges a quick bow between herself and some of the parents around the isles of seats she is heading towards, all of which suddenly reminded that they have a young hero umongst them, but as the adults can be trusted - although they don't know as much about Kestrel's condition - they are the people that can be trusted the most around Kestrel, and if anything all they've done is speak pleasantly and not forced themselves on the young scar faced Kes, and nor have their kids. Also as an additional bonus, Tomoe once again manages to get sit beside Kestrel, and once again causing a temper patch to appear on Megumi's temple. Tomoe carefuly leads Kestrel to some vacant seats, the female then motions with her arm and hand to the right to allow Kestrel to get into one of the light grey coloured seats and to sit by the window on the left side of the bus, Kestrel briefly looks up at Tomoe and blinks as he walks slowly into his seat, Tomoe reacts like a bolt of lightning and takes her seat beside the long black haired boy. Megumi blinks in surprise and holds a slightly surprised look on her face but as she looks in quick detail at her younger sister, the female turns the right side of her lips into an irritated grin, the female's left eye twitches slightly and a temper patch appears on her temple. Tomoe merely shrugs with her shoulders and forms her arms to the famous 'Wha?' position, tilting her head to the right while looking her older sister in the eyes with the best angel and innocent expression she can manage.

"You better not start pushing your luck dear sister! Otherwise your realy gonna end up with my foot up your ass!" - Megumi hisses in a clear angered tone, Megumi seeming spitting at the word 'sister' as if it was poison, the blue haired female now realy steamed, the female even goes so far as to point at Tomoe with the index finger on her left hand before standing straight again and calmly walking away to sit on one of the seats at the back of the bus, Megumi not about to cause a scene in front of the mothers and fathers with their children. Some seconds later the rest of the mothers and fathers climb aboard the bus, Detective Otokawa and Yui being amoung the first to enter shortly after Tomoe, Kes and Megumi. The police detective with Yui taking the chance to sit on the seats just beside those of Kestrel and Tomoe, the black haired police officer in her office uniform allowing Yui to sit beside the window on the right side of the bus, both women sit in very ladylike manners like Tomoe, Tomoe on the other hand is once again hand in hand with Kestrel, the duo resting their hands just inbetween their thighs that are virtualy touching.

As Tomoe and Kestrel cast another look at each other a good sense of peace and freedom is in the atmosphere, but Kestrel is about to be reminded that the noble task of saving Japanese lives does not go without the burden of being noticed as a hero, as a group of young teenage females make clear walking past the bus, Kestrel just happens to clance down to the left and out of the bus window when at exactly at the same time one of the four teen females look up, the female having usual summer time clothing attire and long bright blonde hair, the female with her brown eyes freezes on the spot, her smile dropping and calling out to her friends to stop on the spot. The female stares up at Kestrel, whom in return blinks back in confusion, but a chill soon runs up the boys spine, his eyes widen in horror as he suddenly knows what is about to happen which sadly comes true as the blonde Japanese girl, her short blue mini-skirt and light pink summer shirt points up with the index finger of her right hand and screams in excitement, immediately her friends appear at her side as the said female leaps up and down in excitement. The other three females whom all have the same clothing, but differant hair styles follow the finger of their friend upwards and notice the youngster behind the window. One of the three females has long blonde pigtails and green eyes, the female takes out an Iphone like object and begins to take images, the next female whom has long brunette hair proceedes to wave as means of attracting attention and the last female, whom has red hair with a side ponytail braid begins to call out in excitement one word - "HERO! HERO!".

Kestrel feels a knife suddenly slam into the gut and the said male pulls himself away from the window, the infant's face now holding a look of saddness and dread, Kestrel closes his eyes and shakes his head in a very glum manner but fortuneatley Tomoe notices what is wrong and pulls Kestrel into a very warm and soothing embrace, Kestrel returns the hug, and with both youths holding onto each other in a very comfortable embrace, all illness seems to wash away. Tomoe pulls Kestrel as deeply as she can, resting her chin and lower jaw on the top of the soft silky warmth of Kestrel's long black hair. The female wraps her arms around Kestrel's back as Kestrel does the same around Tomoe's body, and together the pair remain still and silent. The soft warmth from each other's bodies soothing any nerves that the said pair may feel, Tomoe's heart seems to flutter in joy when ever she holds onto Kestrel, but this time all that matters the most is NOT personal joy, but rather someone for the troubled boy to turn and hold onto, after all... Kestrel did NOT fight and destroy all those drones to become famous, but rather to protect Ichika and everyone else.

Detective Otokawa is quick to speak and cause a good feeling of warmth to befall the pair, her tone being one of a cool big sister and showing a tone of authority - "Don't you kids worry, they won't dare get aboard this bus, this tour is private for members and guests of the N.C.A only so any swarms won't be allowed to get to close or risk getting into trouble from me and my colleagues".

Tomoe closes her eyes and very happy smile appears on her head, the female turns her head to the right to look over towards the police detective, the look of gratitude is very, very clear in Tomoe's face as she looks over towards the police detective, the female speaks one word, the voice is as soft as Kestrel's yet louder than a whisper - "Thankyou".

Smirking with triumph, detective Otokawa closes her eyes and shakes her head as Tomoe turns back to enjoying the embrace with Kestrel. Yui casts a very motherly smile at the pair before looking at the police detective and expressing her gratitude, to which Tsukiyo appears to take more joy from, while all the while a crowd is now gathering outside the bus, consisting of males and females of all ages, and Kes is not the only one being lit up, Ichika and Co suddenly appear aboard the bus looking somewhat shocked and stunned, while outside a good number of men, women and children are pointing in joy at the five teens whom waste no time in climbing aboard the bus. However, that it turn causes all normal regulations to go out of the window as all the remaining mothers, fathers and children rush aboard the bus to avoid being crushed by a now encircling group of people, but fortuneatley some police officers while on duty have noticed what is happening and proceede to rush to blunt the groups.

Yuno, Rie and Konoe are the last to board and the trio wastes no time in holding up hands and proudly claiming that everyone is aboard and giving the signal to the bus driver that it's ok to start up the engine and head out, Rie makes this clear by leaning forwards, looking the driver in the eyes and speaking some words in a low voice, what she says remains unclear but the driver acknowledges the said female with a single nod of the head. In an incredible stroke of seconds rather than minutes, every last man, woman and child is aboard and those that are staying behind remain unsure as to what all the commotion is about. Many children hold their mothers and fathers and exchange excited whispers as the bus fires up it's engine and slowly begins to pull away from the gathered groups outside, which are being held back by police officers. Kestrel and Tomoe, still embracing just happen to both look out of the window together, the pair let out a breath as they watch the mass numbers of young and old people begin to vanish from view, the pair still holding onto each other let themselves lean back in their seats, both look upwards at the ceiling briefly before closing their eyes and taking the chance to unwind.

As this happens Ichika just happens to look over his left shoulder at the pair, the black bushy haired male clearly feeling the same way, that's one problem out of the way no doubt. Now.. all that matters is his current girl problem, Ichika now sits beside the window on the right side of the bus, some isles down from Kes and Tomoe, the silver haired Laura now holds onto her so called 'Wife's' arm, the eye patched female clearly smiling with bewildered joy and untold happiness in being the one who sits beside her 'wife'. Ichika merely sighs and looks down to clance at Laura who has buried herself as deeply into his left side as she can, the said female clearly overjoyed at the moment and being proud of how clever she was to take advantage of the confusion and situation and within a flash manage to leap into the seat beside Ichika, much to the annoyance of the other four females, but ALL had challenging smirks, giving the indication that the matter of winning the title of 'Girlfriend' is far from over.

Houki and Rin sit 3 seats down on the opposite side of Ichika and Laura, while Cecilia and Charlotte sit at the very front of the bus on the same side as Ichika and Laura, the four females despite their dissapointment are able to quell their bitterness by being highlighted as celebrities once again for god knows how long in such short time since the drone incident. Ichika unfortunetley finds himself on the recieving end of being a celebrity within a matter of seconds after looking out of the bus window and for a moment believing all is okay and he can now have the chance to decompress, only to find an excited and happy young father with orange spikey hair, typical summer clothes and brown eyes lean forwards and speak into the back of his seat, in an attempt to get to know someone famous. The excited and happy voices from some of the young boys and girls can be heard uttering a phrase - "I wanna meet Orimura, I wanna meet Orimura!".

So it's clearly no surprise that Ichika finds himself with his head lowered, the male feeling defeated once again as a mass of happy voices and eyes vector in his direction, but as usual, he's not alone as his self proclaimed lovers find themselves on the same end, only Laura ignores the questions and tugs on her black summer dress from both adults and children as she is too busy in a world of her own, enjoying the comfort of being in contact with Ichika.

"Hey Orimura! How old are ya!?" - The voice of one of the fathers asks in a very excited tone.

"Is it true you was abducted by terrorists when you was young?" - A voice belonging to one of the mothers puts in.

"Are you best friends with that Israeli boy up there!?" - Another father asks.

"Can we see your IS!?" - One of the young boys aboard asks in an excited tone.

Ichika smiles and attempts to look in the direction of each and every voice that comes his way, a sweat drop is on his temple, but... Ichika notices something in the air, a chance... a chance to begin phase one of his plan to tackle all five females at once, if all goes well.. then Ichika may be able to keep all five girls happy and not break hearts, even though he knows, the risks are very, very high, but umongst the chaos of chatting voices and the other four girls being busy with the groups of mothers and fathers, Ichika can execute the start of his plan very, very early, and as a bonus... he knows that Laura will respond and hear every word that he will say. The black haired Ichika shuts out the voices of the men, women and children and with a brief look of terror and nerves, looks at the back of the seat ahead of him, the male lowers his head and gulps hard, he feels his heart in his mouth and the hair on the back of his neck seems to stand up as he slowly turns his head to look down at Laura. Ichika feels the urge to cry and cower in terror, if the other girls could hear his words, he'll be in deep trouble, but just like with Houki... it's Kamikaze time and if anything, doing something is better than doing nothing at all, a fact that replays over and over again in Ichika's head.

Ichika looks up and gulps again, the male with a look of utter desperation and horror in his pale face looks at the ceiling and mutters in silence a message of terror to which ever god may listen - "God.. Please, help me.. at least give me some good luck".

Then, looking down at the smiling Laura whom is lost in a dreamy state, the black bushy haired male blinks in a nervous state and thinks in a very ill and nervous state - ( "Okay, Okay Ichika... you can do this, just stick to the plan at hand and don't lower your head, just keep calm.. have courage, you can do this, you can do this... Oh GOD!, God save my neck and situation! Okay... here goes nothing" ).

Ichika shakes his arm slightly to cause Laura to look up, the tactic works perfectly, the silver haired female with a faint bashful blush on her face gazes up at Ichika with a love struck eye and umongst the chaos of the moment, Ichika can tell his hunch is indeed correct, no matter what Ichika says.. she WILL hear each and every word that will come out of Ichika's mouth. Ichika shakes off some nervous tears in his eyes and after taking in a deep breath, sticks out his chest and in a clear tone, yet not a very loud tone speaks one phrase that its a good bet.. that Laura has only dreamt of.

"Laura.. ah.. err.. *Gulp*, listen.. If you will at least do as I ask, and not speak a word of this to anyone, which means DON'T boast to the others, especially to Houki, Rin, Char and Cecilia. Would.. ah.. would you like.. I mean when I have the time free.. like maybe tonight or something.. would you like to go out with me to an arcade, or maybe a movie or grab a bite to eat?"

Laura suddenly goes wide eyed, the silver haired female blinks in utter surprise, the female looks like coloured ice, yet her blush remains and a dead pause hangs over the said female, a seeming eternity goes by with Laura gazing up at Ichika which in fact is a minute or two before Laura reacts, the female seems to have a tear of joy in her eye, a large overjoyed slightly open smile appears on her face, Laura closes her eye and throws her entire bodyweight against Ichika, the female buries her face into Ichika and as she closes her eye, the female nussles and rubs the side of her face against Ichika's face, the female does not shout, but in her German accented tone, Ichika can hear her proudly and happily speak the words

"Ya'vol, Ya'vol my wife! I will! I will! Oh, My wife! My betrothed wife! Those words are like the march of the Schwarzer Hase to my ears!"

Ichika blinks and lowers his head, not a single hint of a smile is on Ichika's face, Ichika plans to smile only when the time is right, instead a serious frown is on his face as he looks up at the bus ceiling, only then does his facial expression change, once again going back to worry and concern. Ichika's voice a perfect match to his worried expression as he thinks one phrase to himself - ( "Okay, here we go.. there's no turning back now, right.. may my path be filled with good ressults, 'Sigh'.. Let's do it!".

Ichika then proceedes to straighten his posture and only now can the said male deal with the masses of questions from the numbers of men, women and children, while Ichika proceedes to turn to face the first question, a young mother with her two daughters sat just across from him and Laura, the said male catches a glimpse of Rie, Yuno and Konoe having just walked past and up towards Kestrel, the ressult is a small smile that appears on Ichika's face like a caring older brother, the said male can now tell very, very well... his small scar faced friend is now indeed in the same boat as he is. Stuck in the Harem nightmare, but as Kestrel has a way of dealing with problems immediately, it shouldn't be too hard for the said long black haired male to tackle what ever problems that his own five female group may bring forwards. Ichika and Kestrel at this moment happen to just make eye contact as Ichika looks over his shoulder and up the isles of seats, the pair look each other in the eyes and exchange very timid and brotherly affectionate smiles before turning to face the swooning of the mass of adults and children.

All the while this happens, Laura remains holding onto Ichika's arm, and Tomoe remains hand in hand with Kestrel, showing that umongst the mass of chaos, some human warmth and happiness can be found, albiet on Kestrel's side - the joy is a lot more stronger and more wonderful than that of Ichika's situation, but... in time, weither Ichika likes it or not, he will have to get ready to be in that same position, a fact which makes the chill and ill feeling inside Ichika all the more stronger. However, for now... all Ichika thinks is just the same thing over and over again, the tone in his mind being serious, flat and determined - ( "Let's do it, Let's do it" ).

_**Okay readers, that's it for now, consider this chapter an easter gift from me to you all. As always, please refrain from sending a private message if you can help it, I'm more than happy to get messages in open reviews, so if anyone has any pairing wishes just place the declaration in open reviews. The next chapter should see some calm activities in Nara, but I will be making the next chapter take place in some very famous places in Nara. Also, Ichika now puts his plan in motion ( as you've already read ) with Laura, so if anyone wants to see anything happen in the first phase of Ichika's dating trouble, just place the request in the open reviews.**_

_**I can't be sure when the next chapter comes out, it may come in maybe 2 months time or something, recently I've been a very busy guy and remember that I have to take it easy, Doctor's orders, however.. all is okay, I'm not dead or anything, and as always.. a friendly comment and a bit of respect every now and then keeps this fic going. So, that's all I have to say during the closing address other than stay cool.**_

_**Also, I'm not going to write this information down in the fic via character conversation, but if you readers think that Kes has it easy with his own love problems and personal life and such, then here's the real truth. If YOU realy want to place yourself in Kestrel's body for at least 5 minutes, and see the world from Kestrel's point of view. You have to imagine that YOU, have had over 10 large bottles of the strongest beer and whine, you have then travelled by train for over 24 hours and stayed up all night, you know that your suffering from PTSD and that you can at times see things and hear things that aren't there.. and your fearing when it comes again, you are dreading going to sleep at times for fear of nightmares.. then, suddenly.. you find yourself in the Harem situation, you don't know these people and you can't trust anyone due to the abuse or torture that you've suffered in your past.. so, what condition are you in!?**_

_**\- So, if you can bear with me, how tough and impressive is our scar faced hero?**_

_**Okay.. that's it for now, so... Happy Easter 2017, may we all have good fortune and prosperity throughout the year and above all else, you readers stay cool!**_

_**Until the next chapter**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	98. Chapter 98: Treasure Hunt start

_**Okay readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised after a while of rest and busy hard work. Okay, as you are ALL aware of, summer break fesitivities can now begin, but before I start showing you all the progress of the first chapter I just want to make something clear. Just in case you are thinking.. Kestrel is an Israeli, and as such many consider a jew, but in fact if you refer to the chapter to which he got his first dose of pyschotherapy, he made it clear that he does not believe in any god due to his torture and abuse, and as such he has NO faith. Which means he is not a jew and certainly not a christian so the reason as to why Kestrel wears his star of david pendant is due to be explained. - Also before you read I just recently found a youtube video which shows a pendant which looks exactaly the same as Kestrel's pendant. The video is titled "Jewish Star of David Pendant / 6 pointed star / stainless steel chain" under pending "hiphopbling".**_

_**So if you readers want to see Kestrel's star of david in the flesh, look at that video, on the back of the star of the video there is some letters that title ' ', but Kestrel's pendant is blank on both sides. So although Kes is quite the Hebrew, he is NOT a Jew, rather a young boy with mixed western and Hebrew tastes, because remember that Kestrel is like a wild animal, has no faith and is awash with troubles and horrors. So there's no need to believe that he's this religion or that, because he does not believe in any religion anyway, so don't expect to see him praying or bowing at any Japanese shrines as such, because as already said - "He has no faith".**_

_**Okay, first chapter of summer break as promised is here for all you CR'RRAAAAZZZYY readers! XD!**_

_**Please sit back read and enjoy to the best of your abilities.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 98:

**\- Nara Todaiji temple shrine and Park 13:40pm -**

( A:N You readers can find this location on Youtube under title "Nara, first capital of Japan in HD", so it saves me becoming to detailed in description )

The sounds of chatter fills the air as masses of people flock and walk around the famous Todaiji temple, outside the premises the NCA group have finaly arrived at their first destination and at last the many numbers of youngsters with their mothers and fathers can finaly unwind and enjoy a place that they have never been privalidged to visit before in their lives. Wincing as soon as he enters the hot summer air, the black haired Ichika Orimura briefly closes his eyes and turns his head to the left to look away from the bright sunlight, clasping tightly onto his left arm is Laura, the German female seemingly over the moon with tears of joy in her solitary closed eye as she continues to rub the side of her face against Ichika's arm. Noticing Laura being for some strange reason overly friendly with the boy they love, the other four females of Ichika's unwanted Harem have now closed around him, the blonde Charlotte now has hold of Ichika's right arm, the said female holding in the overwhelming urge to grab a'hold of Laura and tear her to shreads and merely uses the same tactic of that of her nemisis rival, albiet on a much lower level as Charlotte, just like the other females hasn't got the slightest idea of why Laura is all lovey dovey out of control for some strange reason.

Ichika gulps in nerve, his head is swelling with pain and aches knowing that he can't go back now having started his so called 'Top Secret' plan to deal with five girls at once in hopes that he can avoid the horrible obsticle of breaking their hearts and trying to please all five at once, even though in his heart of hearts, he knows that pulling off such a successful stunt is going to be very difficult. As the black bushy haired Ichika straitens his posture, the male despite having a very pale face with nervous beads of sweat rolling down his temple turns his head to the right to look over towards Todaiji temple and with a brave spoken tone speaks one phrase, the said male chuckles in a very frightened manner, thus showing his nervous tension, to which not a single female seems to take notice of - "Ah.. Guess we're here, err.. lets have some fun, heh-heh.. shall we?".

Laura and Charlotte merely let out a single dreamy and very happy - "Hmmm" as if having a very, very wonderful and happy dream and don't want to be woken, even though the pair can hear Ichika very well and have their eyes partialy open in a lovey dovey state, faint bashful blushes are set on their faces. Houki for one is the first to respond to Ichika's call and in her sweetest and kindest voice replies immediately to Ichika, a cheery and happy smile is on her face as she walks beside Charlotte, her eyes not leaving Ichika for a single moment - "Sounds good to me, lead the way Ichika".

Rin is next to smile, walking beside Laura, she too dares not take her eyes off Ichika as she looks at the face of the said male, she too uses a very friendly and sweet tone, mixed with a certain level of determination and boldness as if proudly speaking a matter of fact, her strong blush makes her appear somewhat timid, yet she feels as though she can take on the world as she speaks her reply - "I'd follow you anywhere my man".

Cecilia is next to reply, the long blonde haired female too using her own independent mix of love struck boldness, matched by her own overjoyed expression as she walks just behind Houki, yet as close to Ichika's back as she possibly can - "As long I can be with you, I'm as happy as an angel.. my love".

Ichika feels his heart freeze up as Houki, Rin and Cecilia reply to his words, even the climb up the stone steps from the bus on the road below was filled with ill difficulty but as the gang have been dropped off some distance from Todaiji temple, the NCA can enjoy a scenic route towards the temple and shrines and even better enjoy the beautiful plantlife and even friendly deers that great visitors on a frequent daily basis. Fortuneatley for Ichika, the said male shakes his head in a very slow manner is if one would do with a nightmare, closing his eyes and taking in a breath before ceasing his head shake and opening his eyes, the breath is let out as he walks forwards, as Ichika exhales he puts a very pleasant and happy look on his face as he walks after the numbers of youngsters with their mothers and fathers, the happy and pleasant look on his face not doing justice to the illness of fear that churns his gut and causes a chill to run up his spine, but... thankfuly as Ichika with his unwanted Harem looks ahead, the said male feels a great level of ease wash over his body as he looks ahead, a smile of brotherly joy appears on his face as he notices his scar faced friend Kestrel walking ahead of him some people ahead of him with Tomoe and Megumi on both sides of him, Tomoe on the left side with Megumi on the right, both females have a'hold of Kestrel's smaller, softer hands.

Thinking to himself, Ichika smiles with a good amount of affection, the black haired Ichika at ease knowing that despite he has a certain girl problem, he's not alone and if anything it's a person whom Ichika has come to see as a type of younger brother. Ichika's tone is one of relief, joy and a hint of affection as he looks at the back of Kestrel, the youngster's long shinning black hair cascaded down his back - ( "Well, at least Kes can see where I'm coming from, guess we've been in the same boat all this time and not noticed, I guess that makes me and Kes all the more compatable. Kind of wonderful in some way if someone wants to see it that way" ).

As for the said scar faced Kestrel, the young ocean blue eyed male gazes in calm amazement at the sight, the youngster even lifts his small head up slowly as he passes through the large red open gateway towards Todaiji temple, the male then lowers his head and looks ahead as he alongside the many other youngsters with their mothers and fathers walk down a large wide pathway, large trees line both sides and small red banners with Japanese text can be found on both sides of the pathway, the banners are made of cloth and blow in a very slow, gentle way in the breeze that blows, occasionaly blowing Kestrel's black hair to the left on a very calm and careful manner.

Immediately after passing through the open gateway, Kestrel despite having an earfull of the sounds of youngsters talking happily with their mothers and fathers, does not fail to notice that some very strange looking animals are lingering and walking around those trees, Kestrel turns his head slowly to the left, occasionaly managing to catch a glimpse of these strange furred, four legged animals that are obscured by the bodies of the walking group members. Kestrel then turns his head back to the right and gets a much better view of these strange looking animals, to which all seem to be grazeing like cows amoungst the grasses and around the trunks of the trees that tower overhead, the branches and greens every now and then providing shaded cover from the sunlight in the sky overhead.

Kestrel blinks in curiosity at the strange looking animals before him, one of which appears to lift his head from the ground, and appears to stare back, the black eyes of this animal making perfect connection with those of Kestrel's, the scar faced Kestrel feels an overwhelming feeling of peace and happiness in and around his small body, a small timid and friendly smile appears on Kestrel's face as he tilts his small head to the left by a small angle to make full eye contact with this strange four legged animal, but sadly for the atmosphere, all is broken by the familiar voice of Yuno from the IS academy, the said female being one of the tour guides as she walks ahead of the group, her voice is it's usual cheerful self as she proceedes to rush ahead of the group and opens her arms as if to hug someone, but the female is clearly stopping the people, whom all come to a sudden halt, taking Kestrel by surprise whom blinks in slight surprise breaks eye contact with the animal that stands beside it's family or friends of the same species in the tree lines, and looks ahead of him, the confused and curious face of Kestrel replaces the brief look of peace and happiness.

As Yuno holds up her arms as if surrendering to a gunman, the female's cheerful and happy smile does not drop as she proceedes to speak some instructions to the group, Rie and Konoe appear at the sides of Yuno, with Rie on the right and Konoe on the left. - "Okay everyone, welcome to Nara, as explained on the bus, this is the start of our NCA treasure hunt, remember.. clues and photographs are to be gathered and taken, but if you find this all too difficult remember then don't feel bad, remember this isn't a contest, but rather just a bit of fun on behalf of the N.C.A, Rie will lead the clues party and observe progress, Konoe and I will be your tour guides around this particular area, now we pass as legal guides and we know virtualy everything about the Todaiji temple and Nara, because we live here in Nara!".

As Yuno finishes her statement, a vast number of applause comes from the men, women and children of the group, causing Yuno and Konoe to blush slightly and place a hand over the back of their heads in a slightly bashful manner. Rie joins in the clapping for a few minutes before she lowers her arms to her front in a very lady like manner, before the said female proceedes to walk back down the rows of mothers, fathers and children and to retrive a large white sack filled with small black cameras, as many of the mothers, fathers and children hold a clipboard in hand, one clipboard for each family with a number 2 pencil set neatly in a small pocket on the right side of the clipboard. Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi don't hold a clipboard, that is being done by Yui whom walks behind the trio with detective Otokawa beside her, the police woman apparently able to hold a comfortable atmosphere about her despite that under her blouse in a special holster, the police woman has a small hand gun, specialy used by Japan's top police officers. Nobody knows that on the left hip of the police detective, a firearm is loaded and linked to her holster via a special strap, but the gun is only used for self defence or to establish law and order, so there is no need to be fearful of detective Otokawa whom is dedicated to her job and is clearly a woman whom plays a fair game despite her foribidding aura at times.

As the appluase dies down, Yuno resumes her arm position like that of Maya when she calms down the IS classroom hordes of girls, a skill that is very impressive for a female that is far younger that Maya, but still classes as a young lady non the less. Konoe is next to speak, the said female raises her right hand as if asking a question, but the female is clearly giving instructions, her happy smiling face does not drop as she continues the pleasantries - "As for me and Yuno, we will giving you guided tours, we have been coming here since we were very little, and we've been given training for these matters, so we can promise full historical accuracy, so if everyone partaking in treasure hunting will gather in front of Yuno, she will give you your next instructions, were as those whom wish to enjoy the sight and the Todaiji temple, please come towards me".

Ichika lets out a breath and without hesitation walks towards Konoe, the females around him stay as close as possible as they follow the black bushy haired Ichika, all the while this is happening, mothers, fathers and their respective youngsters move and shift in a short dizzy waltz before very quickly forming a respective line in front of either Yuno and Konoe, the line Ichika and his unwanted Harem join is that in front of Konoe, to which some children with there mothers and fathers join out of tourist intrest and not partake in any contest challenges. Kestrel, Tomoe and Megumi on the other hand with Yui and Tsukiyo join the line in front of Yuno, a line longer than that of the one in front of Konoe, but still full of very excited and eager faces non the less, as many children and their parents clearly show the eagerness to join in festivity, and though Ichika and Kestrel are effectively going to be apart for a few hours, the pair manage to exchange very brotherly smiles to each other as if to say 'I'll see you soon, take care'. Kestrel's smile being timid and curious as always where as Ichika's is filled with confidence.

Though Ichika is going to be away from his young saviour, it does however bring positive benifits, it means Ichika can tackle his unwanted Harem without any obsiticles, and if anything he can sort any problems out on his specialy made up plan of action in his mind, Ichika knows this all too well after breaking eye contact with Kestrel with a brief but supportive nod, looks ahead of him and prepares himself for round 1 of his battle to deal with all five girls at once.

Meanwhile for Kestrel, the scar faced male is looks ahead at the back of one of the Japanese fathers, this one having a white T-shirt and black pants, the scar faced male does not pay any attention to what the father is wearing but rather looks into nothing-ness, which is not surprising as he looks over the head of one of the young boys whom is hand in hand with his sister at his side, whom in turn his holding onto the hand of the said duo's mother, whom wears a green summer dress. However, Kestrel still pays no attention to whom is around him and rather listens as he hears the tell tale voice of Yuno whom unbeknowst to Kestrel is now joined by Rie once again. The soft hands of Tomoe and Megumi remain hand in hand with that of his own all the time the trio is in the line. Tomoe and Megumi remain silent like Kes and merely watch in silence as Rie proceedes to walk down the left hand side of the line of parents and their kids, the female handing out cameras one at a time to each family while Yuno proceedes to speak, as usual her kind and friendly vocal tone does not change -

"Okay everyone, Konoe will lead the sightseeing group off while we begin our path of fun, please remember that this is not a race but rather something that hopefuly we will have fun in doing. Okay, as always stay together as a group if anyone has any problems or troubles please come to either me or Rie, and feel free to take photographs if you have cameras on you. Also I'd like to add that the staff here have asked us to not feed the deers if anyone has food on them, the reason for being is that recently some oversea's tourists came through yesterday and fed the poor animals food that isn't good for them, so as a ressult we got a few sick animals here, but everything is okay, those deer are in good hands and being treated, so please bear that request in mind if you will. Okay.. other than that, please let us all start off with a merry heart and lets have some fun.. thankyou".

A vast sound of applause fills the air as Konoe raises her right hand above her head and speaks in a cheerful voice to Ichika's group, what it is fails to reach the ears of Kestrel, Tomoe or Megumi, and instead the trio are just in time to clance to the right and see Ichika surrounded by females walking away with a relatively small number of mothers and fathers with their boys and girls, the majority being with Kestrel's group which remain standing and awaiting to recieve cameras from Rie whom bows in respect each and every time she hands out a camera to either a mother or a father, before moving on to the next. Kestrel and Tomoe find Megumi being the one whom recieves the camera, the dark blue haired female raising an eye brow and casting an inquisitive look at Rie as she hands over the camera to Megumi and quickly proceedes to cast a quick look over to Kestrel, the female looking Kestrel in the eyes and going a flush of red under the eyes as she shoots down a very flirting wink before dashing on down the line before Megumi can do anything, but instead leaves the dark blue haired beauty with a temper patch on her temple and leaving both Tomoe and Kestrel with awkward sweatdrops on both sides of their temples.

Thankfuly Megumi's wishing to cause a scene is defused as the cheerful voice of Yuno calls out an instruction to effectively start the fesitivities, the female merely calls out in her usual kind and pleasant tone - "Okay all, as soon as you've gotten your cameras, feel free to start, and thankyou for joining us on behalf of all the N.C.A".

Many of the mothers and fathers now tend to their sons and daughters whom begin to chatter in a very excited manner, Ichika and the others by this time are now disappearing from view, though Kestrel and Tomoe pay no heed to the sight and merely cast awkward smiles at each other, the pair maintain their sweatdrops. Megumi however continues to frown in irritated rage at Rie, the female not so much scowling but rather maitaining an angered frown like some parent disapointed with their teenage son or daughter after seeing them climb out of their bedroom window and running off with their rascal friends to avoid being grounded. As some of the young boys and girls cast excited looks at the surroundings, some others look at Kestrel suddenly remembering that the scar faced boy is a celebrity, but thankfuly any ideas of glomping Kestrel are defused when Yuno speaks out in a very nervous yet very pleasant tone, like that of Maya when attending to the over-excited students of an IS classroom.

"Ah.. heh,heh.. err, Okay everyone, Okay. Listen I know it's wonderful to be around a hero but please remember that Kestrel needs time alone, so if you would, please do all possible to not be in his face so much, remember we're all here to have fun, there's plenty of time to make friends with him. Remember he's very timid so just be patient".

Tomoe catches Yuno's voice and quickly looks in the said female's direction, the two females make eye contact and exchange pleasant smiles, Tomoe's facial expression being one of utter gratitude as if she has been rescued from a nasty fate or situation. Tomoe rapidly makes a very lady like and respectful bow at Yuno, though Tomoe does not speak, the said female moves her lips as if to make her silent unspoken words clearly spoken, Yuno holds up her arms as if surrendering to a gunman yet she proceedes to raise and lower her arms as if to calm down a crowd as Tomoe whispers - "Thankyou".

As the groups of adults and kids now look at each other with a pause, Yuno's words have worked perfectly, within a matter of seconds all around Kes are now smiling warmly and proceede to bow, Kestrel is unable to understand what is being said to him, the vast arsenals of comments that go along the lines of 'We'll speak later', 'We're gonna get along very well' and 'Don't forget about us' seem to go through one ear and out the other, but at least the scar faced boy with his silver Star of David pendant gleaming proudly, manages to turn his head from left to right to look into the faces of the many differant strangers around him. Kestrel feels his heart beat rapidly for a few seconds in panic before a great feeling of relief washes over him as the groups now begin to back away. Kestrel blinks, remains as silent as the grave, and merely tilts his head to the right, slightly leaning his body to the right as he tilts his head like a dog.

Fortuneatley Kestrel's problems clear up fast as his attention is taken by Tomoe whom proceedes to look down at him with a loving smile, Kestrel turns his head to look up at Tomoe and straightens his posture. A small, tiny nervous smile appears on Kestrel's face, his ocean blue eyes fill with calmness as he and Tomoe make eye contact, the slender dark blue beauty proceedes to speak in a calm, caring voice - "Okay, Kes.. let's get hunting, we're here for some fun so lets get to it".

"We're right behind you kids, don't worry about any problematic goofs, everyone here can tell I'm an officer of the law" - Police detective Otokawa speaks out in a surprisingly warm and pleasant tone, the mature black haired police officer with her thin framed sophisticated glasses has a cool big sister like smile on her face as Kes and Tomoe look at the said female. Yui's voice comes a second afterwards firstly directed at Tomoe and Kestrel, before turning to face Megumi whom maitains an irritated frown at Yuno, whom in turn remains oblivious.

"I've got the answer and clue sheets and the camera so as you've said Tomoe, let's have some fun... Megumi we're heading out".

Snapping her attention from Yuno, Megumi's expression changes to one of neutral expression for a brief moment before the look of a sunny and pleasant expression replaces the look of sudden bewilderment, Megumi's response to Yui is as cheerful like that of Tomoe, Megumi proceedes to smile and in a cheerful tone mixed with a sunny expression replies - "Yes, ofcourse lead on".

As The two adults proceede to walk close behind Tomoe and Kestrel, the dark blue haired Megumi takes one final glance back at Rie, the female has touched Megumi's nerves and a nasty frown appears again on the said female's face, but... fortunealtey for Megumi, the said female just happens to look down at the right time as she is about to turn and follow her younger sister and Kestrel and to her surprise notices a black ink pen, the type that one would use to write on a whiteboard. Blinking with a surprised expression, Megumi is at loss for words, but then, the comical invisible lightbulb appears above Megumi's head, the said female's eyes widen in sudden surprise as she looks up at nothing in particular but then, as the invisible lightbulb goes away, a sudden look of a confident smirk appears on Megumi's face as she slowly turns her eyes and head to follow Rie whom is following some of the mothers and fathers with their youngsters. Though Megumi does not speak a word, the sinister smirking expression makes it clear that she has a plan in mind, not an evil one, not to cause great upset or humiliation, but rather a very big mischievous prank, which is no surprise when one considers the antics that Megumi gets up to at times.

Wasting no time, the dark blue haired beauty snatches the ink pen off the ground and with a rapid swivel of the heels to the right begins to jog after Kestrel and the other females, Megumi catching up very quickly in a matter of seconds, while taking the chance to hide the pen on her person, the female hides the pen down her front, the female placing the black marker pen between her huge heaving breast cleavage and pushing it downwards while maintaining a very suspicious mischevious smirk at Rie whom has her back turned and is walking ahead of the group. In Megumi's mind the female speaks in a very clear and contained tittering tone as if trying to hold back laughter, yet her expression is one of utter confidence, like a woman whom is about to steal away another woman's boyfriend, husband or steal away any form of a loved one... yet her plan involves nothing of the sort, if one was to know Megumi as well as Tomoe, they would know that Megumi is just plotting her next prank or joke - a comforting fact from a certain point of view.

As Megumi glances away from Rie, the female is quick to replace her confident expression with her natural lovey dovey, excited image as she rushes forwards and snatches Kestrel's free arm, as the other is linked with that of her younger sister's. Neither sister looks at each other as they walk straddling Kestrel either side, leading him alongside the many parents and youngsters, the sounds of walking on the ground is mixed with the sounds of chatter, the song of birds and the rustling sounds of the leaves that blow in the breeze that in turn blows through the twigs and branches of the trees.

**\- 10 minutes later -**

Walking in a now opened up group, Kestrel still arm in arm on both sides by Tomoe and Megumi, is in close formation by Tsukiyo on the right hand side of the trio with Yui on the left. The sweet feeling of sunlight on the face is like the sweetest embrace on Kestrel's face matched by the cool breeze, a small and very timid smile is on the said scar faced boy's face as he takes the chance to look around, the youngster notices all the youngsters with their mothers and fathers, all of which are now fanned out and going in any direction that comes to mind as the hunt for the mystery star prize begins. Kestrel in his calm state of mind notices that the mothers and fathers all have smiles on their faces, as do the boys and girls, just looking at the happiness makes it impossible to think that a realy horrible event has occured in Japan coming in the form of a large scale drone attack, but saying that... it's incredible to think that Kestrel himself can still smile and find comfort and happiness when considering the horrors that he himself has endured. Once again... the human race despite being negative in many areas... does indeed have a skill to be impressed with, as do all living things that have emotions.

Tsukiyo pushing her thin framed glasses upwards slightly is first to speak out, the police detective looking left to right as she speaks, clearly remembering that she is still an officer of the law and is devoted to seeking out crime, but all is calm and clear. The woman's voice is pleasant and clear as she speaks - "Okay you kids, let's start getting involved, so.. Miss Sakurada whats the first clue?"

"Ah.. hold on, hmm... oh, here it is, clue number one, I feed on the berries and I gather sticks, when I grow up I want to have a beautiful singing voice" - Yui replies, firstly in a form of neutrality as she proceedes to place the camera issued under her arm and lifting the clipboard with white paper up to read. The female's voice is calm, straight and pleasant as she speaks out, as she finishes reading the first clue she lowers her clipboard and with a straight expression looks upwards slightly at the blue sky, an invisible question mark appears above her head as she briefly looks up and lowers the clipboard.

Megumi is quick to reply to Yui's words the female still arm in arm with Kestrel merely lifts up her free arm to form a 'Wha?' position as she proceedes to speak. The female closes her eyes briefly as a proud feminine smile appears on her face. The dark blue haired female's voice is equal to that of her expression, proud and confident but unlike Cecilia, Megumi does not speak in a conceited manner but rather in a tone that shows she has a lot of self confidence - "Sounds a bit like me, when I was a little kid I used to go down to the woods to pick blackberries, I used to play with bits of wood with friends when we pretended to be sword fighting, then as I grew older I got this beautiful tone. I got it! Put me down, I'm the answer to the first clue!".

Tomoe merely frowns in a straight manner, rolling her eyes to the left to look at her older sister, but remains silent. Kestrel in turn merely blinks in confusion and rolls his ocean blue eyes up to the left to cast a glance at the older female still holding onto his arm, he too remains silent. Yui merely smiles in a very friendly yet awkward manner towards Megumi as the said female lowers her free arm to her side. Yui feels the urge to titter but chooses that she had best not to, the last thing she wants to do is incourage Megumi in some shape or form. Tsukiyo is next to speak, the police detective now walking on the left side of Tomoe takes the chance to take a few steps back, lean to the side and take the camera from under the arm of Yui, much to the said amazement of the said woman. As Tsukiyo quickly rejoins the side of Tomoe, the said police detective speaks in a tone as if it's purely a matter of fact, the woman clearly taking the chance to show that she can dechiper a question or riddle, but being a police detective that skill is very much required.

"I don't doubt it, yes.. I don't doubt it, but I would say the answer is far smaller and can be found in the trees".

"Eh?" - Megumi exclaims in a tone of questioning, the female not so much offended, but rather interested in police detective Otokawa's words. Megumi being somewhat impressed that the answer appears to be solved very quickly.

"Oh, you know what it is officer?" - Tomoe puts in, the female turning her head to the right to look at the older woman on her right. Kestrel remains silent but turns his head to the right to look over at the police officer at the side of Tomoe, Kestrel still not fully understanding Japanese clearly remains confused as to what is being said, but is able to get the image that there's something to be happy and impressed over, the scar faced boy's expression remains it's usual confused and timid self.

"What do you think eats berries, gathers sticks and sings proud for the world to hear?" - Tsukiyo replies, the woman looking Tomoe in the eyes with a warm and kind expression, the office dressed female speaks in a tone that is similar to a best friend giving their friend a hint of the answer. The tactic works perfectly as Tomoe's face suddenly gets an excited but small open smile on the face, the dark blue haired female even goes so far as raise her free arm and hand to pat herself on the right temple with the palm of her right hand as if slapping herself in epiphany. Tomoe speaks her answer in a clear and happy tone, the said female not shouting but rather speaking in a clear tone so that all of her number can hear the answer

\- "A bird".

"Yes, a small one I would say" - Tsukiyo responds, the police officer seemingly impressed with Tomoe suddenly getting the answer immediately, detective Otokawa then proceedes to pull out the small yet very advanced looking camera to show the group, upon close investigation one can see that the camera is one that develops the photograph immediately after it has been taken, effectively all one has to do is press the button and the picture appears out of the camera slot at the base.

Unfortuneatley the moment of happiness is short lived as Megumi breaks the moment by speaking in a slightly inquisitive tone, the dark blue haired female raising her free arm to form the 'Wha?' position again and causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks, Megumi's eyes are half closed as she speaks, the female now reminding everyone to be precise, as all treasure hunts of this caliber require 100% accuracy, even though Rie and Yuno did not exactaly say this, it's clear from the sheets on the clipboard that one must follow instructions very carefuly, which is probably a task for the adults while the children have fun doing the hunting. - "A small bird yes, but what species of bird?"

As the group stop in their tracks, Tsukiyo's smile drops slightly and the said woman glances down on the ground for a second, but thankfuly the awkwardness of the moment is short lived, as Yui quickly mentions the secondary clues to the primary first clue, as the question sheets have secondary clues beside those of the primary clue, that is ofcourse if someone has read the question sheets, but... as that appears to be Yui's task the said woman is immediatelty on hand to give out the secondary clue, the said woman speaks in a slightly fast manner as if to calm any moments of ill nerve. Yui raises her right hand, index finger pointing skywards as to show a person that is explaining a matter of a fact, similar to that of Maya when she is teaching a class full of engergetic teen girls, the expression on Yui's face is an impressive match of the pleasantness that Maya has, as is the voice - "Ah, it's okay the clue's right here.. it says.. You will find it blends in against the trees, a small animal, but it is not a sparrow".

"It's not a sparrow?" - Megumi replies in a calm tone, the female now looking at Yui with a straight and comfortable expression, the female slightly lowering her head while maintaining eye contact with Yui, as if to be certain that what she has just heard is correct.

"That's right, the only clue is that it blends into the trees and it's a small animal, but it don't actualy mean that what we're looking for is a bird, but then again.. it said it's not a sparrow and it says it has a beautiful singing voice.. so it may mean a bird, but.. I guess it's down to a matter of luck for some of the clues, I guess it means you search for a small animal and hope it's the right one" - Yui responds, the female now lowering the clipboard and housing an expression which shows the said woman is deep in thought. Tomoe blinks and takes a brief look up at the blue summer sky, the female remains silent for a second while her older sister and Yui proceede to glance at the ground and remain silent, Tomoe's words aid in the dechipering of the riddle

\- "Well it says a beautiful singing voice, and I can't see any other animal having a singing voice better than that of a bird, and it says a small animal so I would imagine that it's not the deer, so I would go with a small bird, and if it's a bird that blends into the trees, I would say we're looking for a bird thats sort of cream and brown, probably similar to the tree pathway we just walked through".

As Tomoe speaks the female at first turns her head to the left to look at her sister and Yui before turning her head to the right to look at Tsukiyo, the dark blue haired female then looks down with a warm and affectionate smile on her face to look at the scar faced Kes whom remains oblivious as to what is being said, yet when the said young male catches the feeling of Tomoe's eyes looking down at his long shinning black hair, the infant knows it's the right time to look slightly up to the right. Kestrel maintains his confused and curious self, but exchanges a timid and friendly smile with Tomoe before breaking eye contact and looking ahead at the many differant sizes of trees and the many differant tourists dressed in various differant summer time clothing.

Tomoe satisified that all is well with the youngster that's captured her heart, then looks again at her older sister and with a small yet very confident smile speaks in a tone that goes along the lines of 'we can do this', her choice of words help back up the warmth and eagerness in her vocal tone - "They did say it's not a race, but it does not mean that we can't do our best and give it our all, and as regards for clue one.. I suggest we do a bit of exploring and keep our eyes wide open, let's just keep our eyes open for an animal that blends into the trees, I support detective Otokawa-san, I say we're looking for a bird. So lets get looking".

"Well if anything, we're here for the fun of it so as Tomoe has just mentioned, lets get looking" - Yui addss with a brief shrug of the shoulders, a small smile on her face as she lowers the clipboard, and proceedes to hold it in both hands just below the pelvis, like Maya when teaching IS class.

"Yeah, I'm game so lets get our tails movin'" - Megumi responds with a proud and confident expression before proceeding to walk fowards briefly dragging Kestrel for a second before the said boy proceedes to walk as normal, Tomoe in turn is dragged aswel but the female is able to regain her footing like Kestrel, though unlike Kes whom goes along after Megumi as silent as the grave, Tomoe on the other hand lets out a very irritated hiss and slightly snarls at her older sister that very nearly caused her to fall flat on her face. Thankfuly though, there is no sign of any falling out between the pair and if anything both females walk arm in arm with Kestrel hell bent on making sure no incidents are to take place, even though the pair may secretly wish to tear each other to pieces, but then again... that is sibling rivalry, and one that never stops even when reaching adult years.

As the trio walk away, both Yui and Tsukiyo proceede to cast looks at each other, both women proceede to smile in a very calm and supportive way as if to say 'Heh, kids these days!'. Then as the pair begin to walk after the trio whom now change course to walk over towards some trees, Tsukiyo and Yui despite keeping close behind the trio manage to take the chance to break the ice of silence and get some woman to woman talk. Tsukiyo of which speaks first, the police detective maintains her cool big sister like expression as she watches the two older females guide Kestrel over towards some trees, doing their best to avoid the occasional glances from the many differant strangers that are gathering around in, most are strangers from all over Japan, but since the drone attacks, its a fair assumption that since Kes was made a small celebrity, he is going to recieve a good number of the occasional pointing of fingers and camera flashes, but since Tsukiyo is present many will know their place and keep the distance. However, Kestrel's status is not whats on the woman's mind rather the atmosphre that is in the air - "It's impossible to think that just a few days ago, nothing but disaster was in the air, and yet look around us, it's hard to believe that there was even a crisis breathing down our necks".

Yui responds to detective Otokawa's words with her usual calm, warm and pleasant tone, the female does not turn her head to look at the police detective but rather turns her head in a manner that she is showing that she is responding to Tsukiyo's words, but keeping her eyes on Kes and the two dark blue haired sisters ahead of her - "To be honest I think we're doing our best to show the same spirit that the Americans did during the aftermath of nine eleven, and what the British did during the aftermath of the seven, seven terrorist attacks. We're showing that we're not about to lower our heads and cower in the face of evil and rather stand united in order to defeat it".

Smiling in a satisified yet cool manner, detective Otokawa keeps her eyes focused on the trio ahead of both her and Yui. Tsukiyo proceedes to reply immediately to Yui's words her tone and cool big sis like expression not dropping for a single second - "Well I can certainly say that I'm impressed, I can tell you, I've been a serving officer of the law for over fourteen long years, and in that time I've seen a lot of suffering from victims who've been on the end of seeing loved ones murdered to disappearances, and I can tell you, it takes many years to just to get through the struggle of recovery, and even then many victims continue to suffer the horrors and shock, but in this case.. I've not seen such an impressive sight of defiance".

Yui's reply is immediate, and though Yui keeps her eyes fixed on Kestrel, Yui clearly makes sure her words are clear enough for the police detective to hear, clearly in a very kind case to show that she is not ignoring the woman of authority - "I think in this case the reason why so many people come together is because that it's not just one person thats been affected by horror and unlawful evil, but everyone throughout the country. If you take the terrorist attacks on America, Britain, France, Russia and even Germany, it's not just one particular person thats been affected, but rather the entire nation, so it only makes sense that we all come together and not back down in the face of scum and villany".

"Hmph! Couldn't have worded it better myself, that was exactaly the answer I was looking for" - Tsukiyo replies, the woman now impressed with Yui, whom in return briefly drops her smile and turns to face Tsukiyo with a slightly confused and somewhat bewildered expression.

"You mean.. you knew all that from the start? Was you testing me to see what the answer would be?" - Yui asks in a careful and curious manner, yet the tone has a hint of being badly offended as she finishes speaking.

"I'm sorry, do forgive me. It's just I like to be sure that everyone is sticking together, didn't mean to offend you understand. Just something they taught me during training, its a rule that you need to follow to be absolutely sure that morale is stable. Guess you're a lot tougher than what meets the eye" - Detective Otokawa responds, firstly in a tone that ressembles a careful slightly frustraited and worn out volume, before speaking in an appologetic tone, before finaly turning into a tone of comment and praise as she finishes speaking to the dark haired Yui.

"No, its okay.. really, non taken" - Yui replies, rolling her eyes and glancing up at the sky as if to say 'Oh boy', or in the more truthful case 'I will forgive but not forget that'.  
Fortuneatley Yui's awkward moment of being slightly offended is defused very quickly as Tomoe and Megumi are only just noticed leaning down slightly looking at Kestrel with playful and supportive expressions, occasionaly pointing ahead at the lines of undergrowth bushes and trees that are getting ever closer towards the trio as they walk towards a fork in the open pathway ahead of them, the duo immediately vote for the left pathway leading away from the temple area that is seen through the branches, bushes and tree line, though mostly obscured from view, one can see the traditional styled Japanese roof through the green leaves and branches that hang overhead, the path leading to the temple is the one on the right, and a few of the parents and children are following that path, but others are following Tomoe and Megumi's hunch that the answer to the first clue is on the left path leading towards the park and ground areas.

"Guess we're going left then" - Yui comments, turning to face Tsukiyo whom is aware that Yui is attempting to de-ice the tensions that have gathered between both women, replacing her cool big sister expression with a friendly and cheerful police officer expression, Tsukiyo lowers her head in a single small bob of the head as to acknowledge the friendly hand, the police detective proceedes to speak in an equaly friendly tone as she straightens her posture - "Yes, It seems we are, after you".

As the adult females turn the left corner, the two beauties Tomoe and Megumi maintain arm lock with the scar faced Kestrel, whom appears confused as hell as to why all the youngsters in sight are gathering around bushes, looking round statues and staring up at the trees, the mothers and fathers of the said kids too appear to be hunting for something but what it is remains unclear. Yui just happens to smile in comfort at the sight before the invisible lightbulb appears above her head, the female suddenly feels like a total idiot as it becomes clear that she hasn't translated anything thats been said, briefly closing her eyes and shaking her head, Yui proceedes to increase her speed to catch up to Kestrel. As the female reaches the scar faced infant, the woman sees the chance to give Kestrel some free space, though both females are arm locked with the said male and are feeling at home, Yui can't help but feel deep in her gut that the said young boy needs some time to rest his arms and escape the glomping. Yui chooses to speak in a very careful manner as to not upset either Tomoe and Megumi, the woman chooses a careful approach, as Yui rushes up the female speaks in a clear neautral tone catching the trio's attention and causing the three to stop dead in their tracks.

"Ah, Tomoe, Megumi.. err, can I just stop everyone for a moment?"

Turning to face Yui the two females fail to allow Kestrel the chance to turn round and instead leave the male turning his head to the left to look over his shoulder. Fortuneatley Yui is on hand immediately and is able to convince both girls to release Kestrel. Yui kneels down on the pathway, placing the clipboard against her chest, Yui smiles in a very timid manner similar to that of Maya, as Yui speaks she maintains her usual cheerful tone, yet her voice has a hint of awkward nervousness about it.

"Ah.. heh,heh.. Can I just borrow Kes for a moment? I.. ah, sort of forgot to tell him what it is we're looking for".

Releasing Kestrel from their arm lock, the two females take a quick look at each other before looking down at the long black haired head of Kes, the two females suddenly feel like utter fools, the anime style sweatdrops give away the emotions of the two sisters. As Kestrel's arms are released from the embrace of Tomoe and Megumi, the said male takes the chance to turn to face the older black haired female, whom immediately begins to look the scar faced male in the face and proceede to speak in Hebrew. The scar faced male's expression remains it's usual non-emotional yet nervous and straight self, the ocean blue eyes appearing to be the only things filled with a positive emotion. Both Kes and Yui maintain perfect eye contact all the while the said woman speaks in Kestrel's native Israeli tongue, Kestrel hardly blinks as the said woman speaks in Hebrew, and the only response that is given is when Yui finishes her statement, Kestrel merely bobs his head up and down slightly in a timid nod to show that he understands and acknowledges what has been said, to which Yui gives out a very kind, warm and motherly smile.

Satisified with the sight and knowing that Kestrel understands what has been said, Tsukiyo whom regains her cool big sis expression sends over a confident and supportive smirk towards both Tomoe and Megumi, to which the police detective motions with her left arm and hand towards Kestrel and gives a single nod of the head to effectively say 'Carry on'.

Tomoe and Megumi bow in respect to the police detective and proceede to walk up towards the scar faced Kestrel whom know takes a step backwards as Yui stands up straight, this time the two females don't Kestrel's arm or hands but instead lean down to give out warm and caring smiles, Kestrel's response is a very small yet timidly made bow in return, but as Kes regains his stand up straight posture, the said male despite being nervous and timid manages to exchange a caring smile, to which both Tomoe and Megumi take as a very great blessing and great relief and waste no time in leading Kestrel onwards to begin hunting for this mysterious little animal, but when Kestrel is concerned... anything concerning animals... it should be a walk in the park, and if anything Police detective Otokawa is yet to see the gift that Kes has over the animal kingdom where man can walk litteraly hand in hand with nature.

As the two sisters proceede to lead Kestrel down the left path, taking the youngster down the rows of weathered dark grey coloured traditional Japanese statues of legendary or mythical creatures, Yui is then joined virtualy shoulder to shoulder with Tsukiyo whom says nothing but maintains her smile in an uncharacteristic supporting way, and though Yui at first blinks in disbelief at the sight of the smiling police detective the said woman is quick to feel at peace as the said woman of authority places her left hand palm between the shoulder blades of Yui and as if patting a person on the back, proceedes to lead Yui after the trio whom in turn proceede to look up, down and around in search for the answer to the first clue.

While Kestrel is no longer hand in hand with either Tomoe or Megumi, the said male continues to look around as if searching intently, the youngster with his silver star of david pendant gleams in the sunlight that shines and breaks through the overhead tree branches and leaves. The scar faced male turns his small head to the left, looking in one direction for a few moments before turning his head back to the right, ignoring the many differant mothers and fathers that scower the path, grasses and undergrowth for this mysterious and elusive animal that is apparently the answer to clue number one.

"Okay, Okay.. where are ya? You elusive little bastard!?" - Megumi asks in a challenging tone backed by a confident smile and excited facial expression, her choice of words not showing any sign of second thought towards her younger sister or Kestrel, Tomoe whom is not expecting such words from her older sister at first goes wide eyed, she turns her head to face her older sister before replacing her shocked expression with a very disgusted and angered scowl. Tomoe wastes no time and rushes up towards Kestrel as to be sure that he is shielded from Megumi's careless tongue. The said dark blue haired beauty wastes no time in responding to her older sister, which comes in the form of a very shocked yet irriated hiss, the angered frown not leaving her older sister -

"Megu'! For god sakes, there's kids out here! What you doing!?"

"Eh!? What's with you? What's with being all snappy, snappy all of a sudden?" - Megumi responds, the female turning herself round to the left, looking Tomoe in the face and raising an eyebrow at her said youngster yet maintaining a challenging smile on her face as if taking pride in causing upset.

"What's with!?.. I'll tell you what's with me, we're here on a sponsored vacation around little kids whom many have autisim or even any other mental illnesses and your speaking as if your on a binge drinking gambling night with that backward Sawamura Midori friend of yours!" - Tomoe replies, maintaining her scowl, the said female not hissing her words but rather, keeping her voice to a low level as to avoid drawing attention.

"Hmph!, You know what your problem is sis? You don't get out enough, you never let your hair down, for once get that brain out of your ass and place it back where nature intended!" - Megumi responds, the female proceeding to raise her arms to form the 'Wha?' position as she speaks, her eyes are half closed and her challenging smile remains on her face as she shakes her head, Megumi does not blink nor break eye contact for a single second.

Tomoe's right eye twitches as a snarl appears on her face, but thankfuly Tomoe is no mood to start a heated argument that is going to put both her and her older sister at each other's throats, but rather the said female chooses to end the squable before it even starts. Tomoe's snarl lasts for just a few seconds, before the said female breaks eye contact with her sister, closes her eyes and raises both arms as if surrendering to a gunman. The dark blue haired beauty with her white summer dress giving a slight flutter in the breeze defuses her anger and after just 10 seconds the scowl has left her face, as Tomoe lowers her arms the female lets out a sigh. However.. Tomoe is far from finished with her older sister and though the tactic can be considered childish, it can also be considered a wise thing to do as she quickly turns to look back at Yui and Tsukiyo and in a clear tone speaks out as if snitching on some school kid pulling a prank on a teacher

\- "Yui, Detective Otokawa, can me and Kes hunt alone? My dear sister is using vulgar words that I don't want Kes her learning or hearing, and I'm sure the mums and dads don't want any of their children hearing such words either, so would it be alright if me and Kes hunted alone?".

Now appearing as if badly offended, Megumi now with her arms lowered at her side drops her smile and with an irritated frown proceedes to ball both hands into fists and with both arms set at her sides yelps out one phrase - "You Wha!?".

Tomoe is not about to take on her sister and is does her ut'most to avoid spoiling a nice day out and merely proceedes to take Kestrel's right hand in that of her left and after taking one last glance at her older sister whom is now standing idle casting over a death glare, Tomoe raises her right hand up towards her hair and as if to waft away a fly or to show off her beauty, or in this case act a little bitchy, places her right hand under her large blue ponytail and tosses her hair in a very elegant and lady like manner. Then as Tomoe lowers her right arm and hand against her side, Kestrel whom is now looking up with a confused expression is quick to recieve a very warm and kind smile from Tomoe.

Hearing Tomoe's words Tsukiyo and Yui unwittingly roll their eyes and shake their heads, Tsukiyo merely raises her left hand to rest her index fingers just above her glasses, the police woman closes her eyes and lets out a tiny frustraited sigh. As Tsukiyo opens her eyes and lowers her hand from her forehead, the woman proceedes to ball her hand into a fist and raise it to her lips to let out a very clear cough as if to clear her throat, the detective casts over a very strict glare towards Megumi as to say 'Don't even think about it!', as the older sister of Tomoe was proceeding to dust her wrists, and had just slammed a balled right fist into her left hand palm, clearly about to cause trouble, but upon hearing Tsukiyo cough out a warning to not cause trouble, Megumi was quick to un-ball her fists and lower her hackles, not about to start a catfight the now offended female is quick to start protesting her innocence

\- "Look all I did was show a bit of enthusiasm and I lost control of my tongue, I didn't mean to curse, it's just a harmless habit that I have trouble breaking. I'm sorry, If I have to keep my distance from Kes and Tomo' I'll do it, just hear me out first".

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, the police detective proceedes to lower her arm and hand, the woman opens her eyes, some seconds later the woman looks at the ground and mutters in a low voice, the woman feeling somewhat embarrassed at the sight before her, her tone is a perfect match, a frustraited style that ressembles a worn out friend or parent irritated at being caught in the middle of a childish squable - "For god sakes its like being a teacher of kindergarden, and if anything it's that damn scar faced kid that acts like the adult!".

"I'm sorry?" - Yui suddenly asks in an calm interested tone, the black haired woman having heard Tsukiyo's voice but couldn't quite catch her words.

"Nothing, nothing.. just not in the mood for kiddie arguments" - Tsukiyo responds, the police woman raising her head and looking Yui in the eyes with a her usual cool big sister like expression, a small smile to match.

"Ah.. if it's any help it isn't always like this, those two tend to have a snap at each other and then all of a sudden they've made up.. in.. their own personal little way that is" -  
Yui comments the woman now attempting to calm Tsukiyo's nerves, Yui tends to roll her eyes to the left and places a slightly awkward smile on her face with a slight sweatdrop on the temple as she mentions the part when Tomoe and Megumi 'sort of' make up after a fight, even though there are no words or actions exchanged by either female, a fact which Yui has seen before in person.

Smirking with confidence, the police detective merely motions with her hand for Megumi to rejoin Tomoe and Kestrel, the female closes her eyes and shakes her head for a moment as she lets Megumi know that she is dropping the matter, THIS time that is. Next time something happens its a good bet that the said police woman will be in a more active mood to defuse the tensions. Megumi on the other hand seems to let out a sigh in relief and proceedes to jog over after her younger sister and Kestrel catching up within a few moments and joining the duo on their hunt. Thankfuly there are no hostile tensions exchanged as they allow Kestrel to be released from grip and allow the youngster some free space.

From behind, Yui and Tsukiyo unwittingly breathe slowly and calmly in perfect sync as they walk behind the trio whom NOW are partaking in the hunt for clue number one.

**\- 'Another' 10 minutes later -**

Pointing upwards with the index finger of her right hand, Megumi directs the attention of Kestrel and Tomoe into the branches of what looks like an oak, but in all likelyhood that isn't what type of tree it is, but it doesn't matter anyway.. everyone around Kestrel and Co appear to be hunting for the same clue, or at least switching to a differant clue as by now some of the children with their mothers and fathers appear to be writting down answers on their clipboards, and taking photographs of differant objects and such, Tomoe just happens to glance to the right and notices a mother and father with their son and daughter photographing some flowers in a neatly dug flower bed, a small metaling hooped green fence around the large rectangular flower beds shows that the beds are not to be interfered with.

However, Tomoe's attention is drawn to her older sister before following Megumi's finger to look into the overhang of some tree branches, by now the trio are standing on the green grasses, but the public is allowed to do so, there are no signs to say keep off the grass, and a good number of tourists can be found sat on towels or layed out attempting to escape the sunlight and the heat, which by now is rising, though the day is not as hot as those at the IS academy, the summer weather is all around Japan by now, and not a moment too soon as some of the tourists are seen drinking ice cold canned drinks or sucking on a thin pink ice lolly.

"Look, thats the answer to the first clue" - Megumi explains in a somewhat proud and triumphant tone.

Tomoe just happens to take her eyes off Kestrel, allowing the scar faced infant to wander over to some nearby rose bushes and undergrowth areas, something briefly catching Kestrel's ocean blue eyes, a small tiny looking bird, but not one that he's seen before in his life. Yui and Tsukiyo remain close to the trio, the two women stand beside the trunk of a large tree, the branches and green sheltering both females from the heat of the sun, both women keep their eyes on the scar faced Kestrel whom stops walking for a moment, leans slightly to the right, eyes not leaving the small brown looking featherd animal before taking a few timid steps forward again, as if to take extreme caution as not to frighten this seemingly beautiful yet newly discovered looking animal away.

"A wagtail? Megu' it said an animal that blends into the trees, a black and white wagtail stands out a bit don't you think?" - Tomoe speaks in a calm tone, the dark blue haired female has her eyes half closed as if to say 'Oh someone help me' as she looks up at Megumi's discovery, a small Japanese wagtail chirping and hopping along the thick large brown tree branch above their heads.

"But it also said an animal that is not a sparrow, and from a distance I would say a wagtail blends into the trees" - Megumi replies, the older female lowering her arms and turning her head to the left to face her younger sister, her expression of triumph only briefly lowered for a moment.

"I'm not saying it don't, but the clue also said that when I grow up I want a beautiful singing voice, wagtails do have a nice chirp, but nothing that I would call sweet and beautiful to the ears, and if anything wagtails are common round these parts. We hear them nearly everyday, so I would say it's not a wagtail" - Tomoe explains, the said female raising her arms as if reasuring someone, her tone is it's usual calm and pleasant self yet there is no smile on the said female's face.

"Ah.. yeah, see what you mean, oh well, best keep searching" - Megumi responds, the said female rolling her eyes and looking up at the sky that is visilbe through the overhanging tree branches and leaves. As Megumi lowers her head and turns her head to look at Tomoe, the said female speaks in a calm tone as if explaining a fact, the look on the said young woman's face is proof that she is not offended by Tomoe correcting her and merely interested in solving the problem at hand, a state that is rare to see on Megumi when Tomoe is involved in correcting her. A moment to which Tomoe finds surprising as Megumi shrugs her shoulders and points towards a series of undergrowth bushes with the index finger of her right hand.

"Right, I'm looking over there, if you find anything call me over"

"Huh? Right, okay then" - Tomoe replies, at first surprised at how pleasant her older sister is being, but then again.. Megumi can be very warm, caring and easy to work with, even for her younger sister. Then as Tomoe watches Megumi turn and walk away, smiling warmly and exchanging a bow with one of the mothers and fathers when one of the young boys bumps into her, Tomoe's expression changes from slightly surprised to a sunny expression.

"Okay Kes, lets.. huh? Kestrel?" - The dark blue haired beauty blurts out, firstly in a calm and confident tone before going surprised yet again as she turns round expecting Kestrel to be right beside her, only to find that the scar faced boy has vanished from sight.

Now slightly worried and alarmed at the fact that Kestrel is missing, Tomoe proceedes to turn round in a circle, looking around attempting to find Kestrel umong the numbers of tourists that are resting in the shade. Thankfuly Tomoe does not have to look for long as the said female happens to notice Yui and Tsukiyo, Yui effectively dulls Tomoe's slight concern by pointing over the scar faced boy's location. Tsukiyo merely motions with her head to direct Tomoe towards Kestrel whom by now is halfway towards the undergrowth, the large red and white roses that blossom in the sunlight show the very sight of perfect Japanese beauty, even though this beauty is man made, it goes without saying that at least some human beings can respect the world's appearance rather than litter and throw away trash without giving a damn for the respect of how the world looks.

As Tomoe places her left hand to her chest, the palm resting just above her breasts, the female closes her eyes to a half open state and lets out a relieved sigh, the female has a slightly open smile on her face before regaining her lady like posture and calmly walking over after Kestrel, whom in turn remains walking softly and calmly forwards towards the large red and white rose bushes, his ocean blue eyes not leaving the small brown and cream feathered bird that hops along the dry soil and underneath the thorns and flowers, the small little feathered creature coming to a dead stop and raising its little head up to stare over towards the long black haired Kes whom in turn raises his head and walks standing up straight, as the said boy had been walking forwards bent slightly forward at a slight angle as if to approach slowly as to not disturb this strange un-known little animal.

Noticing that Kestrel is walking slowly as if trying not to disturb anything, before raising his posture and walking ahead normaly, detective Otokawa suddenly gets the overwhelming urge to go and investigate, the police detective not rushing but walking forwards after Tomoe whom in her turn is following Kestrel. Yui notices the curious and concerned look on the police woman and follows, Yui's expression being one of sudden wonder and concern.

Tomoe places her hands in front of her in a very lady like manner and follows after Kestrel, the scar faced male now walking at a very slow and calm pace towards the rose bushes, the young male now only 10 yards away and getting ever closer towards the small feathered bird on the ground, that keeps eye contact with the scar faced male, it's singing voice being very tiny yet very, very sweet. Kestrel's small ears pick up the bird's singing, the small beautiful tone is like a heavily song which causes a very small yet very timid smile to appear on Kestrel's small face. Kestrel walks a bit closer, getting within 5 yards before slowly and carefuly sitting himself on the soft warm grass, the youngster crosses his legs, the dry blood stains on his white sneakers appear to be a bit fainter than earlier in the sunlight.

From behind, noticing Kestrel sit himself on the ground, Tomoe's smile leaves her face and the female holds a look of curiosity on her face, as the dark blue haired female follows the urge to walk slightly to the right away from Kestrel, yet still walking forwards, what Tomoe sees next causes the said female's heart to beat a little more faster than usual and a very excited smile appears on her face as she finaly notices the small bird hiding in the undergrowth, exchanging eye contact with Kestrel. Tomoe's excitement causes the female to pick up the pace and jog slightly for a few seconds, the female lifting her white summer dress with her right hand to prevent her from tripping and falling. Tomoe reaches Kestrel relatively fast but as the small bird in the undergrowth suddenly hops to the left as if running away the said female comes to a dead stop and goes ice cold with the horrible thought that she has frightened the bird away, but as the bird quickly proceedes to hop forwards towards Kestrel, the female suddenly goes warm again with relief, as if she has just avoided something very nasty from happening.

Fortuneatley at this point Tomoe just happens to glance to the left and catches the sight of Tsukiyo and Yui, Tomoe rapidly proceedes to raise both hands to signal both women to stop, the hand palms face both women and fingers are parted. Taken by surprise both detective Otokawa and Yui come to a dead stop, the two women proceede to look at each other for a second before both continue to walk forwards again, albiet at a slow but steady pace.

Fearing that both women are about to ruin the moment, Tomoe slowly proceedes to walk back towards both women, yet she continues to look back over her shoulder towards Kestrel every four seconds. Kestrel on the other hand is unaware of what is happening behind him and focuses on the small bird before him, that continues to hop forwards very timidly, taking a single hop forwards every 10 seconds. From behind Kestrel, the young male is unaware that Tomoe has now reached both Tsukiyo and Yui and the female is proceeding to explain what is happening, much to Yui's excitement and Tsukiyo's confusion. Kestrel with his small and timid smile on his face, does not blink, both he and the small bird cast warm and friendly stares at each other. Kestrel's small heart seems to stop beating as normal and appears to beat a little slower as the young male breathes slowly and silently. Then, after allowing the small un-identified bird to hop a little closer forwards... Kestrel slowly begins to lift his right arm, the hand palm is flat facing the ground. The small cream and brown coloured bird moves it's small head and continues to chirp and sing on a few second intervals.

Then, as Kestrel raises his small arm forwards as if offering a hand to grab, hand palm still facing the floor and fingers parted, the small bird does the inevitable, the small animal hops forward a few paces and then, taking a sharp lunge forwards gets airbourne and within a matter of 3 seconds, lands on the middle finger of Kestrel's right hand. The scar faced Kes now holds a warm and caring expression on his face, though his usual nervous and curious self still remain, but at least this time it is nicely balanced to show that Kes appears comfortable, but then again.. when ever animals are involved Kestrel always looks comfortable and happy.

Kestrel blinks and tilts his small head to the left, maitaining eye contact with the small bird, the feeling of it's small toes being the usual feeling of having small tiny twigs with skin coating on his finger. The small bird chirps and sings as Kestrel slowly moves his small arm forwards, the young male bringing the small bird within a foot away from his small face, the small bird proceeding to step onto Kestrel's index finger rather than that of his middle finger before singing and chirping again. The young scar faced male then raises his small left hand and very carefuly proceedes to stroke the brest of this small bird, the small bird responding with it's sweet beautiful singing voice as if to show that it is enjoying the fuss.

Kestrel and this un-identified bird with it's sweet beautiful tone share a full moment of comfort for over 10 minutes before the bewildered voice of Tsukiyo breaks the silence from behind the young scar faced male, the police woman along with Yui, Tomoe and Megumi have spent a good few minutes coming together and taking a careful approach from behind Kestrel, and successfuly being able to avoid attracting attention of the other tourists whom remain oblivious to what is happening. Tsukiyo pushes her thin framed glasses upwards after taken the chance to rub her eyes as to make sure she isn't seeing anything, her voice is not over excited and amazed like most people but the tone alone makes it clear that she is impressed non the less - "What the?.. Heh, Well screw me!"

"T.. Tomo' is.. is Kes?" - Megumi blurts out the older sister of Tomoe having crept round to Kestrel's left side and leaning forwards to look at the sight before her, all females maintain a 5 yard distance from Kestrel. Yui sees the chance to capture the moment and slowly proceedes to creep round to Kestrel's right to get into position to take a photograph.

Tomoe is next to speak the female slowly creeps round to Kestrel's right, the female lets something be known right then and there as she suddenly hears the singing voice on the un-named bird that continues to sing and chirp to the happy and comfortable looking scar faced Kestrel. The dark blue haired female now has possesion of the clip board and quickly begins to write down the answer to the first clue, while speaking in a tone of excitement, though she does not whisper, her voice is clear yet soft spoken as best not to disturb the moment - "Seems Kes has found the answer to the first clue, its a Skylark".

Kestrel blinks and continues to pet the wild animal on his small hand, now known as a Japanese Skylark, while Yui takes the opertunity to take a photograph, the white flash and resounding sound of the camera going off draws the scar faced Kestrel back to reality, the young male's smile drops and he proceedes to look in the direction of which the sound came. Kestrel's now confused and cautious expression now meets the cheerful expression of Yui whom proceedes to take the rolled out photograph out of the camera, the female smiling ever brighter as she finds that she has a perfect image of Kestrel in his calm and cheerful state, the image shows Kestrel with not an over excited smile but rather a small kind and warm smile on a calm expressed face, one that is not always seen, and the Skylark perched on Kestrel's hand is photographed looking Kes right in the face with it's beak closed, as if both parties are like the closest friends despite having only just met.

_( A.N: The Skylark has a very beautiful little singing voice, you can find a recording of which on Youtube entitled "Skylark Bird Call Bird Song" under pending 'Sounds Majestic' )._

Tsukiyo seemingly stubbles to the left as she keeps her eyes fixed on both Kestrel and the small Skylark, the police detective and Megumi apparently unable to believe the sight before them, rather than Tomoe whom has seen this before, but non the less can't deny that she is always bewildered non the less. Kestrel slowly turns his small head to the right and notices Tomoe whom is quickly joined by Yui both females cast down awe struck stares and smiles, Kestrel whom feels somewhat flattered for once in his adolescent life gains a small little flush appear under the eyes and a timid smile before turning his head to the left and noticing Tsukiyo who now proceedes to place her left index fingers over the left frame of her glasses and fix them straight, like some teacher overwhelmed by her lazy and apparently stupid looking student having written down the correct answers and solutions to the most difficult question she can muster.

"I can't believe it! It.. It's.. It's not possible" - Tsukiyo stutters with an amazed and bewildered tone, briefly shaking her head rapidly as to make sure she is not dreaming,  
the police detective hoping that when she opens her eyes she will still be on the bus, only to find to her continuous amazement that the sight is still there.

"It's okay, this is something that Kes does all the time, it's nothing to fear. It's what I call his Special skill" - Tomoe quickly comments to Tsukiyo, the younger female apparently doing all possible as to keep all control over the situation, even though she knows she does not have to do such a thing, but there is no harm in being extra sure.

"I've seen Kes with a Crow and at one point a Raven on his arm, it's alright, Kestrel isn't some young abnormal young boy, it's just something that he can do without any difficulty" - Yui puts, quickly following Tomoe's words the older woman taking the chance to stand just beside Tomoe, both females cast looks of careful happiness at the police detective, which seems to have a very positive ressult as Tsukiyo's shocked face turns to one of careful excitement, the police detective places her hands on her hips and with a slightly open smile with a cool big sister expression on the face shakes her head in admiration. Kestrel all the while remains silent and looks up at Tsukiyo with an expression of confusion and curioisty, the scar faced male tilts his head to the left as he lowers his arm to which the Skylark is perched, the small bird now leaping and flying forwards and landing on his right shoulder.

"Incredible.. it's.. it's.. I can't find any other word to describe it, it's just.. incredible. Well, I guess I know why you girls fight for him, he's got a gift that very few human beings are allowed to be given" - Tsukiyo responds, the police detective at first looking down at Kestrel, whom rolls his ocean blue eyes upwards to look at the Skylark that now flutters it's wings again and lands on his head. Tsukiyo finishes speaking as she looks over towards Yui and Tomoe, Tomoe in turn immediately goes a deep flush of red under the eyes as Tsukiyo mentions the fact that she and Megumi have been at each other's throats recently about who gets to be around the scar faced male the most, but fortuneatley Tomoe is smiling, the female places one foot behind the other in a very bashful manner while letting out a very nervous and awkward titter.

Kestrel then raises his left arm, the young male offering his left hand as a perch for the Skylark to take, which the wild un-ringed bird accepts with apparently open arms,  
or 'wings'. The Skylark's small sweet beautiful singing voice is still heard, now coming on a minute or two intervals, lasting for a few seconds before starting again. Kestrel's small smile returns as he raises his small hand towards his left cheek, the expression being his usual innocent and yet slightly timid self as he pulls the small Skylark into his small face, all goes silent, all four females around Kestrel seem to turn to coloured ice as Kestrel carefuly rubs the left side of his pale cheek against the soft, warm feathers of the small bird, the scar faced boy effectively hugging the bird as he brushes his cheek down the bird's back, the Skylark appears to respond with an equal feeling of warmth and kindness by raising it's head and attempting to preen Kestrel's cheek, then.. after raising his right hand to stroke the bird's back for a final time, lasting but a few seconds.. Kestrel proceedes to raise his left hand, all eyes watch in silence as the Skylark takes to the sky, all eyes watch as the small wild bird flies away, disappearing over some trees.

Kestrel with a very small and timid smile on his face proceedes to stand to his feet, the scar faced male at peace and apparently satisified with having spent some time with yet a newly discovered animal. The young male maintains his small smile as Tomoe walks over, the dark blue haired female apparently over the moon with happiness and pride. Kestrel quickly discovers the female walking over and at first is at loss for words when Tomoe comes to a stop in front of him, her usual warm, kind and friendly smile still set on her face, the female has her hands behind her back as she comes to a stop. Fortuneatley Tomoe is quick to continue and end Kestrel's moment of confusion and proceedes to pull both hands from behind her back, raising her left hand as an offering for Kes to take. Kestrel at first looks down at Tomoe's hand before looking up to look the said young lady in the face before replacing the confused and curious expression on his face with a sunny look of comfort, Kestrel proceedes to take Tomoe's left hand in that of his right and once again.. both youths are hand in hand again.

"Ah.. *ahem*, yes.. err.. so.. whats the second clue then?" - The police detective asks, coughing to clear her throat, her right hand balled into a fist and placed in front of her mouth before lowering her hand getting everyone back into the real world, even though all appear at peace and still in the world of the awe at what has just happened.

Megumi having hold of the clipboard with the questions has just filled in the answer to the first clue, and with photographic proof of the answer, it is clear that Kes and Co are on a very good start to the NCA's treasure hunt and first prize could be theirs for the taking. Megumi proceedes to jog over towards Kestrel and her younger sister,  
the female's hair tflutters in the breeze as she jogs over. Though Megumi's words are directed towards Tsukiyo, the female just like the other three females keeps her eyes fixed on Kestrel, all eyes are on Kestrel, much to the said male's confusion as an invisible anime style question mark appears above his head.

Megumi's words are a mix of peace and joy as she replies to Tsukiyo's question, Megumi taking her eyes off Kestrel to read what is on the paper - "Ah.. it says.. "Your stars show great promise today, look for the one after the Ram"".

"Okay.. ah.. well, guess we better start looking" - Yui puts in with her usual motherly and warm tone, her expression being as cheerful as usual.

"Anyone have a clue as to what clue number two is?" - Tsukiyo asks in a very interested tone, the police detective and Megumi now walking up to join Tomoe and Kestrel,  
both females try to look at each other and try not to keep their interest placed so much on Kestrel whom has clearly taken everyone's breath away, but then again what's new?

"Why don't we let Megumi try this one? Kestrel found the first clue so why don't we let someone else try the next?" - Yui asks in a very suggestive tone yet her tone has a very big mix of motherly happiness, which is made clear as the said woman has the index finger of her left hand pointing skyward as if explaining something like a very intelligent scientist or school teacher.

Upon hearing Yui's suggestion Tomoe's facial expression changes from overwhelmed joy directed at Kestrel towards sibling challenging as she raises an eyebrow at her older sister, the smile on Tomoe's face shifting from loving happiness to a confident smirk. Tomoe clearly finding the chance to challenge her older sister and maybe even take the chance to humiliate the said female, abliet on a small scale. Tomoe has the sweet taste of small but petty vengence in her mouth as she sees the chance to make her older sister feel some of the embarrasment that has been bestowed on her shoulders for many long years now. Thankfuly, as Tomoe is a more humane person, as she speaks the eyebrow raised quickly goes away as does the smirk, and instead the said female chooses to speak and face her older sister on a more innocent level, but the challenge and thirst for some little payback is still evident in her voice, Tomoe's choice of words is perfectly calculated, and though Tomoe is a good person whom does not support the idea of using mind tricks, theres no harm in using it for a touch of playful banter, as long as she does not intend to cause great upset.. which in truth she does not.

"Ah.. yeah, err.. Yui.. well, don't you think I should try the next clue? No offence Megu' but sometimes when we give you a task or thing to find you find something near the right thing but sort of, well.. off by a mile or so, would you mind if I did the next clue?".

"Hmph! You just can't take the idea that I may get a riddle right for once can you?" - Megumi replies, the older dark blue haired female folding her arms and casting over a challenging smirk, Megumi apparently managing to get her younger sister's challenge and facing it with a great amount of confidence.

"Okay, Okay.. I didn't mean to cause offence, I was just trying to provide some aid thats all" - Tomoe replies, the female raising her right arm and hand, the fingers are parted as to show that she is backing down from the idea of trouble, yet the smile on Tomoe's face remains unchanged, the innocent look on her face apparently fooling the others apart from her older sister, but.. theres no need to feel the uneasy turmoil of sibling rivalry, both females are in a sunny mood, as Megumi makes clear with her facial expression and words, matched by her posture which is merely holding the clipboard in her left hand as she forms her arms to the 'Wha?' position,  
her eyes are closed briefly as the said female raises her head with a confident smile matched by very warm and pleasant words, Megumi giving the message that goes along the lines of.. 'I got the joke, but it wasn't funny, you want a battle of wit.. you got one!'.

"Oh no, no.. No offence taken. Just give me the chance for once, remember what mother always taught us, if we are to play together we must get along musn't we? Aren't we supposed to be two adult ladies? Can't we have fun without childish sniggering or finger pointing?"

"Ofcourse, ofcourse we can Megu', I appologise for my words, Just trying to make Kes here have a little laugh that's all" - Tomoe replies, speaking in her cheerful and kind friendly tone as she watches Megumi lower arms and exchange smiling after she speaks. Unfortuneatley, Megumi has no chance to respond as Tsukiyo breaks the mild fighting of wit, the police detective somehow catching onto what both females are doing and merely breaking the ice with her own tone, which in turn is a cheerful and has a mix of your friendly neighbourhood police officer tone - "Yes, Yes.. it's nice to see everyone all eager for the challenge, but can we get going already before the day is over? I'm sure Kestrel is very eager to see the new amusment park later this evening".

Both Tomoe and Megumi back away from each other in the little clash of female wit, with Tomoe linking Kestrel's arm in hers, the scar faced boy looking up at Tomoe with a sudden confused expression matched with blinking eyes, watching in silence with his usual curious expression as Tomoe takes his arm in that of hers. Megumi merely bows in respect towards Tsukiyo, exchanging smiles before raising the clipboard upwars to read the clue again, the dark blue haired female takes another brief look of the clue before lowering the clipboard and looking up at the sky, the female places the index finger of her free hand against the side of her face in a very lady like manner as she looks at the sky, the female effectively thinking in a very sensible manner, yet a small smile is on her face, as Megumi speaks, the female uses the tone of a person that is calculating the facts in her mind before coming up with the right answer..

"The one after the Ram?.. The one after the Ram?.. uhh.. You know.. I think we're looking for the next.. STAR sign" - Megumi speaks out, lowering her finger from her face and putting a lot of emphissis on the word 'star', the female looking over towards the others with a very confident and proud expression as she speaks, giving a small single nod to boot as to show that she has solved the riddle. Everyone apart from Kestrel whom is confused as usual, gives back a single nod back in return, the expressions on the females effectively saying 'Very good', but sadly the moment is short lived in a strange form of comedy humor, to which nobody in the group is aware of.

"Well, there we go.. the one after the Ram is a virgo, that's your answer.. we're looking for a virgin".

"That Dolt!" - Tomoe hisses in a deflated tone, the female face palming with her free hand and closing her eyes, Tomoe effectively closes her eyes and shakes her head as her older sister makes herself look like an utter idiot. Kestrel tilts his small head to the side as he watches Tomoe face palm, the youngster then briefly leans to the side, his head still tilted and notices that Yui too has her eyes closed, the woman has the fingers of her left hand placed between her eyes,  
she too is shaking her head in an awkward manner.

Tsukiyo thankfuly smirks in humor at the moment and brings back the sudden lost atmosphere, Tsukiyo lets out a sigh, the police woman effectively doing all she can to avoid laughing at Megumi. The voice of the police detective is one of a matter of fact, the woman speaks in a very clear and confident tone as she looks over towards Megumi.

"Well, you maybe looking for a virgin, but we're looking for a bull. The one after the Ram is Taurus the bull".

"Oh.. heh, heh, yes.. I suppose your right officer" - Megumi replies, the said female going red under the eyes and placing a hand at the back of her eyes and smiles in a very awkward manner as the female is suddenly aware of how stupid she has just made herself look in the eyes of the others.

"I'm sure I'm right ma'am, now I think we'd best start looking for a statue of a bull, because I would say the one that we passed some minutes ago is the answer to the next clue" - Tsukiyo replies, the police detective smiling with a cheerful yet careful expression and motioning with her arm back the way the group has just came.

"I rest my case, ah.. shall we?, Come Kes" - Tomoe speaks out, the female shrugging her shoulders and casting a mocking smile at her older sister before turning to face Yui and speaking in a cheerful and kind tone before looking down at Kestrel whom was looking over towards Tsukiyo, Kestrel blinks with confusion and remains silent but after seeing the warm, loving eyes from Tomoe, the youngster is more than comfortable to follow as the dark blue haired beauty begins to lead Kestrel back towards the pathway. Yui following on and replying to Tomoe with a simple cheerful reply of her own - "Ofcourse, let's get cracking".

Tsukiyo motions with her hand for Megumi to walk at her side, which Megumi responds to in a sunny manner, and together both females follow after the trio ahead of them. As Megumi follows after the trio before her, swallowing her embarrasment and pent up resentment towards Tomoe, the female happens to look up at the sky and in an internal monologue to herself, the female thinks one phrase about one thing that everyone seems to have forgotten about - ("Wonder how Ichika's getting on with those demented girls of his?").

_**Okay readers, thats it for Chapter 98, the next chapter will focus more on Ichika and his girls, this chapter I wanted to get out of the way as I have very few Kestrel and animal moments planned, only 4 more remain, the last of which should involve a real romantic, heart warming moment, but I'm not going say what it is. Romance for the most part is going to focus the most on Ichika and his girls, as you readers are aware that Ichika and Laura now have a date planned, as does all the others, to which you already know is going to happen as Ichika is now juggling all 5 females at once.**_

_**Just in case you readers were thinking, the future chapters will explain how Kestrel learned to fight the way he does, aswel as how likely it is how Phantom task and the other tormentors of Kestrel have been able to get away with their crimes without being found out - yet, that is... all will be found out at some point, so justice WILL be done and served, remember the old saying.. "Evil NEVER wins!"**_

_**I don't own Infinite Stratos.. nor do I want to.. because believe me I don't!**_

_**I can't be sure when the next chapter comes, maybe in a month or two but in the end... I don't always know, just be patient as usual. Okay... now, as for the closing address, I just like to say thanks a lot for not sending me private messaging, but remember I don't object to open reviews.. just be the total friends by keeping messages in those areas, open comment reviews. I have written down a plot line for a possible sequel to this fic, but if I write one or not depends on how much positive feedback I get from this fic, but then again.. maybe just this one fic will be enough. 'If'... I did make a sequel it would involve the characters a lot more older than what they are now, like Ichika and Co being young adults in their early 20s and Kestrel maybe as a 16 year old youth or so, that fic would involve a LOT of lemons, human drama and bringing all of Kestrel's tormentors to justice, but I would involve IS battles along the way.. but as I can't see myself pulling off such a futuristic fan fic story, maybe just this one is enough.. anyone whom thinks different to that belief just let me know in the open review comments section.**_

_**Right, so.. also I'd like to make Kestrel's heritage a bit more fun and interesting as I found a Youtube Video focusing on Israel's special forces, now I know that U.S Navy Seals are real kick ass and five star warriors, but look at the Israeli commandos. The video is titled "Israel's Most ADVANCED Special Forces Ever- Full Documentary" under pending "Armed forces".**_

_**Also.. I have one another video to show you readers, firstly has anyone heard of the story of Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler? If not, then there's a video to watch titled... **_

_**( VYSOK S ZKA - dokument o pr behu Franze a Charlieho, Bf-109 vs. B-17 (CZ) ), **_

_**... but you DON'T have to type all this, just type in "Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler" and you'll find the video under pending 'Vlcoun', and believe me... it's a real 'Try Not To Cry Challenge' for you readers whom have a heart.**_

_**Okay.. other than what I've put in the opening address and closing address, all I'd like to say is thanks a lot for reading, there's still more to come and I have a few more surprises in store for this fic, 92% of the remaining surprises are pleasant ones, and some include Ichika as well as our scar faced hero.**_  
_**Right, so.. until the next chapter.. stay cool all you crazy readers and stay safe as well.**_

_**Stay cool readers**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


	99. Chapter 99: Another problem

_**Okay readers, Black Falcon 01 has returned as promised, been a while I know but then again.. I needed the rest and recovery, so... anyway as I explained during the closing address of the last chapter, this chapter should see how Ichika manages to deal with 5 girls at once, while our scar faced Kes deals with his own matters. This chapter remains at Nara park, as this is the first port of call for Ichika and Co. For this chapter I have studied tourisim videos of Nara, but I've done what I believe is fitting for Ichika in this chapter as I like to use my mind to the best of my abilities, but as always I can't promise that these chapters will suit everyone's tastes... but then again, that's never an easy challenge.**_

_**Also, for you readers who like Kestrel's Tomoe and Megumi figures, I have calculated the 3 size of both females.. so I guess this is going to make you readers call Kestrel - "One Lucky Lil' Bastard!".**_

_**Tomoe's 3 size is as such: Bust 96 - Waist 58 - Hip 88**_

_**Megumi's 3 size is as such: Bust 98 - Waist 60 - Hip 90**_

_**\- So I guess Kestrel's got the most stunning out of all the girls in this fic! What do you reader's think!?**_

_**Okay, for this chapter I don't have much to say on opening address other than please enjoy this chapter to the best of your abilities, sit back.. read and enjoy.**_

Taming Kestrel Chapter 99:

**\- Nara Todaiji temple 14:00pm -**

Walking surrounded by all five females, Ichika Orimura is utterly on the razor's edge of sickness and dread, the black haired male having left Kestrel, Yui, Tomoe, Megumi and Detective Otokawa is effectively on his own now, the only familiar face is Konoe whom leads the tour group of mothers, fathers and youngsters directly towards Todaiji temple. Glancing left to right, Ichika notices the many numbers of deer that inhabit the surrounding grounds, the sight alone of the four legged animals cause the said male to smile in a very small and cheerful manner, the apparent peaceful look in the animals' eyes makes the black haired male briefly feel at peace. Konoe all the while chatters in her usual cheerful and friendly manner to the tour group trailing very close behind her, the IS student now apparently a tour guide maintains a happy expression on her face as she walks at slow pace, turning round to look at the many mothers, fathers and youngsters that are wide eyed and appear overwhelmed at being at a place of fame which not very Japanese people have the chance to visit, that is.. if they can't ever find the time to visit, depending on where they came from or if they ever get the chance for vacation.

Every time Konoe stops, the entire group stops also, this time as she proceedes to answer a question asked by a young girl with a long red braid, her twin brother with short light blue hair holds onto his father's hand, the father having short red hair while the mother has long light blue hair. Konoe speaking in her usual cheerful tone speaks in a very slow and clear tone as she turns to point at Todaiji temple itself, having been born in Nara and raised in Nara, Konoe has a big advantage over any local historian, as she herself must have had very big history lessons from either her local school or from her mother and father, or maybe even both. Ichika however is unable to hear Konoe's words, though they are clear to the ear the said male is hardly in the right state of mind to acknowledge or pay any attention to the female's words, his attention being to the five females around him, since leaving Kestrel Ichika has been able to reclaim his arms... in a manner of speaking.

The black bushy haired Ichika used the excuse that his arms where hurting and if he could have his arms back, much to the nervous and fearful churning gut that was causing the male to do all possible to not scream or plea the words out like a person begging not to be put to death. What happend next was more than a surprise, as the plea had actualy worked! However, no sooner was Ichika's arms free, all five females where like lightning bolts fighting for Ichika's hands. However, the fight was over just as fast as it started, Houki and Laura where the winners of the fight for Ichika's hands, Houki having the right hand and Laura having the left. Even more amazing is that the squable went un-noticed, the girl's angered growls and sounds of hand slapping for Ichika's hands seemingly appeared like some fierce cat like clash, but nobody had even looked up or shown any concern, but in fairness.. that is something that Ichika wants, as the male is hardly in the mood for causing a scene, or for that matter appear to be the cause of a scene.

Then, as Konoe finishes answering the youngster's question, the female turns and with her right hand points directly at Todaiji temple itself, the female in her usual cheerful and pleasant tone speaks out in a very kind manner - "Now, let's get towards the temple itself, if anyone else has any questions I can answer them as we walk, when we get towards the temple there is much to see, so if anyone wants to split up and explore for themselves please feel free do so, those of you whom want to get a full proper tour please stay close to me".

Konoe looking the group in the faces as she briefly turns to face the group, the female recieving a lot of a smiles and excited muttered phrases from the mothers, fathers and kids. As soon as Konoe turns to lead the group onwards once again, Ichika feels a vast chill run up his spine, the said male seemingly feels a knife run into his gut like a person has just rammed it in, the feeling of sickness hits home as he hears Konoe's words, the said male knows that this means that all five girls around him are about to make Todaiji temple round 1 for who is the one most likely to be Ichika's girlfriend, the feeling of Houki and Laura's hands seemingly grasp his own a little bit tighter, that itself makes it all the more clear that what Ichika is thinking, is about to start.. but.. at least there is a positive side, Ichika is already aware of what is likely to take place, and as such Ichika is one step ahead, even if it's just a little tip toe pace ahead, it's better than not being ready at all.

The sounds of footsteps on the concrette path is apparently unheard by Ichika as the group proceedes to walk towards a stretch of small buildings along the left side of the path way, the trees straddle this path, but the large Todaiji temple itself is visible above even the highest tree around the group. The cheerful chatter sounds of the mothers and fathers with their youngsters fill the air, the innocent laughter of the excited young ones makes Ichika become somewhat envious as he knows that the family members around him don't have such problems to deal with, its at times like this that Ichika finaly understands the old saying of 'One can't put an old head on young shoulders'. Ichika's chocolate brown eyes seem to hold vast levels of illness and dread, the male lowers his head as if he's a guilty boy been found out of misbehaving, his eyes half close and his heart is beating faster than usual, the male suddenly feels his body temperature rise and his ability to breathe is gone. Ichika seemingly now amazed that he is still walking and keeping pace with the group, as he feels close to fainting, as Ichika walks forwards the male lifts his head upwards and notices the small shacks and buildings that sell souvenirs getting closer, but what comes next causes Ichika to open his mouth and smile in a very terrified manner as he feels the burning gazes of Charlotte, Cecilia and Rin burn into his back, the male's sixth sense giving him the sense that he is being hunted down like an animal by a trio of wolves, and the fact that the eyes of Charlotte, Cecilia and Rin seem to glow a creepy anime style.. matched with excited, mischievous unlady like smiles on their faces makes Ichika's situation get all the more worse, its a good thing that Ichika is not a mind reader, otherwise the black haired male would have pissed his pants from hearing the voices all speaking the same phrase at once - ( "Ichika! You won't escape me! ).

The black bushy haired Ichika quickly lowers his head as he begins to loose colour, the male closes his mouth and gulps down some cold slobber in his mouth, as Ichika lowers his head he catches sight of Laura gazing up at him with a Yandere gaze in her eye, Houki's gaze seems to be one of a excited hunter looking at the meal she wants, Ichika's nerves seem to go on marathon as he begins to tremble, the said male begins to sweat slightly but is able to keep a good cool and collected facade and image, even though his emotions are the mirror opposite.

**\- Some minutes later -**

As the group gets towards the dark brown wooden coloured shacks and souvenir buildings, the group is now surrounded by various other people in summer clothing, Ichika notices men and women between 16 to 50 around him, either taking photographs or are standing talking to each other, some are pointing at Todaiji temple where as others are pointing at the trees or the many numbers of deer that stroll around, obviously used to human pressance. What catches Ichika's eye the most is the massive iconic gateway leading up to Todaiji temple, the large ancient looking structure stands strong and proud as if it was built yesterday. The black haired male now suddenly able to breathe again happens to smile in amazement, Ichika feels his heart now begin to slow down to a much calmer state, but his nerves remain on high level, the male takes the chance to take in a deep breath and braces himself for Konoe's signal that people can get souveniers if they want to, in a strange twist of irony, this comes immediately after Ichika takes in his breath.

"Okay everyone, these souvenir stands sell various lucky charms and gives everyone a chance to realy take in the spiritual aid, if anyone would like to take the chance to make a wish, pray or get themselves something nice please do so" - Konoe speaks out the IS student now turned tour guide speaks in her usual cheerful, friendly tone, the female closes her eyes and tilts her head slightly to the right as she lifts up her right arm to form a 'Wha' position, but clearly in a manner to explain something, like that of Maya when she's teaching homeroom class.

"Come Ichika, let's go pray for good fortune.. like when we we're kids" - Houki speaks out virtualy immediately, the female now glomping onto Ichika's arm and looking up at the said male with a hopeful gaze and faint bashful blush on her face, the female smiling ever so sweetly like she is the happiest girl on the planet. Ichika immediately looks down into Houki's eyes and notices a chilling ball and chain look in her eyes, one that says 'I'm not letting you go!', all Ichika can do is smile in a very nervous and awkward manner, Ichika suddenly feeling that the situation is getting a bit creepy, but none the less the male is able to reply to Houki's words, albiet in a very careful and nervous manner, but quickly finds himself being cut off and interupted by Laura whom too proceedes to speak in a her own cheerful and hopeful manner.

"Ahh.. Well I guess.."

"Nein my wife! I believe that in Japan that couples can buy marriage charms to provide a good omen for their lives together, let us take heed like the husband and wife that we are!"

Ichika feels a knife of ice plunge deep into his heart as Laura speaks her words, even now after so long Ichika still can't help but feel sick when ever Laura calls him her wife, the male seemingly feels pathetic or being portrayed as a gay boy, not that Ichika has anything against the gays, but even so.. it goes without saying. All Ichika can do is turn his head to look down at Laura with a closed but still nervous smile, the male is sweating as he looks down into the solitary eye of Laura, his nerves remain on high tension, but it is about to get a bit more awkward as Charlotte is next to speak, the blonde running round to get in front of Ichika and to bring him and the two females on his arms to a sudden halt. Ichika dares not look at the death glares or frowns that the girls give each other, other wise his bottle will go.. or in short he'll piss himself. Despite being confessed to, Ichika is still not in any condition to tackle the vast problems of juggling all five girls at once, but then again... if all goes well... Ichika's planned counter plan to date Laura tonight will help buy Ichika time in what to do next, and in addition.. Laura being more than happy to go along with this secret meeting will save Ichika in trying to convince Laura to keep it quiet. Now.. all Ichika has to do is go along with being his usual kind self, and do all he can to please all five girls at once.

"Ichika, remember that dream I told you about? I have an intention to make it come true, wish with me instead" - Charlotte places her hands behind her back, the female places one foot in front of the other and leans forwards, the female leaning her head and body to the left slightly as she gazes Ichika in the eyes with a hopeful gaze.

As Ichika looks into Charlottes eyes, the male gets a brief second flash of who to date next after he deals with Laura, the said blonde in front of him, deep down Ichika feels like a criminal for taking advantage of a girl's feelings, but by being backed into a corner, the male is seemingly out of options. They always say love is difficult, it can be a real bitch at times and it's difficult, but from where Ichika is standing.. its like every choice he takes is like a choice that can make a differance between life and death. One thing is for sure, if the saying goes.. 'hell hath no fury that a woman scorned', then Ichika has a real challenge before him, as it appears that not one of these girls is about to accept a defeatist option or for that matter share the one that they want all for themselves.

Satisified with his second choice of girl to date after Laura, Ichika gulps and smiles.. the nervous sweat that rolls down his temple goes un-noticed by the five females around him. Ichika lowers his head in a single bob, but suddenly feeling the death glares dig into his body, Ichika is fast to speak at the same time, a mere fraction after nodding, the male speaks as pleasantly as he can but the trembling male is clearly overwhelmed, however Ichika is surprisingly able to swallow the negative aura around him by choosing his next form of words very carefuly -

"Sure thing, ahh.. I know, err.. I'll make a deal with everyone here, I'll do one thing at a time.. I'll spend a few minutes with one person alone at a time, ahh.. I won't leave the sight of everyone, by all means stay close and watch over what I'm doing. As a way to show that I'm not running off, I'll buy everyone a crepe, I'll even swear on my life's blood that I'm not doing anything out of line".

"Fine with me, but I'm going first!" - Cecilia calls out, the long blonde haired female carrying her wicker basket in both hands, clearly being her 'VERY' foul tasting made cooking is kept by the females' side at all times. Ichika however has no time to worry about Cecilia's food, but is a bit preoccupied in being taken by surprise by the females' words. All four other females suddenly cast shocked expressions towards Cecilia, as the said blonde has appeared just beside Charlotte, the said female has her chest stuck out and a smile is on her face, Cecilia having spoken her words with a vast amount of pride and confidence.

"Get Bent Blondie! I'm going first!" - Rin suddenly snaps out, the brunette suddenly appearing along side Cecilia and sending up a very nasty death glare at the said female, Cecilia in return turns to look down at Rin and sends down a fierce and violent snarl, both females appear to be on the verge of ripping each other to pieces, much to Ichika's horror whom is utterly pale in the face and now suddenly getting the urge to wet himself, but thankfuly Ichika is able to hold it in and is able to defuse a very nasty cat fight by closing his eyes and raising the index finger on his right hand, and in a very cheerful tone, yet there is a great deal of fear and illness in his tone speaks out one phrase that causes all but the blonde Charlotte to go wide eyed with surprise.

"Ah... err, since Char asked me first I'll take her in to start"

"SAY WHAT!?" - All females suddenly yelp, all but Charlotte suddenly proceede to put themselves directly into Ichika's face, while Charlotte goes bright red under the eyes and like an excited little girl, places her hands together and proceedes to jog on the spot, the female has a beaming grin on her face while she jogs a circle, Charlotte seemingly overwhelmed with Ichika's acceptance, the female's eyes are closed and her head is low, but as she recovers and shakes off her happiness, the female notices that Ichika is on the ground, virtualy cowering like Kestrel when a turn has been suffered. The blonde now concered and fearing for Ichika prepares to summon her IS, but is cut off from doing so as Ichika partially summons Byakushiki, Ichika summons his IS arms and hands, as to prevent any IS weapons to be deployed in his face, taking all four females by surprise, but thankfuly all four females choose to listen to Ichika's words rather than act on emotion. Seeing the chance to react fast, Ichika with his face still sweating in terror leaps to his feet and raises both IS hands in front of him to shield himself or surrender, but as Ichika suddenly remembers that all but Rin is on a second chance rule with him, the black bushy haired Ichika sees the chance to show that he is not about to tollerate any violence and places a frown on his face, the said male despite looking serious is still silently cowering, but thankfuly he keeps that said emotion well hidden.

"All right, now listen.. I'm not about to get involved in any fighting, nor do I want any fighting. Houki, Charlotte, Cecilia and Laura.. If you girls remember I'm not about to be used as a personal bag to be hit or struck, Rin you don't yet know why I'm saying this but I will tell you in detail after Cecilia has had a turn.." - Ichika begins with a very serious tone, the male now suddenly getting a great feeling of confidence hit home, Ichika suddenly remembering the IS academy incidents and that all but Rin has to be extra careful on what they do next.. otherwise their chances of having Ichika will be gone, but as Ichika is a good hearted human male.. as well as someone that cares for his friends, the male chooses to speak in a very calm and rational manner, but not before lowering his head, letting out a sigh, closing his eyes and shaking his head before looking into the eyes off all five females again, this time with a look of saddness and stress and speaking in a now very calm and worn out tone -

"Listen.. you girls have taken untold bravery to up and tell me how you all feel, and I can't for one second begin to imagine how hard that must have been, but as hard as it was for you all to come out and be honest with me, I have to be honest and say back in return.. It's a nightmare for me to be in, I've already tried to explain.. I can't choose anyone of you all at the minute, I feel for you ALL the same way but I can't choose one girl without shattering the others' hearts... I... Look, I'm not saying 'No' to anyone, but all I ask for is a chance to take the chance of judgeing each and everyone for myself. I mean.. Look at Kestrel, he's in the same boat as I am.. he's got not just Tomoe but he's got Megumi and three other girls all wanting him for themselves, and he's got PTSD, how d'you think he's feeling right now?.. and it's women and girls that have caused him the damage he's suffering from and turned him into some living, breathing unstoppable fighting weapon when attacked or harrassed.. and now he's got five girls coming at him saying that they care for him and love him, thats sort of the situation I'm in right now... not that I have PTSD or am suffering from any pain as such... but all the same, the situation is very heavy and difficult for me at the moment, just... if you can... just... give me some time to think things through... just, continue as friends for now, if I feel like I want any girl to be my lover, I'll let them know.. is that alright?"

As Ichika finishes speaking, the male deactivates his partialy deployed IS arms, the blue glowing light making it clear that Ichika is now lowered his defenses, but right now being vulnerable is the last thing that worries the said male, instead all that Ichika is concerned about is that if his plea has gotten through to the five girls, but as all five are now looking at each other in the faces, all having a questioning and confused look.. no longer at each other's throats.. it seems to have worked.. however, for Ichika the feeling of getting a goal of peace is short lived, as Ichika's upset face turns to one of hope and relief, the male slightly lowers his arms.. now feeling that he is in the clear, the silence in the air is causing a vast weight to land on his shoulders, but at least its a light one.. as Ichika's lowered mouth starts to curl into a small smile, the male leaves himself open to what happens next, all females ( apart from Laura who as far as she's concerned is already the chosen one as Ichika asked her out tonight ) proceede to look Ichika in the face with nothing more than straight and calm faces, but speak in a very hopeful and soft phrase, the choice of words stabs Ichika in the heart like a hot dagger -

"So... does that mean you will be mine?"

Ichika's smile immediately drops, the male slumps forwards, his arms limp at his sides and his head is flung down, the male closes his eyes and shakes his head, his eyes start to fill with tears, not so much tears of upset and grief, nor those of fear but rather those of frustraition. Ichika for all his good hearted nature, his considerate attitude is struggling and fighting hard against his predicament, he has tried 'Twice' to talk his way out of a backed corner, and for all it appeared to buy him some hope, it's becoming clear that Ichika.. finaly after all this time.. that he's going to have to use actions as well as words, as words alone are not convincing the girls that he is not being dishonest. This combined with the weight of over a year of being dense to these girl's feelings crashes down and causes Ichika to lose colour, as Ichika raises his head, some tears are rolling down his face and the male looks sick. However, Ichika is able to speak clearly and not in a cracked grief striken tone, but its clear that in his tone.. he is struggling to hold in his emotions -

"Ch.. Char, I'll take you over to that area there. Cecilia I'll be with you in a moment, Houki, Rin and Laura come after.. j.. just let me.. do one thing at a time.. please".

"Ichika" - Houki, Rin, Cecilia and Charlotte speak in a worried and now slightly guilty tone, having seen the boy they love so much starting to cry in distress. Laura does not use Ichika's name, but rather the usual "Wife", but she herself, is struck with surprise. Not one of these girls have seen Ichika cry in pain before, apart from Houki.. but that was when Ichika was only a boy, no older than Kestrel.. not as a young man, and its very rare that a woman or young lady will see a man or young man cry in distress... the shock alone is one thing, but the pain of seeing someone they care for in pain is another, amazingly... it's Ichika's tears that save him from being fought over, as all females loose their competitive sides against each other and are more interested in healing Ichika's apparent looking saddness.

"Char, what is it that you want to do, I'll take you and do what ever it is you want to do.. Cecilia I'll take you next" - Ichika speaks in a worn out and tiny emotional tone, the said male proceeding to wipe away a tear with the back of his left hand as he walks over towards Charlotte, as Ichika walks past Laura, the male places his hand on her shoulder and proceedes to squeeze down a little, just to give Laura the message that tonight's date is still on, but for the German female.. that hardly matters, now she's worrying about Ichika's feelings, which is a surprise when one takes into account that in all truth Laura is bull headed, but then again... it proves that Laura's feelings are true and not a lie. As Ichika walks up to Charlotte, the male puts back on his usual free and cheerful smile, but his face is still pale and his face is a little wet from the odd loose tears, Ichika lifts his left arm and then, placing it over Charlotte's shoulder, proceedes to guide the girl over towards the shacks and buildings, Charlotte's face remains fixed looking at Ichika's all the while, but as she feels the warmth of Ichika's chest and arms, the female goes a flush of red and smiles warmly, her heart warms up, like being reunited with her long lost love and the relation is well and truly one of deep affection between both parties.

**\- Some minutes later -**

Kneeling on a light blue mat, both Ichika and Charlotte are side by side, Charlotte on Ichika's left side and maintaining her usual light red bashful blush, her smile is one of a girl that is all lovey dovey and has vast amounts of happiness from within, where as Ichika has a glum expression.. Ichika is praying along side Charlotte, while Charlotte is making her wish of being Ichika's wife and one true love is being wished for in her mind, Ichika is doing something else.. Ichika is praying that whatever it is Charlotte is wishing for, does NOT include him, but the chances of that is one in a million, however as Ichika opens his eyes and lets out a sigh, the male looks at the traditional wood work of the small shrine ahead of him, then.. as Ichika rests his arms in front of him, he slowly turns his head to the left and blinks at the blonde beside him with a worn out look, but is able to regain a smile as Charlotte finishes her praying wish, the female turns her head to look at Ichika, her smile has not changed. However Ichika is about to make that smile remain still for the rest of the day, as he is about to do exactaly the same as he did with Laura. Looking deeply into Charlotte's eyes, the black haired Ichika reaches out with his left hand and places it on Charlotte's shoulder, much to the said girl's confusion but as Ichika leans over, the female's heart begins to beat even harder than usual.

Ichika chooses to speak in a very low, careful tone, so as not to let anyone else hear what he has to say.. but before Ichika speaks, the male lets out a weary sigh and lowers his head so that his arm is covering his mouth, as the other four girls are watching the pair from very close by. Ichika is on the verge of being sick with nerves, at least he can compare this to being Kes when the said boy is suffering a turn, but all the same.. Laura was easily convinced to do the same, so Charlotte should be conviced to do the same. Ichika speaks very carefuly and slowly, the male gives Charlotte's shoulder a light rub as to show her some care and consideration, but more importantly.. to show her that his words are true.

"Char.. listen, if you can keep this a secret, that means do NOT speak a word of this, or even boast about it.. especially to the others, then I can consider you being the one most likely to be my choice of girlfriend... right... here goes... if you can keep it shut, would like to go out with me tommorrow?".

Upon hearing Ichika's words, Charlotte's heart virtualy explodes with happiness and excitement, the female's smile turns into one of an open excited gape, it takes all Charlotte's power to not leap onto Ichika and smother the boy with smooches on his face, instead all Charlotte does.. is simply place both hands to her chest and clutch her top, the female grasps the material like she is clutching her heart. Ichika notices Charlotte's excited expression and merely hisses in a desperate tone - "Nobody is to know of this, so if you want to go out you had better not show any signs that this conversation took place".

Amazingly, Ichika's words work perfectly, instead all Charlotte does in rapidly nod her head like an excited little girl that is going to go out to a fun fair or amusement park with her mother and father, Charlotte's flush does not leave for a second, the female is at this point happy that she feels she could scream in joy but thankfuly Charlotte is able to hold her emotions in. From behind the pair, all eyes notice Ichika placing his hand on Charlotte's shoulder, all four females cast over death glares at Charlotte, but Laura's is less deadly as she knows that tonight she is about to date one she loves ever so dear. For Ichika the weight is getting heavier by the moment, but so far all is going to plan.. if he can just keep all five females happy, date each one at a time with out the other one finding out, and avoid any awkward moments.. then Ichika might just be able to get out of this situation in one piece, all he needs is time, and if there is such a thing as luck... then maybe Ichika can get past the horrible truth of these girls ripping each other to pieces and maybe himself, as these girls have made it clear.. they don't want to share him!

As both Ichika and Charlotte proceede to stand and look at the small shrine ahead of them, both young adults bow in respect and then calmly proceede to walk out into the open and towards the other four females, whom all rush over towards Ichika whom merely places a very brave smile on his face and manages to get away with his act of opening his arms to Charlotte as he did Laura. As Ichika manages to walk past a great deal of people and walk past some deers, the male gets upto Houki and the others, to which Ichika looks over towards Cecilia and in a very timid tone manages to speak as if he's a person of authority like a person whom is serving drinks and doing all possible to show that all orders are about to be followed - "Heh, heh.. okay.. so, Cecilia I'll spend time with you next, listen... after everyone has done what they want, I'll get everyone a crepe, that is as soon as i find a kiosk".

All but Charlotte respond to Ichika's words, the blonde merely stares into space with a dreamy eyed expression, the female is drooling from the right side of her mouth but the said girl is amazingly able to avoid any suspicion from the others, the female regains her cool and acts like her usual carefree self, walking like a lady and coming up with the excuse that she is excited that Ichika is about to buy everyone a treat. Meanwhile Cecilia effectively skips upto Ichika like a cheerful little girl and proceeding to place her left arm through Ichika's looped right, the said blonde is as excited and cheerful as that of Charlotte. Ichika smile drops a little and becomes one of fret and worry, the male maintains a happy face but as he glances down at Cecilia whom burries her head into his chest, he is ready to ask her hand for a date as well, the male's stomach is churning and he is sick with fear, if just one of these girls find out that he's dating each and every one, the ressults could be very nasty, but it's too late to turn back.. instead all Ichika starts to worry about now is finding a way to convince Cecilia NOT to eat the food that has to be in the basket being held tightly in her hands.

"Okay Ichika, I'd like to browse for lucky charms, please lead the way" - Cecilia speaks out in her usual cheerful and happy tone, the blonde confident that she has secured her spot with Ichika, whom feels a knife of fear drive deep into his gut. Cecilia releases one hand on her basket and points towards some shacks that are full to the brim with lucky charms and tourists, the many dozens of men, women and children appear to go un-noticed as Ichika follows Cecilia's finger towards the shacks, then as Cecilia in her confident stride, proceedes to pull Ichika towards the souvenir stands, the male looks over his shoulder and without speaking, speaks out in mouth lingo to the other females that 'I'll be back soon, don't worry'.

Charlotte for one maintains a happy smile and cheerful gaze, even as she watches Ichika being dragged off by Cecilia, the female is clearly overjoyed and happy with herself,  
at the same time Laura is smirking, the silver haired female is confident that he is speaking those lip words to her and that she is the 'Chosen One', in a strange twist of fate, a light breeze blows around the four females, the beautiful hair styles of all four females dances elegantly in the wind, and the crowds of people and deer that walk around the females is going completely un-noticed.

**\- Another series of minutes later -**

"So sweet.. look, look Ichika, how about this little beauty?" - Cecilia cooes out, the female having handed her basket over to Ichika, and to give her the chance to browse the good luck charms. So far Cecilia has looked at charms that bring good fortune via money wise, house wise and work wise.. but now.. as Ichika figured, the female is now going onto the relationship charms. Cecilia smiles with her usual friendly attitude, the female picks up a charm, all of which are wrapped in their tiny cellophane bags, but the letters and symbols indicate what level of relation the charm has to offer, right at this very moment the blonde has picked up a charm which backs up a loving couple relation.  
Cecilia's expression being that of a girl whom is looking for a diamond engagement ring, thus forcing her boyfriend into marriage. Ichika can only sweat drop at the sight, and grin in a nervous yet very awkward manner. Ichika watches as Cecilia places a charm in her right hand, holding it well as to not drop it as she feels through the other charms for more relationship charms

"Ah, perfect!" - Cecilia chirps out in happiness as she pulls out another charm, Ichika looks carefuly at the packaged charm and upon looking at the black symboled letters notices that it's a charm that wishes a boyfriend and girlfriend a steady relationship, where as the first already in hand wishes that a boy and girl come together in the first stages of a romantic relationship. Ichika says nothing and continues to observe Cecilia as she proceedes to place the second charm in her right hand along the first one, Ichika suddenly getting a hammer hitting him on the head stating that Cecilia intends to purchase these charms and there is no need to guess why, but.. like all good men, Ichika remains silent and merely watches, this time Ichika closes his grin and merely smiles in a nervous manner.

"Oh! Oh my gosh! We definately need this charm!" - Cecilia speaks out, the blonde leaping up and down in joy like an excited human being, while briefly turning to face Ichika and sending him a sparkly eyed expression. Ichika looks at the charm and notices that it's a charm that wishes a perfect engagement. Ichika's smile drops and his face turns into one of utter fear and nerves, Ichika feels his ability to blink suddenly vanish, but as always Ichika remains silent and merely looks forwards with concern as usual. However, for Ichika.. the situation is about to get a lot more worse as Cecilia's charm gatherings get more and more intense.

"Yes, Yes, Yes Ichika! This is another we need!" - Cecilia happily speaks, the blonde now picking up another wrapped charm, Ichika leans forward to focus in on the charm and this time his closed straight expression mouth turns utterly upside down like a caveman, Ichika feels his blood turn to ice, its a charm that wishes a couple a happy marriage. Ichika dares not blink, but his body temperature is getting colder and colder by the second. Ichika feels the urge to run away in terror, but being a man of his word, the said male remains still on the spot. Ichika keeps his eyes fixed on Cecilia's hand as it goes for another charm, Ichika has just slumped forwards slightly but is able to keep himself standing up straight.

"Ah... tee hee! Yes, this as well" - Cecilia speaks, the female going bright red under the eyes and she pulls out the next charm, the female's heart is fluttering and her eyes are filled with excitement as she picks up the next charm, this time it's a charm that wishes a couple a lucky sex life. Ichika upon noticing this charm looses all colour and goes so white you could mistake him for being dead, he looks like a blood donor who couldn't say no. Ichika merely gulps very clearly, the male is loosing his grip on Cecilia's basket and is on the verge of fainting. The male is utterly scared stiff at this moment, but what can he do? If anything it's as if Cecilia has chosen his future and to make matters worse, he has no say in it... Ichika at this moment suddenly becomes faster at reaction than that of Cecilia, Ichika starts to tremble and happens to glance up to the right slightly, he notices the last charm, its one that Ichika definately does NOT want Cecilia to pick up.

"Oh.. ah.. um.. and this as well" - Cecilia titters out, the female now very bashful as she reaches for the charm that wishes a couple some very healthy children. For Ichika it's too much, the male looses his ability to remain still and dashes forwards, the male closes his eyes and reaches forwards with his right hand to grab Cecilia's left, yelping out and in a girlish manner screams out one word - "NNOOO!".

Other people around Ichika stop what there doing and leap in alarm, one couple drops their charms to the floor, a sea of eyes within a 10ft 180 degree area behind and around Ichika gaze at the said male whom is now nearly crying in terror. As Ichika opens his eyes he find's his hand has grasped Cecilia's wrist, just a mere inches from grabbing the last charm in her sight. Cecilia is stunned by Ichika's action at first, the blonde very nearly drops the charms in her right hand and looks into the pale, very sick face of Ichika whom is now panting and breathing heavily. Cecilia blinks and is at loss for words, the female merely looks at Ichika as if he has just wet himself, but within a matter of seconds, Cecilia gets an invisible light bulb appear above her head, the female's mind appears to run off somewhere, Cecilia eye's open a little wider as she looks up at the sky trying to find out the reason for Ichika's outburst. Suddenly, after a matter of seconds Cecilia smiles openly, the female goes deep red under the eyes, but as she lowers her head.. she looks Ichike in the eyes with a carnal gaze, her choice of words is very deep.. what Cecilia would call seductive, but to Ichika they sound like Satan's damnation to eternal hell.

"Why Ichika.. if you realy just wanted our relationship to extend only to that manner, all you had to do was say so!".

Now suddenly getting a lot of fingers pointing at him, the sounds of people whispering and gossiping to each other in the air, Ichika now looking very ill merely shakes his head in terror and after dropping Cecilia's basket on the ground, dashes forwards and places both hands on Cecilia's left hand, the male lowers his head and in a pleading tone as if begging to be spared a punishment, effectively whimpers - "Please, just take the charms you've chosen already and let's just go!".

Purring in a very catish and very bashful manner, Cecilia seems to take pride of Ichika being in the position he's in at the moment, Cecilia seems to become flatterd in the thought that Ichika maybe ready to choose her as his girlfriend and get a very intimate relationship with him, but Ichika is far from feeling anything to that extent, and by the looks of it Ichika appears to be about to run away and never give Cecilia that option. Cecilia's choice of words does not help either - "Ichika, well I must say you are a bold one!".

"P..Please, lets just, pack up what we're doing and let's go get a crepe" - Ichika replies, the male now literaly sick to the stomach, and wanting to scream in terror, but for Ichika a sudden idea hits him, the chance to ask Cecilia out on a date, which comes a crucial moment as the blonde is now getting lost in a world of her own. Ichika is able to open his eyes and lift his head up, revealing a set of tears rolling down his face, not so much sorrow but ones of terror, those that Kestrel can relate to. Ichika's colour does not return but the male releases Cecilia's hand and with both hands, places both his left and right palms on Cecilia's shoulders, thus bringing Cecilia back to reality, the eyes of Cecilia fail to notice the nerve stricken brown orbs that Ichika holds on his face, but at least when Ichika speaks, the male is able to regain some cool and manages to also gain some colour. As Ichika speaks, the male places a very well made brave smile on his face, matched with a hopeful gaze, even though he knows that Cecilia is going to say yes.. he still gets this knife feeling that something about to go wrong, which is clearly a case of paranoia.

"Listen Cecilia... ahh, this is probably a bit out of the blue but err... if you can keep it a secret, which means don't speak a word of this to anyone.. that means don't boast or announce it to the others, would you like to go out somewhere.. the day after tommorrow?"

"Y.. You mean a date?" - Cecilia stutters, the female placing both hands to her face like a Yandere Yuno, Cecilia going bright red under the eyes, and getting the urge to scream in joy, the female's eyes now going into a dreamy state and looking into those of Ichika's, whom in turn maintains his nervous and fearful expression, but after hearing Cecilia's words, Ichika is ready to put on a cheerful and hopeful expression, doing all he can to ignore the eyes, smirks and pointing fingers of the people around him. Gulping and nodding in a nervous manner, Ichika merely replies in a tone of nerve stricken yet awkward pleasantness - "Ahh.. yeah, it is.. B.. BUT don't tell the others!".

Ichika goes so far as to place his left index finger to his lips as he speaks, the male closing his left eye in a bid to get Cecilia to get the message to stay silent, to which Cecilia responds with an overjoyed leap forwards, glomping onto Ichika and proceeding to squeeze the living daylights out of him. Terrified that he has been found out, Ichika turns his head to the left to look in the direction of the other girls, but finds to his joy that they are surrounded by people, all of which are those that have seen him and the girls on TV news, Ichika virtualy goes jelly legged when noticing that he is out of visual range, the male has never been so relieved in all his life. Ichika lets out a very big sigh and slumps forwards, effectively taking the chance to hug Cecilia back, to which Cecilia is only too keen to return. Additionaly, in a stroke of awkwardness Cecilia goes dreamy eyed, and the female starts to dribble anime style onto Ichika's shoulder.

Looking up at the sky, Ichika pulls an awkward face as if to say to God himself 'Oh C'mon what would you have done in a situation like this!?'. Then, as the couple break the hug, Ichika sees the chance to close the moment and merely points down at the charms in Cecilia's hands, sweat dropping Ichika gulps yet again and in a timid voice speaks out one phrase - "Ah... I take it your going to buy all these charms?".

"O..Ofcourse Ichika, heh, heh.. please wait for me" - The blonde female replies, clearly overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the idea of Ichika asking her out, the female in her excited and cheerful self then walks skips around Ichika and towards the woman whom is selling the items, whom has been watching the event with a playful smile and slight smirk on her face as if to say 'Youngsters, they all seem to be at it!'. Meanwhile Ichika feels a great feeling of exhaustion hit his body, the male turns and places his back against the souvenir stand, upon feeling the contact of the solid wall against his back, Ichika effectively slumps down, his back sliding down against the wall of the stand before the said boy comes to a stop, landing on his backside on the solid grey concrette ground. Ichika spreads his legs apart, the male slumps forwards as he looks down at the ground, the boy's heart is beating out of control, the male can't seem to find his ability to breathe, if anything all this asking girls out on a date is causing more and more trouble, but at least now... Ichika has 3 girls sorted out, all that leaves is Houki and Rin.

Closing his eyes and letting the back of his head rest against the souvenir stand, the male takes the chance to let in a lung full of fresh air, but as Ichika slowly turns his head to left to look down, he notices the basket that he dropped on the floor, there.. spread across the ground appears to be some very horrible looking glowing oozes, purple,  
pink and black. Ichika makes a face thats somewhat sick but thankful, as this means that what ever concoction Cecilia has brewed up, he won't have to try it. Ichika looks and notices the stained sandwich bread slices that appear to look as if the're disolving. Ichika merely closes his eyes and sudders violently, placing both hands on his arms as if shivering from a freezing cold air or wind. Then, after taking a moment to compose himself, Ichika looks up at the sky, after taking one final glance down at the spoilt..  
'Concotion' of Cecilia, smiles to himself, the mind of the black haired Ichika speaks only one phrase is relief and joy - ( "Maybe there is a god!" )

**\- Briefly elsewhere -**

A massive white flash of a camera, causes a scar faced Kestrel to stubble backwards in dazelment, even after being at the IS academy, getting the occasional photo taken from a passer by, the scar faced Kestrel is still unable to deal with the flash. The ocean blue eyes of Kestrel are filled with white blurry patters, the youngster places his right palm against his right temple. The youngster does however recover very quickly, Kestrel proceedes to close his eyes and shake himself like a dog, within minutes the infant manages to regain his eye sight, then proceedes to place both hands against his long black hair, straightening his hair and pulling away some strands from the sides of his face. As Kestrel lowers his two arms at his sides he soon finds both being quickly occupied by both dark blue haired beauties Tomoe and Megumi, Tomoe taking his right and Megumi taking his left. While a cheerful looking Tsukiyo, smiles down with satisfaction at the photograph that appears out of the camera mouth and into her left hand, the index finger and thumb of Tsukiyo presses down on the photograph and pull the said object away from the camera mouth. Upon getting her hands on the photograph, the police detective smiles with a cool big sister expression. The camera in that of Tsukiyo's right is held to the police officer's wrist via a small black strap, as Tsukiyo lowers the camera, the police detective looks down at the photograph she has just taken and appears to get some impressed satisfaction from the image before her eyes. Yui stands behind the group, with the clipboard still placed in a very lady like manner at her front.

The photograph shows Kestrel looking at the camera, not smiling, but rather looking ahead with his usual confused and curious look, his head is slightly tilted to the left while Tomoe and Megumi are behind the infant, both are smiling, Tomoe of which has her arms placed against her front in a very lady like manner while Megumi is leaning towards Kestrel showing the usual famous Japanese girl peace sign with both hands. Not wasting any time Kestrel walks, or to be more exact - is dragged by both females that glomp his arms, Kestrel merely blinking and rolling his ocean blue eyes first to the left and then to the right to look up at both females that for some strange reason are doing this every chance they get, Kestrel keeps his head still, not turning his head to look at Tomoe and Megumi, but his eyes roll up left to right, left to right.. at least four times before the youngster looks ahead at nothing in particular, before letting out an awkward anime style sigh and lowering his head down in a slightly defeated manner, a sweat drop appears on the right side of his temple... unlike Ichika, Kestrel KNEW from the start the level of emotions that Tomoe and Megumi have held for him, but then again... after spending years in torture, its probably only natural that a boy like Kes can read a person's emotions, the eyes and actions say it all.. as well has feeling the pulse and heart beat vibrations when ever in hand to hand contact with the two beauties.. but, just like our brown eyed hero, he too is caught in an unpleasant dilema, what can he do? He can't choose one girl without hurting the other, BUT... Kestrel is a bit more honest with who he likes the most, the fact that he and Tomoe occasionaly stare into each other's eyes is a very big pointer and the fact that Tomoe is always a deep flush of red while Kes is a litter more faded colour under the eyes says it all.

Now however, stuff like relationships hardly matter, but then again.. with Kestrel they never do, having been hurt so much in his adolescent life, verbal, emotional and physical.. Kes is what can best be described as an emotionless stone at times, a boy with a heart of ice and instead has a strong, wise.. if very violent and traumitised mind, but on the other hand.. since Tomoe has appeared, his heart is slowly becoming re-humanised, and deep down.. Kes can't deny it, he DOES feel for Tomo', it's just a case of taking these things one step at a time.

As Kes and the two females appear before Tsukiyo, the police detective smiles in an affectionate manner, the police officer with the camera still strapped to her wrist smirks in a cool manner at the photograph she has taken and proceedes to turn the image around to show the trio, Kestrel ofcourse being confused and somewhat amazed at how that strange looking box is able to do those things, given the fact that Kes has never seen a camera before, nor has seen one work so quickly. While Tomoe and Megumi both smile in a very kind and friendly manner, both looking at the image that has been taken.

"Guess thats clue two in the bag, what's next?" - Tsukiyo speaks in her cool and impressed tone, ressembling that of Chifuyu with Ichika.

"Aww, Kes isn't smiling in this photograph, you think we should take it again?" - Megumi speaks out, dissapointed at the fact that Kestrel isn't smiling at the camera,  
the said female taking the picture from the police detective's hands and looking down at the pic.

"Ah.. best not, still brand new, probably a bit alien and alarming" - Tomoe quickly speaks out, the female maintains her smile but speaks in a careful tone as not to upset her older sister.

"Yeah, I'd say that's the best thing to do, anyway.. that photo I took of Kes with a skylark captures a smile, so it's not as if we're missing anything" - Tsukiyo puts in, the police detective placing her left hand on her hip and looking down at the scar faced Kestrel with a cool big sister smirk, watching as Kestrel turns his head to look up at Tomoe, whom in turn smiles in a very kind and friendly manner, while Megumi turns the photograph to the side and upside down as if studying the image with great care, before placing the photograph down her front to sit beside the ink pen that rests between her huge bouncing cleavage, before motioning with her left hand towards Yui to give the impression that she is all clear to read out the third clue, Yui first speaks the words in Hebrew to Kestrel before speaking them again so that Tomoe, Megumi and Tsukiyo can understand what the woman is saying.

"Okay, clue number three.. err... 'What you would find on a tree and is very traditional in the western countries when decorating a Christmas tree, you can find them on the ground, scattered, if you look in the right place'".

As Yui finishes reading, the female lowers the clipboard from her face and looks at Megumi whom is looking at the sky and frowning with an inquisitive look, wondering what the third clue could mean, but thankfuly the pause is brought to an end very quickly as Tomoe just happens to take a little step forwards and feels her shoe step on something hard, a resounding squeezing cracking sound brings everyone to look down at the ground. Blinking with surprise, Tomoe slowly lifts her right foot and pulls it back, the dark blue haired female wanting to know what it is that she has just stepped on. As Tomoe moves her shoe back she notices a pine cone on the ground, Yui's words effectively congratulate the said female as she kneels down to pick up the cone, Kestrel merely looks at the object on the ground and blinks in confusion.

"Well, I guess Tomoes found clue number three, well done"

"Well that was fast, at least we don't have to wander around all day looking in the dirt like the others" - Megumi puts in, the female raising her free arm and with her thumb up motions with her hand over the shoulder towards the mothers and fathers that are foraging around for what ever clues they can find, much to the small but pleasant smiles of Tomoe and Yui, the affectionate smirk, closing of eyes and shaking of head from Tsukiyo and the curious blinking from Kestrel, whom remains his usual silent self.

"So I take it we're going to look for clue number four?" - Tsukiyo comments, the police detective turning her head to look at Yui and maintaining her cool smile,  
while Tomo, Kes and Megu look at the said black haired female with straight faced expressions. Yui maintains her smile and lowers her head to Tsukiyo to effectively give a single nod, the woman giving the impression of 'Yes alright, I'm doing it, be patient'. Then as Yui raises the clipboard to her face the said woman speaks again in a tone of interest, speaking her words very clearly so that Tomoe, Megumi and Tsukiyo can hear what is being said..

"Err.. There is a famous saying, but well and true to the point.. 'No man is..'.. something?".

"Intelligent!" - Tsukiyo comments in a jokeful tone, the police detective using her wit as a woman to bring in some pleasant atmosphere to the group, which ressults in Megumi and Yui starting to smirk and titter in girlish manners, while Tomoe remains silent, looking down at Kestrel and suddenly getting an urge to cover the boy's ears.

"Attractive!" - Megumi puts in before laughing in her jokeful girlish taste, Yui is the last to joke by saying one phrase that causes Tomoe to ball her free hand into a fist and place against her mouth, coughing in a very angered and offended manner.

"Worth keeping!"

*Cough!*

As Tomoe coughs in a manner to clear her throat, all females cease smiling and tittering and instead turn to look at Tomoe with somewhat confused faces. What they see is an slightly upset and offended Tomoe whom has an eyebrow raised, as she lowers her hand from her mouth she motions with her head to tell the group to look down at Kestrel, whom merely tilts his head to the left like an animal, utterly unsure as to why Tomoe suddenly looks offended, but by the look in her eyes, its clear that what ever the reason, then it has something to do with what ever it is the other females have been saying. As all females turn to look down at Kestrel, Tomoe makes the gravity of why she is offended all the more serious, the said female chooses to speak in a very offended and hurt tone, the female slightly kneeling down to hold a bit tighter to Kes.

"So I take you all mean Kes is thick, ugly and isn't worth keeping as well, am I right?".

Amazingly all females drop their smiles and feel a cold chill run up their spines, Megumi of which looks as if she's a girl that has found out to be a lying cheat,  
that has two timed her boyfriend and has been found out. Yui suddenly gets a feeling of being a mother whom has just beaten up her child in a drunken fit, and is now seeing what she has done where as Tsukiyo merely looks away with an awkward frown. Taking the chance to snatch Kes off her sister and keep him to herself, Tomoe with her angered frown merely looks at Yui and says in a cold.. chilling, yet very clear and straight tone - "You know you lot sounded like those cows that smash seven bells out of boys and take pride in it, and that sounds to me like you lot are backing up the trauma that Kes has suffered from".

Everyone remains silent as Tomoe pulls Kestrel out of Megumi's arm lock, albiet in a careful manner, Tomoe acts like a mother whom is very, very disgusted in her children and merely shakes her head and closes her eyes as she proceedes to walk away with the ocean blue eyed Kestrel, whom is still as confused as ever why for some reason the atmosphere is very cold and heavy, but at least now.. Kestrel can walk and not be dragged. As Tomoe begins ot walk away from the group, Yui... now suddenly aware that she has spoken a manner a bit to careless, attempts to speak only to be cut off by Tomoe whom speaks in a huff, the dark blue haired female arm in arm with Kestrel begins to walk away, her free hand still holds onto the pine cone that she has just picked up.

"I think me and Kes can find out the next clue by ourselves, seeing as Kestrel is un-attractive, not worth keeping and dumb".

"W..Wait a minute!" - Megumi blurts out, the dark blue haired female now giving a brief jog after her sister and Kestrel, the dark blue haired Megumi about to protest her innocence while Yui and Tsukiyo look at each other with stunned if slightly guilty expressions before following after the pair.

"N.. No wait a minute Tomoe! I didn't mean that Kestrel was any of those things!" - Yui quickly replies, the woman now suddenly feeling like a knife that has stabbed a beloved son or daughter in the back, and when a woman like Yui is concerned, that pain is a REAL son of a bitch! Right in the heart! Which is made clear as Yui has the look of a person whom is filled with remorse.

"Damn it! Forgot!" - Tsukiyo hisses, the woman does not jog after the pair but merely slaps herself on the forehead with her left hand, the police officer now suddenly getting the idea what they say when some say 'People get killed 'cause of their tongues', or idealy 'Careless talk'. Thankfuly the police detective is able to place a symapthetic look on her face, yet her cool big sister look still appears strong. The woman speaks in a tone that matches what Megumi and Yui are trying to get out - "Hey look, that was only a manner of speaking! We didn't mean any harm!".

As Tomoe and Kestrel walk away from the group, Tomoe smirks to herself, the female pulls Kes into her side a little closer.. thus drawing Kestrel's attention from over his shoulder and up towards Tomoe whom proceedes to smile in a triumphant manner, the dark blue haired beauty sends down a very trusting and love stricken wink with her right eye. Kestrel immediately gets the picture that Tomoe has put on a well performed act in order to get him away from the other females and be alone just with her. Reacting to this, Kes lifts the right side of his upturned mouth into a nervous, yet affectionate small smirk like smile, Kestrel maintains perfect eye contact with Tomoe whom opens her closed eye, and merely looks up with his usual timid expression, but has a great deal of comfort and peace on his face all the same. As the pair walk away pursued by the three older females, a very warm moment appears in the atmosphere around the two youths, and for Tomoe there is no sweeter tasting victory, which is made clear as the female turns her head and sticks out her tongue at the other females in very mocking and serious 'taking the piss!' manner, to which Megumi is the first to recieve, much to her annoyance!

**( A.N: Now that's what you call a devious woman! XD! )**

**\- Back with Ichika, a few minutes later -**

Managing to get away from the masses of men, women and children.. the black haired Ichika is effectively exhausted, this time physical wise, instead of standing and basking in the awkward glow of being a celebrity the said male had effectively taken Rin's advice via the motioning of the head to simply "RUN!", to which Ichika responded at immediately, all five females around him seemed to be interested in staying put and speaking to the groups around them, but upon seeing Ichika start walking away very quickly as if walk running, the urge to be with the boy they love was simply to strong to ignore, and instead all five started following close behind Ichika, but as the groups of adults and kids started to follow close behind keeping pace, Ichika with his eyes closed and gritting his teeth in a sick manner merely shook his head and with a rapid sprint... bolted away fast as possible, all five females running directly beside him and behind!

Now, after managing to give the numbers of people the slip, all six young adults take refuge behind a mass of large trees and bushes, each and every single one of the six youths are out of breath, but at least now, the group can take it easy. The grass that the group stand upon is shaded by a large pine tree that towers above all others in Nara park, from over a mass of bushes and trees the roof of Todaiji temple is now closer than before, since the six youngsters had run through the main gate towards the temple, the said youths are closer than before towards the large ancient temple.

Noticing the large structure that towers high, Ichika upon straightening himself places his back against the tree trunk and looks at the sight before him, Charlotte and Cecilia are side by side each other and both proceede to sit themselves down on the soft, surprisingly comfortable grass, both females have playful smiles, as the situation that everyone has just escaped from does have it's funny humorous side. Laura and Houki are tittering with a playful attitude, both girls are doing all they can to avoid howling with laughter, why is anyones' guess, but maybe it does not matter, nothing horrible has happened and if anything theres plenty of reason to be happy, everyone is enjoying the sponsored vacation and the fact that the girls can be with Ichika makes the day all the more enjoyable.

Charlotte, Cecilia and Laura are over the moon with joy now that they now hava a date fixed with Ichika all by themselves, and more importantly all of which are oblivious to Ichika's planning. However, Ichika has yet to fix a date up with Houki and Rin, both females of which are not fixed up, but Ichika is planning to change that factor very soon, after all... the said male feels as if he's been backed into a corner, so who's to blame him for doing what he's doing? The said male is seemingly out paced, out matched and fighting a loosing war, so if Ichika is to win, he has to take serious action into hand. Ichika knows this all too well as he looks at the roof of Todaiji temple, a look of pain and trouble appears on the male's face, but as Houki proceedes to speak, the male manages to put on a face of a person whom has no need to fret about anything at all, the male puts on his usual cheerful and friendly face.

"So Ichika, I take it this vacation is going well for you and Kes?"

"Ah.. yeah, me and Kes are like bros big time, I tell ya, last night me and Kes found ourselves watching TV in perfect sync with each other, at one point we even yawned at the same time" - Ichika replies, the male not exactly telling the truth, but the little white lie does have some hint of truth, the male is more or less speaking his dream of what wanted to happen last night, as Ichika hardly slept an inch and spent all night fretting about is predicament with all five girls, but as all five females were given the slip before going to bed, and neither had payed any attention to sleeping arrangements or even now for this matter, thinking for one second that Ichika maybe lying, the false story does manage to bring some benifits as the conversation now shifts from Ichika to the said scar faced Kes, but this time Ichika is NOT stupid, he knows that all five females MAYBE using Kes as means of getting closer to Ichika, but then again.. maybe the girls are speaking genuine kindess, which is the friends that he knows and loves... never the less, Ichika is all ears and makes perfect eye contact with each girl that speaks to him.

Responding oblivious to Ichika's lie, Laura is next to speak - "Wonderful my wife, very wonderful.. I must say that your little friend has quite a lot of good surprises about him, but maybe I should not be surprised, I hear that you have a red haired friend over here, is Kes and this friend of yours similar in anyway".

"Heh, heh... if you mean similar in being able to will animals, having his own personal IS and being like a kid brother then no, not realy" - Ichika replies, the male looking the silver haired girl in the eye and raising his left arm to form the 'Wha?' position.

"Ahh.. actualy, while we're talking about Kes, I just wanted to ask a question that's been going round my head for a bit, it's nothing personal but.. has he suffered any more turns since he's been at your side since leaving the IS academy?" - Rin asks, the female now putting a concerned look on her face and leaning forwards slightly to look Ichika in the face.

"Well... unfortuneatley yes, but it was just the one occasion so I guess Kestrel's progressing in terms of recovering from his trauma" - Ichika replies, the said male suddenly remembering the turn that Kes had suffered when he returned home following Kestrel's Prometheus firing test, the horrible sight of Kestrel screaming and crying in terror causes the male's smile to drop, Ichika places his left hand at the back of his head as he looks down at the ground, only briefly breaking eye contact with Rin for a second or so.

Houki takes the chance to speak and takes one step forward towards Ichika before sitting herself down in the shade that is made by a large tree that towers in full blossom behind the group, the said female chooses to speak very slowly and carefuly, Houki for one has not had much of a chance to speak about Kestrel freely before, and if anything speaking about Kestrel like a true friend may improve her relation, not only with Ichika.. but maybe even with Kestrel also, but Ichika is still on the razor's edge of nerves... so IF any of the girls are concerned for Kestrel, then Ichika won't be able to tell the two motives apart, even so... the atmosphere of a good pleasant conversation should help swallow any ill nerves and fret. As Houki speaks the female looks Ichika in the eyes, the girl is interested in discussing Kestrel's problems and merely takes the chance to voice an opinion on what could help in healing the infant in his voyage to healing from his wounds -

"Oh... well, I know it's none of my buisness but, next time Kes has to go in for a dose of treatment, why don't you suggest going in with him?"

"Actualy that is a point, I have noticed that when Kes is with you, Yui or Tomoe, he seems at ease and at peace" - Charlotte speaks out, the blonde female smiling very kindly as she speaks her words.

"Just a shame that he isn't that way with us, when ever I've gone up to him in order to make friends, he stares me in the face like I'm some sort of beast" - Cecilia comments, the blonde female lowering her head and speaking in a glum manner in a defeated way.

"Ah.. I wouldn't take it personaly Cecilia, realy. I'm sure that Kes is wanting to be as close to everyone as he is with Yui and Tomoe. It's just.. well.. he's just.." - Ichika speaks out, the said male now raising his arms like surrendering doing all he can to put the blonde at comfort, but thankfuly the said blonde is fast to raise her head and smile in a very caring and cheerful manner and with a very peaceful expression cuts Ichika off by stating in her warm and friendly tone -

"Yeah I know, these things take time, after all.. it only makes sense that a boy like Kes will be very cautious when concerning strangers".

Lowering his arms Ichika, feels a dose of relief run through him, the said male is now able to be ready to answer another girl's question, this time it comes from Rin whom now begins to sit on the grass like the other four girls. The said brunette has a playful smile on her face as she looks Ichika in the eyes, the female points at Ichika and in a slight dose of playful cheek, speaks in a tone that is near mocking, yet at the same time very friendly - "If ya ask me, if I didn't know better the reason you like being with Kes is so that you can teach him some mischevious boyish habits!".

"Oh no! Never! If anything Kes tends to walk away from trouble, so the chances of Kes doing wrong is very unlikely realy" - Ichika replies, the male shaking his head and chuckling as he replies to Rin's remark.

"We know Ichika, we're just having a laugh" - Houki replies the female shaking her head and grinning as she finishes shaking her head in an effectionate manner following Ichika's response to Rin's jokeful comment.

Now suddenly feeling like an idiot, Ichika places his right hand palm at the back of his head, the male sweatdrops while chuckling yet again in an awkward yet very affectionate manner, the said male closing his eyes and after chuckling can do nothing but grin. Ichika for all his acting dim is a mass with swirling emotions, the male is aware that all five girls want his heart and for all he knows, Laura, Cecilia and Charlottes sudden intrest in Kestrel maybe a way of getting a lot more closer to Ichika, as its clear that the said male apparently thinks the world of the scar faced infant that has had a profound effect on everyone's lives. Ichika feels his heart beat a little faster with nerves as he feels himself being dragged down like a person being pulled down into the ocean depths by a sinking ship, but all the same... Ichika can't deny it, speaking of his scar faced friend is taking at least some great weight off his shoulders. In truth, speaking about Kestrel is in a way a attempt to get closer to Ichika, but as all girls begin to loose themselves in the moment, a sudden realisation hits home, causing all five females to look into space and the fraction of a second that passes is enough to light up all of the girl's emotions.

It suddenly becomes very clear to Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura, Houki and Rin... that their dream of being closer to Ichika is thanks to the said scar faced Israeli that spends most of his time being silent as a grave. All five girls suddenly feel a vast swirling explosion of happiness and gratitude, as far as Charlotte, Cecilia and Laura are concerned, the reason why Ichika is taking them out is due to the influence of Kestrel and his own girls, this in turn causes all five females to unwittingly look at the sky and go wide eyed, Houki and Rin are not yet fixed on a date with Ichika, but those two have an even greater privalidge.. they have been the first to kiss the boy that they love, the other three have not even smooched Ichika an inch. All five females in that brief moment place their hands together as if praying to god, all five girls close their eyes and get a vast beaming set of smiles on their faces, all five girls look at the sky, close their eyes and effectively silently say to themselves - ( "Kestrel! Thank you! If It wasn't for you Ichika would never have been my lover! )

Ichika notices the brief change in the atmosphere and looks at all five females with invisible anime question marks appearing above his head, the male blinks in confusion and merely speaks in a careful and curious manner - "Err.. girls?".

Cecilia is first to snap herself back to reality and after parting her hands looks at Ichika with a very confident and excited expression, the female forms her arms to the 'Wha?' position, but balls her hands into fists expressing her excitment in what she says next - "Ichika!".

Jumping slightly in surprise Ichika very nearly bangs his head against the tree trunk behind him, the male blinks and replies immediately in a form of surprise - "Ah, yeah?"

"Ichika I would consider it a great honour and privalidge if you would allow and cheer me on in an IS battle with Kestrel!" - Cecilia speaks out, the blonde female lowering her arms and sitting up straight while maintaining her excited face and cheerful expression. Upon hearing Cecilia's words Ichika seems to go pale, the male suddenly looks down at Cecilia with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. Ichika effectively looks at Cecilia as if she has just dribbled on his foot, or wet herself by accident. Ichika is unable to speak, the other four females are also effected. Charlotte, Laura, Houki and Rin turn their heads to look at Cecilia, they look at the blonde as if she is an alien lifeform just been discovered by the human race.

"S.. Say wha?" - Ichika stutters, the male completely bewildered at what Cecilia has just suggested, the male looks at the blonde with shocked open eyes and a pale face, Ichika feels as if Cecilia has just condemned herself to become a suicide bomber.

"I would like to propose me and Kestrel have an IS duel, I just realised that I suddenly owe that little boy a lot of good fortune, so to say thanks I would like to spar with him" - Cecilia replies, the blonde now suddenly more than confident in what she is saying and is confident that she can take on the scar faced Kestrel, not in the extent to defeat in a fight to the death, but rather as means to show that she can interact with the scar faced male and more importantly can join in doing what the said boy likes doing the most, but in her bold move.. the blonde has failed to realise that it's flying that Kestrel likes, not exactaly fighting, but in the state Cecilia is in... she is not going to get the real image without some outside help, Ichika for one notices immediately that Cecilia is thinking of doing something very, very stupid but he is not the one who says so, THAT is done by Charlotte. The said blonde looks Cecilia in the face and proceedes to raise her right index finger, Charlotte chooses to speak in a very careful voice.. but it's clear that the blonde is feeling the same emotions that Ichika is feeling at the minute.

"Ah.. Cecilia.. I don't think thats a very good idea"

"Oh! Why not?" - Cecilia replies, the blonde now apparently looking very offended and upset at hearing what Charlotte has just said, as far as Cecilia is concerned she is Ichika's girlfriend and has more right than any of the others to get involved with Ichika's friends, after all.. boyfriends and girlfriends do have fun with their sweetheart's friends, but what Cecilia is suggesting is either stupid or VERY, VERY stupid.

"Well there's many reasons as to why?" - Rin begins, the brunette looking like coloured ice as she looks Cecilia in the face.

"Firstly Kestrel's IS is unknown to us" - Houki comments, the female looking at Cecilia with a pleading expression as she looks the blonde in the face, desperately trying to talk Cecilia out of her harebrained scheme.

"Secondly Kestrel is not someone you should want to fight so willingly" - Ichika speaks out, he too is now starting to worry for Cecilia's sanity.

"Thirdly, unless you've noticed anyone that attacks the child gets seven shades of filth knocked clean out of them" - Laura speaks out, the silver haired female placing her arms apart from her sides, hand palms facing forwards and fingers parted as if speaking in desperation.

"Kestrel isn't an amatuer, he fights like an expert when he has to, I mean look what he did to those German girls at the IS academy, and those thugs back at the train station" - Charlotte speaks again, she speaks as if begging for Cecilia to reconsider her plan.

"I wouldn't fight Kes if I we're you Cecilia, please.. I beg of you not to, Kes may look like a frail, timid and vulnerable little creature but believe me when I say.. Kestrel despite being a kid is litteraly able to tear apart anything that attacks him, he isn't someone you should attack.. you say your only wanting to spar with him in a friendly IS training manner, but if you start dueling with Kes, and he looses it.. you.. WON'T be able to stop him from painting the landscape with your body!" - Ichika speaks out, the male putting a lot of emphisis on the word 'Wont' as he looks Cecilia in the face with a pale face.

Now blinking with a bewildered and shocked expression, Cecilia's smile has vanished, a vast heavy dead silence hangs in the air. The blonde Cecilia now has a partialy open mouth and wide eyes and a pale face. Ichika now believeing that he has managed to convince Cecilia to call off her plan places a very hopeful smile on his face, the male looks into Cecilia's eyes with a partial look of triumph. Charlotte, Laura, Houki and Rin seem to gather around Ichika, like some primative apes around a the glowing embers of a newly created campfire, all of which seem to gaze at Cecilia like an audiance in awe looking at a newly born litter of puppies, but instead of smiles the females have looks of utter concern, but as Cecilia begins to lower her head and place a frown on her face, it appears as though Ichika's plea has worked. For the five youths around the said blonde, it appears as though a great weight has been lifted off each and every single shoulder around Cecilia... but sadly, that feeling is very short lived. Cecilia proceedes to close her eyes and shake her head a little, her frown returns to it's usual cheerful smile and a look of excitement appears on her face, her choice of words causes all hopes to suddenly shatter.

"Oh please.. your all just being a bit negative, surely me and Kestrel are a perfect choice to tango IS wise. Surely if anything does go wrong then everyone can merely get together and bring the youngster back to a level of sanity".

Upon hearing Cecilia's words, everyone slumps forwards heads hung low anime style. Everyone seems to go pale, Cecilia is asking to pick a fight with what Laura calls "The child from hell", and seems to be blind to what the ressults could be. Charlotte places her left hand palm to her forehead, Rin and Houki, still nelt down place an arm round each other's shoulders, Laura seems to begin muttering something in German, the silver haired female seems to get a chill run up her spine. The female seems to get a vision of the future appear in her mind, and it involves a funeral taking place and it's not that of either hers or little Kestrel's. Knowing that their words are not about to break through to Cecilia... well maybe not at this moment, the four females merely sit down on the grass and look at each other with very worried faces. Ichika on the other hand stands up and proceedes to stagger over towards the large pine tree trunk, the black haired male places his right hand on the side of his temple while he places that of his left on his stomach, the male feels the urge to up and vomit.. the male is cringing with dread and illness, Ichika upon reaching the tree trunk is filled with constant screaming and vast collections of words all of which go along the lines of 'What am I gonna do!?', 'Cecilia's going to end up in the grave!', 'Kes is unpredicatable what the hell is she thinking!', 'Not good! Not good! Not good! Not good!'.

Ichika upon reaching the tree trunk, takes his hand from the side of his temple and places it against the bark, the male looks as if he's about to be sick, he is pale in the face and is slumped forward slightly. As Ichika looks down, gazing down at the light green grass that he stands upon the male thinks one phrase - ( "My gawd! What the hell have I done!?" ).

Looking over his shoulder, the male notices that the other girls have started to speak to Cecilia, supposedly the idea of girl to girl talk should help bring the blonde out of her brain storm filled plan. Then, as Ichika looks forwards, this time placing both hands against the tree trunk.. the said male lowers his head again, Ichika closes his eyes and shakes his head. Ichika proceedes to breathe very heavily, the male after a while then raises his head to look ahead of him, his eyes are filled with fear and illness. Then after a moment, Ichika lowers his head again, since being confessed to.. Ichika has finaly got the idea that the gravity of a relationship is very difficult and surprisingly serious. Thankfuly though, Ichika instead of seeing Cecilia as a dumb and insane female suddenly gets the realisation that the blonde is trying to help in getting closer to Kestrel in a form of friendship, which for a guy like Ichika is very impressive.. when one remembers that Ichika is dense, or seemingly.. was dense when concerning love matters, but it can't be denied... since getting confessed to, Ichika seems to be coming on in great steps. However, for Ichika.. the problem of dealing with Cecilia seems to have gotten a bit worse, but at least the other girls aren't following on with Cecilia's ideas, otherwise Ichika would have a very serious nightmare to deal with.

All these facts rush around in Ichika's mind as he attempts to think of a way out this mess, but Ichika's dread does not last for long, an invisible lightbulb appears above Ichika's head glowing bright. Ichika gets a back up plan appear in his mind, if Cecilia is about to go along with Ichika's ideas or even begin to take Ichika's feelings into account, then all he has to do is use his own importance as a simple get out of jail free card. Even though the said male knows in his heart of hearts, that is going to be a very difficult thing to do, since Cecilia for all her bull headed nature at times, does have her heart in the right place, the problem being that the female has never been talked out of doing careless, some would say "stupid" things, the fact that she partook in cross dressing Ichika during the slumber party incident is proof enough. Another factor is that Cecilia has admitted herself that when she was little she has done some things that are the very definition of mischief.

However, the black haired Ichika is not about to pay his feelings of sickness any heed, instead the male places on his serious face and turns to face Cecilia, whom is in coversastion with the other four females, clearly not paying any attention to the words of pleas that are being spoken. The male straightens his posture and balls his hands into fists and stares in a very serious manner towards Cecilia, this time Ichika is listening to his confidence, rather than his paranoia, but there is no confident smile all the same. As Ichika lets out a frustraited sigh, the male speaks only phrase that speaks the truth, Ichika speaks as if he's talking to the player of a game, the male lowers his head and speaks in a glum yet truthful manner - "Aw man!... yet another problem!".

_**Okay readers, this a chapter that I wanted to get out the way for some time now, not much of a chapter I know but at least it is making Ichika and his girl relationship grow a lot more stronger. The next chapter is the 100th, so I guess when that comes I will have something to be proud of, the next chapter leaves Nara park and heads towards an amusement park, then after that comes the Zoo trip, which I'm going to do all I can to make as interesting as possible, I don't think my chapters are as interesting as I want them to be.. but I do my best and thats all that matters I guess.**_

_**I have wanted Cecilia to go up against Kes for a while now, but its been a challenge to find the right moment, also... concerning Kes, I have to admit, his IS has a few more surprises to show, but until then.. I'm giving an equal amount of spotlight for Ichika, because he's one of the very few cool male characters in a Harem anime, or for that matter is one of the few cool male leads in an anime that I know of, other than Sasha from "Sekion no Qwaser", but that's a story for another day.**_

_**Okay, now I don't have much to ask for except to refrain from sending me a PM, but I will approve of open reviews and open comments, if you have a request to see in this fic then just write them down in the open reviews so that everyone can see, after all.. I like this fic to be what I like to say as a team effort.**_

_**Okay, I'm starting work on the next chapter as soon as I can, but like this one... I can't be sure when the next comes out, but I'm working on it. In regards of choosing Ichika a girl.. that's still unsure, but for now I'm sticking to the Harem path, and by the looks of it, I'd say the Harem ending is what you apes are wanting! Okay.. other than all that, **__**please all you readers stay cool, and stay safe out there - remember the world is real Bitch to live in!**_

_**Okay, stay cool readers.**_

_**See you all soon as I can.**_

_**Black Falcon 01**_


End file.
